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LGHL The Ohio State men’s basketball team got better on Thursday

The Ohio State men’s basketball team got better on Thursday
Connor Lemons
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Santa Clara v Pepperdine

Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images

Jake Diebler added a starter via the portal and returned a starter on the same day.

Things have been a little tense for Ohio State fans over the past 10 days. They’ve watched a few great players with Columbus roots enter the transfer portal, consider Ohio State, and then go elsewhere. They’ve watched their biggest rival swipe a player that was also considering Ohio State, and the status of the team’s best player was up in the air as well, as he weighed staying, transferring, or going pro.

Meanwhile, teams all across the country like UConn, Baylor, Miami, and Louisville were walking down the aisles of the transfer portal supermarket and throwing anything they wanted into their shopping cart without even checking the price.

Well take a deep breath, Ohio State fans. Your favorite team got a whole lot better on Thursday.

It started with head coach Jake Diebler announcing that Bruce Thornton, the team’s leading scorer for the past two seasons and a three-time captain, would be returning for his senior season. He expects Thornton to enter the 2025 NBA Draft and work out for teams to get feedback on his game, but ultimately expects Bruce (who is not projected to be a draft pick) to return to Ohio State.

It goes without saying that Bruce Thornton’s return is massive for not just the team, but the program and the fanbase. Aside from the fact that Thornton is a phenomenal player, he’s a rare occurrence — someone who stayed at the same school all four years. It’s tougher and tougher these days for kids to grow up and have a “favorite player” in college, because players are constantly changing teams. Thornton is one of the few exceptions.

Later Thursday afternoon, former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly — a 7-foot tall, 240-pound center who was born in Germany but spent much of his childhood in Chile, transferred to Ohio State. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game last season, playing for Herb Sendek at Santa Clara.


Ohio State’s pursuit of and commitment to Tilly is a complete 180 from last year’s transfer portal strategy. Last spring, Jake Diebler swung high for the uber-talented sophomores who didn’t perform as freshmen, and it blew up in his face.

Aaron Bradshaw fell marvelously short of expectations, and this week he entered the transfer portal once again looking for a fresh start elsewhere. Sean Stewart showed more promise than Bradshaw and the arrow is pointing up for the soon-to-be junior, but ultimately 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 18.4 minutes per game did not meet the expectations that anyone had for the former McDonald’s All-American.

Tilly is 22 years old, and has one year of college basketball left. He scored 10 or more points 22 times last season, but only scored 20 points five times. He had at least five rebounds 15 times, but only grabbed 10 or more three times. He had three double-doubles sprinkled in, including a 17-point, 12-rebound performance against UAB in the NIT.

He also did that in just 23 minutes, which was not uncommon for Tilly at Santa Clara. Despite being a starter for the last two seasons, Tilly only averaged 20.1 minutes per game as a sophomore and 22.7 minutes per game as a junior. The Broncos went nine-deep all season long, with only one player averaging 30 minutes per game or more.

Tilly was not the best center in the transfer portal, nor was he the most athletic or the most exciting. He’s not exactly a dual threat big man, having only shot 32% from three-point range last season. He’s not a hound on the glass either, grabbing roughly five rebounds per game last year. But he is something that Ohio State desperately needs this year: consistent.

While fans would have loved to add a stud center who averages 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks per game, those don’t grow on trees, and frankly a player with even half of those stats will make a huge difference for Ohio State.

Maye he’s a bit vanilla, but Tilly should provide the post presence this year that Ohio State so desperately needed last season.

The Buckeyes were 13th in the Big Ten in two-point field goal percentage last season (52.6%), mostly because their two-point shots were rarely by post players below the basket. More often, it was a contested jumper or floater by a guard, because defenses were so locked in on Thornton and John Mobley Jr.

If Ohio State had a viable starting center last year, opponents wouldn’t be able to ignore the paint and allow their defenders to cheat up towards the perimeter, where Thornton and Mobley were. The presence of a 7-footer who is actually an offensive threat should help with that.

Tilly shot 61.7% from two-point range last season and was an even better 63% at the rim. He didn’t draw a ton of fouls or shoot a ton of free throws, but when he did, he was a 77% free throw shooter, so he can make teams pay at the line if they foul him going to the rack. It’s not eye-popping, but he’s solid, and at 7-feet tall and 240 pounds, he’s not exactly a little fella.

What happened on Thursday isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but the bottom line is that Ohio State got better yesterday. For a team that was probably one win away from making the NCAA Tournament last year, that’s all that matters.

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LGHL You’re Nuts: Will Bruce Thornton become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer?

You’re Nuts: Will Bruce Thornton become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer?
Connor Lemons
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


NCAA Basketball: Nebraska at Ohio State

Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Jake Diebler announced on Thursday morning that Thornton would return for his fourth and final season.

