Ohio State projected as No. 2 seed in 2022 NCAA Tournament by Joe Lundardi
It’s been just over two weeks since the 2020-21 college basketball season ended with Baylor taking down undefeated Gonzaga in the championship game. Across the country, spring football practices are just coming to an end as well, setting the stage for a summer of speculation and talk in both sports.
The talk about the 2021-22 college basketball season has already begun. From an Ohio State perspective, the Buckeyes are already projected to be a top-10 team next year by most of the top national college basketball experts. Now add some more expectations on the Scarlet and Gray.
On Tuesday, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his 2022 NCAA Tournament Bracketology and he projects Ohio State to be among the top seeds in next year’s March Madness. Lunardi has the Buckeyes as a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance in the West Region, facing Coastal Carolina in the first round. He puts the Scarlet and Gray in the same bracket with No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga and facing the winner of Virginia Tech and Colorado State in the second round.
Based on Lunardi’s initial bracketology, the top four teams in the country by the time next season ends will be the Bulldogs, UCLA, Alabama and Kansas, all the No. 1 seeds. Joining Ohio State on the No. 2 seed line are Lunardi’s Big Ten champion Michigan, fellow conference foe Purdue and Villanova. The other Big Ten teams Lunardi has in the field are No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Michigan State, No. 7 Indiana, No. 8 Illinois and No. 11 Northwestern, projecting another strong year for the conference in college basketball.
If Lunardi is correct and the Buckeyes are a No. 2 seed, Scarlet and Gray fans will hope next year’s NCAA Tournament goes better than this past season when, despite taking on a No. 15 seed in the first round, Ohio State fell 75-72 to Oral Roberts in overtime. The only saving grace for the Buckeyes was that the Golden Eagles went on to beat Florida in the next round before falling in the Sweet 16.
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The Scarlet and Gray are not a team that will surprise anyone in 2021-22. After climbing as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll and finishing fifth in the Big Ten standings before making it to the conference championship game, Chris Holtmann‘s team returns the bulk of the talent from last year’s roster. While point guard CJ Walker (pro) and guard Musa Jallow (transfer) departed the program, forward Kyle Young announced he would return for his fifth season at Ohio State and the Buckeyes added Penn State transfer guard Jamari Wheeler and Indiana center Joey Brunk to the roster. Both forward EJ Liddell and guard Duane Washington put their names in for the NBA Draft, but it would be a surprise if those players did not return to Columbus for next season.
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