Ohio State men’s basketball jumps to No. 14 in the AP Poll

Due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the Buckeye basketball program over the past week, Ohio State’s game against Kentucky was cancelled Friday afternoon. But despite not playing any games this week, Ohio State jumped one spot in the week seven AP Poll, up to No. 14.

No. 14 Ohio State (8-2, 2-0) last played on Dec. 11 when they beat No. 24 Wisconsin 73-55 at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes practiced most of last week before one player began feeling ill towards the end of the week. After he tested positive, the rest of the team had to test. These tests revealed that at least two more Buckeyes also had contracted COVID-19. Practices were stopped and both the Kentucky and UT-Martin games have been cancelled.

The hope is they can stop the spread, allow those players to recover, and return to the court Dec. 28 against New Orleans with all of their healthy players. Due to university protocols, any athlete who tests positive cannot participate in team activities for 10 days. That means any player who tested positive on or after December 18 (Saturday), would be unavailable for that game. As of now, there is at least one player who falls under that umbrella. Any additional positive tests this week would also miss the next game.

After debuting at No. 17 in the initial poll, the Buckeyes fell out of the poll due to losses to No. 18 Xavier and Florida. Since then, they’ve won four in a row, including both of their first two Big Ten matchups. KenPom currently lists Ohio State as the 15th-best team in the nation and the seventh most efficient offense.

The top five in the AP Poll remain the same from last week other than a flip of Nos. 4 and 5, with Baylor No. 1 followed by Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga, and UCLA.

Three other B1G teams were included in this week’s poll. They are: No. 3 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State, and No. 24 Wisconsin.

Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Minnesota also received votes this week but were left outside the top-25.

You can check out the full poll here: