Ohio State men’s basketball jumps to No. 16 in AP Poll, Auburn claims top spot

Sometimes doing nothing at all can be good for you, at least in terms of AP Poll standing, that is. After clocking in at No. 19 during last week’s AP Poll, Ohio State (12-4, 5-2) beat the breaks off of a really bad IUPUI team 83-47 on Tuesday in front of a sparse home crowd. That game was thrown onto the schedule just eight days ahead of time in an effort to make up for the three games that were missed in December while several members of the team dealt with COVID-19.

But after beating the Jaguars at home, the Buckeyes were not given an opportunity to extend their unbeaten streak at home to 10 when last-place Nebraska (6-13, 0-8) announced Thursday afternoon that they would not have enough players to travel to Columbus Saturday to play the Buckeyes due to COVID-19 illnesses on the roster. The Big Ten will attempt to reschedule this game, but it appears to be a toss-up — at best — if the Buckeyes will see the Cornhuskers again this season.

But their 1-0 week combined with eight teams ranked above them losing has helped bump the Buckeyes up in the poll this week, up three spots to No. 16.

No, beating an IUPUI team that has not beaten a Division-I opponent yet this season was not what boosted the Buckeyes in the polls. Instead it was the shifting of the teams directly above and below them that helped nudge the Buckeyes up — in addition to the fact that Ohio State avoided losing a game last week. However, the No. 16 team in the country will have a chance to prove themselves this upcoming week with road games at Minnesota and No. 6 Purdue.

After their road victory over No. 12 Kentucky, the Auburn Tigers jumped Gonzaga for the top spot in the AP Poll. It is the first time in program history that the Tigers have ever held the No. 1 spot in the poll. Arizona held steady at No. 3, with the top-five being rounded out by Baylor and Kansas.

Four other B1G teams were ranked this week. They are: No. 6 Purdue, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 10 Michigan State, and No. 24 Illinois.

Indiana and Iowa received votes but were left outside the top-25. No. 16 Ohio State’s next game is Thursday night at 8:00 at Minnesota (11-5, 2-5).

You can check out the full poll here or below: