Ohio State Basketball: Future is bright for Buckeyes despite struggles
Ohio State has struggled of late and Chris Holtmann has taken much of the blame even though he is in the process of building his program.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team is struggling to keep its head above water in the Big Ten race. Winning three in a row stopped the bleeding after dropping six out of seven. Then the Buckeyes fell flat at home against Illinois losing 63-56 falling to 16-8 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten.
The loss was ugly and may come back to haunt them as they fight for an NCAA Tournament berth in a few short weeks. It also dialed up the pressure on coach Chris Holtmann to find a way to get his team performing more consistently.
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There is a small minority of Buckeye Nation calling for a change. They are out of their minds.
Holtmann is doing a fabulous job in molding the program to his vision. This year is a transition season anyway.
I realize expectations were higher coming into the year. Beating Cincinnati and UCLA, and finishing 10-1 in non-conference play only flamed those expectations.
Regardless, comparing the results from 2017-2018 season is ridiculous. The team overachieved because the Big Ten was considerably down last year.
Four teams finished ranked at the end of year and only eight finished with a record above .500.
10 teams currently have records better than .500 this season and six teams are ranked.
Combine the stronger schedule, awful ball handling and inept offensive rebounding, and this team will continue struggling. It does not help that five out of the last seven are against ranked teams, three on the road.
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Hoping for better results won’t make this team something it is not. It is flawed, but that is not a reflection on Holtmann’s capabilities. He is great coach and next season will prove it.