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2026-27 Ohio State Men's Basketball

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ScriptOhio said:
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Ohio State to Play in Outdoor Doubleheader with Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier

For the first time ever, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier will gather on one court — without a roof.
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Ohio State to Play in Outdoor Doubleheader with Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier​

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For the first time ever, four of Ohio’s high-major basketball programs will gather on one court — without a roof.

On Oct. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, home of the Cincinnati Open, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier will play outdoor exhibition contests as part of the CareSource Invitational, an event to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention.

“I think this is great. This is great for the basketball community in Ohio. And it’s been a long time coming,” Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler said on Thursday. “I’ve been vocal about this since I first got the job and wanted something like this to happen. There are so many moving parts. There are so many moving parts to make something like this happen. It takes a lot of people. And I’m just excited. Everyone got together to make it happen.”

The CareSource Invitational will feature Ohio State vs. Cincinnati with Dayton vs. Xavier as the tennis complex transforms into an outdoor basketball court.

In case of inclement weather, the games will be moved to UD Arena in Dayton, but Diebler’s hoping for nothing but sunshine on a fall Wednesday.

“Getting all four teams together and doing it in a venue like that, it’s exciting. You might as well try something different," Diebler said with a grin. “It’s going to be really early in the preseason. So it’ll be a great time for everybody to get some minutes and just see where you’re at relative to someone else. … I’m excited that it’s outdoors. I’ve never been a part of a live game outside like that.”

Diebler said it’ll be a fun reminder for coaches and players of their time growing up playing basketball in the driveway, at a park or on the school playground.

“We used to play outside all the time growing up. I know it won’t be the same surface as what I played on growing up, but I’m excited about it. You’ll have different things, right? Wind, all that stuff. But who cares? It’s going to be fun to play outside.”

It’ll also be nice to support a great cause, Diebler said.
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Call me crazy, but I think it's dumb to play on a tennis court. What did Woody Hayes say? If you're going to fight in the North Atlantic, then you should train in the North Atlantic. Conversely, if you're going to fight on a hardwood court indoors, it doesn't help your preparation for the season to play outdoors in the elements, presumably on a clay court. I guess I'm rooting for bad weather so they play at UD Arena instead. I'm sure playing on clay is going to cause guys to not go full tilt, which is a big part of why I don't think it's particularly helpful. Hopefully no one will get injured out there.
 
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DZ83CK said:
Call me crazy, but I think it's dumb to play on a tennis court. What did Woody Hayes say? If you're going to fight in the North Atlantic, then you should train in the North Atlantic. Conversely, if you're going to fight on a hardwood court indoors, it doesn't help your preparation for the season to play outdoors in the elements, presumably on a clay court. I guess I'm rooting for bad weather so they play at UD Arena instead. I'm sure playing on clay is going to cause guys to not go full tilt, which is a big part of why I don't think it's particularly helpful. Hopefully no one will get injured out there.
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Wait. What did I miss about clay? Won’t they just build a court similar to the carrier ship game they did?

Also, Cinci’s tennis courts are hard. Like a blacktop surface - maybe a little bouncier and harder since those courts are historically some of the “fastest” on the tennis circuit (lots of “aces”, but that’s the tennis nerd in me).

I’m assuming it will just be a regular basketball court with some outdoor elements.
 
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Thought most bball floors were removable, in as much as could host rock shows, ice hockey or whatever. And those floors are springy, as floor sits on on edge 2/4s. Grew up on blacktop bball courts, and can vouch they are NOT springy. And hurt when you fall down. I was going to say "watch out for the net", but the above super-imposed pic shows me that net was removed. Should be a cool show. To bad they didn't have an aircraft carrier to play on. Go Bucks!
 
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OHSportsFan said:
The official OSU release had this concept picture.

View attachment 91397

I’m looking into going with my UD friend already.
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OHSportsFan said:
Wait. What did I miss about clay? Won’t they just build a court similar to the carrier ship game they did?

Also, Cinci’s tennis courts are hard. Like a blacktop surface - maybe a little bouncier and harder since those courts are historically some of the “fastest” on the tennis circuit (lots of “aces”, but that’s the tennis nerd in me).

I’m assuming it will just be a regular basketball court with some outdoor elements.
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Obviously I don't know what is going on, just made a guess about the playing surface. I don't really follow tennis but even if the court isn't exactly clay, it's still a hard surface that I'm sure would scrape you up pretty good if you dove or slid on it. Obviously having an actual hardwood court would be much more better, but regardless, I don't think it's particularly helpful to play outdoors when you're trying to prepare for a season of games indoors.
 
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Have played tennis on clay, composite, and grass. Doubt you could put artificial floor on grass would certainly ruin it. Clay OK, composite (where 95% of tennis is played (?) great. PS, grass is very much harder to play on. Ball doesn't bounce, it skitters. Clay, ball is slowed down, and bounces rather nicely right into your racquet. Anyway, both grass and class are nightmares to maintain. But like the big stadium for basketball. How come UD can do, and tOSU cannot?
 
