Despite the speculation of many Buckeye fans that their beloved team was “snubbed” from the NCAA Tournament, I, a Buckeye fan myself, have to disagree.
The Buckeyes were simply undeserving of an at-large bid. When you look at their resume compared to the other “bubble teams”, they really shouldn’t be surprised. They failed to win 20 games, went 10-8 in a very mediocre at best Big 10, and finished 2-9 against the RPI Top 100.
Though the selections of Baylor and Oregon are questionable, after you compare conference records and the strength of the conference, turns out this committee, who supposedly lacks good decision making skills was right.
Baylor should get in, and not simply because they haven’t been to the tourney since the Ronald Reagan term, but because they went 9-7, good for 4th place, in a very tough Big 12, which features 6 tourney teams, including a 1 and a 2 seed. Baylor finished the season with an RPI of 43, higher than the Buckeyes’ RPI of 49.
Despite a weaker RPI, the Bears still had more wins against the Top 100, which overthrows the weaker SOS and launches them into the tournament.
But still, how can Oregon, who finished 18-13 and 9-9 in conference play, make it in over the Buckeyes? Although their RPI is 58, and they have a SOS of 43, they won 9 games in a much tougher conference and had more wins against the Top 100. Those wins included victories over Kansas State, Stanford, two over Arizona, and two over Arizona State. All the Buckeyes can boast is wins over Syracuse, Florida, Purdue, and Michigan State.
It might still sound even, but when you look at the fact that the Buckeyes lost to lowly Iowa, Michigan, and even Minnesota, it might just be the reason for their demise.
Not to sound like a Cubs season ticket holder, but there is always next year.
Hope springs eternal, except in March.
Tags: bubble team, buckeyes, ncaa tournament, ohio state
