Vote now for Ohio State’s best basketball team
“Ohio State Alumni Magazine” is running our own March Madness tourney, seeding teams that made the Final Four since 1960.
Voting has closed for our Buckeye Madness tournament. The winner will be revealed in our spring magazine and on this website come April.
And then there were two.
After two rounds of voting in two weeks, readers have narrowed down our Buckeye Madness tournament to the ultimate two. The No. 1-seeded 1960 men scored a resounding defeat against … basically themselves, defeating the No. 3-seed 1961 men with a resounding 89.2 percent of the vote. They’ll take on the 2007 men’s team, who faced Katie Smith’s 1993 women’s team and a significantly tighter competition. For much of last week, it was a race too close to call, but on the final day of voting, the 2007 team pulled ahead. They’re advancing to the final with 54.9 percent of the vote.
Who is Ohio State’s champion? You tell us.
The winner will be revealed in the spring issue of Ohio State Alumni Magazine and on this website on March 31.
No. 1 seed: 1960 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Champion
Ohio State’s lone national champ in basketball, this squad boasted three future Hall of Famers in sophomores Jerry Lucas ’62, John Havlicek ’62 and Bobby Knight ’62. (Not a starter on this squad, Knight would build his resume years later stalking the sidelines as three-time national champion coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.) Coached by Fred Taylor ’50, the squad excelled at defense and blitzed opponents with a fast break initiated by Lucas’ outlet passing. The 1960 team blew through the tournament with a 19.5-point average margin of victory.
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No. 4 seed: 2007 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (9-point margin of defeat)
In 2006, coach Thad Matta brought in a highly touted recruiting class led by Indiana high-school teammates Greg Oden ’19, ’24 MSPCOACH and Mike Conley Jr. Powered by the so-called Thad Five, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. The team’s tournament run included thrilling victories over Xavier and Tennessee, eventually coming to an end at the hands of the reigning champion Florida Gators.
Voting results will be revealed in April.
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The Final Four round
The votes are in—and we have learned that Buckeyes sure seem to like chalk. “Picking chalk” in the sports world means betting on the favorites in a particular match, and if you were the wagering sort, that strategy would have paid off in our first round. The higher seed advanced in all four matchups.
The No. 1-seeded 1960 men fared best, garnering more than 90 percent of the vote against the plucky underdogs of 1968. The closest contest occurred in the “Thad Matta” region of the bracket where the 2007 men’s team tallied 60 percent of the vote against the 2012 men’s team. (The Aaron Craft factor surely played a part here.)
The semifinals boast two intriguing matchups:
- The 1960 men’s team will face off against a near doppelganger of itself in the 1961 men’s squad. It returned four starters from the previous year’s championship-winning squad. But don’t discount that ’61 team in your next round of voting—they lost only one game (and in overtime to boot) the entire season. Unfortunately that one game was the very last one for that year’s championship.
- The No. 2 vs. No. 4 matchup boasts two national runners-up in the 1993 women and the 2007 men. Both were great teams boasting future professional stars who ran into historically great teams in the final game. The 2007 Florida Gators, for instance, had six future NBA players on the team.
As with last round, vote with your head or your heart. And come back next week to see who has survived to the final match.
No. 1 seed: 1960 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Champion
Ohio State’s lone national champ in basketball, this squad boasted three future Hall of Famers in sophomores Jerry Lucas ’62, John Havlicek ’62 and Bobby Knight ’62. (Not a starter on this squad, Knight would build his resume years later stalking the sidelines as three-time national champion coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.) Coached by Fred Taylor ’50, the squad excelled at defense and blitzed opponents with a fast break initiated by Lucas’ outlet passing. The 1960 team blew through the tournament with a 19.5-point average margin of victory.
vs.
No. 3 seed: 1961 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (5-point margin of defeat)
The 1960-61 men’s squad returned four starters from the previous year’s championship-winning squad. Once again led by Lucas, who earned College Player of the Year honors, the Bucks demolished the Big Ten during the regular season and headed to the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record. The squad fell in a thrilling overtime final game to another Ohio college basketball powerhouse of the time—the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Voting results:
1960 Men: 89.2 percent (397 votes)
1961 Men: 10.8 percent (48 votes)
No. 2 seed: 1993 Women
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (2-point margin of defeat)
Led by talented freshman (and future Hall of Famer) Katie Smith ’08, ’14 MS, ’22 DRH and buoyed by a close-knit group of seniors, the hard-nosed, defense-minded Buckeyes spent much of the regular season ranked in the Top 10. The team entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, earning a trip to the finals with narrow victories over Virginia and Iowa. The Buckeyes threw an aggressive trapping zone defense against Texas Tech in the finals. Unfortunately for us, future Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes managed to break down the Ohio State defense for a then-record 47 points, leading Tech to a narrow victory.
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No. 4 seed: 2007 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (9-point margin of defeat)
In 2006, coach Thad Matta brought in a highly touted recruiting class led by Indiana high-school teammates Greg Oden ’19, ’24 MSPCOACH and Mike Conley Jr. Powered by the so-called Thad Five, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. The team’s tournament run included thrilling victories over Xavier and Tennessee, eventually coming to an end at the hands of the reigning champion Florida Gators.
Voting results:
1993 Women: 45.1 percent (200 votes)
2007 Men: 54.9 percent (243 votes)
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The Elite Eight round
For college basketball fans, March is the best time of the year as the Big Dance—aka the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments—comes to dominate the sports landscape. The brainchild of then-Ohio State men’s basketball coach Harold Olsen, the NCAA championship tournament began in 1939 as a rival to the more popular National Invitational Tournament. Olsen’s Buckeyes were one of the first eight participants, falling in the final to the Oregon then-Webfoots. (Ohio State would get its revenge 56 years later by defeating Oregon in the final of the very first playoff in another sport—football.)
