2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 7
Record21–10 (12–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaValue City Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Michigan 14 – 3   .824 23 – 5   .821
No. 2 Illinois † 16 – 4   .800 24 – 7   .774
No. 8 Iowa 14 – 6   .700 22 – 9   .710
No. 20 Purdue 13 – 6   .684 18 – 10   .643
No. 7 Ohio State 12 – 8   .600 21 – 10   .677
Wisconsin 10 – 10   .500 18 – 13   .581
Rutgers 10 – 10   .500 16 – 12   .571
Maryland 9 – 11   .450 17 – 14   .548
Michigan State 9 – 11   .450 15 – 13   .536
Indiana 7 – 12   .368 12 – 15   .444
Penn State 7 – 12   .368 11 – 14   .440
Northwestern 6 – 13   .316 9 – 15   .375
Minnesota 6 – 14   .300 14 – 15   .483
Nebraska 3 – 16   .158 7 – 20   .259
† Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his fourth season with the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes played their home games at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio as members of the Big Ten Conference.

They finished the season 21–10, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan before losing to Illinois in overtime in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. However, they were upset in the First Round by No. 15-seeded Oral Roberts.

Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place.[1] The 2020 Big Ten men's basketball tournament and 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Alonzo Gaffney 0 F 6'9" 198 Freshman Cleveland, OH Transferred to Northwest Florida (JUCO)
Luther Muhammad 1 G 6'3" 185 Sophomore Jersey City, NJ Transferred to Arizona State
D. J. Carton 3 G 6'1" 190 Freshman Bettendorf, IA Transferred to Marquette
Andre Wesson 24 F 6'6" 220 Senior Westerville, OH Graduated
Kaleb Wesson 34 F 6'9" 270 Junior Westerville, OH Declared for 2020 NBA draft
Daniel Hummer 40 G 6'0" 175 RS Senior Upper Arlington, OH Walk-on; graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Jimmy Sotos 1 G 6'3" 200 Senior Elk Grove Village, IL Transferred from Bucknell. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Seth Towns 31 F 6'8" 230 Graduate Student Columbus, OH Transferred from Harvard. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Meechie Johnson Jr.
PG 		Cleveland, OH Garfield Heights (OH) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 13, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Eugene Brown III
SG 		Conyers, GA Southwest DeKalb (GA) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 16, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Zed Key
PF 		Bay Shore, NY Long Island Lutheran (NY) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sep 22, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2021 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Malaki Branham
#4 SG 		Akron, OH St. Vincent-St. Mary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul 22, 2020 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Kalen Etzler
#21 PF 		Convoy, OH Crestview 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) May 12, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Meechie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr Garfield Heights HS Cleveland, Ohio
G 1 Jimmy Sotos 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Bucknell Elk Grove Village, Illinois
G 2 Musa Jallow 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Bloomington HS North Bloomington, Indiana
G 3 Eugene Brown III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Southwest DeKalb HS Conyers, Georgia
G 4 Duane Washington Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Sierra Canyon School Grand Rapids, Michigan
F 10 Justin Ahrens 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Versailles HS Versailles, Ohio
G 13 CJ Walker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Florida State Indianapolis, Indiana
F 14 Justice Sueing 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr California Honolulu, Hawaii
C 15 Ibrahima Diallo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Prolific Prep Saly, Senegal
F 23 Zed Key 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Long Island Lutheran HS Bay Shore, New York
F 25 Kyle Young 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Jackson HS Canton, Ohio
F 31 Seth Towns 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Harvard Columbus, Ohio
F 32 E. J. Liddell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Belleville HS Belleville, Illinois
G 40 Jansen Davidson Jr. (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Fairmont HS Kettering, Ohio
F 42 Harrison Hookfin (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Lebanon HS Cincinnati, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Ohio State canceled its game against Alabama A&M due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M.[2] They also postponed their game against Penn State,[3] rescheduling the game to January 27, 2021.[4]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 23 Illinois State W 94–67  1–0
  19 – Sueing   8 – Tied   6 – Walker  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
November 29*
12:00 pm, BTN 		No. 23 UMass Lowell W 74–64  2–0
  21 – Washington Jr.   8 – Tied   5 – Walker  Covelli Center (0)
Columbus, OH
December 2*
5:00 pm, BTN 		No. 23 Morehead State W 77–44  3–0
  16 – Liddell   9 – Young   4 – Tied  Covelli Center (0)
Columbus, OH
December 5*
Canceled 		No. 23 Alabama A&M Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M[2] Value City Arena 
Columbus, OH
December 8*
7:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 22 at Notre Dame
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		W 90–85  4–0
