Chris Holtmann didn’t say so publicly, but after Ohio State beat Iowa, then a top-25 team, by 20 points on Feb. 26, he thought his team needed just one more win to make the NCAA tournament.
With three games remaining in the regular season, he felt confident. But shortly after the win against the Hawkeyes, Kaleb Wesson was suspended for three games. Purdue blew out the Buckeyes, and Northwestern beat them by 18 points. Ohio State nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback in the final regular-season game of the year, but Wisconsin won in overtime. Eventually, the Buckeyes finally captured their 19th win of the season, beating Indiana in the Big Ten tournament.