WITN?: Ohio State basketball drops out of the AP Top 25

"For the second time this season, Ohio State has fallen out of the AP poll."

In what can hardly be considered a surprise, the Ohio State basketball team has fallen out of the AP basketball poll. The move comes on the heels of yesterday’s uninspiring loss to Michigan in which the Buckeyes went down 20 before rallying to lose by a mere 7 points. Ohio State’s 12 points in this week’s poll are good enough for 30th, which isn’t good, but is still better than the 42nd spot that Ohio State occupied earlier this winter.

Ohio State will have two opportunities to earn its way back into the poll this week with winnable games against Nebraska and Purdue. Though, as this season has shown, nothing is a sure thing with this edition of the Ohio State basketball team.

No post match press conference. We had 4 bright spots and 6 others who forgot how hard a man must fight to win a match. Big Ten's next. #wt3

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) February 21, 2015

Much of the talk in the lead-up to the NWCA national duals surrounded the Ohio State team and its potential semifinal and finals match-ups with Missouri and Iowa. Then, a funny thing happened. The Buckeyes lost six of ten matches to Lehigh in the quarterfinal and failed to advance. Ohio State’s four captains (Logan Stieber, Nathan Tomasello, Bo Jordan, and Kyle Snyder) all won convincingly. The rest of Ohio State’s lineup failed to register a single offensive point: no takedowns, no nearfall, nothing but escapes. The result? A 21-18 loss and an early exit.

The result was especially disappointing for an Ohio State team that considers 2015 its best shot at a national championship. What was particularly disheartening was the way the non-captains performed. If the Buckeyes are going to challenge for a title come March, they’re going to need one or two of them to step up. Saturday’s result has to leave you questioning if they’re up to the task. The Buckeyes have two weeks to lick their wounds, then it’s time for the Big Ten tournament in Columbus, Ohio. That tournament will go a long way toward showing us what the story of this season will be. Will it be about promise going unfulfilled or will it be about overcoming adversity and achieving a a goal? only time will tell.

#11 Lehigh – 21
#3 Ohio State – 18

125 - Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) over Scott Parker (Lehigh) Dec 10-3 | OSU 3, Lehigh 0

133 - Mason Beckman (Lehigh) over Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) Dec 1-0 | OSU 3, Lehigh 3

141 - Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall 4:52 | OSU 9, Lehigh 3

149 - Drew Longo (Lehigh) over Randall Languis (Ohio State) TB-1 2-1 | OSU 9, Lehigh 6

157 - Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh) over Josh Demas (Ohio State) Dec 3-1 | OSU 9, Lehigh 9

165 - Bo Jordan (Ohio State) over Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) TF 22-6 | OSU 14, Lehigh 9

174 - Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) over Mark Martin (Ohio State) Dec 4-2 | OSU 14, Lehigh 12

184 - Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) over Kenny Courts (Ohio State) Fall 3:30 | Lehigh 18, OSU 14

197 - Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) Maj 9-1 | OSU 18, Lehigh 18

285 - Douglas Vollaro (Lehigh) over Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) SV-2 4-2 | Lehigh 21, OSU 18

Neglected to pt this out earlier: L at Mich eliminated #Buckeyes from chance to share Big Ten title with Wis. 5 behind, 4 to play. #buckbk

— Bob Baptist (@BBaptistHoops) February 23, 2015

If we can go back for a minute to the Ohio State Basketball team spiraling out of control, what we’ve always kind of known is now official. The Ohio State Buckeyes will not be this year’s Big Ten Champion. Sunday’s loss to Michigan officially eliminated the squad from contention. That means Ohio State’s only shot to earn free commemorative T-shirts this season will come in the Big Ten tournament.

Getting eliminated from contention this early sucks. Getting eliminated by Michigan sucks. But hey, at least we always win in November, right?

In case this hasn't been reported anywhere, Ohio State football's Pro Day this year will be March 13th. (Hat tip @BuckeyeNotes.)

— Lori Schmidt (@LoriSchmidt) February 23, 2015

With the combine winding down are you concerned that you might not have another chance to watch NFL draft hopefuls work out in shorts? Fear not! There will be at least one more opportunity. Ohio State’s Pro Day will be held right here in Columbus on March 13. There will be forty yard dashes, shuttle runs, and all the broad jumps that you could ever ask for as Ohio State’s aspiring NFLers run through workouts for scouts from all over the country. There is no word yet on if and where the Pro Day will be broadcast, so keep it tuned to LGHL for any updates.

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