The Buckeyes gather up during a dead ball in the first half of the game against Iowa on Feb. 10 in the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Another top-three win for Ohio State led to another jump in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State rose six spots to No. 8, its highest ranking since it was ranked No. 3 on Jan. 6, 2014. The Buckeyes beat then-No. 3 Purdue 64-63 on the road on Wednesday, giving the team its second top-three win of the season after it beat then-No. 1 Michigan State 80-64 at home on Jan. 7. The Boilermakers are now No. 6 while the Spartans sit at No. 2. No. 22 Michigan also joins the other three Big Ten teams in the rankings.
The Buckeyes currently sit at 22-5 overall and 13-1 in Big Ten play, just one season removed from finishing 17-15 overall with a 7-11 conference record. They missed both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.
In the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s first release of its current seeding on Sunday, Ohio State was listed as a No. 4 seed in the east regional with No. 1 Villanova, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Texas Tech. The list was only a look at how the tournament would shape up if seeded Sunday and does not reflect how the official bracket will actually turn out.
Ohio State will attempt to avenge its only Big Ten loss Thursday when it travels to State College, Pennsylvania, to face Penn State at 8 p.m.
