Ohio State’s men’s basketball team is off to a 2-0 start a week into the 2025-26 college basketball season. Even though the first two games were only against IU Indianapolis and Purdue Fort Wayne, there was a lot to like in the victories. While the Buckeyes have a lot of work to do to make their first NCAA Tournament since the 2021-22 season, with what Jake Diebler’s team has shown through their first two games, there certainly looks like a path for Ohio State to return to the big dance.
Ahead of
tonight’s game against Appalachian State, we want to know which Buckeye basketball player has impressed the most through the first two games of the season. It could be a returning starter who is playing lights out, an underclassman who looks like they have made a significant leap from last year, a freshman who has started off the season strong, or a transfer who might be even better than advertised.
The collection of players assembled for this year’s Ohio State team has the potential to draw in Buckeye Nation once the college football season is over. This team has the feel of a likable squad that could reverse the downward momentum that has plagued the program recently. We’ll find out a lot more about the squad on Sunday when they take on Notre Dame, and at the end of the month with a trip to Pitt before a couple of Big Ten games early in December.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State basketball player has impressed the most so far this season?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Christoph Tilly
I was excited to see Christoph Tilly in the scarlet and gray when it was announced he was transferring into the program from Santa Clara. Last year with the Broncos, Tilly averaged 12.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per contest. The 7-footer from Germany was brought in to fill the void left by Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw, who were extremely underwhelming last season for the Buckeyes.
Despite the competition level being on easy for the first two games of the season, Tilly has already done more on the court for Ohio State than Stewart and Bradshaw combined to do all of last season.
In the season opener against IU Indianapolis, Tilly had quite the Buckeye debut, nearly recording a double-double by scoring 28 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The senior was nearly perfect in shooting the basketball, going 9-11 from the field. On Friday night against Purdue Fort Wayne, Tilly finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and four assists. To some, the five turnovers might be concerning, but there were times when Tilly was handling the basketball going down the court, which is something he likely still is getting used to since he likely didn’t have quite as much freedom at Santa Clara.
Maybe Tilly comes back down to earth as the level of competition ramps up in Big Ten play. At least for now, we can cross that bridge when we get there. There hasn’t been a lot to feel good about when it comes to the Ohio State men’s basketball program in a while, so seeing Tilly and the rest of the team get off to a start where they are averaging over 100 points through the first two games is intriguing.
Tilly brings veteran leadership to go along with Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal. The combination of Royal and Tilly down low will be tough for opponents of the Buckeyes to deal with all season long. Hopefully, the great start is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.
Matt’s answer: Bruce Thornton
I mean… this is a no-brainer, right? Through the first two games of the season, Bruce Thornton has averaged 32 points, 5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1 steal per game, all while shooting 77.8% from the field, including 58.3% from distance. So, I know that it is a bit of a copout to take the best player on the team, an all-conference selection, and the Big Ten Player of the Week, but when you talk about impressive play through the first two games of the season, you need not look any further than Bruce Thornton.
There are still a lot of new and moving parts on Jake Diebler’s team, which is why the consistency of Thornton’s play is even more important than just the raw numbers suggest. The fact that the Buckeye guard came into the season expected to be the backbone of the team — a four-year captain, a two-time All-Big Ten honoree — and has not only lived up to those expectations, but so far exceeded them to any reasonable level, bodes incredibly well for the future of this year’s squad.
Thornton put up a career high 38 points against Purdue Fort Wayne while shooting 82.4% from the field, including going a perfect 9-for-9 from inside the arc; Julian Sayin might have some competition for the most accurate Buckeye on campus.
With fellow veteran Devin Royal a bit banged up through two games, Thornton will continue to be the engine that drives Diebler’s team, especially as the schedule gets tougher. Following a game against Appalachian State on Tuesday, the Buckeyes will play Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, No. 14 Illinois, West Virginia, and No. 18 North Carolina — along with three low-major squads — before kicking off the Big Ten slate in earnest in the new year.
The expectations for this team are to make the NCAA Tournament. After the bad run of results in recent years, the program, players, coaches, and fans need that. If the Buckeye men are going to go dancing, it will require Thornton to continue to play at a high level and for them to pick up a decent number of wins against Power 4 schools over the next five weeks.
