Ohio State basketball crushes Rutgers to keep March Madness hopes alive

In order for the Ohio State basketball team to make the NCAA Tournament, they had to beat Rutgers on Sunday. It would put them at 19-12 overall and keep them just outside the bubble. A win wouldn’t guarantee them a spot in the field, but a loss would certainly finish any hopes they had of getting there.

Ohio State made sure there was no doubt that they would beat an inferior Rutgers team. They crushed them 73-51 after a nice run in the second half. If they had lost, the Buckeyes wouldn’t have been able to make the NCAA Tournament. This win keeps their fleeting hopes of playing in late March alive.

The Ohio State basketball team can still make the NCAA Tournament

Now that the Buckeyes beat two bad teams in their final regular season games, they still have a shot to make March Madness. Now, they just have to win a couple of games in the Big Ten Tournament. The final seeding for that hasn’t been figured out yet, but the Buckeyes still have an opportunity to get some resume-boosting wins.

With this win, the Buckeyes now don’t play until Thursday. It’s better than what they had to do last year when they had to play on Wednesday to try to make a miracle run to win the Big Ten Tourney. While they don’t quite have to win it all this year, they have to win two to get themselves on the bubble. Three wins should get them in solidly.

Jake Diebler has done a magnificent job with this team since taking over. He’s done everything he can so far to keep the job next season. If he can get this team into the NCAA Tournament, there’s no reason Ross Bjork won’t hire him. Dusty May isn’t a great enough candidate to eschew a coach who brought a team back from the dead.

Ohio State basketball fans should be excited. I know I am.