  19 – Liddell   12 – Liddell   4 – Tied  Edmund P. Joyce Center (156)
Notre Dame, IN
December 13*
4:00 pm, BTN 		No. 22 Cleveland State W 67–61  5–0
  17 – Washington Jr.   10 – Key   3 – Walker  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
December 16
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 20 at Purdue L 60–67  5–1
(0–1) 		 14 – Sueing   8 – Young   7 – Walker  Mackey Arena (250)
West Lafayette, IN
December 19*
4:15 pm, CBS 		No. 20 vs. UCLA
CBS Sports Classic 		W 77–70  6–1
  14 – Washington Jr.   6 – Key   4 – Walker  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
December 23
4:30 pm, BTN 		No. 23 No. 11 Rutgers W 80–68  7–1
(1–1) 		 22 – Washington Jr.   12 – Young   5 – Walker  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
December 26
2:00 pm, FS1 		No. 23 at Northwestern L 70–71  7–2
(1–2) 		 15 – Liddell   8 – Tied   5 – Walker  Welsh–Ryan Arena (0)
Evanston, IL
December 30
6:30 pm, BTN 		No. 25 Nebraska W 90–54  8–2
(2–2) 		 18 – Ahrens   6 – Tied   3 – Tied  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
January 3, 2021
5:30 pm, BTN 		No. 25 at No. 21 Minnesota L 60–77  8–3
(2–3) 		 21 – Washington Jr.   7 – Tied   3 – Sueing  Williams Arena (0)
Minneapolis, MN
January 9
12:00 pm, BTN 		at No. 15 Rutgers W 79–68  9–3
(3–3) 		 17 – Washington Jr.   10 – Sueing   5 – Sueing  Rutgers Athletic Center (0)
Piscataway, NJ
January 13
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 21 Northwestern W 81–71  10–3
(4–3) 		 23 – Washington Jr.   10 – Liddell   6 – Washington Jr.  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
January 16
12:00 pm, FOX 		No. 21 at No. 14 Illinois W 87–81  11–3
(5–3) 		 26 – Liddell   7 – Tied   4 – Sueing  State Farm Center (175)
Champaign, IL
January 19
6:30 pm, BTN 		No. 15 Purdue L 65–67  11–4
(5–4) 		 21 – Washington Jr.   7 – Liddell   6 – Washington Jr.  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
January 23
4:00 pm, CBS 		No. 15 at No. 10 Wisconsin W 74–62  12–4
(6–4) 		 20 – Liddell   7 – Liddell   4 – Washington Jr.  Kohl Center (0)
Madison, WI
January 27
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 13 Penn State W 83–79  13–4
(7–4) 		 22 – Liddell   10 – Sueing   6 – Washington Jr.  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
January 31
1:00 pm, CBS 		No. 13 Michigan State W 79–62  14–4
(8–4) 		 20 – Liddell   8 – Liddell   3 – Washington Jr.  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
February 4
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 7 at No. 8 Iowa W 89–85  15–4
(9–4) 		 16 – Tied   11 – Sueing   9 – Walker  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (503)
Iowa City, IA
February 8
9:00 pm, FS1 		No. 4 at Maryland W 73–65  16–4
(10–4) 		 18 – Tied   6 – Liddell   4 – Washington Jr.  Xfinity Center (0)
College Park, MD
February 13
12:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 4 Indiana W 78–59  17–4
(11–4) 		 19 – Liddell   10 – Sueing   4 – Walker  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
February 18
8:00 pm, BTN 		No. 4 at Penn State W 92–82  18–4
(12–4) 		 23 – Liddell   6 – Sueing   7 – Walker  Bryce Jordan Center (244)
University Park, PA
February 21
1:00 pm, CBS 		No. 4 No. 3 Michigan
Rivalry 		L 87–92  18–5
(12–5) 		 30 – Washington Jr.   10 – Liddell   3 – Tied  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
February 25
9:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 4 at Michigan State L 67–71  18–6
(12–6) 		 18 – Liddell   8 – Liddell   5 – Walker  Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
February 28
4:00 pm, CBS 		No. 4 No. 9 Iowa L 57–73  18–7
(12–7) 		 15 – Liddell   5 – Tied   4 – Walker  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
March 6
4:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 7 No. 4 Illinois L 68–73  18–8
(12–8) 		 19 – Liddell   8 – Sueing   6 – Washington Jr.  Value City Arena (0)
Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
March 11, 2021
2:00 pm, BTN 		(5) No. 9 vs. (13) Minnesota
Second Round 		W 79–75  19–8
  16 – Tied   7 – Sueing   6 – Walker  Lucas Oil Stadium (6,206)
Indianapolis, IN
March 12, 2021
2:00 pm, BTN 		(5) No. 9 vs. (4) No. 20 Purdue
Quarterfinals 		W 87–78 OT 20–8
  20 – Washington Jr.   10 – Sueing   7 – Walker  Lucas Oil Stadium (7,634)
Indianapolis, IN
March 13, 2021
1:00 pm, CBS 		(5) No. 9 vs. (1) No. 4 Michigan
Semifinals/Rivalry 		W 68–67  21–8
  24 – Washington Jr.   6 – Washington Jr.   4 – Tied  Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000)
Indianapolis, IN
March 14, 2021
3:30 pm, CBS 		(5) No. 9 vs. (2) No. 3 Illinois
Championship 		L 88–91 OT 21–9
  32 – Washington Jr.   8 – Washington Jr.   4 – Walker  Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021
3:00 pm, CBS 		(2 S) No. 7 vs. (15 S) Oral Roberts
First Round 		L 72–75 OT 21–10
  23 – Liddell   12 – Liddell   5 – Liddell  Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[5]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP232322202325RV2115137444797Not released
Coaches2424^20192020тRVRV181595451010715

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

  1. ^ "Ohio State Buckeyes Stats 2019–20". ESPN. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Jardy, Adam. "Ohio State's basketball game against Alabama A&M has been canceled". BuckeyeExtra.
  3. ^ Harrison, Phil. "Ohio State basketball game against Penn State postponed". Buckeyes Wire.
  4. ^ Hass-Hill, Colin. "Ohio State Basketball will host Penn State on Wednesday in rescheduled game". Eleven Warriors.
  5. ^ "Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio State Athletics.