The Ohio St. Buckeyes fell just short of a Big 10 championship on Sunday afternoon, but they were still rewarded with a No. 2 seed in the East Region. Ohio St. will face the Loyola (MD) for their first game, and will see the winner of Gonzaga-West Virginia in the third round. As for potential matchups should Ohio State advance into the second weekend: Syracuse, Florida State, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt, among others.
Here is the complete bracket for the East Region:
No. 1 Syracuse
No. 16 UNC Asheville
No. 8 Kansas State
No. 9 Southern Miss
No. 5 Vanderbilt
No. 12 Harvard
No. 4 Wisconsin
No. 13 Montana
No. 2 Ohio State
No. 15 Loyola
No. 7 Gonzaga
No. 10 West Virginia
No. 3 Florida State
No. 14 St. Bonaventure
No. 6 Cincinnati
No. 11 Texas
The Florida St. Seminoles are red-hot right now, and just defeated Duke and North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament this week. The Syracuse Orange have been near the top of the polls all season long and Jim Boeheim is about as proven as you can get when it comes to NCAA Tournament experience. Looking for a non-top seed to reach the Final Four? Wisconsin and Vanderbilt are among the most popular choices from the experts.
Reaching the Final Four is certainly possible for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but it will be far from easy.
For more on Ohio State, visit Along The Olentangy. For more coverage of Ohio State in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit SB Nation Cleveland's STORYSTREAM. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.