The Ohio State basketball program is no longer dancing. They had the shortest stay of anyone in the 64-man field after being bounced by TCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was a disappointing loss for many reasons, but especially because the Buckeyes had a lead late.
Some fans have been calling for the firing of Jake Diebler. Diebler has improved every season as a head coach and has finally gotten the Ohio State Buckeyes to March Madness. Yet, that is not good enough for some Ohio State basketball fans. Some have higher expectations for the program.
After former Buckeye basketball player Mark Titus called out Ohio State fans, the expectations of what Ohio State fans want have been a hot topic. The expectations of the fans are certainly not the issue in Columbus. In fact, it could be part of the solution moving forward.
The Ohio State basketball fans are not to blame for the current state of the program
When the Buckeyes were great under Thad Matta, there were never any conversations about the fans. They were happy with what they were seeing because the team was good. There were no talks about expectations because Matta was either meeting or exceeding them.
There is no problem with fans actually having expectations for the Buckeyes to be good at basketball. They haven't made the Sweet 16 in over a decade. For how good the program used to be, that is not good enough. Fans who want Diebler fired are not being irrational. They are just sick of mediocrity.
Diebler has five-star freshman Anthony Thompson ready to go next season. If he fails to make the NCAA Tournament with him on the roster, then conversations about him being fired will heat up. However, the expectation is that Diebler will improve next season.
Titus could not have been any more wrong with his assessment of Ohio State basketball fans. Having expectations of the program being good shouldn't be an issue.