Ohio State has spent every day since the second game of this season ranked somewhere between 13th and 24th at KenPom.com. While other teams have had big ups and big downs, the Buckeyes have been remarkably steady, forever good but not quite great. They haven't won more than two Big Ten games in a row. They haven't lost two straight Big Ten games.
That latter streak almost ended Monday night, though.
Ohio State, coming off of a loss to Iowa, trailed Indiana by four points with less than a minute remaining in regulation, then by two points in the final 10 seconds. But an E.J. Liddell dunk with 5.4 seconds left allowed the Buckeyes to tie the score at 63 and force overtime, where Ohio State outscored the Hoosiers 17-6 to win 80-69.
Yes, OSU won by double-digits in OT.
That's a nightmare for +7 bettors.
After the game, Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch asked Liddell if the Buckeyes learned anything about themselves in the come-from-behind win.
"Nothing I didn't know," Liddell said. "That we're a resilient team."
The double-digit win improved Ohio State to 17-7 overall, 10-5 in the Big Ten. Chris Holtmann will soon be coaching in his seventh straight NCAA Tournament. On the other side, Indiana is suddenly at risk of missing its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament thanks to a five-game losing streak that has dropped the Hoosiers to 16-10 overall, 7-9 in the Big Ten. Indiana is now 5-10 in the first two quadrants with just two Quadrant 1 wins. That's the same number of Q1 wins that Maryland has, and Maryland's coach resigned in December.
Ohio State remains No. 21 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Buckeyes are one game back of Purdue, Wisconsin and Illinois in the loss column of the Big Ten standings.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gonzaga has won 16 straight games by double-digits and is 12-0 in the West Coast Conference. The Zags' next game is Thursday at San Francisco. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Arizona is 11-2 in the first two quadrants with the only losses coming at Tennessee and at UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at Utah. | -- | 27-9 |
| 3 |  | Kansas is 15-4 in the first two quadrants with three of the four losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Kansas State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | Auburn is 13-3 in the first two quadrants with all three losses falling in Quadrant 1. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Ole Miss. | -- | 27-8 |
| 5 |  | Purdue is 11-4 in the first two quadrants with three of the four losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at Michigan State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 6 |  | Duke is 9-3 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Virginia falling in Quadrant 3. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday at Virginia. | -- | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Kentucky is 10-5 in the first two quadrants with all five losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against LSU. | -- | 23-10 |
| 8 |  | Villanova is 12-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Providence and Tennessee. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at UConn. | -- | 18-16 |
| 9 |  | Providence is 12-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech and Wisconsin, and losses to Villanova, Marquette and Virginia. The Friars' next game is Sunday at Butler. | -- | 21-14 |
| 10 |  | Wisconsin is 13-4 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Rutgers falling in Quadrant 3. The Badgers' next game is Wednesday at Minnesota. | -- | 22-14 |
| 11 |  | Texas Tech is 12-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Kansas, Baylor, Tennessee and Texas (twice). The Red Raiders' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | -- | 23-11 |
| 12 |  | Baylor is 15-5 in the first two quadrants with wins over Villanova, Texas and Michigan State. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 24-11 |
| 13 |  | UCLA is 8-5 in the first two quadrants with wins over Arizona, Villanova and Marquette. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Oregon. | -- | 16-17 |
| 14 |  | Illinois is 10-7 in the first two quadrants with wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State (twice). The Illini's next game is Thursday against Ohio State. | -- | 29-9 |
| 15 |  | Tennessee is 10-7 in the first two quadrants with wins over Arizona and Kentucky. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at Missouri. | -- | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Texas is 9-8 in the first two quadrants with wins over Kansas and Tennessee. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against TCU. | -- | 21-13 |
| 17 |  | Houston is 6-4 in the first two quadrants but in possession of zero Quadrant 1 wins. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at Tulane. | -- | 32-5 |
| 18 |  | USC is 8-3 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Stanford falling in Quadrant 3. The Trojans' next game is Thursday at Oregon State. | -- | 15-18 |
| 19 |  | Arkansas is 9-5 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Vanderbilt falling in Quadrant 3. The Razorbacks' next game is Tuesday at Florida. | -- | 16-17 |
| 20 |  | UConn is 11-7 in the first two quadrants with victories over Auburn and Marquette. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Villanova. | -- | 37-3 |
| 21 |  | Ohio State is 8-7 in the first two quadrants with six of the seven losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday at Illinois. | -- | 22-14 |
| 22 |  | Saint Mary's is 8-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at San Diego. | -- | 26-8 |
| 23 |  | Murray State, on a 16-game winning streak, is 4-1 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to East Tennessee State falling in Quadrant 3. The Racers' next game is Thursday against Belmont. | -- | 12-20 |
| 24 |  | Michigan State is 9-7 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Northwestern falling in Quadrant 3. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday at Iowa. | -- | 20-15 |
| 25 |  | Alabama is 12-8 in the first two quadrants with two additional losses to Georgia and Missouri falling in Quadrant 3. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 25-12 |
| 26 |  | Iowa State is 9-9 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech and Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against West Virginia. | -- | 29-8 |
