Ohio State earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament heads to Lexington on Friday to face No. 12 seed Western Kentucky in the tournament's opening round.
This, of course, means the Buckeyes will not host an NCAA Tournament game in 2017, but there is a huge silver lining: they avoided a Sweet 16 matchup with the top-seeded and four-time defending national champion Connecticut Huskies.
Following a Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss to Purdue, Ohio State was squarely on the bubble between a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed, which was really a lose-lose situation. Given the S-curve, the lowest No. 4 seed would have to face juggernaut UConn in the Sweet 16, but a No. 5 seed would mean the Buckeyes would have to play the opening weekend's games on the road.
Though Ohio State undoubtably would have liked to open the tournament at home, this result is probably in the team's best interest, given the circumstances.
The Buckeyes open the tournament with a game against Western Kentucky on Friday. With a win, Ohio State would advance to the second round where it would likely face No. 4 seed Kentucky. The full bracket can be seen here.
Let the madness begin.
