Ohio State Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Buckeyes

Last season certainly did not go according to plan at Ohio State and it became quite the season of transition for the Buckeyes. Chris Holtmann was given his walking papers on Valentine’s Day, leaving Jake Diebler as the interim coach. The Buckeyes underwhelmed throughout the early season, but a strong finish earned Diebler the full-time gig in Columbus.

In his first game at the helm, Diebler led the Buckeyes to an upset win over a Purdue team that would play in the national title game just over a month later. Ohio State played markedly well under his leadership and won a few games in the NIT, with Diebler’s record hitting 8-3 as the interim. Overall, the Buckeyes’ 9th place finish in the Big Ten was obviously underwhelming, as this program has their eyes set on postseason success.

Ohio State didn’t have that great run at the NCAA Tournament during Holtmann’s tenure and achieving that is certainly a necessity for Diebler in the years to come. He’s had his work cut out for him in his first offseason in charge, as many changes were made to the Buckeyes’ roster in the offseason. Does this new-look roster have a chance to make a major breakthrough in this expanded Big Ten?

We’ll be examining this possibility by taking a deep dive into Ohio State’s roster for the coming season. After looking closely at both new and returning players, we’ll look a little bit at the upcoming schedule and make some evaluations about this program. There’s no such thing as patience in the world of college basketball and it’ll be interesting to see how Diebler fares in his first stint as a collegiate head coach.