Is this the best we can hope for with Ohio State basketball?

Last night was a terrible loss for the Ohio State basketball team. They blew an 8 point lead with just over 3 minutes left and let Rutgers go on a 10-0 run to win the game. It was one of the worst losses the Buckeyes have had all season long because of how they finished the game.

This isn’t the first time that the Buckeyes have lost a close game this year either. They lost on buzzer-beaters against Florida and Purdue. Neither one of those losses was as painful as this one against a Rutgers team that isn’t nearly as talented as the Buckeyes.

To be fair, Holtmann’s squad has also won a few close games. They scored the last 7 points of the game to beat Duke and hit buzzer-beaters against Seton Hall and Akron. Ohio State isn’t always bad in close games, but yesterday was a symptom of a larger issue.

The Ohio State basketball team always has a few games where they play well and give fans hope that they can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. Then they end up losing to some team that has less talent than them to knock them out and end their season.

That has been the trend under Chris Holtmann. Is that all we should expect from this basketball program? Is this just a mid-tier program at best? Should we give up hope that the years of making a Final Four run are over? Those certainly aren’t the expectations under Holtmann.

If Gene Smith thinks this program deserves more, he will have serious thoughts about keeping Holtmann if he doesn’t at least make the Sweet 16 this season. A program that is trying to be elite doesn’t keep a coach after five years of not making it out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

If Smith thinks that being a mid-tier program is the best that they can hope for, then Holtmann will keep his job for as long as he likes. It’s all about expectations. Personally, I think the Buckeyes have the resources to be a better program than what they are now.

Yesterday’s loss is just another painful step along this Ohio State basketball journey that seems to be on the path to more disappointment come March.