The Ohio State basketball team hasn’t even been on the court yet for the 2026-27 season, not even an exhibition, but it’s never a bad idea to keep an eye on what the national media believes we’ll see from the scarlet and gray this season. One of the things we like to stay in touch with is ESPN’s bracketology and where Joe Lunardi forecasts the Buckeyes. And on that note, he just dropped his latest NCAA Tournament projections.

A lot of the national types haven’t quite fallen in love with Ohio State, and with what we’ve seen from the program the last few years, that makes sense. However, what’s coming out of practice from the coaching staff and players — even some alumni players — sings a very optimistic tune.

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Clearly, though, Joe Lunardi needs to see more before he’s completely sold on OSU because he has the Buckeyes as a No. 8 seed. That’s one seed line up from Lunardi’s last issue of bracketology, but still doesn’t exactly give a vote of confidence for what seems like a talented roster coming back. It’s great that Ohio State made the field last year, but head coach Jake Diebler would tell you the program needs to take a forward step this year.