Ohio State’s men’s basketball team opens up what they hope is a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, taking on the Iowa Hawkeyes at the United Center in Chicago.
By closing out the regular season on a three-game winning streak, including a win over Purdue during that stretch, Ohio State likely has done enough to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Earning a win or two in Chicago will only strengthen the case for Jake Diebler’s team to be included in the tournament.
To fully prepare for Ohio State’s appearance in this year’s Big Ten Tournament, today we are going to not only look at the history of the Buckeyes in the conference tournament by the numbers, we are also going to look at some statistical marks some of the members from this year’s time could reach in Chicago.
There are plenty of interesting numbers Ohio State have amassed since the introduction of the Big Ten Tournament in 1998.
34-20
Ohio State’s all-time record in the Big Ten Tournament is 34-20. Most of the damage the Buckeyes have done in the tournament came in the first 15 years of the tournament.
Since 2014, Ohio State has won just 12 games in the Big Ten Tournament. The majority of those wins came in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the tournament when they won half of those 12 games.
The 34 wins all time by the Buckeyes rank third among Big Ten programs, just behind Michigan State and Illinois.
4
If we’re being honest, Ohio State has won the Big Ten Tournament five times, but only four of those tournament victories are recognized since the 2002 triumph has been vacated due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.
The first Big Ten Tournament title for the Buckeyes that is recognized is from the 2007 season when Greg Oden led the team to a 66-49 win over Wisconsin in the championship game.
Ohio State then went on to win in 2010, 2011, and 2013.
9
Much like the number of Big Ten Tournament titles won by Ohio State, the number of appearances in the championship game should actually be 10, but the 2002 win over Iowa has been vacated.
The last appearance by the Buckeyes in the final game of the tournament came in 2021 when they pushed Illinois to overtime. There was a stretch from 2009 to 2013 when Ohio State made the title game in five straight seasons.
The first recognized participation in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game came in 2003 when they were defeated by Illinois 72-59.
3
This marks Ohio State’s third time in the Big Ten Tournament as the eight-seed. The previous two times the Buckeyes have entered the tournament as the eight-seed came in 2003 and 2019, where they amassed a combined 4-2 record.
Back in 2003, Ohio State made it to the championship game before falling to Illinois. In 2019, the Buckeyes outlasted Indiana 79-75 in the second round before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals.
3-3
This marks the fourth consecutive season Ohio State and Iowa will meet in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes hold a 2-1 edge during that span, with the lone win by the Hawkeyes coming last season.
The head-to-head record between the programs in the tournament is even at 3-3, but Ohio State holds a 4-3 lead if the 2002 tournament final between the schools hadn’t been vacated. Iowa won the only game between the teams during this year’s regular season.
6
After becoming Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday, Bruce Thornton now has a chance to become just the second Big Ten player with 2,000 career points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists.
The only other player in conference history who has reached those numbers is Talor Battle of Penn State, who also was an assistant coach for the Buckeyes last season.
Thornton has already hit the marks in points and assists, now he just needs six more rebounds to reach 500 boards during his legendary career.
15
With just 15 more points, Devin Royal will become the latest Buckeye to record 1,000 points during his Ohio State career. After finishing last season with 425 points in 31 games as a sophomore, Royal has been even more impressive as a junior.
In 29 games this season, Royal has 405 points. Had Royal not missed two games this season, he likely would have already reached the mark. Now Royal has a chance to record his 1,000th career point before Ohio State kicks off their NCAA Tournament run.
42.4
Despite missing three games this season because of injury, John Mobley Jr. leads the Big Ten in three-point shooting, entering the Big Ten Tournament hitting triples at a 42.4% clip.
Following a freshman season where he hit 77 of his 200 three-point attempts to finish with a 38.5% average, Mobley has been even more efficient as a sophomore, drilling 89 of his 210 attempts from beyond the arc. The 89 three-pointers Mobley Jr. has hit this season are tied for seventh-most in a season in school history.
