For the third consecutive season, the Ohio State men’s basketball team is inching closer to March with the NCAA Tournament in its sights — but maybe not as close as they would like.
The Buckeyes (16-8,
8-6) are once again entrenched on the NCAA Tournament bubble. With seven regular season games remaining, Ohio State is currently listed as the first team out of the tournament according to Bracket Matrix, which compiles and averages over 100 bracket predictions every day. That means that, despite currently being out of the field of 68, it only takes one bubble team slipping up and falling behind the Buckeyes for them to get in. Ohio State has to do its job and win a few games down the stretch too, of course.
However, one local radio host thinks the Ohio State men’s basketball program would be better served by missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
In a 40-second clip that was posted on Twitter Wednesday morning, longtime 97.1 FM radio host Jonathan Smith, known as “T-Bone” by many, said, “We have to acknowledge it is not in the best interest of Ohio State basketball to make the NCAA Tournament this year.”
He went on, “Like, stop rooting for it. We don’t want it, we don’t need it. They need to miss the tournament because that’s the only way things are ever going to change around here is if we finally acknowledge where this program is and what it is. And if we make the tournament through some sheer stroke of luck or because the computers love this craptastic team, I don’t have any desire to watch Bruce (Thornton) for 5-for-13, and watch Juni Mobley miss eight threes, and watch Christoph Tilly get fouled out with 10 minutes to go in the second half by a good team, because that’s what will happen if they make the NCAA Tournament.”
The clip, which was a recording from Smith’s show on 97.1 FM in the morning with former Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell, caught a lot of eyes Wednesday morning, several hours before the Buckeyes were set to take on USC at the Schottenstein Center. The clip has been viewed over 150,000 times on Twitter as of Thursday evening.
It also didn’t take too terribly long for both current and former Ohio State players to see the video — and for a few to reply directly to it on social media. Former Ohio State captain J.J. Sullinger replied on Instagram:
“Why do y’all keep posting this goofy shit? Y’all are more about (dis)likes, clicks, and (bad) engagement than being considered the ”go to” news outlet, and this proves it! You know why? Cause y’all don’t really cover hoops! Y’all let the (Columbus) Dispatch and various pod(cast)s do it… stick to football! We will be just fine without y’all, I promise you!“
Former Buckeye center Zed Key also commented with the “unimpressed” emoji, and current Buckeye guard John Mobley Jr., who Smith directly mentions during his rant, commented on the post as well, with several laughing emojis.
Smith’s suggestion that Ohio State missing the NCAA Tournament is the best possible thing for the future of the program clearly didn’t sit too well with the sophomore guard, who commented on the post about 90 minutes after scoring 13 points in Ohio State’s 89-82 win over USC.
Reading between the lines, Smith was clearly saying that Ohio State missing the NCAA Tournament is what needs to happen so that “things will change,” which is his way of saying Ross Bjork firing Jake Diebler and hiring a new coach.
His assumption that Ohio State missing the NCAA Tournament means the end for Diebler may not be accurate, either — we have no idea what bar or hurdles Diebler needs to clear this season to make sure he keeps his job. Ohio State is currently 8-6 in the Big Ten — if they get to say, 11-9 or 10-10, but miss the NCAA Tournament somehow, would Bjork make a change? With a generational recruit committed to Ohio State in the 2026 class in Anthony Thompson, it seems that there may be a bit more leeway there than some people realize, especially if the Buckeyes finish the season strong.
He then goes on to single out three players — Thornton, Mobley, and Tilly, who he guarantees will all have bad games in the NCAA Tournament, if Ohio State was to make the tournament by a “stroke of sheer luck.”
He says Thornton would “go 5-for-13”, which on the surface is an odd assumption to make about a player who is shooting 55% this season, has made more than five field goals in 17 of Ohio State’s 24 games, and is on track to potentially become the program’s all-time leading scorer. Of all the players to rip on, Thornton is certainly a choice.
He said Mobley would “miss eight threes” in an NCAA Tournament game, despite the fact that Mobley is shooting 40% from three-point range this season, is third in the Big Ten is three-pointers made (70), and has accomplished the feat of missing eight three-pointers in exactly one of his 56 career games.
He finished the roast by guaranteeing Tilly, who has fouled out twice this season in 23 games and six times in his collegiate career, would “foul out with 10 minutes to go in the second half.”
Two things are true about Smith’s Wednesday morning rant: his predictions were not based on prior statistical trends, and the current iteration of the Ohio State men’s basketball team very much heard what he said.
