Over the last few years, the Ohio State basketball program has been stuck in mediocrity. They have failed to make the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. The issues started with Chris Holtmann and have now gotten worse under Jake Diebler.
Early in Holtmann's Ohio State coaching career, the Buckeyes were consistently making the NCAA Tournament. Not just that, but they were highly-seeded in those appearances. Then, the wheels fell off for him in charge, and Diebler was charged with taking over.
Since then, Diebler has the Ohio State Buckeyes playing mediocre basketball. They collapsed down the stretch a year ago to miss the NCAA Tournament. After another loss to TTUN, the Buckeyes look like they are going to once again finish with a mediocre record.
The Ohio State basketball program needs a complete overhaul
The rest of Ohio State's schedule is brutal and offers them plenty of opportunities to strengthen their resume. With how they have played, there is no confidence that they can win any of those games. They have three more matchups against ranked opponents and will likely lose them all.
These issues with the program start with the hiring of Diebler, a first-time head coach. Having this be his first time leading a program was the wrong call. He's going to make mistakes as a first-time head coach, and no one should fault him for that. He should never have been put in this position to start with.
Ross Bjork was one of the proponents for hiring him, even though it was officially Gene Smith's decision. He hasn't done enough in terms of NIL allocation to help Ohio State get top players from the Transfer Portal. It's the worst of both worlds, really.
Ohio State does have Anthony Thompson coming in next season. He will be the most talented player that the Buckeyes have on the roster next season. He is a five-star recruit, and he's the only bright spot Ohio State basketball fans have to look forward to.