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2026-27 Ohio State Men's Basketball

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“I love where our roster is. This roster is big, it's versatile, it's skilled, it's smart,” Diebler said.

“I think this is the deepest team we’ve had, and I don’t know that it’s even close.”– Jake Diebler on Ohio State’s 2026-27 roster

Ohio State’s Projected 2026-27 Depth Chart
Pos Starter Backup Reserve
C JOSH OJIANWUNA IVAN NJEGOVAN VUK LAZAREVIC
PF AMARE BYNUM ANDRIJA JELAVIC
SF ANTHONY THOMPSON ALEX SMITH
SG JOHN MOBLEY JR. JIMMIE WILLIAMS BRAYLEN NASH
PG JUSTIN PIPPEN CURTIS GIVENS III MYLES HERR
 
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ScriptOhio said:


“I love where our roster is. This roster is big, it's versatile, it's skilled, it's smart,” Diebler said.

“I think this is the deepest team we’ve had, and I don’t know that it’s even close.”– Jake Diebler on Ohio State’s 2026-27 roster

Ohio State’s Projected 2026-27 Depth Chart
Pos Starter Backup Reserve
C JOSH OJIANWUNA IVAN NJEGOVAN VUK LAZAREVIC
PF AMARE BYNUM ANDRIJA JELAVIC
SF ANTHONY THOMPSON ALEX SMITH
SG JOHN MOBLEY JR. JIMMIE WILLIAMS BRAYLEN NASH
PG JUSTIN PIPPEN CURTIS GIVENS III MYLES HERR
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On paper, it's a top-25 roster & should be his best team. I don't think it's quite a contender, as in the B1G you have two rivals that are primed to try and go to back-to-back Final Four appearances, plus other programs like USC and IU that are clearly spending more on talent. No doubt it's a team that has the exact types of players & skillsets that Diebler wants his team to have, and here in Year 3, if it doesn't work out, there doesn't seem to be anywhere to place the blame other than Jake Diebler and his system. Barring major personnel losses, this team should be around 5th or 6th in the conference & make the Sweet 16.
 
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Just wondering who'll 'stir the drink' this year. And yeah, see the talent already here, and reading the hometown newsies reports, there's some good talent coming our way. Haven't seen much outside info on where the rest of the world (w/o scarlet colored glasses) sees our guys. Have experienced that the inside opinion and the outside opinions are somewhat/vastly different.
 
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calibuck said:
Just wondering who'll 'stir the drink' this year. And yeah, see the talent already here, and reading the hometown newsies reports, there's some good talent coming our way. Haven't seen much outside info on where the rest of the world (w/o scarlet colored glasses) sees our guys. Have experienced that the inside opinion and the outside opinions are somewhat/vastly different.
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If it isn't Anthony Thompson, the ceiling for this team is a lot lower. Thompson will be practically unguardable in college, and for the sake of this team long-term he needs to be the go-to guy from Day 1.

Here's a projection that has OSU in the top-25 and #7 in the B1G.



Personally, I am skeptical of Nebraska being able to repeat their success from this past season, as while they return their star and one of their best role players, they lose a handful of their starters and they were really one of those teams whose success was based more on the collective group playing well together as opposed to elite individual talent - it's very easy to overlook the role players filling their roles perfectly, and they aren't investing heavily in NIL to rebuild the roster so they don't have top-tier transfers to lift them up.
 
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Remember when Larry Bird was commenting on the Celtics championship match-up with the Lakers. He said that the series wouldn't hinge on his match-up with Magic, but the 4th and 5th players on each teams matching up. Point being is that believe tOSU will match up pretty well one thru three, but maybe the fourth and fifth players might not carry their weight. Don't know, hard to tell. Hopefully they rise to the occasion, and the basketball team shows out this year.
 
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I am a believer you go as far as your bench and backups take you
Injuries happen.. who fills those roles and how well they do.. is jugular

This year in the NBA playoffs, the productivity of the bench has often been the deciding factor in each game
 
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calibuck said:
Remember when Larry Bird was commenting on the Celtics championship match-up with the Lakers. He said that the series wouldn't hinge on his match-up with Magic, but the 4th and 5th players on each teams matching up. Point being is that believe tOSU will match up pretty well one thru three, but maybe the fourth and fifth players might not carry their weight. Don't know, hard to tell. Hopefully they rise to the occasion, and the basketball team shows out this year.
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The bench killed us last year. If we dint find depth this year it'll be the same result.
 
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Bestbuck36 said:
Holy balls. I'm a little worried actually, trying not to be overly optimistic.

Is this the best roster now since the Thad 5?
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I would say it is the deepest team they've had in a long time. The 2012 team that made the Final Four was tough, I'm skeptical that these guys will be on that level. The only question-marks are physicality and efficiency. The past great teams they had, there was always at least one guy who performed at a professional level & while they have elite talent, they need these 5-stars to come in and live up to the hype.
 
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Ohio State basketball team becomes major contender after 5-star recruit reclassifies​

The Ohio State basketball program got some great news after a five-star recruit decided to join the Buckeyes for 2026.

Five-star Ohio State recruit LJ Smith reclassifies to the 2026 recruiting class
Smith has made the decision to come to Columbus a year early. That gives the Buckeyes a massive amount of help in the backcourt, as he is a combo guard. Ohio State is without Bruce Thornton, so they need help at the guard spot in a big way, even though they added some transfers.

With Smith on board, the starting lineup becomes a little murkier for the Buckeyes. Initially, it was thought that Justin Pippen would be the point guard next to John Mobley Jr. With Smith added to the roster, there's a chance that he can compete for the starting point guard spot.

Regardless of whether or not he starts, Smith is going to get a lot of playing time next season. He stands at 6'4 and 180 pounds, so he has a lot of size. That will help, since Mobley Jr. is a small guard. Smith is also someone who can create his own shot, which is something Ohio State struggled with last year.

Ohio State should be a contender to finish towards the top of the Big Ten
This is great news for Diebler, as he gets to add a premier talent to the roster a year earlier than expected. However, that also means increased expectations for the Ohio State basketball team. Before, they were expected to finish in the top half of the league and make the NCAA Tournament again.

Now, the expectations have gone up. Adding Smith should make the Buckeyes a top-four team in the Big Ten. It also means they should get to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, at the very least. Anything less than either of those finishes for Ohio State will be considered a disappointment.
 
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