Ohio State having overall record of 22-14, 9-11 in Big Ten.
Chris Holtmann was dismissed in the second half of the previous season and Jake Diebler became the interim.
Of course after exceeding expectations by going 8-3 in the season, Diebler was able to nail down the starting QB position. Diebler gets back a few key players from last year and thinks he got some quality recruits from the transfer portal.
Players to watch
Their leading player back is Bruce Thornton, the 6-foot-2 guard from the last season who had averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 33.6 minutes per game.
G Meechie Johnson Jr. rejoin the Buckeyes for his last year playing college basketball. He has spent the first two years at Ohio State then played his second two years at the South Carolina then came back to Columbus again for another season.
Starting linebacker F Evan Mahaffey is in his second season at Ohio State; he played for Penn State last year.
Departures and arrivals
The Buckeyes graduated their F Jamison Battle and G Dale Bonner.
The transfer portal claimed G Roddy Gayle Jr. of Michigan, F Scotty Middleton of Seton Hall, F Zed Key of Dayton and F Felix Okpara of Tennessee.
Emerging out of the same portal was F Micah Parrish of San Diego State University, F Sean Stewart of Duke University, F Aaron Bradshaw of Kentucky University and G Ques Glover of Kansas State University.
Juni Mobley and Colin White to Ohio State as freshmen on the team.
Top games
New at this year’s schedule, the Buckeyes are initially in a game against No. 19 Texas on November 4. They are at No. 15 Texas A&M on the 15th of November, home against No. 25 Rutgers on December 4th, hosting No. 11 Auburn on the 14th of December and then going to No. 23 Kentucky on the 21st of December.
Facts and figures
The Buckeyes will have the ability to suit up 13 scholarship players which is the most Buckeye has had in history.
The last year’s media poll predicted Ohio State to be the eighth in the Big Ten.
After missing the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons despite ending last year 22-14, the Buckeyes have the goal of getting back to the big dance.
Kentucky transfer Bradshaw (7-foot-1, 215 pounds) is expected to provide Ohio State with the anchored big man they’ve long needed in the paint Ohio State welcomes its newest 7 footer in Bradshaw who spent most of his freshman season playing for Kentucky last season where he averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in just 15 games.
Diebler became assistant under Holtmann from 2019, until the latter took over for the fired head coach mid through the campaign with 11 games left in the season.
