Things in Columbus are not good for the Ohio State men's basketball program...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The future of Ohio State basketball was laid out in a loss before a half-empty arena on Thursday night as freshmen played about half the Buckeyes’ minutes. There could be promise in that future. There’s also peril.
The Buckeyes are 3-14 in Big Ten play and 11-17 overall after Thursday’s 75-71 loss to Penn State. Home games remain with Illinois and Maryland, before a final trip to Michigan State, and there’s no reason to assume more than one OSU win in those three. Because it’s not only the record, and it’s just not that Holtmann, finishing his sixth season, has yet to win a Big Ten title or reach the Sweet Sixteen, which anyone with half an eye on the Buckeyes realizes.
Ohio State basketball can be, and has been, electric, and there is no reason for the OSU athletic administration to settle for anything short of that. The Buckeyes have been consistent solid winners under Holtmann,But there hasn’t been much truly memorable or extraordinary, and now with a fall this far, the OSU basketball program is without a ladder that could now be used to get them out. They fell in a pit before they hit a peak. Win big early, you earn some slack later.
The Buckeyes recently moved to a four-freshmen starting lineup since a season-ending injury to veteran big man Zed Key. There’s been a lot of talk about veteran opponents, with teams like Penn State and Northwestern putting up big years behind savvy, older players. OSU freshmen like Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Brice Sensabaugh are doing what they can, but the roster gaps among the older players has put too much on the first-year guys.
The Buckeyes aren’t winning in the portal. Recruiting has been pretty good by the rankings, with this year’s freshman class and the group coming in next season. Yet Holtmann was once again was left to explain after Thursday’s loss why he sat Sensabaugh, their leading scorer, for a long stretch because the freshman’s defense still isn’t up to snuff. He’s the only Buckeye averaging more than 12 points per game, but he’s not ready at the other end of the floor. So sometimes the coach sits him.
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