The Ohio State Men’s Basketball team led by first year Head Coach Jake Diebler will look to build off of a 22-14 finish in 2023-24. After the firing of Chris Holtmann, Diebler was named the interim coach leading the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record and Big Ten and NIT Tournament run. The savvy, high intensity coaching displayed in this brief run was enough to land himself the full-time gig. Diebler and his group will look to kick off this new era in a strong way. With a diverse roster of veterans, transfers and potential stars things could shape up nicely.
2024-25 Roster:
| # | NAME | POSITION | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | YR |
| 0 | John Mobley Jr. | G | 6-1 | 175 | Freshman |
| 1 | Meechie Johnson Jr. | G | 6-2 | 185 | 5th Yr |
| 2 | Bruce Thornton | G | 6-2 | 215 | Junior |
| 3 | Taison Chatman | G | 6-4 | 175 | Sophomore |
| 4 | Aaron Bradshaw | F | 7-1 | 215 | Sophomore |
| 6 | Ques Glover | G | 6-0 | 185 | 5th Yr |
| 8 | Micah Parrish | G | 6-6 | 205 | 5th Yr |
| 10 | Colby Baumann | G | 6-3 | 185 | Junior |
| 12 | Evan Mahaffey | G | 6-6 | 200 | Junior |
| 13 | Sean Stewart | F | 6-9 | 220 | Sophomore |
| 14 | Braylen Nash | G | 6-4 | 180 | Freshman |
| 17 | Ivan Njegovan | C | 7-1 | 250 | Freshman |
| 20 | Colin White | F | 6-6 | 205 | Freshman |
| 21 | Devin Royal | F | 6-6 | 220 | Sophomore |
| 24 | Kalen Etzler | F | 6-8 | 185 | RS Junior |
| 25 | Austin Parks | C | 6-10 | 260 | Sophomore |
This roster features eight newcomers, of which five have transferred into the program. The transfers include Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart, who make their way to Ohio State from Kentucky and Duke respectively. Ques Glover comes over in his 5th year from Kansas State and Micah Parrish also in his 5th year transfers in from San Diego State. Last but not least, Meechie Johnson Jr. returns to the Buckeyes after two seasons with South Carolina, after he transferred out of Ohio State following his sophomore campaign.
Diebler has the luxury of a complete top to bottom lineup with depth at every position. He should be able to play a deep rotation riddled with both highly touted, potential stars and stable veterans. It will be both interesting and exciting to see how the rotations evolve over the course of the season and who will step up to the challenge each game.
2024-25 Schedule:
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Tournament | Result |
| Oct 18 (Fri) | 7:00 PM | Away | Cincinnati (Exh.) | L 62-80 | |
| Nov 4 (Mon) | 10:00 PM | Neutral | Texas | Hall of Fame Series | – |
| Nov 11 (Mon) | 6:00 PM | Home | Youngstown State | – | |
| Nov 15 (Fri) | 9:00 PM | Away | Texas A&M | – | |
| Nov 19 (Tue) | 7:00 PM | Home | Evansville | – | |
| Nov 22 (Fri) | 6:00 PM | Home | Campbell | – | |
| Nov 25 (Mon) | 7:00 PM | Home | Green Bay | – | |
| Nov 29 (Fri) | 2:30 PM | Home | Pitt | – | |
| Dec 4 (Wed) | 6:30 PM | Away | Maryland | – | |
| Dec 7 (Sat) | Noon | Home | Rutgers | – | |
| Dec 14 (Sat) | 1:00 PM | Neutral | Auburn | – | |
| Dec 17 (Tue) | 8:00 PM | Home | Valparaiso | – | |
| Dec 21 (Sat) | 5:30 PM | Neutral | Kentucky | CBS Sports Classic | – |
| Dec 29 (Sun) | Noon | Home | Indiana State | – | |
| Jan 3 (Fri) | 8:00 PM | Home | Michigan State | – | |
| Jan 6 (Mon) | 9:00 PM | Away | Minnesota | – | |
| Jan 9 (Thu) | 6:00 PM | Home | Oregon | – | |
| Jan 14 (Tue) | 9:00 PM | Away | Wisconsin | – | |
| Jan 17 (Fri) | 8:00 PM | Home | Indiana | – | |
| Jan 21 (Tue) | 7:30 PM | Away | Purdue | – | |
| Jan 27 (Mon) | 8:00 PM | Home | Iowa | – | |
| Jan 30 (Thu) | 6:30 PM | Away | Penn State | – | |
| Feb 2 (Sun) | 1:00 PM | Away | Illinois | – | |
| Feb 6 (Thu) | 7:00 PM | Home | Maryland | – | |
| Feb 9 (Sun) | 2:00 PM | Away | Nebraska | – | |
| Feb 12 (Wed) | 8:30 PM | Home | Washington | – | |
| Feb 16 (Sun) | 1:00 PM | Home | Michigan | – | |
| Feb 20 (Thu) | 6:30 PM | Home | Northwestern | – | |
| Feb 23 (Sun) | 3:45 PM | Away | UCLA | – | |
| Feb 26 (Wed) | 10:30 PM | Away | USC | – | |
| Mar 4 (Tue) | 9:00 PM | Home | Nebraska | – | |
| Mar 8 (Sat) | 3:45 PM | Away | Indiana | – | |
| Mar 12 (Wed) | TBA | Neutral | Big Ten Tournament | Big Ten Tournament | – |
The first thing that sticks out when glancing at this schedule are the non-conference games. Ohio State will take on quite a few impressive names in the early slate, with the hopes of building a resume ahead of the Big Ten gauntlet. The season opener is against 19th ranked Texas in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. Prior to the 2025 calendar year they will also face 13th ranked Texas A&M, Pitt at home, 11th ranked Auburn, 23rd ranked Kentucky and 2023 darling Indiana State.
Ohio State fans should be able to get a sense very early on about how talented this team is and where the expectation level should be set.
Once conference play starts, the Buckeyes will also have some very challenging road matchups, including the likes of Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, UCLA, USC and the season finale at Indiana.
An exciting slate awaits the Buckeyes and their fans, as new era begins in Columbus.
Prediction:
In the 126th season of Ohio State basketball the pre-season Big Ten Media Poll has the Buckeyes finishing 8th. The Buckeyes also open the season unranked, landing just outside the Top-25 on the pre-season rankings list. However, many experts expect the Buckeyes to find themselves battling into the rankings, especially if they handle business during their non-conference slate.
I believe these expectations to be realistic. Two scrimmages against Cincinnati and Ohio resulted in various results, making it tough to get a true feel for the potential of this group. However, the reality is that coherence and team play take time and live game experience, it will likely take multiple games for the Buckeyes to hit their stride. Diebler intends to have this team playing fast and keeping opponents on their heels, if they can make shots and play stout defense, they could be a force to reckon with.
I like the Buckeyes to finish with 20+ wins and a top 10 finish in the Big Ten.
Record: 21-10 (regular season), 6th in conference, 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Featured image: Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch
Gabe Woodcox is a content contributor for The Silver Bulletin. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of The Ohio State University with a major of Sport Industry. Gabe has been working closely with Ohio State athletics during his sport industry tenure, writing for BuckeyesNews and working most recently with 97.1 The Fan. He is an avid Buckeye basketball and sports betting fanatic and will continue his education in a Turf Management Masters program next fall.