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Jake Diebler (Head Coach)
- By DZ83CK
- Buckeye Basketball
- 211 Replies
Everyone is replaceable. Everyone. That being said, doing it right is the tough part. You actually have to know what you're doing. There are enough resources at OSU that they should be able to field a team that finishes in the upper half of the B1G on a regular basis. I don't agree with the idea that Diebler isn't a good fit for the program. He makes sense, he's just got to get the right blend of talent.
The Toxic Trap Sinking Ohio State Basketball
Ohio State basketball faces a toxic crisis with a faltering roster and coaching woes. Can the program recover?scarletandgame.com
The Toxic Trap Sinking Ohio State Basketball
Ohio State basketball is spiraling into chaos, caught between a toxic reputation and a roster on the brink of collapse. The current Athletic Director is left cleaning up a mess years in the making, with no easy way out.
There may not be a worse place for a basketball program to be right now than Ohio State. The Buckeyes men’s basketball program is caught in the midst of bad decision-making, a toxic reputation, and a roster that is hanging in the balance of a few players.
The current Athletic Director (AD), Ross Bjork, is reaping what the previous AD, Gene Smith, sown. Jake Diebler is a first-year head coach in college basketball, and it shows. Personally, Diebler is great. He seems like a stand-up guy, a good father, and one who deeply cares about the program and his players. But he is at the center of trying to rebound from one of the worst situations in Ohio State basketball history.
The downward spiral began when the previous AD extended Chris Holtmann in the summer of 2022. Less than two years later, Holtmann would go 30-30 and be fired by Smith months before retirement. In Holtmann’s place, it was announced that the incoming AD Ross Bjork promoted Diebler to be the head coach after being an assistant from Holtmann’s staff who finished the regular season 5-1 with wins over two of the best coaches in the conference in Matt Painter and Tom Izzo.
It seemed like a feel-good story then—the young coach from Ohio stepping up to breathe life into a troubled program. But this season, that optimism has evaporated, replaced by a grim reality: Diebler’s tenure is shaping up to be a cautionary tale.
From the beginning of the offseason, Diebler’s actions raised eyebrows. He went into the portal to find unproven players with high recruiting rankings but little to show for it on the court. Although he brought back former player Meechie Johnson, he also had current players who helped him end the season well: Felix Okpara, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Scotty Middleton.
From the outside looking in, the strategy seemed flawed. Instead of building off the team, he had to assemble a roster that fit, and he chased unproven talent through the transfer portal. His top three targets turned out to be major disappointments, leaving him with freshmen who were thrust into roles way too early and players having to play out of position. The players who got him the job in the first place? He seemed to let them walk away so he could bring in guys with more national buzz.
Even through all of that, Diebler’s roster had enough juice to hover around the NCAA Tournament bubble. Led by Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, Micah Parrish, and Evan Mahaffey, the team formed a core that, on paper, should keep Ohio State competitive in the Big Ten.
But here’s the rub: Parrish will be gone as he is out of eligibility, but if Diebler can’t hold onto the other three, the Buckeyes could plummet to the basement of the conference next season. Those three have given everything this year, only to be let down by teammates and coaching. And in the world of NIL and the transfer portal, fans can’t blame them if they decide to look around and weigh their options of where they should play next year.
The biggest problem, though, is that Ohio State can’t move on from Diebler, even if they wanted to. Diebler most likely has a future in coaching, but this program was simply not right for a first-year head coach, and it’s too unstable for a coach who is still learning and growing at the needed rate. The program’s reputation locally and nationally is anything but positive.
Locally, the fans are not pleased and haven’t been pleased for years. This helps create the national reputation that Ohio State is a pressure cooker atmosphere that few coaches will want to try and endure. Also, the home-court advantage at Value City Arena is nearly nonexistent.
The arena is too big, too far from the students, and was built more for concerts than it was for basketball. Among many, it is known as one of the weakest home-court advantages in high-major college basketball. And finally, firing a first-time head coach after one season—especially one who isn’t outright tanking—would only further increase the thought that Ohio State is a volatile, coach-killing gig.
No one worth hiring would touch it. Especially not when the team finishes as a bubble team following year one, and you could get let go at a program that has only made the tournament four times in the past nine tournaments.
In addition to all of that, the Buckeyes play tight and unconnected basketball, with only a few players showing trust in one another. The ball doesn’t move on offense, and the best players on the team are forced to have the weight of the team on their shoulders night in and night out.
Fans’ displeasure is loud, and the team hears it. But what might be even worse is that they don’t seem to disagree with it. It’s a vicious cycle: a fractured roster feeding into a toxic atmosphere, which in turn deepens the fractures.
The mess of Ohio State basketball is far more than just hiring too young of a coach. The current AD is left with upset fans, a coach floundering with roster construction, and trying to build up what was being torn down for years. The team isn’t bad enough in year one to justify a complete reset, but it’s bad enough to widen the rift between the program and fans when the program needs fan support more than ever.
