The pressure continues to rise as he looks to take this Ohio State basketball team deep into the NCAA Tournament.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Ohio State basketball.
In 2023-24, Ohio State decided to cut longtime coach Chris Holtmann mid-season, replacing him with associate head coach Jake Diebler. Diebler went 8-3 as head coach, and instead of looking for a new coach in the offseason, they decided to keep him after that successful stint.
In his first year as Ohio State head coach and head coach in general, he went 17-15 and missed the tournament. Last year was a little better, winning 21 games and making the NCAA Tournament. However, a close loss to TCU knocked them out, making it four years without an NCAA Tournament win.
This year, there’s definitely pressure on Diebler to succeed, and if they don’t win a game in the tournament, they may look for their next guy. He’ll have to do it without Bruce Thornton, one of the best players in Ohio State basketball history. They do bring back John Mobley Jr., though, who started every game for them and was second on the team in scoring.
In addition to Mobley, they return Amare Bynum, the sophomore who looked really impressive in the second half of the season and should continue to build off that. He’ll be paired with forward Anthony Thompson, a top-10 recruit and the fourth-highest in Ohio State basketball history. That duo should give them really great size defensively, especially if Josh Ojianwuna, who missed all of last season, can stay healthy.
The bench is certainly not a strong point, but they did add Jimmie Williams, who stays in state after transferring from Duquesne. He’ll be fighting with Justin Pippen for the starting point guard spot, after a huge sophomore leap at Cal last year. They also add Jelavic from Kentucky, who started 23 games for the Wildcats last season.
Outside of Notre Dame, the non-conference is tough, playing some definite national title contenders in Kansas and UConn, as well as top-25 teams in BYU and Vanderbilt. This should set them up for conference play, where the Big Ten looks to be unforgiving once again.
Head coach: Jake Diebler (3rd season overall, all at Ohio State)
2025-26 record: 21-13 (12-8)
2026 postseason finish: Lost to TCU (66-64) in first round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Bruce Thornton (19.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.9 APG)
- Devin Royal (13.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.6 APG)
- Cristoph Tilly (11.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. BYU (Nov. 2)
- at UConn (Nov. 13)
- vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 24)
- at Notre Dame (Dec. 12)
- vs. Kansas (Dec. 19)
Projected Rotation
PG: Justin Pippen (6-4, 190, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 37.0 FG%, 82.7 FT% (Cal)
SG: John Mobley Jr. (6-2, 190, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 43.2 FG%, 41.1 3P%, 86.8 FT%
SF: Anthony Thompson (6-9, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 9 ranked recruit
PF: Amare Bynum (6-8, 245, So.)
2025-26 stats: 9.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 50.6 FG%, 72.6 FT%
C: Josh Ojianwuna (6-10, 270, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 7.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 77.4 FG%, 64.5 FT%
*Missed 2025-26 season with injury
6: Jimmie Williams (6-4, 210, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 46.3 FG%, 33.9 3P%, 75.7 FT% (Duquesne)
7: Andrija Jelavic (6-11, 240, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 47.7 FG% (Kentucky)
8: Curtis Givens III (6-3, 190, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 9.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 43.1 FG%, 36.5 3P%, 66.1 FT% (Memphis)
9: LJ Smith (6-4, 180, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 53 ranked recruit
10: Ivan Njegovan (7-2, 260, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 2.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.4 BPG, 56.9 FG%, 65.5 FT%
Ohio State basketball team MVP: John Mobley Jr.
Mobley had a strong freshman year and built off of it last year, improving in nearly every stat while improving his efficiency as well. His best strength is his three-point shooting, where he made 41% on over 7.5 attempts a game. He’s a top-20 offensive player in the country, and with Thornton gone, he will likely elevate his game even more.
Defensively, he’s not going to be much help, but that’s why they brought in Justin Pippen to take on the lead guard. He’s going to take over games when he gets hot and give this Buckeyes team a chance to win in any situation.
Ohio State basketball make-or-break player: Amare Bynum
Bynum had a lot of buzz as a high schooler, earning top 50 honors. He eased his way into the Ohio State rotation, playing role player minutes in his first few games as he adjusted to the college game. His true breakout game was a two-overtime win on December 13th against West Virginia, when he scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, as well as three blocks in the win. This is when we saw the potential he could provide; it was just about the consistency.
He put together some strong performances towards the end of the season, including 12 points, 9 rebounds, and two blocks in the NCAA Tournament loss. According to the Ohio State roster sheet, he added 25 pounds this offseason, making him even more of a physical threat. Combine that with additional minutes and game experience, and he could be a top big in the Big Ten this year and make them a threat to win the Big Ten.
He’s far from perfect, and if he stays on this level and Anthony Thompson shows growing pains, then it might be the Mobley show, which will be a problem for this offense.
Key statistic: Field Goal %
Ohio State shot the ball extremely efficiently last year, at 49.1% as a team, 17th best in college basketball. Gabe Cupps was the only player who played over 10 minutes a game who shot under 40%, and Thornton, Bynum, and Branden Noel all shot over 50%. Even from the line, they shot 77.7%, 21st best in the country. With Mobley and Bynum back, then adding Ojianwuna, who shot 77% from the field his last season, and Jimmie Williams, they should be up there once again.
Not to state the obvious, but if the shots are going in, that limits opportunities for the defense and increases their chances of winning. As long as they can stay around this range this year, they should breeze to another NCAA Tournament appearance.
Ohio State basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 9th in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16