Big Ten Basketball: 10 key storylines to watch for 2023 offseason

Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) celebrates as he is announced the player of the tournament after winning the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Sunday, March 12, 2023, at United Center in Chicago. Purdue won 67-65.Pupsu031223 Am22423 /

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Big Ten Basketball Ohio State Buckeyes forward Brice Sensabaugh Basketball Ceb Mbk Minnesota Minnesota At Ohio State /

9. Ohio State hopes that past season was a mere fluke

A run in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament took a little bit of the sour taste off what was an awful season overall for the Buckeyes. They ultimately finished 16-19 and 5-15 in league play, which included 14 losses in 15 games in the middle of the season. It was the first time that head coach Chris Holtmann truly felt the heat from the fan base and there were even rumors that he could’ve jumped ship, with Notre Dame an option.

It looks like he’s back, with a roster that will need to be retooled. Leading scorer and freshman wing Brice Sensabaugh has entered the NBA Draft process and likely is gone. Justice Sueing, Sean McNeil and Isaac Likekele will be moving on as well. But barring any unexpected transfer departures, Ohio State has a roster capable of making a quick turnaround.

Bruce Thornton (10.6 ppg and 2.6 apg) has all the makings of a national sophomore breakout candidate. Big man Zed Key should be back and healthy as well. Other freshmen such as Roddy Gayle and Felix Okpara should get more minutes as well. And once again, the team has a top-10 recruiting class coming in. Historically, at least one freshman breaks out for the Buckeyes and have a big impact.

Last offseason, the team brought in maybe too many transfers. There’s a chance that Coach Holtmann doesn’t bring in too many and risk the chemistry, though they may swing for a home run transfer pickup in a case of quality over quanity.

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