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Bubbles popping?
Ohio State's at-large hopes took a hit on Thursday after a blowout loss to Northwestern. Though it wasn't the only surprise loss of the night as several conference leaders lost, including Big West power UC Irvine. Plus, another coaching legend to retire, and the storylines to watch this weekend.
Tristan Freeman
February 21, 2025
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Good news! You made it to the weekend. Better news? There are two Top 10 matchups this weekend, and a Big Ten showdown for first place tonight.
March really is right around the corner. Let’s dive in.
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1. Ohio State’s NCAA tourney hopes take a hit
Ohio State entered Thursday’s game vs. Northwestern as one of the Last 4 In for our Fielding the 68 NCAA Tournament projection. Take care of business at home, and the Buckeyes would stay on the right side of the bubble.
Didn’t happen. They led for the first few minutes, but got blown out, 70-49.
It was a miserable effort for Ohio State (15-12, 7-9 in Big Ten), both for its advanced metrics and actual losses. It’s a Quad 2 setback and was such a poor performance that forward Micah Parrish was asked if the team quit in the second half. Coach Jake Diebler is just focused on avoiding future performances like that.
Diebler: "The biggest thing for us, we have to make sure this doesn't happen again. This is a mentally tough team. I don't anticipate this happening again."
— Connor Lemons (@lemons_connor)
2:18 AM • Feb 21, 2025
Things don’t get any easier for the Buckeyes as they head West to face USC and UCLA, starting on Sunday. Both would be Quad 1 opportunities but they now must win at least one to remain on the bubble. And that’s a road swing that’s got the best of Michigan State just a few weeks ago.
For Northwestern (14-13, 5-11), this was a needed win for them to stay in the mix to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. It’s now half a game behind Iowa for 15th place. Nick Martinelli had 18 points to lead all scorers for the Wildcats, while Ty Berry and KJ Windham each had 15.
2. Big West at-large bid bummer + more results
The Big West’s hasn’t earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids since 2005 (when Utah State was still in the league). But amid its strongest season since 2016, there’s a chance that both UC San Diego and UC Irvine could earn spots in the Big Dance.
