2026-27 Ohio State Men's Basketball

[calibuck]

Sounds like the Buckeye performance was a great one for a first game. Cannot comment on level of PR talent, as didn't watch game (was televised?) Sounds like Diebs has got some talent to work with. Scoring from outside, check, inside RBs, also check. Best positive from my thoughts was that Oji played some good minutes. Not certain if he was testing his injury fully, or taking it slow. Either way, from the snippet read, he was contributing in limited minutes, being the force inside that he's expected to see. But, of course, the scorers get most of the ink.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Ohio State Earns Two Blowout Wins in Puerto Rico Exhibitions

Ohio State dominated its two exhibition games in Puerto Rico, defeating a pair of Puerto Rican select teams by an average of 40 points.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Ohio State Earns Two Blowout Wins in Puerto Rico Exhibitions​

Ohio State dominated its exhibition games in Puerto Rico.

Facing a pair of select teams consisting of professional basketball players from Puerto Rico, Ohio State defeated its opponents by an average of 40 points. The Buckeyes earned a 117-75 win over Los Boris 1 on Sunday and followed that up with a 111-73 win over Los Boris 2 on Monday.

Game 1​

Ohio State Box Score​

Player	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
* John Mobley Jr. (#0)	20:37	5–7	3–5	0–0	0	3	1	0	0	2	13
* Curtis Givens III (#2)	17:30	3–5	2–3	3–4	2	3	1	0	0	1	11
* Andrija Jelavic (#4)	16:21	3–4	1–2	2–2	5	3	1	1	0	3	9
* Anthony Thompson (#6)	18:47	6–10	2–5	0–0	7	2	2	1	0	1	14
* Josh Ojianwuna (#17)	05:40	0–0	0–0	0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Amare Bynum (#1)	18:33	3–11	0–3	0–0	5	7	3	0	1	2	6
Jimmie Williams (#3)	16:36	7–8	6–7	0–0	4	2	0	0	1	1	20
Ivan Njegovan (#7)	16:38	3–3	1–1	1–2	10	1	0	0	0	3	8
Myles Herro (#8)	04:09	0–0	0–0	0–0	0	1	0	0	2	1	0
Alex Smith (#9)	15:13	2–6	2–6	1–2	2	3	0	0	0	0	7
Justin Pippen (#10)	21:13	3–9	1–4	5–7	4	4	1	0	1	1	12
LJ Smith (#14)	16:41	3–8	3–7	0–0	4	3	0	0	2	1	9
Braylen Nash (#55)	02:54	0–0	0–0	0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vuk Lazarevic (#88)	15:42	3–3	0–0	2–2	2	0	0	0	0	1	8
Team	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	0	—	—
*Denotes starter
TOTALS	206:34	41–74	21–43	14–19	46	33	9	2	7	17	117

Team Stats​

Statistic	Ohio State	Los Boris 1
Field Goals	41–74 (55.4%)	27–64 (42.2%)
2-Point Field Goals	20–31 (64.5%)	14–29 (48.3%)
3-Point Field Goals	21–43 (48.8%)	13–35 (37.1%)
Free Throws	14–19 (73.7%)	8–11 (72.7%)
Rebounds (Off / Def / Total)	14 / 32 / 46	7 / 23 / 30
Assists	33	22
Turnovers	7	13
Steals	9	4
Blocks	2	0
Points in the Paint	36	24
Points off Turnovers	18	7
Second Chance Points	19	7
Fast Break Points	19	10
Bench Points	70	45

Game 2​

Another balanced scoring effort led Ohio State to a 38-point win over Los Boris 2. Six Buckeyes scored in double figures: Mobley (17), Bynum (16), Pippen (14), Thompson (13), Williams (10) and freshman guard LJ Smith (10).

Njegovan led the Buckeyes again with 13 rebounds while Bynum and Pippen tied for the team lead with five assists. Ohio State shot 53.1% from the field with 34 assists on 43 makes and went 17-of-39 from three (43.6%).

Center Josh Ojianwuna, who was on a minutes restriction as he works his way back from the torn ACL that sidelined him last season, tallied four points and two rebounds in 10 minutes and 47 seconds of action.