No matter what happens the rest of the year, Diebler must find a way to keep Thornton, Royal, and Mobley on this team. They’re the core of the team and the difference between a salvageable season and a full-on collapse. Lose them, and Ohio State basketball could be near rock bottom in the Big Ten. The good news is that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) exists, and The Foundation is one of the best NIL collectives in college athletics.
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tOSU Recruiting Discussion
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 1956 Replies
Someone said this is Wiltfong now since he's joined On3, and I can't stop laughing(or saying I disagree)
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OL Carson Hinzman (National Champion)
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Football
- 124 Replies
Ohio State football: The redemptive arc of Carson Hinzman
The offensive lineman had an up-and-down season in 2024 and will now enter 2025 as the starting center. It's been a crazy ride for him.
scarletandgame.com
Ohio State football: The redemptive arc of Carson Hinzman
The offensive lineman had an up-and-down season in 2024 and will now enter 2025 as the starting center. It's been a crazy ride for him.
The Ohio State football team had a strange start to the season. They shuffled their offensive line around, trying to find the best combination. They couldn't find anyone they liked at the guard position. The strangest thing of it all is that Carson Hinzman was not one of the starting offensive linemen.
After starting the entire 2023 season at center, a position he wasn't recruited to play, he was suddenly on the bench. It didn't make much sense that they didn't put him at one of the guard spots, considering that was his natural position. Perhaps it was the fact that he was benched for the Cotton Bowl due to a podcast appearance. In fact, he got passed up by three other guards.
Eventually, they started Hinzman at guard once Josh Simmons went down. He played well, which wasn't a surprise. Then, Seth McLaughlin went down, so he had to slide back to center. He went from starter to bench rider, to starting at guard, back to starting center. It was a wild ride.
Ohio State football player Carson Hinzman has had a crazy collegiate career
As the Buckeyes enter 2025, Hinzman will now be the starting center. There is no question that he will be the starter this time around. In fact, he might be the best returning offensive lineman that the Ohio State Buckeyes have this year. That's a pretty big 180 from how last year started for him.Of course, there are some things Hinzman still needs to worry about. He has to work at getting his snaps higher. This was an issue he had in 2023, and it reared its ugly head again during the CFP run last season. He needs to practice getting snaps in the shotgun to the quarterback's chest.
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LGHL Ohio State women earn NCAA Tournament at-large bid, face Montana State in First Round
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State women earn NCAA Tournament at-large bid, face Montana State in First Round
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ron Schwane/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes are home for the first two rounds of March Madness after making it into the tournament as a No. 4 seed
It’s been nearly a year since Ohio State women’s basketball crashed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Second Round. After going up 16 points in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils, the ACC side stormed back to knock the Buckeyes out of March Madness. Now, the Scarlet and Gray know their road to make up for that defeat and try to make their first NCAA National Championship game since 1993. It all begins against the Montana State Bobcats, who won the Big Sky Tournament.
The Buckeyes have not faced Montana State. The Bobcats made the tournament after defeating Montana in a nail biting 58-57 win over in-state rivals Montana on Wednesday, March 12.
Ohio State will also host for the third consecutive season, and enter as a four seed, after narrowly making one of the top-16 spots in the field of 68 teams. With it, the Buckeyes welcome Montana State, the University of South Florida Bulls and Tennessee Volunteers to Columbus for the first two rounds of the tournament.
If the two highest seeded teams prevail in the first round in Columbus, the Buckeyes will face the Vols, a side that Ohio State played twice in the past two seasons, winning both games. However, that’s before head coach Kim Caldwell took over the Tennessee side in the offseason.
USF and Ohio State also have history, playing each other in December of 2022 when the Buckeyes battled back from a late deficit to beat the Bulls by two points.
In the Big Ten, three other programs host in this year’s March Madness. The UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and Maryland Terrapins each made a top-four seed. UCLA and USC each earned a No. 1 seed. Also, the Bruins earned the No. 1 overall seed in the country for the first time in program history, dethroning the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This is the 29th time Ohio State made the annual tournament and fourth consecutive season, following sanctions leaving the Buckeyes out of the 2021 edition, the 2020 tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and failing to earn an at-large bid in the 2019 season.
The 2025 edition of March Madness means the final games for four Buckeye upperclassmen. Guard Madison Greene and forwards Taylor Thierry, Eboni Walker and Ajae Petty are all in their final year of eligibility at Ohio State. From here on, every game is potentially their last and each matchup is the difference between moving on in the tournament or heading into the long, nearly eight-month, offseason.
Since head coach Kevin McGuff joined Ohio State in April of 2013, the Buckeyes have not lost a first round game in eight appearances but have three losses in the second round.
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ron Schwane/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes are home for the first two rounds of March Madness after making it into the tournament as a No. 4 seed
It’s been nearly a year since Ohio State women’s basketball crashed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Second Round. After going up 16 points in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils, the ACC side stormed back to knock the Buckeyes out of March Madness. Now, the Scarlet and Gray know their road to make up for that defeat and try to make their first NCAA National Championship game since 1993. It all begins against the Montana State Bobcats, who won the Big Sky Tournament.
The Buckeyes have not faced Montana State. The Bobcats made the tournament after defeating Montana in a nail biting 58-57 win over in-state rivals Montana on Wednesday, March 12.
