Ohio State Buckeyes Slip Into a #1 Seed In The NCAA Tournament?

After starting 1-3 in Big Ten play, The Ohio State Buckeyes, who are 24-7 overall and 14-4 in the Big Ten, are assured at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title and also the #1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament. Could they have also assured a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament today without stepping on the court? I am not too sure.

The #1 team in the country Syracuse (28-3, 15-3 Big East) lost to an unranked Louisville (20-11, 11-7 Big East) and #5 Kansas State (24-6, 11-5 Big 12) lost to Iowa State (15-16, 4-12 Big 12). Going into the game against Kansas State, the Iowa State Cyclones had a 21-game losing streak against ranked opponents and not only did they end that streak but they did it Kansas State's home court. Many experts had predicted prior to this game that Kansas State had the last of the four number one seeds in the NCAA tournament but with this kind of lose they will almost certainly fall to a number two or even a three seed. 

This opens the door for possibly two teams to step up and take the last number one seed over from Kansas State.  One of those two is the #4 Duke Blue Devils. They are currently 26-4 and 12-3 in the ACC. The other teams is the aforementioned Ohio State Buckeyes. Based on RPI alone Duke should get the #1 seed as Duke is second in RPI and Ohio State is 29th in RPI. This turns into a reoccurring theme as you take a look at all of the RPI statistics. There is however a chance that if the Buckeyes can win the Big Ten tournament and Duke falters in the ACC tournament, the Buckeyes could be sitting pretty in a #1 seed during March Madness.

If the Buckeyes don't win the Big Ten tournament it seems as though they have locked up at least a #2 seed which some in Ohio are saying would be better for this team so that they don't have to worry about the pressure of the #1 seed. If the Buckeyes end up losing in the Big Ten tournament it could help them in the long run giving them a little extra rest before the NCAA tournament since the Buckeyes only use 6 players on a normal night.