With the second-round NCAA tournament loss to Villanova, the Ohio State basketball season ended abruptly. All that’s left is to examine the year, what went wrong, what went well, what might have been.
Heading into the season
Buckeye fans were pretty optimistic in the fall of 2021 as the college basketball season approached. Bonafide star E.J. Liddell was returning and would obviously lead this Buckeye team. The third-leading scorer from 2020-21, Justice Sueing, was also back, as were key players Kyle Young and Justin Ahrens. Big man Zed Key looked promising in his freshman season, and everyone expected more out of him this year.