Ohio State was destined to have a down year this year. The Buckeyes lost not only D'Angelo Russell to the NBA but a number of highly productive seniors in Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, and Amir Williams. They rank 299th nationally in KenPom's new minutes continuity stat. Still, Ohio State's worst finish under Thad Matta in KenPom's rankings was 33rd in 2008-09, and Matta has never finished with fewer than 20 wins in Columbus.
Despite three straight bad non-conference losses to UT Arlington, Louisiana Tech, and Memphis, Ohio State rebounded to beat Kentucky on a neutral court.