The Ohio State men’s basketball team was expected to have a solid season and make yet another NCAA tournament appearance under Chris Holtman. However, things have gone off the rails as of late as the Buckeyes have been getting beaten and battered in Big 10 Conference play. Following their loss to Indiana on Saturday they have now lost seven out of their last eight games on the season and currently sit in 12th place of the Big Ten conference.

After five consecutive 20 win seasons during his first five seasons in Columbus the Buckeyes now look to be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in his tenure, with what is arguably the best recruiting class and roster to date. At this point in time if they don’t manage to win the Big Ten Conference tournament then I can’t see any scenario where they get into March Madness, even if they win out to finish the regular season. 

With the month of February quickly approaching, they will be hoping they can put their January blues behind them and get their season back on track with a month and a half left to go. If Ohio State were to win out, they would finish with 21 victories and Holtman would continue his streak of six consecutive 20 win seasons. However, anything less than a semi finals or finals appearance in the Big Ten tournament would likely mean they will sit at home on the couch during the big dance.

Ohio State is lacking a quality win at this point in the season and some of their losses are some of the worst power five teams in the country. As they have lost games to Minnesota, and Nebraska, who are both below them in the conference standings at the moment. 

With another couple of losses before getting the conference tournaments season, could spell danger for this program as you can almost strike them from the bubble at that point if they fail to reach 20 wins before the Big Ten Conference tournament. 

The Case For Chris Holtmann

There are some Buckeye fans that are even clamoring for Chris Holtman’s job at the moment, and I myself will have to disagree with that statement as I do not believe he should be fired over one poor season. 

He has turned this Buckeyes program around and has turned them into a tournament contender every year, and he should not be punished for the wheels falling off once. Before he arrived this was a team that went three years without an NCAA tournament appearance and now they haven’t missed a single one since he’s been here.

The former 2018 Big Ten coach of the year has racked up accolades at every stop he has made, including Gardner Webb and Butler. The guy is a proven winner and if Ohio State were to fire Chris Holtmann, it would set their program back, at least a decade in my opinion. 

However, if he wants to hold up his reputation and keep his job, see if he will have to find a way to turn this time around before the end of the season and he has one month left to do so.