One night after clinching their first postseason tournament title since 2012, the Ohio Bobcats received their initial assignment, drawing the #16 Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
This season will see the entirety of the tournament set to take place in Indianapolis, Indiana, and will employ an “S-curve” assignment system to “[place] teams on the bracket based on rankings without the usual considerations for geography,” per release. Ohio was considered the #51 overall seed in the field of 68 teams, placing them as a 13-seed in the West region.
The #16 Cavaliers are considered the current defending champion of the NCAA Tournament, after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, which had its major start during the conference tournament season last March.