{"id":91857,"date":"2025-07-25T16:50:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91857\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T16:50:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:50:13","slug":"biggest-potential-weakness-for-ohio-state-mens-basketball-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91857\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest potential weakness for Ohio State men\u2019s basketball this year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to You\u2019re Nuts, where Land-Grant Holy Land\u2019s basketball writers continue to grind through the summer months with riveting and thought-provoking basketball debates.<\/p>\n

Although it feels like the season has been over for years, we\u2019re still a solid three months away from basketball being back, so the light isn\u2019t even at the end of the tunnel quite yet. There\u2019s always baseball, right? -sigh-<\/p>\n

Last week, Connor and Justin debated which game on Ohio State<\/a>\u2019s non-conference schedule will be the toughest challenge. Connor picked North Carolina, which will be played in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic. Justin picked the Buckeyes\u2019 February matchup with Virginia, which has not been officially announced yet but will be played in Nashville. <\/p>\n

That game will likely be played at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, but don\u2019t count out the possibility of the game being played at Memorial Gymnasium \u2014 Vanderbilt\u2019s home arena. Jake Diebler was an assistant at Vanderbilt from 2016-2019 and is still very fond of the program and arena. <\/p>\n

62% of the readers from last week agreed with Connor\u2019s pick of the Tar Heels, while 22% of the readers went with Justin and the Hoos. The final 16% split the vote between the road game at Pitt and the home game against Notre Dame<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After 214 weeks:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Connor- 98<\/strong>
Justin- 90<\/strong>
Other- 20<\/strong><\/p>\n

(There have been six ties)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week, Connor and Justin are looking at the upcoming men\u2019s team and identifying one are that could be the biggest weakness. That weakness doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be a player\/personel-related issue, but that would make the most sense. <\/p>\n

The Buckeyes still could add one more player to the roster late in the summer \u2014 and were rumored to be in contact with former Penn State forward Puff Johnson \u2014 but more likely than not, the 2025-2026 roster is set. <\/p>\n

This week\u2019s question: What is the biggest potential weakness for Ohio State men\u2019s basketball this year? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Connor – Depth at center<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"NCAA<\/p>\n

Matthew O\u2019Haren-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a fun question: Who is Ohio State\u2019s backup center? Ivan Njegovan? Josh Ojianwuna? A\u2019mare Bynum? Do you feel particularly comfortable with any of those guys being the answer to that question?<\/p>\n

Christoph Tilly will be the best center that Ohio State has had in five or six years, but he only averaged 22.7 minutes per game last season. When he is not in the game, Ohio State\u2019s interior defense and willingness to throw the ball in the paint can\u2019t disappear. I\u2019m just not sure if the guys behind Tilly will be able to do those two things particularly well. <\/p>\n

Njegovan is entering his sophomore season but averaged just 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game last year. He looked especially undercomfortable down the stretch of the season, committing a turnover in two of the last three games of the season. Njegovan looked overwhelmed in his first taste of college basketball. <\/p>\n

Ojianwuna is a tank and finishes around the basketball at a near-historic rate, but he\u2019s recoving from a knee injury and his status for November (and December, January, so on) is specificied. There\u2019s a real chance that Ojianwuna doesn\u2019t even play for Ohio State this year, although the team remains clear that they are planning as if he\u2019d be ready to play in September. <\/p>\n

A\u2019mare Bynum or Brandon Noel could slide over and possibly play some small-ball center too, but if that happens I think you\u2019re rally tupping your hand at how short-handed you are with some positions. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, the hope is that Tilly plays way more than the 23 minutes per game he played last season, but if he plays closer to 20, this group of merry genlemen are the ones would be called to jump into the action in his place. <\/p>\n

Justin – The mid-major transfers struggle to adapt<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Syndication:<\/p>\n

Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

To be fair, this is similar to Connor\u2019s pick of front court depth, but I am specifically talking about Brandon Noel and Christoph Tilly here.<\/p>\n

The Buckeyes brought in Noel from Wright State and Tilly from Santa Clara to start in the front court, two guys who have proven ability at the collegiate level, but at mid-majors.<\/p>\n

In Noel\u2019s career, he has averaged 15.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 97 appearances. He has shot 56.3 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from three-point range and 77.2 percent from the free-throw line. Last season, he averaged 19.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from three-point range and 75.3 percent from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

At Wright State, the 6-foot-8 forward was a two time All-Horizon League member, made the Horizon League All-Freshman team and was the 2022-23 Horizon League Rookie of the Year. Last year, he scored 20 points against Kentucky, 27 points against Miami (OH), who made the MAC championship game, 24 points against Toledo and 26 points against Bradley.<\/p>\n

For Tilly, he averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season on his way to an All-WCC selection. In his career, he has averaged 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 86 career contests.<\/p>\n

Both of these guys are going to be key contributors for the Buckeyes this season. It is safe to assume the Big Three of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley and Devin Royal will lead the Buckeyes, but it will come down to the other two transfer starters to take the Buckeyes to the next level. The question is, can they?<\/p>\n

Poll
\n Biggest weakness for Ohio State MBB this season?<\/p>\n