March Madness has come and gone in an instant.

The Buckeyes defeated Loyola in the first round 54-41. The Buckeyes were then defeated by a much better Villanova team 71-61.

Now officially in offseason mode many questions remain for this program. The following are the biggest questions surrounding the basketball team.

Will Malaki Branham return?

The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has to decide whether to return for another season or enter the 2022 NBA Draft. The freshman from St. Vincent-St. Mary high school made an huge impact for the Buckeyes this season averaging 13.7 points per game and shooting 41.6% beyond the arc. In the final game of the season Branham scored 23 points, 15 of those came in the second half, despite coming up short in the Round of 32 to Villanova.

Six point game in Pittsburgh 👀

Malaki Branham with the three in transition#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/cV06jsu84d

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022

If Branham returns the Buckeyes will be contenders in the Big Ten. He arguably might be the best player in the conference next season. Branham’s return would give the Buckeyes an elite scorer. Still his return is up in the air as he has been projected as a first round pick by many mock drafts.

#Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann: "E.J.’s gonna move forward. He’ll do it in his own timing, but certainly we would expect that to be the decision that he’s given every indication of. Obviously Malaki will have a decision that he needs to make."

— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) March 21, 2022

It is highly likely Branham enters the NBA Draft to feel out the process. Something E.J. Liddell has done before. However, Ohio State does have the luxury of using NIL in swaying Branham to return another year. Nerveless, Branham’s decision is arguably the most pivotal offseason question facing this program.

Will Justice Sueing and Seth Towns return to form and stick around?

Ohio State missed the services of Justice Sueing and Seth Towns this season due to an abdominal injury and a back injury, respectively. Both veterans were expected to play a large role for the Buckeyes.

Justice Sueing who is a small forward would have been the missing piece for Ohio State on the outside as his offensive and defensive skill-set would have absolute given the Buckeyes a much needed boost. Meanwhile Seth Towns has played more of a power forward type role with the Buckeyes. His size coupled with a true big man would have helped the Buckeyes matchup well against large lineups.

The Buckeyes need Sueing to return to his pre-injury form where he averaged 10.7 points per game. Meanwhile, if Towns can return to his 2018 Ivy League Player of the Year form where he averaged 16 points per game then the Buckeyes should be able to reload very nicely.

Can Holtmann develop his young talent?

Head coach Chris Holtmann has the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation coming to Columbus for the 2022-23 season. Bowen Hardman, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, Bruce Thornton, and Roddy Gayle Jr. should give coach plenty to work with. Additionally, Holtmann has class of 2021 forward Kalen Etzler on the roster who did not see action this past season. Holtmann has six quality young players to develop prior to the start of the regular season.

In addition to a young core of players, Holtmann can continue to develop Meechie Johnson, Eugene Brown III, and Zed Key. All three players have shown flashes of greatness, but are also very raw at times. Realistically they need Key to become a dominant post scorer, Johnson a dominant point-guard, and Brown needs to develop an offensive game to compliment his strong defense. If Holtmann can get the most out of his three juniors-to-be then the Buckeyes should exceed expectations next season.