Ohio State Box Score​

Player	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
* Amare Bynum (#1)	20:50	6–9	2–4	2–2	5	5	1	0	2	0	16
* Jimmie Williams (#3)	19:08	3–7	2–5	2–2	6	1	0	1	2	1	10
* Ivan Njegovan (#7)	16:51	2–5	0–1	0–0	13	4	0	0	1	1	4
* Justin Pippen (#10)	17:23	5–9	4–5	0–0	2	5	1	1	0	2	14
* LJ Smith (#14)	20:54	4–10	2–8	0–0	1	2	1	0	1	2	10
John Mobley Jr. (#0)	19:27	7–14	3–7	0–0	1	4	0	0	1	0	17
Curtis Givens III (#2)	16:16	1–4	0–1	2–2	1	2	2	0	1	2	4
Andrija Jelavic (#4)	16:23	3–6	0–0	1–4	6	2	1	0	2	2	7
Anthony Thompson (#6)	20:49	5–8	2–5	1–2	6	2	0	1	0	3	13
Myles Herro (#8)	02:46	0–1	0–0	0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alex Smith (#9)	07:56	2–2	2–2	0–0	1	2	2	0	0	1	6
Josh Ojianwuna (#17)	10:47	2–2	0–0	0–0	2	0	2	1	2	2	4
Braylen Nash (#55)	03:17	0–0	0–0	0–0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vuk Lazarevic (#88)	07:13	3–4	0–1	0–1	1	1	0	0	0	0	6
Team	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	0	—	—
*Denotes starter
TOTALS	200:00	43–81	17–39	8–13	48	30	13	4	12	16	111

Team Stats​

Statistic	Ohio State	Los Boris 2
Field Goals	43–81 (53.1%)	26–66 (39.4%)
2-Point Field Goals	26–42 (61.9%)	16–36 (44.4%)
3-Point Field Goals	17–39 (43.6%)	10–30 (33.3%)
Free Throws	8–13 (61.5%)	11–13 (84.6%)
Rebounds (Off / Def / Total)	14 / 34 / 48	7 / 27 / 34
Assists	30	18
Turnovers	12	19
Steals	13	8
Blocks	4	1
Points in the Paint	52	26
Points off Turnovers	27	16
Second Chance Points	18	14
Fast Break Points	37	7
Bench Points	57	36

 

[ScriptOhio]

2026-27 Ohio State Basketball Roster​

No	Name	Pos	Ht	Wt	Yr	Hometown (Previous School)
0	JOHN MOBLEY JR.	G	6-2	185	JR	Reynoldsburg, Ohio (Wasatch Academy)
1	AMARE BYNUM	F	6-8	240	SO	Omaha, Nebraska (Link Academy)
2	CURTIS GIVENS III	G	6-3	190	JR	Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis)
3	JIMMIE WILLIAMS	G	6-5	200	R-SR	Solon, Ohio (Duquesne)
4	ANDRIJA JELAVIC	F	6-11	225	JR	Zagreb, Croatia (Kentucky)
6	ANTHONY THOMPSON	F	6-8	210	FR	Lebanon, Ohio (Western Reserve Academy)
7	IVAN NJEGOVAN	C	7-2	260	JR	Otocac, Croatia (Gimnazija Vladimira-Nazora)
8	MYLES HERRO	G	6-3	165	R-FR	Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Whitnall)
9	ALEX SMITH	F	6-9	200	FR	Upper Arlington, Ohio (Prolific Prep)
10	JUSTIN PIPPEN	G	6-3	190	JR	Los Angeles, California (Cal)
14	LJ SMITH	G	6-4	180	FR	Lincolnton, North Carolina (Oak Hill)
17	JOSH OJIANWUNA	F	6-10	270	R-SR	Asaba, Nigeria (Baylor)
55	BRAYLEN NASH	G	6-4	190	JR	New Albany, Ohio (New Albany)
88	VUK LAZAREVIC	F	7-1	200	FR	Belgrade, Serbia (Wasatch Academy)

 

[Bestbuck36]

Wasn't that game today? Maybe I'm off on my date

 

[DZ83CK]

Wasn't that game today? Maybe I'm off on my date

I posted today (8/5) was the scheduled return date of their Puerto Rico trip.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Ok for some reason my brain was thinking the Ohio exhibition thing was today

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[ScriptOhio]

College basketball’s 9 national championship contenders for 2027 men’s title

These teams can win it all this season in men’s college basketball.

www.sbnation.com

College basketball’s 9 national championship contenders for 2027 men’s title​

These teams can win it all this season in men’s college basketball.

