It's tournament time, and Ohio State is sending both its men's and women's teams to March Madness.

Why it matters: Whether you're building brackets or just cheering for the home team, here's a quick guide as the Buckeyes' postseason runs begin.

The women

The men are happy to be here — the women can make a Final Four run.

Catch up quick: The Buckeye women (26-7) have been solid all season long, earning a No. 3 seed with multiple ranked wins and losses only to ranked teams.

• OSU generated the 12th-best scoring offense in the country.
• An emphasis on swarming defense and creating turnovers forced the 16th-most steals in the country.

⭐️ The star: Sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge is a superstar, scoring nearly 23 points per game (seventh in the nation) and earning a variety of honors.

Between the lines: The program has been consistently competitive for decades, but has lost in the second round two years in a row and hasn't made a Final Four since 1993.

• They've reached seven Sweet Sixteens since.

📺 Watch: OSU hosts No. 14 seed Howard at home in the first game Saturday.

• Tipoff is 11:30am on ESPN2 and streaming.
• As of Wednesday, the Buckeyes are a 39.5-point favorite.

📆 What's next: A win would potentially set up a massive matchup with No. 6 seed Notre Dame on Monday.

The men

A month ago, it wasn't clear the men's team would even make the NCAA tournament — but they've peaked at the right time.

Catch up quick: After a tumultuous January and February, the Buckeyes won four of five March games to claw their way to 21-12 and a No. 8 seed.

• With a streaky scoring record, they'll need to be efficient and make shots to advance.
• The roster has a mix of experience and youth that only recently has started to gel.

⭐️ The star: Senior captain Bruce Thornton is the Buckeyes' undisputed leader.

• He became the program's all-time leading scorer this year, averaging 20 points per game and leading the team in assists.

Between the lines: The Buckeyes played one of the hardest schedules in the country, and most of their losses came against very strong teams.

• After missing out last year, head coach Jake Diebler's first tournament appearance shows progress.

📺 Watch: OSU plays No. 9 seed TCU to kick off the first round in Greenville, South Carolina.

• Tipoff is 12:15pm today on CBS and streaming.
• As of Wednesday, the Buckeyes are a 2.5-point favorite.

📆 What's next: With a win, they'll likely face No. 1 seed Duke Saturday in the round of 32.

AI is helping people with their brackets — sort of.

Why it matters: Most people filling out March Madness brackets will be getting AI help, and 37% will solely rely on it, according to a Hard Rock Bet survey.

Yes, but: "AI isn't designed to predict random events," Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois, tells Axios. "It's designed to look for patterns."

How it works: Avoid relying on AI for individual game picks.

• Instead, Jacobson recommends prompting AI to analyze multiple simulated brackets and track patterns.
• AI can simulate outcomes randomly or based on certain stats, seedings or historical trends.

Pro tip: Start with the Final Four or Elite Eight — instead of the full 68 — and work your way out, says Jacobson.

🏆 Put your bracket to the test: Whether you make your picks with AI or a pencil and paper, sign up for our free men's and women's bracket challenges to win bragging rights and Axios swag.

• Get your picks in by the first game of each tournament.
• If asked, the password is "Axios" without quotation marks.

✍️ Judge Monica Hawkins is making Franklin County Domestic Relations Court employees sign NDAs or potentially face termination, a decision a former Ohio Supreme Court justice called "unusual." (Dispatch)

🏫 The Columbus school board voted to extend superintendent Angela Chapman's contract through 2029. (WBNS-TV)

💵 A report from the local Funding Review Advisory Committee proposes reallocating to Experience Columbus the hotel/motel tax revenue funding 30% of the Greater Columbus Arts Council budget. (Columbus Underground)

🤝 The Ohio Senate is considering legislation to create a formal partnership between the state and Israel that has sparked activist criticism. (WCMH-TV)

☘️ More than 1,000 people in Dublin unofficially broke the record for "largest human shamrock" on St. Patrick's Day. (Spectrum News 1)

If basketball isn't your thing, here's a bracket you might like better: a showdown of Central Ohio's best music venues.

State of play: In past years, readers have crowned their favorite burgers, hot dogs, breweries, Metro Parks and more in our voting competitions.

• Now it's time to settle a new debate: where's the best place to catch a show?

How it works: We picked 16 small venues to face off throughout the March Madness season, seeded in no particular order.

• We capped the capacity at 2,000 people to keep the competition fair.

What's next: Vote here by noon Monday. Check back Tuesday for the next round of voting.

👋 Alissa here. As someone easily distracted by clamor and conversations, working from coffee shops and other public spaces has never been easy for me.

Yes, but: I had a surprisingly productive Tuesday at Switchyards, a new coworking space in German Village.

• I retreated straight to the basement — a toasty, dimly lit floor with white noise humming and a "heads down" space free of phone calls, meetings or Zooms.
• Translation: It was exactly my vibe.

Catch up quick: Switchyards is a national chain. Its Whittier Street location, its first in Ohio, opened in January in a historic appliance store building.

• It's members-only ($129 a month) and offers free coffee, tea and wifi.

🙏 Thanks to Willow PR for giving me a guest tour!