The Ohio State basketball program had a real shot to beat Virginia on Saturday. It really looked like the Buckeyes were going to finally get the signature win that they so desperately needed. Instead, they fell apart at the end of the game, as they have done so many times.
Now that the Ohio State Buckeyes don't have Juni Mobley to help carry the offense, the Buckeyes are in even bigger trouble. They don't seem to have anyone whom they can consistently count on except for Bruce Thornton, which is why Thornton has never made the NCAA Tournament.
This is Thornton's final season, so Ohio State has fully reached desperation mode. If the Buckeyes do not start beating good teams, they are going to be sitting at home during March Madness for the fourth straight year. Jake Diebler needs to have an Ace up his sleeve.
The Ohio State basketball team is stuck in neutral
Over the course of the season, Ohio State has had a real shot of beating TTUN, North Carolina, Nebraska, and now Virginia. Had they been able to win just one of those games, they would likely be solidly in the field. As it stands, the Buckeyes sit as one of the first four teams out, according to Joe Lunardi.
If Ohio State isn't able to beat Michigan State or Purdue, it will be stuck having to do a massive amount of work in the Big Ten Tournament. Beating one of those ranked teams would finally give Ohio State a Quad 1 win, as well as a victory over a top-25 team.
Fans are starting to get frustrated with the constant close losses. Every game against a good team seems to be the same. Unless Diebler can find a new contributor off the bench who can take over Mobley's production, they are going to lose every game against a good team.