Ohio State’s 66-64 loss to TCU in the NCAA Tournament last season was tough to swallow for everyone involved — players, coaches, and fans alike.
The Buckeyes gave up a 13-2 run in the final five minutes of the first half, falling behind by a bundle of points (15, to be exact) by the halftime break. After clawing back from that deficit for nearly the entire second half, Ohio State did eventually take a brief second-half lead. But the Horned Frogs, who doubled up Ohio State on the offensive glass 12-6
and were able to utilize its bench more effectively to give the starters an occasional breather, pounded the rock inside and scored with 4 seconds remaining to put the Buckeyes’ season in the grave by 2:00 p.m. on the first day of the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State, admittedly, did not handle its business during the first half of that game. It seemed the Buckeyes exhausted so much energy simply getting back into the game, they did not have enough gas left in the tank to land the final blow. If it was a boxing match, TCU would’ve won by split decision. The Frogs landed the final blow, and the bout ultimately went to them.
For Ohio State center Josh Ojianwuna, the angst of watching his team lose was compounded by the fact that he felt that, had he been able to play, perhaps the game would’ve turned out differently.
Ohio State was out-rebounded by TCU 38-32 that afternoon. The Horned Frogs hurt Ohio State on the offensive glass specifically, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds that not only led to six second-chance points, but more importantly kept the ball out of the Buckeyes’ hands, forcing them to play an additional 30 seconds of defense in the possession after having already done so. With four of Ohio State’s five starters playing at least 35 minutes that day, those types of long, winded possessions can grind a team down.
While his teammates did their best to furiously mount a comeback and then try to hold off the rugged Horned Frogs in the closing seconds, Ojianwuna was relegated to the bench. The former Baylor big man transferred to Ohio State in May 2025, but a torn ACL suffered three months prior to his transfer caused him to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
All the 6-foot-10, 270-pound senior could do was watch and motivate his teammates while they tangled with TCU’s low-post combination of David Punch (who has since transferred to Texas) and Xavier Edmonds. The two combined for 32 points and 21 rebounds that day. Ojianwuna knows that, had he been able to play, he probably could’ve helped counter TCU’s muscle inside a bit.
During Ohio State’s media day on September 30, Ojianwuna was asked if he had thought about how that game against TCU might’ve gone if he had been healthy and able to play. He said he was thinking about it on the bench, no doubt, but that was out of his control at the time.
“Yeah, I did (think about it),” he said.
At Baylor two seasons ago, Ojianwuna averaged 6.4 rebounds per game. He rebounded at a rate of 10.4 boards per 40 minutes, and was the third-leading rebounder on that Baylor team despite missing the final 12 games of the season. His offensive rebounding rate that season (12.3%) was higher than any Ohio State player last season. His defensive rebounding rate (18.5%) would’ve been second on Ohio State last year, behind only 7-foot-2 big man Ivan Njegovan (21.6%).
Punch and Edmonds in particular made Ohio State pay on the glass and around the basket, including on the very last play of the game. Ojianwuna knows it — he just couldn’t do anything about it.
“Honestly, it kind of sucked I wasn’t able to help because I did want to play,” he said. He went on, “But also, I don’t want to take away the effort the team put in. Like, they tried a lot. They tried to come back, and then they tried to win the game. But like I said, it sucked, just sitting on the bench knowing that if I was in that game, I probably would’ve been able to impact the game positively.”
As last season progressed, those who showed up early enough to Ohio State games were able to catch Ojianwuna taking warm up shots on the court hours before game time, riding the exercise bike courtside, or working on low-post drills with coaches. It wasn’t that he was completely unable to do any basketball activities, but towards the end of the season a decision had to be made — would it be worth it to burn Ojianwuna’s final year of eligibility on two or three games, knowing he still wasn’t 100%?
Although a formal announcement was never made, the decision was ultimately made to hold Ojianwuna out to preserve his final year of eligibility for the 2026-27 season, when he would be fully healthy and able to contribute to an NCAA Tournament run. Still, not being able to go to war with his teammates in the tournament stung.
“Like I said, I couldn’t control that stuff. All I could focus on (at the time) was my rehab, and trying to get back to playing with my team.”
Now healthy and ready to don the scarlet and gray after being medically cleared to play just over two weeks ago, Ojianwuna cannot do anything about last season. Now in his final season of college basketball, he’s focused on being the best version of himself and helping Ohio State reach the lofty standards head coach Jake Diebler and so many fans have for the program.
“I’m going to be very physical — rebound the ball a lot. I’m ready to give it my all.”