After a no-good, very bad April Fool’s day earlier this week, the Ohio State men’s basketball program had a much better April Third day on the roster front.

At about 7:45 a.m. head coach Jake Diebler announced during a quick radio interview that he’s expecting Thornton to go through with the NBA Draft process and then ultimately return to Ohio State for his senior season. Thornton is currently not projected to be selected in any major mock draft services as of this week.

Then, around 3:00 p.m. former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly announced on Instagram that he would be transferring to Ohio State. He will start for the Buckeyes, and will hopefully relieve some of the defensive pressure on Ohio State’s guards by providing an offensive presence down low.

Last week, Connor and Justin debated which player who in the transfer portal (at the time) Ohio State should put on the full-court press for. Connor picked former Xavier forward Dailyn Swain, while Justin picked former West Virginia guard Jonathan Powell. 74% of the readers agreed with Connor with the choice of Swain.


Ironically, both of those players have transferred elsewhere since last week — Swain followed his former coach, Sean Miller to Austin to play for Texas. Powell committed to North Carolina on Tuesday night after (allegedly) doing a zoom call with the Carolina coaching staff.

After 198 weeks:

Connor- 89
Justin- 84
Other- 19

(There have been six ties)


Thornton’s eyes will be on making the NCAA Tournament in his final season, but a lot of fans will also be keeping an eye on the all-time scoring record, currently held by Dennis Hopson at 2,096 points.

He’ll either need to increase his points per game, or increase his total games played from this season, but that number is attainable if things go right and he stays healthy. How close will he get?

This week’s question: Will Bruce Thornton become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer?


Connor: Yes


By this time next year, I think Bruce Thornton will be the all-time leading scorer in Ohio State men’s basketball history. Thornton currently has 1,487 career points, so he’s 609 points away from tying the record, and 610 away from breaking it.

He’d need to put up another All-Conference-caliber season, but that’s sort of the expectation with Thornton at this point. It would also behoove Ohio State to make the NCAA Tournament next year for obvious reasons, but also to help Bruce get the record. A few extra games could be the difference between him finishing first, second, or third in the record book.

Thornton averaged 17.7 points per game last season. If he ups that a tiny bit to 18 points per game — which might be underselling him a little bit — then he’d need to play 34 games next season to claim the all-time scoring record.

This past season, Ohio State played 32 games, including one Big Ten Tournament game and zero NCAA Tournament games. This is a make-or-break year for Jake Diebler, so I’m going off of the assumption here that Ohio State will make the NCAA Tournament.

If the Buckeyes play two games in the Big Ten Tournament, and make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament (hypothetically), that puts the Bruce at 35 games — assuming health. At an 18 points per game pace, 35 games would do it.

I also think the addition of former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly will help Thornton maintain and probably improve his scoring pace. Ohio State did not have any type of offensive presence under the basket this past season, so opponents didn’t have to respect Ohio State in that area. That made Thornton’s shots tighter, more pressured, and more contested. With Tilly next season, I think Thornton will get a few more open, less crowded shots.


Justin: No


It seems like I am being negative because I am saying no, but I am actually being positive.I don’t think Thornton will break the scoring record simply because I think the Buckeyes will be improved next year, and more guys will help out in the scoring column.

This past year, the only real help Thornton had scoring for most of the season was John Mobley, Micah Parrish, and Devin Royal — and all three of them were inconsistent for the most part. Mobley and Royal are coming back to Columbus and will both be ready to take scoring jumps this year.

Now, the Buckeyes have announced they are bringing in Christoph Tilley, a 7-foot center from Santa Clara who averaged almost 13 points per game last year. They also have two more spots to fill, and one of those spots will likely be filled by starting-level player and backup guard Taison Chatman, who is returning from a season-ending injury.

All of these guys can score the ball and will help take the burden off Thornton when it comes to scoring the ball. As we have seen from his three years in Columbus, Thornton is the opposite of a selfish player and will let others get their opportunity.

I think he will get close, but fall just short since so many others on the team can score.



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LGHL Football, men’s basketball Buckeyes both get big BOOMs as Spring Game is officially back on

Football, men’s basketball Buckeyes both get big BOOMs as Spring Game is officially back on
Matt Tamanini
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State Spring Practice

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.

Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.

Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.

You’re welcome!


For your Earholes...


Subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network for all of your Ohio State needs
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land


Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio


Buckeyes Keep BOOOOOMing


Four-star safety prospect Simeon Caldwell commits to Ohio State
Jeremy Birmingham, Dotting The Eyes


BREAKING: Four-Star Safety Simeon Caldwell has Committed to Ohio State, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’2 200 S from Jacksonville, FL chose the Buckeyes over Notre Dame, USC, & Miami

“Ohio State is BIA for a reason. Best IN America.”https://t.co/63e0JszfVM pic.twitter.com/vyQxT9TPsI

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 3, 2025

4-star safety Simeon Caldwell commits to Ohio State: ‘I just feel different there’
Chad Simmons, On3

Safety/linebacker Simeon Caldwell commits to Ohio State
Bill Kurelic, Bucknuts

What the addition of Simeon Caldwell means for Ohio State
Mick Walker, Lettermen Row

Social media reacted after elite safety/linebacker Simeon Caldwell committed to Ohio State
Bill Kurelic, Bucknuts


On the Gridiron


Football: Offensive Line Meets with the Media
Ohio State Athletics

Quick Hits: Tyler Bowen Impressed with Offensive Line Depth, Carson Hinzman Strives to Be A Leader and Ohio State Was Phillip Daniels’ “Dream School”
Chase Brown, Dan Hope, Andy Anders, and Garrick Hodge; Eleven Warriors

With starting experience, Buckeyes interior offensive line should be a strength
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row


Iron sharpens Iron ⚒️

BIA x Zone 6 pic.twitter.com/nB9CJhd8zs

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 3, 2025

Tyler Bowen impressed with Ohio State’s offensive line depth | Who is standing out this spring?
Dave Biddle, Bucknuts

OL Phillip Daniels found his ‘dream school’ in transfer to Ohio State
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Rice transfer Onianwa has impressed at left tackle for Ohio State
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch


The Reigning Champs are back April 12 for the Spring Game ⭐

Let’s show the world who the Best Damn Fans in the Land are

https://t.co/ZSYfQoVbqk pic.twitter.com/ECjHQaOMPu

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 3, 2025

Football: Spring Practice & Spring Game Updates; Tickets – $8 – on Sale Now
Ohio State Athletics

Three areas of concern for Ohio State football ahead of the 2025 season
Brett Ludwiczak, Land-Grant Holy Land


On the Hardwood


One Last Lap: Bruce Thornton announces return to Ohio State
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land

Ohio State lands 7-foot transfer center Christoph Tilly from Santa Clara
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Santa Clara’s Christoph Tilly discusses Ohio State transfer, likely role
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

What addition of former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly means for Ohio State
Mick Walker, Lettermen Row


Christoph Tilly - Ohio State Transfer

The 7'0 big averaged 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 22.6 minutes a game during his junior season at Santa Clara

Tilly was a very productive big in his minutes, working really well as a roller and being solid in the post pic.twitter.com/JERVYDEHeN

— Joe Jackson (@joejacksonCBB) April 3, 2025

Outside the Shoe and Schott


OSU’s Kary Hollenbaugh makes final round of Augusta National Amateur
Dave Purpura, The Columbus Dispatch

Men’s Volleyball: No. 18 Ohio State Remains Hot, Downs Visiting Ball State, 3-1
Ohio State Athletics

Softball: Buckeyes Start West Coast Trip with 8-0 Win over Long Beach State
Ohio State Athletics


And now for something completely different...


Flo told Tom Cruise to hold her beer


New behind-the-scenes look at ‘THUNDERBOLTS*’ shows Florence Pugh jumping from the 2nd tallest building in the world. pic.twitter.com/HxlX8hI95Q

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 3, 2025

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LGHL Bucketheads Podcast: Ohio State men’s basketball had a no good, quite bad April Fool’s day

Bucketheads Podcast: Ohio State men’s basketball had a no good, quite bad April Fool’s day
justingolba
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The transfer portal has been quiet for the Buckeyes so far, and Thomas Costello joins us to discuss Cotie McMahon’s departure from Columbus.

“Bucketheads” is LGHL’s men’s basketball podcast, hosted by Connor Lemons and Justin Golba. In every episode, they give you the latest scoop on the Ohio State Buckeyes and everything else happening in college hoops.



Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio



On Episode 156, Justin and Connor are back after a two-week break to discuss all things transfer portal. So far, Austin Parks, Evan Mahaffey, Meechie Johnson, and Aaron Bradshaw have entered the transfer portal for Ohio State, and former Ohio Mr. Basketball Gabe Cupps has committed to the Buckeyes.

So, what has gone wrong for the scarlet and gray thus far? How long should we wait until we press the panic button, and what should the Buckeyes focus on adding with the two or three spots they have left?

In the second half of the episode, we welcome back on Land-Grant Holy Land’s women’s basketball beat writer Thomas Costello to talk about Cotie McMahon entering the transfer portal and the next steps for Kevin McGuff and staff.

Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review!



Connect with the Podcast:

Twitter:
@BucketheadsLGPN

Connect with Connor:

Twitter:
@lemons_connor

Connect with Justin:

Twitter:
@justin_golba

Connect with Thomas:

Twitter:
1ThomasCostello

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