The tournament field is defined.
The state of Ohio didn’t have to worry about whether it would hear its name being called on Selection Sunday, but now its NCAA Tournament draw is officially set, as the Buckeyes have won second place and are going to play 15th place, Oral Roberts.
Ohio State’s first round game against Oral Roberts will start at 3 pm at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, and will be broadcast on CBS.
The tournament draw places Ohio State as the second place in the Southern Region along with Baylor’s first place and would match the Buckeyes to the winner of Friday’s game between 7th place in Florida and tenth place in Virginia Tech, which will play at 12:15 pm on Friday at the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The South Region! #SelectionSunday | # March madness pic.twitter.com/fHR4Gf61jU
– NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 14, 2021
Seed # 2 is the largest seed that the state of Ohio won at the NCAA Tournament since the Buckeyes won the second seed at the 2013 NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Ten Tournament title.
The state of Ohio was ranked by the selection committee as sixth overall in the tournament, behind Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, Michigan and second overall, Alabama.
The official NCAA seed list: pic.twitter.com/pphMTSCGPu
– Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 14, 2021
The State of Ohio enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 team in the KenPom classification with fourth place in the attack – behind only Gonzaga, Iowa and Baylor – but came in 79th in the adjusted defense.
The Buckeyes are one of four Big Ten teams that won No. 1 or No. 2 in the NCAA tournament, with Michigan and Illinois winning the No. 1 seed and Iowa also winning the No. 2 seed. Nine Big Ten teams in total this year at the NCAA Tournament; no other conference has more than seven teams on the field.