Buckeyes' win helps BWW score big, report saysBuckeyes' win helps BWW score big, report says

MINNEAPOLIS Ohio State University's victory in the NCAA basketball tournament's semi-final game on Saturday should push sales for the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar chain above expectations, according to one financial analyst.

"This marks a significant improvement compared to last year when the [OSU] Buckeyes were eliminated in round two," Eric Wold of Merriman Curhan Ford told investors in a report issued today, referring to OSU's defeat of the Georgetown University Hoyas, 67-60. Because 19 percent of Buffalo Wild Wings' 429 units are in Ohio, he explained, the Columbus-based team's win should give a "surge" to the restaurant franchisor's first-quarter sales. Merriman Curhan is based in San Francisco.

The victory on Saturday allowed the Buckeyes to advance to tonight's championship game, against the University of Florida Gators.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., now based here, was founded in 1982 on the edge of OSU's campus. The company currently operates or franchises 18 units within a 50-mile radius of the school.