Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes in top 10 is the best story of the season
The Ohio State basketball team ranked in the top 10?
Before the season began the Ohio State basketball team wasn’t expected to be ranked among the top 25 teams in the country at any point. The Buckeyes are now ranked in the top 10 in both the Associated Press Poll (8) and the Coaches Poll (9).
The fact that Ohio State is ranked so high, and in first place in the Big Ten with a 12-1 record, has to be the biggest story in college basketball this season. The Buckeyes were picked to finish near the bottom of the conference, and for good reason.
A look at the per game averages of returning players who were available for the entire 2016-17 season explain why.
- Jae’Sean Tate 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2 assists
- Kam Williams 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1 assist
- C.J. Jackson 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists
- Micah Potter 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists
- Andre Wesson 2.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Even when you add in Keita Bates-Diop’s stats during the nine games he played last season the numbers weren’t overly impressive. 45.4 points, 20.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists aren’t going to win many games in the Big Ten.
Now compare those stats to the numbers the same players are putting up so far this season. They have accounted for 60 of Ohio State’s 77 points per game along with averaging 25 rebounds and 10.7 assists.
Coach Holtmann has stated more than once that Thad Matta didn’t leave the cupboard bare as there were talented players on the roster, along with center Kaleb Wesson in the recruiting class. But there were still empty shelves to fill. There weren’t enough scholarship players when Holtmann took over to even have a five-on-five scrimmage in practice, and recruiting was heading south with the coaching transition.
The Buckeye head coach soon rectified that problem.
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Forward Kyle Young, who coach Holtmann recruited to Butler, was released from his scholarship and transferred to Ohio State. Then guard Musa Jallow joined the recruiting class in July. Each have been valuable contributors off the bench.
But the biggest addition to this year’s team, outside of a healthy KBD returning, was Andrew Dakich coming to Ohio State as a graduate transfer from Michigan. Dakich has been much more valuable than his 3.3 points and 2.1 assists per game would indicate. He is a nuisance on defense, a floor general on offense and has become a team leader.
The way coach Holtmann has brought this mix of players together to form a tight-knit unit is remarkable. A team that was supposed to be a cellar-dweller in the Big Ten at the beginning of the season is 12-1 in the conference and 22-5 overall.
Next: What does signing No. 2 class mean for the Buckeyes?
It’s hard to say if the Buckeyes can hold onto the lead and win the conference championship, or finish the season ranked in the top 10. And who knows if they can make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament? But just the fact you have to consider those possibilities this late in the season makes Chris Holtmann’s team the best story of the college basketball season so far.