PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (WCMH) -- The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team is taking on Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This article will have live game updates.

The winner of the Buckeyes-Ramblers March Madness contest in Pittsburgh will meet Villanova or Delaware in the south region's second round on Sunday.

GAME THREAD:

Ohio State 48, Loyola 36 - 3:57 - 2nd Half

The double-digit lead stays for Ohio State who is inching closer to a first round win over Loyola. The Buckeyes defense has held Loyola to just 14 made shots. The Ramblers also have a free-throw percentage of 12.5.

Ohio State playing much better defense and no doubt benefitting from Loyola's ice cold shooting. They've also gotten what they need out of their two stars. Liddell has 16 and Branham has 12. Buckeyes up 12 at the under 4-minute timeout

— Justin Holbrock (@NBC4Justin) March 18, 2022

Ohio State 42, Loyola 32 - 7:28 - 2nd Half

Buckeyes continue to stay strong defensively and maintain its double-digit lead. E.J. Liddell has got his double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on 4-7 shooting with 6 free throws.

Ohio State 37 Loyola 26 - 11:18 - 2nd Half

After a Meechie Johnson three-pointer, Ohio State has not scored field goal in nearly two and half minutes. The Ramblers have one field goal in the last four minutes and Loyola is shooting less than 25% from the field.

Ohio State 33 Loyola 23 - 14:33 - 2nd Half

Kyle Young has four points in the second half. His presence on the court makes Ohio State a much more well-rounded team. They've missed him the last few weeks when he was in concussion protocol.

Ohio State 29 Loyola 18 - 17:05 - 2nd Half

Ohio State begins the second half on a 6-0 run. Ohio State's leading scorer E.J. Liddell has his first two field goals of the game in the opening moments of the 2nd half.

Halftime Stats

Ohio State: 8-20 shooting (40%), 0-9 three-pointers (0%), 7/8 free throws (87.5%), 18 rebounds, 4 steals, 8 turnovers

Loyola: 7/30 shooting (23.3%), 3-13 three-pointers (23.1%), 1/2 free throws (50%), 18 rebounds, 5 steals, 7 turnovers

Notable Players:

(OSU) Malaki Branham: 10 points, 4-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

(OSU) E.J. Liddell: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4-4 free throws

(Loyola) Braden Norris: 6 points, 2-5 shooting, 1 rebound, 1 steal

Ohio State 23, Loyola 18 - Halftime

It was not a pretty first half for either team as the Buckeyes entered the locker room with a five-point lead despite no three-pointers made.

Ohio State did get good production on the boards and forcing turnovers with 17 defensive rebounds and four steals through 20 minutes.

23-18 OSU at half.
Bucks lead without making a first half 3-pointer (0-9).
Branham leads with 10 points.
Loyola shooting 25% for the game.

— Jerod Smalley (@JerodNBC4) March 18, 2022

Ohio State 19, Loyola 14 - 3:38 - 1st Half

Ohio State got its biggest lead of the game thanks to an 8-0 run. With seven takeaways, the Buckeyes are beginning to develop a small offensive rhythm led by Malaki Branham.

Branham has eight points now with two breakaway dunks forcing the Ramblers to call a timeout.

What a difference a couple of big guys make.
Key and Young, and the switching versatility on defense, have Loyola frustrated on each possession.
OSU getting some easy buckets off turnovers.

— Jerod Smalley (@JerodNBC4) March 18, 2022

Ohio State 11, Loyola 11 - 6:41 - 1st Half

It's tied at 11 with less than seven minutes of the first half. The Buckeyes continue to struggle shooting with just four shots made of 18, including an 0-of-7 clip from three-point range.

All Buckeyes starters have scored in the first half thus far, except for Jamari Wheeler.

At 7:37 of the first half, one of the teams (Loyola) reached double digits.

— Jerod Smalley (@JerodNBC4) March 18, 2022

Ohio State 9, Loyola 7 - 11:44 - 1st Half

The Buckeyes and Ramblers continue its offensive struggles to start the game with six field goals made combined between the two teams. Turnover troubles apparent early as well with seven total.

Kyle Young is the early leading scorer for Ohio State with five points on 2-4 shooting in his return start from injury.

Loyola 5, Ohio State 2 - 15:58 - 1st Half

A slow start offensively for both teams with the Buckeyes missing their first four shots of the game, including three from deep. Ohio State's lone points are from the free throw line courtesy of E.J. Liddell.

Starting Lineups

Ohio State Buckeyes: Jamari Wheeler, Malaki Branham, E.J. Liddell, Eugene Brown III, Kyle Young

Loyola Chicago Ramblers: Lucas Williamson, Braden Norris, Tate Hall, Aher Uguak, Chris Knight

No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes earned a 7-seed after having lost four of their last five games heading into March Madness, including a second round exit in the Big Ten Tournament.

Ohio State has not made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2013 and players have not forgotten its first round loss last year to Oral Roberts.

Buckeyes confirmed that forward Kyle Young and center Zed Key will be available for the game.

No. 10 Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Loyola Chicago is a tournament mainstay from the Missouri Valley Conference and will look to engineer another March Madness run in 2022.

The Ramblers are fondly remembered from their Final Four run in 2018 as an 11-seed that captured the country under head coach Porter Moser.

Loyola returned to the tournament last year and made the Sweet 16 as an 8-seed after a massive upset win over Illinois in the second round.

Entering the 2022 tournament under head coach Drew Valentine, 10-seeds have won 39.6% of games against 7-seeds in March Madness.

South Region Bracket

• No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 Wright State (7:27pm)
• No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 TCU (9:57pm)
• No. 5 Houston vs. No. 12 UAB (9:20pm)
• No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 13 Chattanooga (6:50pm)
• No. 11 Michigan 75-63 No. 6 Colorado State
• No. 3 Tennessee 88-56 No. 14 Longwood
• No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola-Chicago (12:15pm)
• No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 15 Delaware (2:45pm)