Illinois Fighting Illini​

Duke Blue Devils​

Florida Gators​

Tennessee Volunteers​

Texas Longhorns​

Arizona Wildcats​

UConn Huskies​

Arkansas Razorbacks​

Michigan State Spartans​

Six more teams with "a chance"

• Houston Cougars
• Virginia Cavaliers
• St. John’s Red Storm
• Louisville Cardinals
• Miami Hurricanes
• Ohio State Buckeyes...
  

Just sayin': Say what?

 

[calibuck]

Thanks for the box scores, being a numbers guy, the thing that stood out to me was the assists. 30 of them. That translates to 60 (or more) points for the good guys. Shows unselfishness, and counts as much as a long jumper. Anyway, also shows that someone is willing to take the shot. Sometimes in a close game, people pass up a shot, I guess because they're afraid to miss in crunch time. If tOSU keeps doing this, the season will be bright. And no, didn't see the game, the level of competition, nor which lineup Diebs is gonna put on the floor at start of B10 season. And I'll take being a dark horse at the start of the season, and hopefully the W's pile up before start of B10 season. Go Bucks!

 

[DZ83CK]

College basketball’s 9 national championship contenders for 2027 men’s title

These teams can win it all this season in men’s college basketball.

www.sbnation.com

College basketball’s 9 national championship contenders for 2027 men’s title​

These teams can win it all this season in men’s college basketball.

Illinois Fighting Illini​

Duke Blue Devils​

Florida Gators​

Tennessee Volunteers​

Texas Longhorns​

Arizona Wildcats​

UConn Huskies​

Arkansas Razorbacks​

Michigan State Spartans​

Six more teams with "a chance"

• Houston Cougars
• Virginia Cavaliers
• St. John’s Red Storm
• Louisville Cardinals
• Miami Hurricanes
• Ohio State Buckeyes...
  

Just sayin': Say what?

Now I'm not saying they're going to do it, but they for once have some quality depth, which bodes well in tournament play as there are inevitably foul problems as teams advance. When everyone can play aggressive and no one is tentative due to foul trouble, that's what you want to have. Plus they have a couple guys in Thompson and Smith who are potential NBA prospects, and you need some higher level players to be your difference-makers in the tournament. In other words, this roster is the better-equipped at making a deep run than any we've had recently - it could be the best overall collection of talent since 2012. I'm not even saying they make the Final Four, but if they get a beneficial draw it could be legitimately possible.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Now I'm not saying they're going to do it, but they for once have some quality depth, which bodes well in tournament play as there are inevitably foul problems as teams advance. When everyone can play aggressive and no one is tentative due to foul trouble, that's what you want to have. Plus they have a couple guys in Thompson and Smith who are potential NBA prospects, and you need some higher level players to be your difference-makers in the tournament. In other words, this roster is the better-equipped at making a deep run than any we've had recently - it could be the best overall collection of talent since 2012. I'm not even saying they make the Final Four, but if they get a beneficial draw it could be legitimately possible.

Just sayin': Yeah, but that bar isn't too high......

With that being said, I agree with what you posted. The original article kind of surprised me since other article(s) have predicted that Ohio state would finish 6th or 7th in the B1G. IMHO, the 2 keys to the season are:
1. the both 5-star Freshman have to play like 5 star players.
2. someone needs to become the "go to guy"/team leader that Bruce Thornton was. He figuratively "put the team on his back" and willed it to a win in several games over his (outstanding) career at Ohio State.

They could have had even more depth if Devin Royal had stayed; I was sorry to see him transfer. However, you can't expect a Senior who has started for 2 seasons want to play 2nd string behind a Freshman. Nor could you expect Ohio Sate to pony up the amount of NIL money (for a 2nd string forward) that another school like UConn likely offered.

 

[calibuck]

Definitely thought that Devin portaled because of minutes. This being his money year and all. But losing Devin took a big chunk of leadership and experience from this team. Hopefully, the young 'uns will season-up early, and when the going gets tough, they will rise to the occasion. This will be a young tOSU team. Maybe older players, but not so many with this team experience. Go Bucks!