The Ohio State men’s basketball program has a more difficult road than ever to reach the NCAA Tournament in an expanded 18-team Big Ten. Can the Buckeyes get back to the Big Dance in 2025?
OSU hoops followers and Ohio sports betting customers are on the edge regarding that question, as the Buckeyes are 10-6 overall, 2-3 in the league going into tonight’s game (Jan. 14) at Wisconsin.
At BetOhio.com, we explore the possibilities and assign odds for whether Ohio State will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022.
Percentage Chance | Odds | |
Yes | 56.5% | -130 |
No | 43.5% | +130 |
These odds are offered solely at BetOhio.com, where we cover college sports and their pro counterparts as well as giving you the best Ohio sportsbook promo codes when you sign up with an operator.
Of Ohio State’s 10 wins, the most impressive was an 85-65 rout of Kentucky on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden in New York. That was one of only three losses for the Wildcats, who are No. 8 in the current Associated Press top 25 poll.
That’s the big highlight on OSU’s resume. The bad news is, the Buckeyes are 0-4 against the other currently ranked opponents that they have played, having lost to Texas A&M, Auburn, Michigan State and Big Ten newcomer Oregon. According to stats.ncaa.org, their only Quad 1 win other than Kentucky was in the opener over Texas. OSU’s current NET ranking is No. 29.
Ohio State has +15000 odds to win the Big Ten regular-season title at bet365 Ohio Sportsbook, tied for 12th on the operator’s board. Michigan is the favorite at +185 odds, followed by Michigan State at +260.
The bracketmatrix.com website complies dozens of bracket projections from various websites and averages them to see where various teams stand in the big picture as far as qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
As of Jan. 14, Ohio State is listed as a No. 10 seed, with wildly diverging projections. Among the 51 bracket projections aggregated at the website, the Buckeyes are as high as a No. 8 seed and as low as a No. 12 – then there are four projections that omit OSU entirely.
But our odds give OSU a 56% chance of making the field. There is a long way to go before Selection Sunday and Coach Jake Diebler’s team has nine current Quad 1 opponents ahead of them.
OSU’s odds of winning the national title are +15000 at BetMGM Ohio Sportsbook.
USA Today photo by Joseph Maiorana
Author
Ohio native Jim Tomlin has 30 years of experience in journalism, mostly in sports. He lends his expertise to BetOhio.com as a writer and editor after previous experience at the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
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