Ohio State is still projected as a No. 6 seed in the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s latest projection for ESPN.
In a July 29 update, Lunardi has the Buckeyes as a No. 6 seed playing in the South region. There, Ohio State would draw a first-round matchup with No. 11 seed Memphis for the right to play the winner of a game between No. 3 seed Arizona and No. 14 seed Arkansas State in San Diego. This year, Memphis will feature former Buckeye Aaron Bradshaw, who transferred to the Tigers after one year in Columbus.
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Two months ago, Lunardi had Ohio State as a No. 4 seed in the tournament but dropped them to a No. 6 seed in his June 24 update.
The Big Ten is projected to have 11 teams make the NCAA Tournament, led by Purdue as a No. 1 seed. From there, Lunardi’s bracket includes Michigan (No. 2 seed), Illinois and UCLA (No. 4 seeds), Michigan State (5), Oregon, USC and Wisconsin (No. 7 seeds), Maryland (9) and Iowa as a No. 11 seed. The Hawkeyes are listed second among the last four teams in the tournament while Washington is the first team on the wrong side of the cut line.
Two other Big Ten teams are among the first four out: Indiana is right behind Washington while Nebraska is fourth.
Ohio State basketball head coach Jake Diebler walks past a mural of former players after speaking to media prior to an offseason practice at the Schottenstein Center on June 18, 2025.
The Buckeyes return three starters in senior Bruce Thornton, junior Devin Royal and sophomore John Mobley Jr. They have missed the last three NCAA Tournaments, finishing essentially one win away from being on the right side of the 2025 bubble, and athletic director Ross Bjork told The Dispatch in June that his expectations are for Ohio State to annually be in the top quadrant of the Big Ten and make deep NCAA Tournament runs.
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Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ESPN’s NCAA Tournament projection has Ohio State safely in the field
