These last few seasons have been quite uneven at Ohio State though there’s hope that Jake Diebler can actually take this team back into Big Ten contention. He took over as interim head coach in February 2024 and led a brilliant push which led him to getting the full-time job a few weeks later. Last season was largely underwhelming, with a 10th place conference finish and a record only a hair above .500, though Diebler and company are hoping to learn from that experience.
First comes the good news, and this is news that’s rare in this era of college basketball. The Buckeyes return arguably their top three players from last season, each of whom averaged at least 13 points per game in freshman John Mobley, sophomore Devin Royal, and junior Bruce Thornton. Where things went wrong last season was largely in that frontcourt, as highly-touted talents Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart didn’t pan out and went back into the transfer portal.
Ohio State’s own transfer class this season doesn’t exactly jump off the page but Diebler and staff gained four pretty solid athletes for next year. The backcourt gets a notable boost with Gabe Cupps, the former Indiana point guard looking for his chance after limited minutes in Bloomington. Former Wright State forward Brandon Noel could carve out a decent role in the frontcourt while Josh Ojianwuna is a highly-regarded big man that started to come into his own at Baylor last season.
Keeping in mind those centers that didn’t work out last season, it’s ever more important how Christoph Tilly fits in with these Buckeyes. A 7-footer from Germany, Tilly just spent three years out at Santa Clara developing into a reliable paint presence. He’s fresh off a junior year where he put up 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds a game with his most consistent production, starting 31 games in a nice year for the Broncos.
The question becomes how this 7-0 talent can continue to grow his game in the Big Ten. He has the size and ability to be a potent weapon on both ends of the court and fills an enormous hole for the Buckeyes. Ohio State already knows what they have in a backcourt led by Mobley and Thornton, but this frontcourt is full of question marks. A stable senior season with even more growth out of Tilly would go a long way to shoring up a recent problem for the Buckeyes.
Last year Ohio State still won 17 games with those returning three stars carrying much of the load. If they can play to that same level or better and get legitimate play in the paint from Tilly then Ohio State can be a contender in this conference again. Diebler’s work this season to grab talent didn’t just stop at Tilly either, with Ojianwuna more than capable as well, but will the results be any different this season?