This season started with a lot of hope for the Ohio State basketball team. After two straight years of toiling away, the Buckeyes showed some real promise once Chris Holtmann was let go. Jake Diebler was the interim head coach, and it was decided that he should be the head coach permanently.
Once the season started, Diebler was hoping to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament. Their run at the end of last season fell just short. They weren't able to win enough games at the end of the season. Ohio State had a lot of momentum after that run, including a good run in the NIT.
Diebler expected this team to make the NCAA Tournament. Quite frankly, it looked like they were solidly in the field, but they have now lost four of their last five games. Now, they might be headed to the NIT again this year. If that happens, is this season a failure?
The Ohio State basketball team shouldn't see this season as a failure
Even if the Buckeyes don't make the NCAA Tournament, they shouldn't view this season as an outright failure. Diebler is just in his first full year as a head coach. This is the first time that he has had to deal with a full season of adversity. Even though it hasn't gone super well, he has learned a lot of lessons.
The team is still pretty young and should be more talented next season. The Buckeyes were hoping that the talent was going to be enough to win more games this season. While this season will be viewed as a disappointment if they end up not making the Tourney, it's not a disappointment.
Ohio State has to figure out how to close games better. They also have to find a way to not let missed shots affect their defense. Both of those items come down to coaching. Diebler will only get better next year, and he needs to. If he doesn't things might not be as rosy as they were to start this season. I still have faith in him, though.