The Buckeye Breakdown Podcast is back, and we are back diving into all things Buckeyes as there is a ton going on across all of the sports in Columbus.

First up for us, we discuss the NCAA Tournament at large. The play-in games take place beginning on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, but the game that has the most attention on it will be the Miami (Oh) Redhawks, who take the court on Wednesday against SMU. 

The East Region is loaded, and that is exactly where the Buckeyes have found themselves this postseason. The first round matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs is a great matchup and one that should be an awesome game with two evenly matched teams.

The winner of that game will get the opportunity to take on the Duke Blue Devils to get out of the first weekend. 

Duke comes into the tournament with a major injury as one of their stars, Caleb Foster, will not be available for the Blue Devils, and that cracks the door open for the Buckeyes.

The rest of the region is absolutely loaded with UConn, Michigan State, Kansas, St. John's, Louisville, and UCLA all ahead of the Buckeyes. Jon Roethstein tabbed it the "Region of Blue Bloods," and you call it one of a million things. It's a meat grinder, and whoever survives it will have absolutely earned it. 

The rest of the bracket is awesome. There is an 11 over a 6 upset alert in the South region as VCU takes on North Carolina, and could Wisconsin make a run in the West region?

We finish up the opening segment with our final four predictions.

Legendary Buckeyes coach Thad Matta decides to hang them up and step away from the coaching ranks after 21 amazing seasons. 

Matta began his career at Butler, where he served as the head coach for just one sesaon before heading to Xavier. He was wildly successful at Xavier and then got the opportunity to take over the Buckeyes program, and he took it to new heights. 

In 12 seasons in Columbus, he made nine tournaments and two Final Four appearances. He catapulted the Buckeyes program back into the National spotlight, and the Buckeyes have been trying to find that ever since.

Spring Ball is in full swing back on campus, and the Buckeyes are taking their first steps on the journey to get back to the National Championship in 2026-27. Last year was a disappointment, and it is very clear that the Buckeyes are carrying that with them as they work through this offseason. 

Jeremiah Smith looks like he somehow improved his body and his game entering the third year of his career. Ryan Day has publicly challenged his quarterback Julian Sayin to be better, and the Buckeyes young running back room has grabbed the attention of everyone throughout the offseason.

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