To celebrate the Madness that is March, we seeded the eight men’s and women’s Ohio State squads that made it to the Final Four since 1960 in a bracket of our own. (We only chose teams from the era when the NCAA Tournament was the preeminent college basketball tournament in the land, so the ’39 Bucks and a few teams from the ’40s didn’t make the cut. Sorry, Coach Olsen!) Teams were seeded based on how far they advanced in the tournament and their eventual margin of defeat.
Now, here’s the part where you come in, dear readers: You can choose which teams advance to the next round. Use your scarlet and gray heart to vote for your favorite teams or tally up team approaches and strengths and compare—whatever feels best to you. Then click on the polls below each matchup to vote for the squad that you believe deserves to move on. Come back next week to see who is still dancing.
No. 1 seed: 1960 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Champion
Ohio State’s lone national champ in basketball, this squad boasted three future Hall of Famers in sophomores Jerry Lucas ’62, John Havlicek ’62 and Bobby Knight ’62. (Not a starter on this squad, Knight would build his resume years later stalking the sidelines as three-time national champion coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.) Coached by Fred Taylor ’50, the squad excelled at defense and blitzed opponents with a fast break initiated by Lucas’ outlet passing. The 1960 team blew through the tournament with a 19.5-point average margin of victory.
vs.
No. 8 seed: 1968 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Final Four (14-point margin of defeat)
Few would have expected the 1968 Buckeyes to even make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament that year, let alone make it to the Final Four. Picked to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten, the Taylor-coached team lost its star player, Jeff Miller ’70, before the season started. But the underdog Bucks rallied around All-Big Ten big man Bill Hosket ’68 and managed to win the league and make a run in the tourney, ultimately falling to North Carolina. During this era, the losing Final Four teams would play a consolation game, in which the Buckeyes prevailed over Houston.
Voting results of this matchup:
1960 Men: 91 percent (372 votes)
1968 Men: 9 percent (37)
(Note: The results of all four matchups include votes cast on Instagram and X.)
No. 2 seed: 1993 Women
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (2-point margin of defeat)
Led by talented freshman (and future Hall of Famer) Katie Smith ’08, ’14 MS, ’22 DRH and buoyed by a close-knit group of seniors, the hard-nosed, defense-minded Buckeyes spent much of the regular season ranked in the Top 10. The team entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, earning a trip to the finals with narrow victories over Virginia and Iowa. The Buckeyes threw an aggressive trapping zone defense against Texas Tech in the finals. Unfortunately for us, future Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes managed to break down the Ohio State defense for a then-record 47 points, leading Tech to a narrow victory.
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No. 7 seed: 1999 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Final Four (6-point margin of defeat)
The 1999 squad was a surprise participant in the Final Four, emerging as a No. 4 seed from the South Regional. Led by spark-plug point guard Scoonie Penn ’01 and future NBA All-Star Michael Redd ’15, these Buckeyes gelled at just the right moment in the Big Dance, beating talented Auburn and St. John’s squads on the road to the Final Four before ultimately falling to eventual national champion UConn. Unfortunately, Ohio State later vacated nearly the entire season due to recruiting violations by head coach Jim O’Brien.
Voting results:
1993 Women: 62.3 percent (250 votes)
1999 Men: 37.7 percent (151 votes)
No. 3 seed: 1961 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (5-point margin of defeat)
The 1960-61 men’s squad returned four starters from the previous year’s championship-winning squad. Once again led by Lucas, who earned College Player of the Year honors, the Bucks demolished the Big Ten during the regular season and headed to the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record. The squad fell in a thrilling overtime final game to another Ohio college basketball powerhouse of the time—the Cincinnati Bearcats.
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No. 6 seed: 1962 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (12-point margin of defeat)
Motivated by their loss in the championship game the previous year, the 1961-62 Buckeyes won 22 consecutive games to start the season, only dropping their second-to-last game of the season to Wisconsin. Once again led by seniors Lucas, Havlicek and guard Mel Nowell ’64, the team went the entire regular season ranked No. 1. Unfortunately, they fell once again to the defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats in the NCAA Tournament final.
Voting results:
1961 Men: 66.2 percent (251 votes)
1962 Men: 33.8 percent (128 votes)
No. 4 seed: 2007 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Runner-up (9-point margin of defeat)
In 2006, coach Thad Matta brought in a highly touted recruiting class led by Indiana high-school teammates Greg Oden ’19, ’24 MSPCOACH and Mike Conley Jr. Powered by the so-called Thad Five, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. The team’s tournament run included thrilling victories over Xavier and Tennessee, eventually coming to an end at the hands of the reigning champion Florida Gators.
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No. 5 seed: 2012 Men
NCAA Tournament result: Final Four (2-point margin of defeat)
With Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger manning the paint and fan-favorite point guard (and current practicing physician) Aaron Craft ’14, ’24 MD at the top of the key, this Buckeye squad spent most of the season ranked in the Top 10. Coached by Matta, the co-Big Ten regular season champs boasted wins over No. 3 Duke and No. 5 Michigan State. The Buckeyes fell by only 2 points in the NCAA Tournament semifinals to the Kansas Jayhawks.
Voting results:
2007 Men: 60.6 percent (257 votes)
2012 Men: 39.4 percent (167 votes)
Vote in our championship
Want to vote in the final round? The teams that make our last match will be revealed on this webpage by Monday, Feb. 17. Mark your calendars!
