Ohio State Men's Basketball Team Lands on the Outskirts of the Top 25

The Ohio State men's basketball team has a ton of momentum coming into the 2026-27 season, and it is well deserved. They are coming off one of the craziest seasons in the Buckeyes' history, and they are trying to build on it.

Coming off of an early February drubbing against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes needed some magic with just five games remaining and the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers coming to town. 

They got exactly that when they beat the Boilers, took down Penn State by 32 points, beat Indiana by 13 to make it into the Big Ten Tournament, got back at Iowa by three before falling to No. 3 Michigan by three points.

They did enough to get into the NCAA Tournament before falling to TCU in the first round.  For as fun a run as they had to get to the Tournament, their early exit was equally disappointing.

They carried that momentum into the offseason as they didn't rest on their accomplishments, but put the pedal down and went out to improve their team. They locked in two five-star freshman recruits and remade their roster through the transfer portal. 

Now, as they look at the start of the 2026-27 season, there are several reasons to feel confident about what the Buckeyes are going to bring to the table. For that, Ohio State earned enough votes to be the No. 29 team in the country according to the AP Preseason  Poll.

It starts with guard John Mobley Jr.

Mobley Jr. had his best season last year, and it was so good that he had a legitimate chance in the draft. He decided to try his luck at the next level, but after going through workouts and understanding his real opportunity, he decided to come back to lead the Buckeyes. 

The transfer additions of Jimmie Williams, Curtis Givens III, Justin Pippen, and Andrija Jelavić give the Buckeyes help at every level of the floor. 

The freshman phenoms, LJ Smith and Anthony Thompson, have the potential to take the Buckeyes to another level this year. 

For Jake Diebler, this is a massive year for him. To his credit, he buckled down at the end of last season and forced the Buckeyes into the Tournament. Then, he hit the road and rebuilt the entire team. 

His tenure so far has been highly criticized, but if he makes it back to the tournament this year and makes it to the second weekend, he could become a longer-term answer for the Buckeyes. If he doesn't, that seat might heat up.

They get it going in just two weeks against the No. 25 BYU Cougars as they take the floor as the No. 29 team in the country.