Ohio State as an 11-seed went from ominous to miraculous in exactly one Terry McLaurin.
The receiver and future captain verbally committed to Ohio State shortly after Thad Matta's Buckeyes fell short of their second-consecutive Final Four, getting tripped up by Wichita State in the Elite Eight (we have to use a football player for this timeline exercise because a basketball one isn't available).
An 11-seed would have been unthinkable. One season later, they lost to an 11-seed.
Twelve months passed, and Ohio State sneaked into the tournament as a 10-seed. A year after that they were NIT bound.