The Ohio State basketball program had a disappointing end to their season. They absolutely collapsed at the end of the year, losing five of their last seven games. The year culminating in a disappointing loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, making them finish their record at 17-15.
While they were a bubble team, they did not get a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were one of the first four teams left out of the field. With them not being selected for the Big Dance, they could have accepted a bid to play in The Crown, a new postseason tournament.
After playing in the NIT last year, the Buckeyes lost to Georgia to end their season. This year, Ohio State has made the decision to not accept a bid to play in The Crown, meaning their season will officially end. Jake Diebler will not be in the postseason in his first full season as a head coach.
The Ohio State basketball team will end their season
Instead of trying to get some guys some playing time in a couple of weeks, the Ohio State Buckeyes will start their offseason now. It's probably the right move, considering how poorly the season ended. Jake Diebler has a lot of work to do in order to improve the team for next season.
Missing the NCAA Tournament is not acceptable for this program. It's the first time in 20 years that the program has missed the NCAA Tournament for three straight years. It's clear that something is wrong right now. This was only Diebler's first full season as a head coach, though.
That means that he still has room to grow. He deserves the ability to have some grace from the fans for at least one more year. He deserves the chance to fix the mistakes that he made, starting with being better at identifying talent in the transfer portal.
The additions in the transfer portal not only weren't additive for this year, but they actively hurt the team. Only Micah Parrish was a good addition, and he only had one year of eligibility left. Now, Diebler must get some things fixed for next season.