The Ohio State basketball program had the opportunity to seal up an NCAA Tournament bid multiple times at the end of the season. All they had to do was win one or two more games, and they wouldn't have even been on the bubble. They had many leads late in the season that they couldn't hold.
Losing five of their last seven games put them in a position where they needed a miracle to get into the NCAA Tournament. They were a bubble team that had so little momentum. In fact, you could make an argument that they had the least amount of momentum of any bubble team.
Jake Diebler was not able to coach his guys into a spot that the Big Ten Tournament didn't matter. They lost to an Iowa team that ended up firing Fran McCaffery shortly after that. Now, the Buckeyes will officially sit out the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.
The Ohio State basketball team misses another NCAA Tournament
Chris Holtmann was fired midway through last year after not getting his team to the NCAA Tournament. The standard with this program is that they should at least be dancing every single year. Diebler said as much when he got the gig. He knows what fans expect.
The Ohio State Buckeyes spent Selection Sunday praying that they were going to the Big Dance. Instead, they didn't get the news they were hoping for. Now, the focus shifts to what the Buckeyes will do in March. Will they play in the Crown, the NIT, or some other postseason tournament?
Regardless of which postseason tournament they play in, it's not the one they want to be in. With the resources that this program has, there is no reason why they shouldn't be playing in the NCAA Tournament and making a Sweet 16 every few years.
Diebler knows this year was a failure. He's got an offseason to figure out how to turn things around.