CBS Sports analyst compared this Ohio State Basketball team to a Final Four team

We are closing in on one month away from the start of the Ohio State basketball season and the beginning of the Jake Diebler era as head coach of the Buckeyes. We got a little taste of what it could be like with Diebler leading the way when he stepped in last season as Interim Head Coach. However, throughout this offseason, we've been given a clearer understanding of what the 2024-25 college basketball season could be like in Columbus.

College Basketball Insider for CBS Sports Jon Rothstein has been making his rounds around the country checking out some college basketball teams, and he made a stop in Columbus Wednesday afternoon to sit-in on a Buckeye practice. He had made a very interesting comparison about the 2024-25 Ohio State basketball team to a previous Final Four team.

First of all, if you would've told me 10 years ago that Ohio State and Alabama, two powerhouse football programs, were being compared to each other in basketball I would've laughed in your face. Second, being compared to last season's Alabama basketball team should give Buckeye basketball fans something exciting to look forward to.

Alabama is coming off their first Final Four appearance in school history a year ago, and they got there by playing fast and putting up a TON of threes. According to KenPom, the Crimson Tide had the second-best offense, behind the national champion UConn Huskies in adjusted offensive efficiency, and they played at the 14th fastest pace in college basketball.

As a team, Alabama led the country in points per game at 90.1 points per game. A large part of that was from their up-tempo, run-and-gun style of offense as they shot the three at 37.3% as a team on nearly 30 attempts per game.

Last season, Ohio State ranked 49th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 251st in tempo according to KenPom. The Buckeyes put in an average of 75.5 points per game as a team and shot 34.5% from three on a little over 20 attempts per game.

Diebler brought in the athletes and shooting to entertain this run-and-gun style of offense through the transfer portal and in this freshman class. While watching the Ohio State basketball practice, Rothstein believes newcomer Juni Mobley can make a big impact as a freshman because of his scoring ability.

Year one with Jake Diebler at the helm hasn't officially begun yet, but he's shown at times this offseason with his energy and intensity that it's going to be a fun basketball season in Columbus. If he's able to implement a style of play from a Final Four team a season ago, the ceiling for this Ohio State basketball team is very high.

A little over a month away from the start of the Ohio State basketball season, but just 15 days away from their charity exhibition game against Cincinnati. It won't be long until we see this Buckeye basketball team in action.