Ohio State basketball’s chance at postseason basketball appears slim, but not for the reason you think.
If you are like me, once Ohio State started putting this late-season run together, I began to think about all of the potential possibilities of playing in the postseason. Obviously, the desire would be to somehow continue the magical run and find a way to win the Big Ten Tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament.
That was always an uphill climb though and that hike came to a halt against Purdue in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal Saturday. Still, there are two other tournaments the Buckeyes could potentially play in; the NIT and CBI, both are lower-tier tournaments (duh), and neither is ever on the list of goals set out before the season, but both would allow this team to continue to be together and keep the momentum going. Heck, maybe it would even result in a trophy to put in the case.
Almost without fail, the NIT Tournament is reserved for teams that have a .500 record or better, but that stipulation was removed a few years back for a team exactly in the boat Ohio State is rowing now. OSU is hot, played in a tough, tough conference, and would be a difficult matchup for anyone. But … the NIT has yet to take a team that’s below .500 since the new stipulation was put in place, so a new precedent would need to be set.
Then there’s the CBI, or College Basketball Invitational. Some pretty good programs have played in it in the past, but it’s considered a third-tier, 16-team tournament, but again — playing time, development and all.
However, after the loss to Purdue Saturday, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann sure sounded like the Buckeyes aren’t going to be playing any more basketball this season, and it has a lot to do with the health of his team.
“I have thought about it. We have some injuries beyond kind of what’s public that make it difficult right now to be quite honest with you — that we have to really get, we have to get some of our guys back,” Holtmann said when asked about the potential of a postseason tournament. “They’re not significant, but they need to be tended to, and they need some time off. So that might answer your question.”
On one hand, it might be good for such a young team to continue to get more practices and game time together, but if there are indeed some bumps and bruises that the public doesn’t know about, there could be more harm than good that comes out of playing more games.
Final from Chicago
Ohio State: 6️⃣6️⃣
Purdue: 8️⃣0️⃣#GoBucks | #B1GMBBT pic.twitter.com/ckBT8TmXsg— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 11, 2023
Obviously, if OSU had done the unthinkable and won the Big Ten Tournament by winning five games in five days, the NCAA would be a no-brainer. But beyond that and with reality now sinking in, maybe it’s time to feel good about how this year ended and turn the page to what should be a pretty good 2023-2024 season.
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