The selection Sunday confirmed what seems official since Wednesday for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes were left out of the 68-team NCAA Tournament by the selection committee, failing to secure one of 37 at-large bids to the Big Dance for the third straight season. Ohio State will now be invited to FOX’s College Basketball Crown tournament as one of two automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten.
THE SUPPORT #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fo6lA8hJ7g
– NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2025
This is the first time since the 2003-05 NCAA Tournaments that Ohio State has failed to make the tournament three years in a row.
The Buckeyes were projected as the No. 9 seed for the Big Dance less than a month agobut losses in five of their final seven games to close the season left them outside the bubble. While Ohio State holds a solid NET ranking of 41st with six Quad 1 wins and played the 20th toughest schedule in the country, a 17-15 overall record and struggles down the stretch were enough to keep it out. OSU finished as the third team eliminated.
The last four in and the first four out: pic.twitter.com/xvo7L61v88
– Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 16, 2025
Eight other Big Ten schools made the NCAA tournament: Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, Maryland, UCLA, Illinois and Oregon. Indiana, which beat Ohio State 66-60 during both teams’ final regular season game, joined the Buckeyes while being ruled out despite multiple projections who had the Hoosiers.
The College Basketball Crown is expected to announce its court Monday morning. The Buckeyes can decline a tournament invitation if they wish.
An Ohio State spokesperson said Eleven warriors that the Buckeyes are still weighing their options on whether to participate in the Crown. If they refuse, they will be contractually prohibited from participating in any further playoff tournaments.
