COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three teams from Ohio were named participants in the 2022 NCAA Tournament during the March Madness Selection Show on Sunday.
The University of Akron and Wright State University secured their spots in the tournament by winning their respective conference tournaments, while Ohio State was awarded a spot as an at-large bid.
Meanwhile, the University of Dayton was named the first replacement team that would replace any team in the tournament that would need to be pulled from competition due to COVID-19 protcols.
Ohio State University Buckeyes
No. 7 Ohio State will play No. 10 Loyola Chicago in Pittsburgh on March 18 in the South Region.
Ohio State dropped out of the AP Top 25 at the end of the regular season and saw an earlier-than-expected exit from the Big 10 Tournament, but that did not keep the Buckeyes out of the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes finished in sixth place in the Big 10 regular season standings. Ohio State lost in the second round of the conference tournament, the first game for the Buckeyes, to Penn State, 71-68.
It is Ohio State’s 35th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes have made 11 Final Four appearances and won a national title in 1960. Ohio State last made the tournament in 2021.
Let’s Dance 😁 pic.twitter.com/u399cbp9Hk
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 13, 2022
Loyola Chicago won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after finishing in second place in the MVC regular season. The Ramblers defeated MVC regular season champion Northern Iowa in the MVC semifinals, 66-43; and then Drake in the finals, 64-58.
Wright State University Raiders
Wright State will play in the First Four in Dayton at UD Arena on March 18 versus Bryant University. The two teams will play to be the No. 16 seed in South Region.
The winner will travel to San Diego to play No. 1 Arizona.
Wright State was the first Ohio team to clinch its spot in March Madness, defeating Northern Kentucky University, 72-71 in the Horizon League Tournament.
After finishing in fourth place in the Horizon League regular season, the Raiders defeated Oakland in the quarterfinals, 75-63; and Horizon League regular season champion Cleveland State in the semifinals, 82-67.
It is Wright State’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2018.
LET’S DANCE! #RaiderUP | #MarchMadness | #RaiderFamily pic.twitter.com/Khw6aba4oU
— Wright State Men’s Basketball (@WSU_MBB) March 13, 2022
The Bulldogs (22-9) were both the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament champions. Bryant defeated Wagner in the NEC Tournament final, 70-43, in a game that had a long delay in the second half due to a fight that broke out among the students in the stands.
University of Akron Zips
No. 13 Akron plays No. 4 UCLA in Portland, Oregon in the East Region on March 17.
Akron finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference in the regular season.
The Zips clinched their spot in the NCAA Tournament by defeating archrival Kent State, which defeated the Zips twice in the regular season, 75-55.
Akron got to the championship game defeating Buffalo, 70-68; and MAC regular-season champions, Toledo, 70-62.
It is Akron’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2013.
💃💃It’s Official… your Akron @ZipsMBB earned a 13 seed the 2022 NCAA Tournament against 4 seed UCLA in Portland #NCAATournament #MarchMadness #GoZips pic.twitter.com/ZDJh8dezcw
— Akron Zips Athletics | #FindAWay (@AkronZips) March 13, 2022
UCLA finished second in both the PAC-12 Tournament and regular season, finishing behind Arizona both times. The Bruins lost to Arizona in the PAC-12 championship game, 84-76. UCLA finished No. 13 in the AP Top-25 Poll at the end of the regular season.
First Four in Dayton
Rutgers and Notre Dame will play to be the No. 11 seed, and the winner will play No. 6 Alabama in San Diego in the West Region.
Texas Southern will play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the No. 16 seed in the Midwest, and the winner will play No. 1 Kansas in Fort Worth, Texas.
Wyoming and Indiana will play to claim the No. 12 seed in the East Region, and the winner will play No. 5 St. Mary’s in Portland, Oregon.
Replacement teams (First four out)
- University of Dayton
- University of Oklahoma
- Southern Methodist University
- Texas A&M