Welcome to “You’re Nuts” offseason edition, part one out of many. The Ohio State men’s basketball team’s season is over.
The Buckeyes lost to the TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday afternoon, 66-64, in Greenville, South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Ohio State since 2022, but they were unable to extend their stay beyond one day thanks to TCU’s Xavier Edmonds, who scored with four seconds remaining to put the final dagger in Ohio State’s
season.
Jake Diebler and Ohio State are now staring a seven-month-long offseason in the face. Several players will be moving on from the program, none more important than Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer, Bruce Thornton. A four-year starter, Thornton leaves a hole at the point guard position that Ohio State has not had to deal with for four years. Brandon Noel and Christoph Tilly are also out of eligibility, so there will be roster spots that need to be filled with front-court players, too.
We’ll have months to discuss transfer portal priorities and news. For today, we’re looking back at the freshly dead body that is Ohio State’s 2025-26 season and grading their season. What’s an “A” or “A+” season is clearly subjective — some people may be satisfied with Ohio State’s accomplishments this year, while others may think that the Buckeyes fell disastrously short of what the program standard should be.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated who was Ohio State’s MVP in their Big Ten Tournament win over Iowa, which feels like it was a decade ago at this point. Connor went with Christoph Tilly, who dominated in the first half against Iowa and opened things up for Bruce Thornton to take over in the second half. Justin picked Thornton, who finished with 24 points and was generally unstoppable in the second half of that game.
Back to this week’s question: How did Ohio State do this year?
How would you grade the Ohio State men’s basketball team’s season?
Connor: B
Ohio State did not reach the lofty standard this season that Jake Diebler has for the program, but I think the Buckeyes more or less accomplished the bare minimum of what fans wanted to see from them this year. Ohio State finished in the top half of the Big Ten, finished the year playing its best basketball, and made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.
Not all, but the majority of fans expressed last summer that the “bare minimum” for Ohio State this season was to get back to the NCAA Tournament and make that the standard for the program moving forward. The Buckeyes did that, getting hot at the end of the season to play themselves off the bubble and safely into the NCAA Tournament field.
Fans want to see Ohio State winning Big Ten titles and placing towards the very top of the Big Ten every year, which are things Diebler himself has said are priorities of his, too. The Buckeyes fell well short of that this season, but I can’t imagine too many fans expected Ohio State to go from not making the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive seasons to making an Elite Eight run this season.
The Buckeyes won 21 games, 12 Big Ten games, and gave the fans a (brief) March Madness experience. The team shook off some poor play in February to play a scalding hot March, and earned an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State will have to increase the expectations moving forward. They made it to the Big Dance this year, but did not win a game. Next season — especially with Anthony Thompson on campus — simply making the tournament should not be the expectation. It’s been over a decade since Ohio State last made it to the second weekend of the tournament, and next year should probably be one of those years.
But after missing out on the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive seasons, this felt like a solid stepping stone season for Diebler in year two. It wasn’t excellent, but they mostly met the minimum of what fans wanted to see five months ago. Next year, they will need to make the NCAA Tournament and advance.
Justin: C
To me, this season was the definition of a “C” and average. The two highlights of the season were Bruce Thornton’s Senior Day and his breaking the all-time scoring record, and the Buckeyes making the tournament for the first time in four years.
They made the tournament, so it can’t be a failed season, because that shows that progress is being made and the program is at least moving in the right direction.
However, there were still some close losses — losses to teams that you shouldn’t lose to — and they were middle of the pack in the Big Ten.
Moving forward, the expectation for the program should be a top-25 team and a top-six team in the conference. Those are the steps they need to take to get to better than average. Making the tournament was good to get that conversation to end, but that is the bare minimum.
