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

Expectations for the season

While Ohio State will be ushering a new era of players, the Big Ten as a conference will be undergoing changes. With the exception of Michigan State, who reloads on a yearly basis, other teams are in transition as well. Indiana has a new coach, and Wisconsin is moving on from their most successful group of players ever.

The Buckeyes have already gotten off to a great start with four high-level commits in Duane Washington, Jaedon Ledee, Luther Muhammad, and recently Justin Ahrens. With an expected top-15 recruiting class, Ohio State will return to contention sooner rather than later.

For this season, the goals will be to find who will be part of the main rotation in the future, particularly Micah Potter. His play will determine how much of a need an additional big will play into the recruiting picture. Playing Kyle Young as much as possible will also be the goal.

Next: Big Tens stars for 2017-18

This season is essentially a bridge into next year, as the wins and losses won’t be as important. The real battle being waged is on the recruiting trail, where the Buckeyes are winning as of now. If they can finish ahead of the Scarlet Knights and the Cornhuskers while avoiding disastrous buy game mishaps, then this season will be a success.