The Ohio State Buckeyes get their seed for the NCAA Tournament, and while it isn't a bad spot, it certainly is not ideal.
Ohio State's climb to the NCAA Tournament officially comes to a close as they earned themselves an eight seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Just three weeks ago, the Buckeyes were on the outside looking in at the tournament. They had no Quad 1 victories, they had some horrible losses on the resume, and they didn't look like a deserving tournament team.
Fast forward 21 days and nine games, and head coach Jake Diebler's squad absolutely look like a tournament team, and beyond that, they are a legit force to be reckoned with.
In their last eight games, they have wins over No. 25 Wisconsin and No. 8 Purdue, who ended up being the Big Ten Tournament Champion.
Ohio State avenged their 17-point loss to Iowa by beating them in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament before giving Michigan a very tough battle in the quarterfinals. Ohio State finished the year with a 21-12 record with a 12-8 mark in the Big Ten.
For their efforts, they landed an eight seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. They will take on the TCU Horned Frogs in their first matchup.
The Buckeyes are in the East Region, which is headlined by the Duke Blue Devils, who are taking on No. 16 Sienna in the first round. Duke has aspirations of making a run to Indianapolis and hoisting the National Championship trophy. The Buckeyes hope to get them in the second round game.
First up for the Buckeyes is TCU.
The Horned Frogs enter the tournament with a 22-11 record with a sixth-place finish in the daunting Big 12. On their resume, they have wins over No. 5 Iowa State, No. 10 Texas Tech, and their last time on the floor, they lost to No. 14 Kansas by five.
TCU is led by sophomore forward David Punch, who stands at 6'7 and pours in 14.3 points per game along with 6.7 rebounds per contest.
Similar to the Buckeyes' season, the Horned Frogs have some really nice wins under their belt, but they also have some horrible losses. Losses to Notre Dame, Colorado, Utah, and UCF are nothing to write home about when examining their resume.
The Buckeyes' tournament begins in Greenville, South Carolina, which will feel like home court for Duke if and when they play the Blue Devils.
Ohio State got their wish. They earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but their path to the Sweet 16 and beyond will be a tough one. It all begins on Thursday, March 19th, for the Buckeyes.
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