Ohio State's Win Boosts NCAA Hopes, Auburn Faces Pressure

0:00On March 2nd Ohio State's big win over Purdue on Sunday has boosted their NCAA tournament hopes, just as the regular season wraps up. In ESPN-breakatologist Joe Lunardi's latest update, the Buckeyes jumped into the last 4-in after that 82-74 victory. They were on the outside looking in last week, but now they're on the right side of the cut line alongside Santa Clara, New Mexico, and Indiana. Meanwhile, Auburn is sliding in the wrong direction at the worst possible time. The Tigers have lost 7 of their last 8 games, including a tough home defeat to Ole Miss. Once a national semi-finalist, they're now projected to miss the tournament entirely in Steven Pearl's first year, joining San Diego State, VCU, and Virginia Tech as the last 4-out. Bubble teams like Virginia Tech saw a slight lift after beating Wake Forest, though a loss to North Carolina didn't hurt much. For Ohio State, this upset could be the key to punching their dance ticket, while Auburn faces real pressure to turn things around in the final days.

1:03At the top, things look steady with Duke Michigan, Arizona, and Yukon as the number 1 overall seats. Michigan State made a strong move up to a number 2 seed, 7th overall, thanks to wins over Purdue and Indiana. Purdue slipped a bit from 8th to 10th overall. The big 10 is dominating Lunardi's view with 5 teams in the top 12, setting up an exciting finish to the season.