For Ohio State, to say this season has been a disappointment would be an understatement. Last year, the Buckeyes made the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to a Villanova team that made it to the Final Four.
With a big recruiting class coming in, the Buckeyes were expected to make it to the tournament again. After a 10-3 start that featured a win against then-ranked Texas Tech, the season took a nosedive.
The Buckeyes lost 14 of their next 15 games, with their lone win against Iowa. While all seemed lost, Ohio State has shown signs of life, winning its past two games against Illinois and Maryland as the Buckeyes try to salvage something late in the season.
As bad as the season has been for Ohio State, it has been equally as bad for anyone who has bet on them.
Even after covering in the upset win against No. 21 Maryland, the Buckeyes are only 10-20 ATS for the season. It hasn’t been much easier when it comes to betting the O/U, as the over has hit in 16 of their 30 games, making the total a coin flip pretty much every game.
So, could this end-of-season two-game streak signify a magical Big Ten tournament run? That is not very likely.
At +6000, the Buckeyes have the third-lowest odds of all the Big Ten teams to win the conference tournament title. Only Wisconsin (+8000) and Nebraska (+45000) have lower odds.
The Buckeyes have won only five Big Ten games, with a final regular-season game remaining Saturday against Michigan State. In order to win the Big Ten tournament, the Buckeyes would have to win five games in five consecutive day. That is a lot to ask of any team, although Ohio State could show some positive regression and cover spreads early in the tournament.
Now, for people who want to bet on the Buckeyes, look to the future. This is a young team that has a top-10 recruiting class coming in. The 2023 Big 10 tournament is not the play, but betting on Ohio State in 2023-24 could be a different story.
