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I cringed as soon as I saw the announcement.
Ohio State vs. Dayton in the first round of the tournament.
My first thought: “That’s a first-round loss for the Buckeyes.”
I hope I’m wrong. But look:
- Ohio State has no consistent scoring.
- Ohio State had a weak finish to its season.
- Ohio State may not be especially interested in a first-round game against Dayton, a team that will definitely be interested in beating the state’s biggest and best program.
Classic trap game, in every way. I haven’t decided how I’m going to pick this one — but I could very easily pick the Flyers to win.
Which, of course, means I’m probably totally wrong, and you should pick Ohio State to win the whole freaking thing.
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And that, boys and girls, brings us to our now-daily reminder: Registration for the Ninth Annual Uncle Crappy NCAA Final Four Challenge (Brought To You By Bocktown) is open for just about another 24 hours. Entries are coming in at a steady pace, but it’s looking like we’re going to have a smaller-than-usual field this year. And that means the odd of you winning a $30 Bocktown gift card are better than ever.
Full rules and guidelines? You’ll find those here. But remember, it’s free and it’s easy — I need only your final four, championship game teams and eventual champion (plus a predicted title game score, to serve as a tiebreaker).
Uncle Crappy 
The good news is the Buckeyes could potentially even knock off a struggling Syracuse. I do actually have that in some brackets.
The bad news is that Ohio State could very well, as you mention, lose their first round game to Dayton.
I wouldn’t panic. I think this team is experienced enough to remain focused.
And if they don’t, at least it’ll be over early with them being the first team out.
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You’re exactly right. If OSU comes up with solid defensive efforts — which they can do — and a hot scorer, they could find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen or better. And if they don’t, they’ll be watching the tournament on TV this weekend.
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