The Big Ten Tournament opens up play on Wednesday when the 13-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (13-18, 11-20 ATS, 5-15 Big Ten) take on the 12-seed Wisconsin Badgers (17-13, 13-16-1 ATS, 9-11 Big Ten). Ohio State ended the season losing at Michigan State 84-78, but covered as 6.5-point dogs. Wisconsin closed the year with a win at Minnesota 71-67, but did not cover as 5.5-point favorites. These teams met earlier this season with Wisconsin winning by 5 at Ohio State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 ET from the United Center in Chicago, and can be found on the Big Ten Network. The winner will advance to take on the 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the 13-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, ahead of only Minnesota. The Buckeyes have has a season to forget, as they only won five conference games. Two of those wins came in the last few games, as they were able to beat Illinois and Maryland over the past two weeks. In their last game, the Buckeyes were led by freshman Brice Sensabaugh with 21 points in the loss to Michigan State.
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Sensabaugh led all freshmen in the Big Ten in scoring with 16.5 PPG. The 6'6 wing was also the top scorer for the Buckeyes in what might potentially be his only season with the team before turning pro. Sensabaugh has scored 20 or more in three of his last five games. Justice Sueing is another scoring wing for Ohio State, the 6'6 senior adds 12.0 PPG and has a strong midrange game. Sueing has scored 10 or more in his last three games. Bruce Thornton is a 6'2 freshman who adds 10.0 PPG from the perimeter for the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes lost their best post player, Zed Key, to a season ending shoulder injury near the end of the season. Sensabaugh, Sueing and Key were all named given honorable mention status on the Big Ten postseason awards, while Sensabaugh also made the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Ohio State is ranked 57th overall by KenPom, which is 11th best in the Big Ten. Their offense is ranked 22nd in efficiency, while their def ense is ranked 122nd. Ohio State is currently not projected to be included in the NCAA Tournament, and would likely need to win the Big Ten Tournament to get in.
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