Buckeyes passed over for NIT invitation
After dropping an openinground Big Ten tournament game to Rutgers in Washington on Wednesday night, Ohio State coach Thad Matta didn’t commit to accepting an NIT bid should one be offered to the Buckeyes.
It turned out, it wasn’t his decision. The Buckeyes were not selected to participate in the NIT and were alongside North Carolina Asheville as the first two teams to fail to make the cut, NIT committee chairman Reggie Minton said after the brackets were unveiled Sunday night on ESPNU. An Ohio State spokesman confirmed that the season is over for the Buckeyes, who will not play in the College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com tournaments. Matta was not made available for comment.
“Both of those teams were tough decisions for us,” Minton said of the Buckeyes and Bulldogs. “They were worthy, but when we matched them up against the
other resumes of the other teams, we just felt that they came (up) a little short.”
The Buckeyes were 17-15 overall this season, finished 7-11 in the Big Ten and went 6-9 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament. They had not failed to reach the postseason during a season in which they were eligible since the 2003-04 season, when they went 14-16 overall and 6-10 in the Big Ten. Internally, the Buckeyes expected to be selected for the NIT.
Ohio State beat UNC Asheville in Value City Arena on Dec. 22 and the Bulldogs finished the season 23-9 overall and 15-3 in the Big South Conference.
Ohio State did sign and return a non-binding agreement to play in the NIT after it was sent to all Division I teams starting in late January, and Minton said no teams turned down bids. Various NIT projection sites had Ohio State as a potential No. 5 or 6 seed leading up to the selection show.
This marks the first time Matta has failed to reach 20 wins in his 17 years as a head coach and the sixth straight season of diminishing win totals for the Buckeyes. Prior to the Rutgers game, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith issued a statement affirming his support for Matta and confirmed to The Dispatch before the game that Matta will return for the 2017-18 season. He has three years remaining on his contract.
The Buckeyes were a No. 3 seed in last year’s NIT and lost to Florida in the second round. They had made seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances entering last season.
The entire roster save for lone senior Marc Loving is slated to return next season, although multiple players could test the NBA draft waters without hiring an agent and still opt to return. Junior center Trevor Thompson did so last season and seems a likely candidate to do so again after being named honorable mention all-Big Ten.
If everyone returns, Ohio State will bring back 83.1 percent of its scoring and minutes played.