Big Ten Tournament: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Preview, How to Watch & Betting Odds

The Ohio State Buckeyes had their first losing season since the 2003-04 season, but believe it or not, still have an opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament.

Casey Smith | Mar 7, 2023

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Ohio State Buckeyes

Playtime is over. Now, it's win or go home.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-18, 5-15 Big Ten) open Big Ten Tournament play as a No. 13 seed against the No. 12-seed Wisconsin Badgers (17-13, 9-11 Big Ten) Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago.

The two met earlier this season in a disastrous start for the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin raced out to a 16-point lead at halftime in a first half that saw Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann get ejected, but they weren't out of the game.

Ohio State rode a 13-0 run across a 5:45 span late in the second half, but three free throws in the final 30 seconds sealed the Badgers' victory.

Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian led all scorers with 17 in that game, but Holtmann pointed to guard Chucky Hepburn and forwards Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl as other players to watch on the Badgers. Wisconsin's quartet all average at least 11 points each.

In the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes have had mixed results the past two seasons.

Two years ago, they won three games in a row to get to the title game before losing an overtime thriller to the Illinois Fighting Illini. However, last year, Ohio State was bounced in its first game of the tournament against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The 13 seeds have won four of the seven games against the 12 seeds since the conference expanded to 14 teams in 2015.

Ohio State needs to win the conference tournament to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Since 2015, there have been two No. 13 seeds — Penn State in 2015 and Nebraska in 2019 — which have made it to Friday's Quarterfinals, but neither advanced. The lowest seed to appear in the Big Ten Championship game was No. 8-seed Michigan, which won the 2017 tournament.

Game Information: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: United Center

Betting Via SI Sportsbook: TBD

Moneyline: TBD

Over/Under: TBD

TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network, FuboTV

Radio: The Ohio State Sports Network

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