Ohio State Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Buckeyes

After two years of missing the NCAA Tournament, a new man is in charge. Can Chris Holtmann take Ohio State basketball back to the glory days?

After missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade, coach Thad Matta was in need of a good season. Things had to go well for the team to stay in the hunt for an at-large bid. Unfortunately, just about everything went poorly.

The first problem that occurred was forward Keita Bates-Diop going down with a season-ending injury. With a roster that already lacked depth, his absence was felt tremendously. Then, for the second year in a row, the Buckeyes lost a tough game in the non-conference, this time to Florida Atlantic in overtime.

Conference play didn’t go much better, with Ohio State playing at the bottom of the league. With the only hope of going to the Big Dance relying on winning the Big Ten tournament, the team committed the ultimate basketball sin: losing to Rutgers in the first round.

After a record of 17-15, Matta ultimately is no longer the coach at Ohio State. In fairness to the former coach, health concerns also played a role in the team’s struggles. Matters only got worse for the program after Matta’s departure, with leading scoring JaQuan Lyle quitting the team in April before a public intoxication arrest a month later.

An argument could be made that Matta’s fate was sealed with the now infamous 2015 recruiting class. The players included Austin Grandstaff, Daniel Giddens, A.J. Harris, Mickey Mitchell and the above-mentioned Lyle. They formed a nationally ranked class that was supposed to be part of the future.

Unfortunately, outside of Lyle, the other four couldn’t get any minutes from Matta, each transferring out. It left clear voids throughout the roster and the lack of depth showed, especially after Bates-Diop went down.

With a new head coach in Chris Holtmann, a complete rebuild is in order. Hopefully for him, this will be the worst season in his tenure.