Ohio State battles Michigan but loses in Big Ten Tournament: 16 thoughts on what's next for the Buckeyes in March Madness

Ohio State looks like an 8 or 9 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State lost by 4 points to top seed Michigan at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State took Michigan to the wire Friday afternoon in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal in Chicago before falling 71-67. Here are 16 thoughts on what happened and what’s next for the Buckeyes.

1. The Buckeyes are in the NCAA Tournament. When we did our basketball Around the Schott a month ago, Bill put Ohio State’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament at 45 percent, and I thought that was a good number. A four-game winning streak before Friday’s loss locked the Buckeyes into the bracket, so losing by 4 points to the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and the No. 3 team in the country can be viewed as a strong effort that bodes well for next week, rather than an opportunity lost. The Buckeyes easily could have been in a spot where they needed to beat the Wolverines to punch their ticket. Instead, they’re in anyway.

2. Ohio State was a 9-point underdog, with 8-point and 21-point losses to Michigan during the regular season. But in this one, the Buckeyes took their first lead at 61-60 on a Devin Royal 3-pointer with 5:40 to play. Great fight to get to that point.