Buckeyes punch ticket to NCAA Tournament, earn No. 8 seed in East Region

COLUMBUS — For the first time in four seasons, Ohio State has punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament: the Buckeyes are officially in the Big Dance.

Ohio State will be the No. 8 seed in the East Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will travel to Greenville, South Carolina for the Round of 64 and Round of 32. The Buckeyes will face No. 9 seed TCU with the winner moving on to face the winner of No. 1 seed Duke and No. 16 seed Siena.

On the bubble for most of the entire regular season, Ohio State won its final three regular-season games, including an upset win over Purdue, to move off the bubble and safely into the field of 68. The win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament third round further pushed the Buckeyes ahead into the No. 8 seed of the Big Dance.

Making the tournament this season is a huge accomplishment for plenty of reasons, most notably for second-year head coach Jake Diebler. By early February, Diebler had some thinking he could be on the hot seat if his team missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year under his leadership and fourth straight overall. But he weathered the midseason storm, leading the Buckeyes into postseason play.

Of course, it’s also huge for senior point guard Bruce Thornton, who became the program’s all-time scoring leader in the regular-season finale against Indiana. Thornton is one of two players in Big Ten history to have at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists, the other being former Penn State guard Taylor Battle. Thornton will make his NCAA Tournament debut this week, finally reaching the Big Dance after missing out on tournament action in his first three seasons.

So after years of mediocrity, Ohio State is now back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. It’s a big accomplishment for Diebler, for Thornton and for the program.

All that’s left to do for the Buckeyes: make a March Madness run now that they’re in the field.