The Ohio State basketball program is having a resurgent season. They have three of the best wins in the country. Wins over Maryland, Kentucky, and Purdue are very solid to have on their resume. The Buckeyes are solidly in the field of the NCAA Tournament right now and are hoping to keep it that way.
Ohio State hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since the 2021-22 season. They didn't come close in the 2022-23 season and only came close last season after Chris Holtmann was fired. That's when Jake Diebler took the Buckeyes on a big late-season run.
Diebler has made some mistakes in his first full season leading the Ohio State Buckeyes, but the team is still looking good. The same can't be said for Holtmann's new squad. In fact, Holtmann's new team is one of the worst teams in the entire Big East Conference.
Former Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann has struggled in his first season at DePaul
Holtmann was hired by DePaul relatively quickly after last season. He wasn't out of a job for too long and moved back to the Big East Conference. That's where he had a lot of success as the head coach of Butler. Unfortunately, his first year with the Blue Devils has been a rough go.
So far this season, Holtmann has led his team to an 11-13 overall record. Even worse, they are just 2-11 in the Big East. They are the second-worst team in the conference, only besting Seton Hall. His team has lost nine of their last eleven games.
It's just Holtmann's first year, so he will need time to rebuild the program. It's not a program that has a history of success. He's already done better with the team than what they did last year when they won just four games. In fact, the Blue Demons went winless in conference play.
Still, Holtmann was hoping for better success in his first year. At least he's not at risk of being fired like Thad Matta is. Matta might be out at Butler after another disappointing season. It would be nice to see both coaches turn things around.