Ohio State March Madness History: Record, Final Four Appearances, Titles

The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball program has once again punched its ticket to the March Madness tournament, giving itself another shot at a national title.

Entering the tournament as the eighth seed in the East region, the Buckeyes are set to face the ninth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs on March 19 at 12:15 p.m. This matchup has all the makings of a heavyweight battle, and Ohio State hopes to open the tournament with a strong statement.

While this year’s March Madness gauntlet appears more difficult than in years past for Ohio State, with the winner of this bout likely to face off against the top seeded Duke Blue Devils.

A win over the Horned Frogs could surely swing the momentum in favor of the hopeful Buckeyes after an impressive regular season, a season that featured Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton take over as their all-time leading scorer in program history.

There will be plenty of discussion surrounding Ohio State leading up to its Thursday thriller, so in the meantime, what better than to look back on the Buckeyes’ pursuit of a national championship throughout the program’s history.

Ohio State’s Record

The Buckeyes men’s basketball team has long been a consistent presence in the March Madness tournament. That consistency doesn’t necessarily translate to yearly appearances, however, as Ohio State has been without a tournament berth since the 2021–22 season.

While they haven’t made the tournament in a few years, their past appearances have backed up their reputation when it comes to overall wins and losses.

In the tournament's history, the Buckeyes have an all-time record of 58 wins and 34 losses, amounting to a .630 winning percentage.

With mixed results scattered throughout the timeline—whether that’s a first-round exit or a deep Final Four run—Ohio State has been one of those teams that can give any opponent a run for their money in any given round.

Ohio State’s Final Four Appearances

In the Buckeyes’ long history playing in the March Madness tournament, they have had their fair share of success, making it all the way to the Final Four a handful of times.

Some of those appearances have resulted in wins, advancing them to the national championship game, while a majority of them have been nails in the coffin for historic seasons.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have made it to the Final Four eleven times total. In two of those stretches, they advanced to three consecutive trips to the round of four from 1944–46 as well as 1960–62.

Ohio State’s Finals Appearances

In Ohio State’s men’s basketball history, they’ve won the national championship only once—in the 1959–60 season under head coach Fred Taylor.

Taylor took his team into hostile territory as they took on the California Golden Bears in San Francisco and dominated their opposition, ultimately winning by 20 points. This championship squad featured multiple Hall of Famers, including Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and Bob Knight.

Since then, the Buckeyes have come close to repeating the success they saw in early 1960 numerous times, with two consecutive years following their championship win resulting in close, heartbreaking losses.

Ohio State’s most recent national championship appearance came only 20 years ago during the 2006–07 season under all-time winningest head coach Thad Matta. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes weren’t able to get the job done, falling to the Florida Gators 75–84.

One can only dream of another magical season that sees Ohio State make it as far as the national championship game. While their most recent tournament history is not on their side, in this age of college basketball, anything can happen.