Ohio State Bubble Watch: Why Buckeyes Deserves to Be in March Madness

The season has come to an end. The Big Ten Tournament has closed on the Ohio State Buckeyes, as they lost for a third time to rival Michigan 71-67.

Despite this loss, the Buckeyes ended the season on a very high note, had some help across the country, and should be one of the 37 teams to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid.

WHY THEY DESERVE TO DANCE

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) celebrates with guard Gabe Cupps (4) following the 89-82 win over USC Trojans in the NCAA men's basketball game at the Schottenstein Center on Feb. 11, 2026. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Heading into their final five games of the season, there were two big storylines surrounding this Buckeye team: consistently inconsistent and no Quad One wins.

Now that it is all said and done, Ohio State now has four Quad One wins, two of which are in Bart Torvik’s Quad One-A ter. Those wins are on the road against Northwestern, home against Wisconsin, home against Purdue, and the Big Ten Tournament win against Iowa. Two of those Quad One wins were not originally Quad One wins, but due to action across the country and conference, those wins were changed.

Having four Quad One wins while also being 5-1 in Quad Two games is an outstanding resume, which is why Bart Torvik still has them with a 100% chance to get in the Big Dance.

Outside of the Quad One wins, Ohio State struggled to win more than two games in a row all season long after non-conference play. Their longest win streak since November came in the last days of the season. Stringing together wins against Purdue, Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa was massive for this team. It showed that they can win more than one game in a row. It showed that they can compete with the best of them.

Their recent losses were ‘good’ losses too. They lost to one of the ACC’s best teams in Virginia by four on a neutral court. They lost by six to Michigan State on the road. They only lost to rival Michigan by four in the Big Ten Tournament. They are showing signs of consistency and offensive and defensive efficiency that they have not shown all season long.

Arguably, the biggest pivot point of the season was their home win against UCLA on January 11th, a Quad Two win, followed by a scare from Minnesota at home. If Ohio State were to have lost that game to Minnesota, that would have been a Quad Four loss.

Instead, they racked up two conference wins in a spot where they could have easily tacked on two losses instead. Who knows if one additional stumble could have changed the season’s entire perspective? Thankfully, the Buckeyes do not need to find out what one less Quad two win or one Quad Four loss could have done to their resume.

When it is all said and done, this team is peaking at the right time; going into March hot is always something that teams try to do, and the Buckeyes are doing it. Now they just have to wait and see if they get their names called on Selection Sunday. They deserve it; let us see if the committee thinks so as well.