Midseason predictions for Ohio State basketball
Can the Buckeyes turnaround a once-promising season?
By Kyle Rowland / The Blade
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:00:00 GMT
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COLUMBUS — Forecasting Ohio State is a fool’s errand.
Few would have predicted the early success and even fewer would have foreseen a January collapse coming. But here we are as February nears, another poor first month for the Buckeyes.
As the rest of the nation begins paying attention to college basketball, OSU would be wise to return to its winning ways.
Final record: 20-11 (11-9 Big Ten)
No league cannibalizes itself quite like the Big Ten. Winning on the road has been proven to be nearly impossible this season, and that’s the outlook for OSU the rest of the season. Games at Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State look like losses. The one exception is a projected win at Nebraska. On the home front, the Buckeyes welcome Indiana, Rutgers, Purdue, Maryland, Michigan, and Illinois, which could all be NCAA tournament teams. But in Columbus, Ohio State’s chances of winning are better than 50-50.
Postseason fate: Sweet 16
The Buckeyes have been less than stellar since the calendar flipped to 2020. A spate of home games and Chris Holtmann’s history of winning at least one NCAA tournament game should give OSU a dose of confidence. The months of November and December proved they could beat the best teams in the country. The Final Four, which felt realistic before the New Year, now seems like a pipe dream. But there’s no reason why Ohio State can’t win its first two games and make a run to the second weekend for the first time since it lost to Wichita State in the 2013 Elite Eight.
Bold prediction: Kaleb Wesson returns for his senior season
The junior center — more of a forward now — trimmed about 40 pounds of his frame and is a much more versatile player because of it. That advice came from the NBA after Wesson declared for the draft last season to seek input before pulling his name out. He has good numbers, but there are still holes in his game that can be improved. And mock drafts aren’t in love with Wesson. He could thrive in Europe, but the NBA is his end goal and another year at Ohio State would give scouts more video to breakdown. A return to Columbus would be a boon for the Buckeyes, who would enter the 2020-21 season as a top-10 team.