It’s been 240 days since the Ohio State men’s basketball lost to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, squashing its slim hopes of finishing off a miraculous and sneaking into the NCAA Tournament after a horrendous regular season. The 13-seed Buckeyes went farther than any first-team day had ever gone, making it all the way to the semifinals of the conference tourney.
The momentum was strong, and progress was clearly made. But that loss still sent Ohio State into an off-season that included no postseason participation play and a sub-.500 record hanging around their necks.