Ohio State will also host for the third consecutive season, and enter as a four seed, after narrowly making one of the top-16 spots in the field of 68 teams. With it, the Buckeyes welcome Montana State, the University of South Florida Bulls and Tennessee Volunteers to Columbus for the first two rounds of the tournament.
If the two highest seeded teams prevail in the first round in Columbus, the Buckeyes will face the Vols, a side that Ohio State played twice in the past two seasons, winning both games. However, that’s before head coach Kim Caldwell took over the Tennessee side in the offseason.
USF and Ohio State also have history, playing each other in December of 2022 when the Buckeyes battled back from a late deficit to beat the Bulls by two points.
In the Big Ten, three other programs host in this year’s March Madness. The UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and Maryland Terrapins each made a top-four seed. UCLA and USC each earned a No. 1 seed. Also, the Bruins earned the No. 1 overall seed in the country for the first time in program history, dethroning the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This is the 29th time Ohio State made the annual tournament and fourth consecutive season, following sanctions leaving the Buckeyes out of the 2021 edition, the 2020 tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and failing to earn an at-large bid in the 2019 season.
The 2025 edition of March Madness means the final games for four Buckeye upperclassmen. Guard Madison Greene and forwards Taylor Thierry, Eboni Walker and Ajae Petty are all in their final year of eligibility at Ohio State. From here on, every game is potentially their last and each matchup is the difference between moving on in the tournament or heading into the long, nearly eight-month, offseason.
Since head coach Kevin McGuff joined Ohio State in April of 2013, the Buckeyes have not lost a first round game in eight appearances but have three losses in the second round.
Continue reading...
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Ohio State Women's Basketball (2023-24 B1G CHAMPS)
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Basketball
- 3536 Replies
Ohio State Women’s Basketball Earns No. 4 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Host Montana State in First Round
Ohio State women’s basketball will host NCAA Tournament games for the third year in a row as the Buckeyes earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State Women’s Basketball Earns No. 4 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Host Montana State in First Round
Ohio State women’s basketball will host NCAA Tournament games for a third straight year.
The Buckeyes earned a No. 4 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament and will host No. 13 seed Montana State in the first round on Friday at the Schottenstein Center. The game time has not yet been announced.
If Ohio State wins its first game, it will face either No. 5 seed Tennessee or No. 12 seed South Florida on Sunday, also at the Schottenstein Center.
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2024-2025 Ohio State Men's Basketball
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Basketball
- 317 Replies
Ohio State Men's Hoops Misses NCAA Tournament for Third Consecutive Season
For the first time in 20 years, Ohio State has missed three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Ohio State Men's Hoops Misses NCAA Tournament for Third Consecutive Season
Selection Sunday confirmed what has felt official since Wednesday for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes have been left out of the 68-team NCAA Tournament field by the selection committee, failing to secure one of 37 at-large bids to the Big Dance for the third consecutive season. Ohio State will now be invited to FOX's College Basketball Crown tournament as one of two automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten.
It's the first time since the 2003 through 2005 NCAA Tournaments that Ohio State has failed to make the tourney three years in a row.
The Buckeyes were projected as a No. 9 seed for the Big Dance less than a month ago, but losses in five of their final seven games to close the season left them outside the bubble. While Ohio State holds a solid NET ranking of 41st with six Quad 1 victories and played the 20th-most difficult schedule in the country, a 17-15 overall record and struggles down the stretch were enough to keep it from a bid. OSU finished as the third team out.
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BP Bracket 2025 (in honor of Jake)
- By brodybuck21
- Buckeye Basketball
- 61 Replies
Kinda lonely in the bracket group all alone n shit
I have Duke over St. Johns in champ
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Ohio State Men's Tennis (2014/2019/2024 ITA Indoor National Champs, 19 Straight B1G Titles)
- By ScriptOhio
- Other OSU and Professional Sports
- 7019 Replies
#4 Ohio State 4, Washington 1
Singles
1. #68 Cesar Bouchelaghem (WASH) def. #50 Alexander Bernard (OSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. #10 Aidan Kim (OSU) vs. #98 Dzianis Zharyn (WASH) 4-6, 6-1 5-6 unfinished
3. #74 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Soham Purohit (WASH) 6-1, 6-3
4. Bryce Nakashima (OSU) vs. Nedim Suko (WASH) 6-2, 4-6, 4-2 unfinished
5. Preston Stearns (OSU) def. Ivan Sodan (WASH) 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Rohan Belday (WASH) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. Aidan Kim/Will Jansen (OSU) def. #55 Cesar Bouchelaghem/Dzianis Zharyn (WASH) 6-4
2. Nikita Filin/Brandon Carpico (OSU) def. Soham Purohit/Ivan Sodan (WASH) 6-2
3. Alexander Bernard/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) vs. Brett Pearson/Rohan Belday (WASH) 5-5, unfinished
OK, why did they switch Kim & Bernard in the singles?
Anyway, next weekend they are home, i.e. Cheese on Friday (6 PM) and Corn on Sunday (noon). You put cheese and corn together and what do you get?
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