Ohio State basketball: Predicting how the season will shake out

The Ohio State basketball team will be back on the court in just under a week when they take on Chaminade in a scrimmage. It will be our first look at a team that is almost completely new. Because this team is so new, it makes it a little hard to project where they will finish the season.

The Buckeyes are not favored to win the Big Ten. In fact, most people have them outside the top four in the conference. What is good for the Buckeyes is that the Big Ten doesn’t project to be very strong this year. This might be the weakest it’s been since Chris Holtmann took over the program.

I expect the Buckeyes to struggle through some of the early schedule. It’s a tough non-conference slate that sees the Ohio State basketball team take on North Carolina, Duke, and San Diego State. None of those games are at home either. That doesn’t bode well for a young team.

As far as where they’ll finish in the Big Ten, I see them finishing fifth. I have them behind IU, Michigan, Illinois, and Purdue. I just don’t see how they can get into that upper tier. That finish should still be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament though.

This is where the real issue has been. Holtmann has been awful in March and I don’t see that changing this year. I expect yet another first-weekend exit in the NCAA Tournament this year. I don’t think they’ll win a game. They get bounced in the first round.

Until Holtmann proves he can advance in the NCAA Tournament, I won’t believe it. He seems to be the modern-day Rick Barnes, except at least Barnes has won conference championships. Holtmann doesn’t even have that on his resume.

Regardless, I’m excited about the season and I hope this team proves me wrong. I would love nothing more.