The Ohio State Basketball team has a favorable schedule down the stretch with March Madness looming. Can they make a run to the tournament? 

Ohio State Has Had A Very Up and Down Season So Far But Have A Lot To Play For

The Ohio State Men’s basketball team currently sits at 14-10 and is 6-7 in conference play after a tough 79-71 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers earlier this week. The Buckeyes have had some very winnable games slip away this season, but also have some very solid wins.

The scarlet and gray have a handful of great wins and have beaten the likes of Texas, Kentucky, Purdue, and Maryland. They also have suffered some close losses, falling to Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin.

With March madness not too far away, the Buckeyes have some favorable matchups down the stretch and have plenty of chances to boost their resume. For a team that has not gone dancing the past two years, they have a really solid chance to end that drought if they can pick up some winnable games down the stretch.

Three-Game Home Stand On Deck

Ohio State has three home games in nine days as they return from a road loss where they very well could have pulled out a win. The Buckeyes will welcome Washington. TTUN and Northwestern over their next three contests with just seven regular-season games remaining.

The Washington Huskies are just one game above .500 on the year at 12-11 and are 3-9 in conference play this season. They have just one win on the road, and this is simply a must-win for the Buckeyes if they want to go dancing and pick up some momentum for the remaining stretch.

If they can win that game, they gain some confidence and head into the lone meeting with the rival TTUN. TTUN will be arguably the hardest game left on the schedule as they are 18-5 overall, 10-2 in conference play, and 5-2 on the road. A win in this big game would really bode well for the rest of the season.

To end the three-game homestand Northwestern comes to town, boasting a 13-11 record and just 4-9 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have yet to beat a team on the road, touting an 0-7 away from home. It seems vital that Ohio State wins at least two of these three home games, and they have a very good shot to win all three depending on how the rivalry game goes. Winning at least two of these games would bode well given their trip out west following this stretch.

Winning Away From Columbus in the Wild Wild West

Following the favorable stretch at the Schottenstein Center, the Buckeyes will travel west for two games in four days against UCLA and USC, followed by a home game against Nebraska and a road contest at Indiana to end the regular season.

UCLA will be a very tough contest given the time change and the fact that they are 18-6, 9-4 in Big Ten play, and have lost just one game at home on the year. Realistically, this is a game the Buckeyes would need to be on their A-game to have a solid shot at walking out with a victory.

The USC game three days after will be a more favorable matchup for Jake Diebler’s side USC sits just below the Buckeyes in the conference standings at 5-7. The Trojans are 13-10 overall and have dropped five games at home this season. Splitting the two contests out west would be a win for the Buckeyes heading into the final two matchups of conference play.

The final two games involve familiar foes, and the only two teams Ohio State plays twice in the regular season. There are just five games for the Buckeyes in between matchups with Nebraska, and the Buckeyes will look to get their revenge at home after returning from the west coast trip. Nebraska is currently also 6-7 in the Big Ten like the Bucks but is slightly better overall at 16-8. They are 4-5 on the road, and this game should be a good one after the 79-71 Cornhuskers win the first time around went back and forth.

To cap off the year Ohio State will welcome the Indiana Hoosiers, who they lost a heartbreaker to 77-76 in mid-January in Columbus. The Hoosiers are just below the scarlet and gray in conference play at 5-8 but boast the same 14-10 record. The Hoosiers have been very solid at home winning 11 out of 14, and this will be a challenging matchup, to say the least.

With plenty of winnable games to end the year, I believe this team can win the next three during their home stretch. Three wins would bode well heading out west, where I think best case they go 1-1. I also expect them to go 1-1 when they play Nebraska and Indiana to end the year, meaning they go 5-2 in their remaining games. I could see them also going 4-3 or 3-4, but the best case is 5-2 in my opinion. A solid end to the year and winning a game or two in the Big Ten tournament, where they have performed well in recent years, should be more than enough to get the Buckeyes into the tournament. From there, hopefully, they can get a favorable matchup and make some noise by going on a run, just like the football team did.