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This week’s question: Who will lead Ohio State in blocks this season?​

Connor: Amare Bynum​

While he originally was not expected to be relied on quite as heavily as he actually was, Amare Bynum ended up playing a huge role for Ohio State last season after forcing himself into the starting lineup in December. Despite having to play the position at times last year, Bynum is not a center and will play a much more comfortable power forward next season.
Still, Bynum was Ohio State’s leading shot blocker as a freshman, finishing the year with 28 blocks in 34 contests. He’ll need to become more consistent in that area, as he had a game with four blocks, a game with three blocks, but also had a stretch from late January to early February where he blocked one shot in a five-game stretch, with Ohio State going 2-3 in that stretch.
Bynum’s going to lead the team in blocks again this season (with an even bigger number of them) because he’s got the best combination of height and athleticism on the roster. He’s got long arms but is also quick enough on his feet to get him into a position where he’s able to get his hand on the ball, even if it’s against someone he wasn’t guarding until sliding over at the very last second.
It’s hard to calculate or put a number on it, but I also feel like Bynum is a big-time momentum-shifting type of player. Once he swats one shot, the whole crowd is holding their breath, waiting for him to do it again. When he starts to get confident and a little cocky on the defensive end, he really becomes a menace to teams when they try to drive to the basket.

Justin: Ivan Njegovan​

I think Ivan Njegovan will lead the team in blocks for the sole reason that he is the best rim protector on the team, and I do think he will play more this season than last. Njegovan decided to return to Columbus for his third season, and so far, there has been a good amount of talk from open practice and camp that he has really improved his inside game and defense.
Josh Ojianwuna is going to be the starting center, but Andrija Jelavic is more of a stretch four, and Vuk Lazarevic is a freshman who arrived on campus late, so his learning curve is going to be steeper than the other freshmen.
With Ojianwuna coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for the end of the 2024-25 season and all of last season, he will have his minutes limited at least to start as he gets back into the flow of the game and game shape. That will have Njegovan playing more, and I expect him to get 12-15 minutes per game early in the
season.
Last season, he averaged 0.4 blocks per game, but he led the team in blocks per 40 minutes, and his defense and rim protection were something that really improved as the season progressed. I expect him to take an even bigger jump in that department this season.
 
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ScriptOhio said:

This week’s question: Who will lead Ohio State in blocks this season?​

Connor: Amare Bynum​

While he originally was not expected to be relied on quite as heavily as he actually was, Amare Bynum ended up playing a huge role for Ohio State last season after forcing himself into the starting lineup in December. Despite having to play the position at times last year, Bynum is not a center and will play a much more comfortable power forward next season.
Still, Bynum was Ohio State’s leading shot blocker as a freshman, finishing the year with 28 blocks in 34 contests. He’ll need to become more consistent in that area, as he had a game with four blocks, a game with three blocks, but also had a stretch from late January to early February where he blocked one shot in a five-game stretch, with Ohio State going 2-3 in that stretch.
Bynum’s going to lead the team in blocks again this season (with an even bigger number of them) because he’s got the best combination of height and athleticism on the roster. He’s got long arms but is also quick enough on his feet to get him into a position where he’s able to get his hand on the ball, even if it’s against someone he wasn’t guarding until sliding over at the very last second.
It’s hard to calculate or put a number on it, but I also feel like Bynum is a big-time momentum-shifting type of player. Once he swats one shot, the whole crowd is holding their breath, waiting for him to do it again. When he starts to get confident and a little cocky on the defensive end, he really becomes a menace to teams when they try to drive to the basket.

Justin: Ivan Njegovan​

I think Ivan Njegovan will lead the team in blocks for the sole reason that he is the best rim protector on the team, and I do think he will play more this season than last. Njegovan decided to return to Columbus for his third season, and so far, there has been a good amount of talk from open practice and camp that he has really improved his inside game and defense.
Josh Ojianwuna is going to be the starting center, but Andrija Jelavic is more of a stretch four, and Vuk Lazarevic is a freshman who arrived on campus late, so his learning curve is going to be steeper than the other freshmen.
With Ojianwuna coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for the end of the 2024-25 season and all of last season, he will have his minutes limited at least to start as he gets back into the flow of the game and game shape. That will have Njegovan playing more, and I expect him to get 12-15 minutes per game early in the
season.
Last season, he averaged 0.4 blocks per game, but he led the team in blocks per 40 minutes, and his defense and rim protection were something that really improved as the season progressed. I expect him to take an even bigger jump in that department this season.
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It's a good debate. Njegovan had the highest block rate on the team last season, but he shouldn't play as much as Bynum, so he'll be behind him in raw block totals. Ojianwuna is on par with Bynum, but he also probably won't play as much as Bynum. Sleeper choice is Anthony Thompson - with his height and length, he could block a surprising number of shots.
 
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I give my vote to whomever can/will slide over to cut off the cutter. He's got to get their first, elevate, and keep body away from the driver, while reaching over with a large paw to impact the ball in hand or in the air. Thompson has the hops, but not the collegiate experience, and the Oji and Nje don't quite seem to have nimble feet. Guess it's Bynum by default. Either way, hope there are many rejections, and maybe they're spread evenly amongst the front court players. Go Bucks!
 
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