# 2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his third 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, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. Following the regular season, the Big Ten tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly thereafter, all postseason tournaments were canceled due to the pandemic, ending the Buckeyes' season.

## Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2018–19 season 20–15, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Indiana in the second round 79–75 before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals 77–70. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the Midwest region. There they upset Iowa State in the First Round before losing to Houston in the Second Round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| C. J. Jackson | 3 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Joey Lane | 14 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Deerfield, IL | Walk-on; graduated |
| Jaedon LeDee | 23 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Freshman | Houston, TX | Transferred to TCU |
| Keyshawn Woods | 32 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Graduate Student | Gastonia, NC | Graduated |

### Coaching changes

In April 2019, assistant coach Mike Schrage was hired as the new head coach at Elon. Holtmann hired Jake Diebler as Schrage's replacement later that month.

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Justice Sueing | 14 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Honolulu, HI | Transferred from California. Under NCAA transfer rules, Sueing will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| D. J. Carton #5 PG | Bettendorf, IA | Bettendorf High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 14, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Alonzo Gaffney #5 SF | Cleveland, OH | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 10, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| E. J. Liddell #8 PF | Belleville, IL | Belleville West | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 1, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ibrahima Diallo #64 C | Saly, Senegal | Prolific Prep | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 14, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2020 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Eugene Brown III #22 SG | Decatur, GA | Southwest DeKalb | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 16, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Meechie Johnson #23 PG | Cleveland, OH | Garfield Heights | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Zed Key #33 PF | Glen Head, NY | Long Island Lutheran | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | No. 18 | Cedarville | W 95–52 | – | 23 – K. Wesson | 9 – Young | 5 – Carton | Value City Arena (12,656) Columbus, OH |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019* 8:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 18 | Cincinnati | W 64–56 | 1–0 | 14 – Young | 13 – Young | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (13,845) Columbus, OH |
| November 10, 2019* 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 18 | UMass Lowell | W 76–56 | 2–0 | 13 – Tied | 13 – K. Wesson | 5 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (11,632) Columbus, OH |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 16 | No. 10 Villanova Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 76–51 | 3–0 | 14 – Washington | 11 – K. Wesson | 7 – Walker | Value City Arena (16,419) Columbus, OH |
| November 18, 2019* 8:30 p.m., BTN | No. 10 | Stetson Ohio State Classic | W 86–51 | 4–0 | 15 – Young | 10 – Young | 5 – Tied | Value City Arena (9,774) Columbus, OH |
| November 22, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | No. 10 | Purdue Fort Wayne Ohio State Classic | W 85–46 | 5–0 | 15 – K. Wesson | 7 – K. Wesson | 5 – Washington | Value City Arena (11,609) Columbus, OH |
| November 25, 2019* 6:30 p.m., BTN | No. 10 | Kent State Ohio State Classic | W 71–52 | 6–0 | 17 – K. Wesson | 7 – Washington | 3 – Tied | St. John Arena (8,850) Columbus, OH |
| November 29, 2019* 9:00 p.m., BTN | No. 10 | Morgan State | W 90–57 | 7–0 | 19 – A. Wesson | 8 – K. Wesson | 3 – Walker | Value City Arena (10,947) Columbus, OH |
| December 4, 2019* 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | at No. 7 North Carolina ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 74–49 | 8–0 | 18 – Washington | 9 – Tied | 5 – A. Wesson | Dean Smith Center (21,115) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 7, 2019 12:00 p.m., BTN | No. 6 | Penn State | W 106–74 | 9–0 (1–0) | 28 – K. Wesson | 10 – K. Wesson | 7 – Walker | Value City Arena (12,901) Columbus, OH |
| December 15, 2019 6:30 p.m., BTN | No. 3 | at Minnesota | L 71–84 | 9–1 (1–1) | 19 – Carton | 6 – K. Wesson | 3 – K. Wesson | Williams Arena (9,854) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 17, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 5 | Southeast Missouri State | W 80–48 | 10–1 | 18 – K. Wesson | 10 – K. Wesson | 6 – Walker | Value City Arena (13,177) Columbus, OH |
| December 21, 2019* 5:15 p.m., CBS | No. 5 | vs. No. 6 Kentucky CBS Sports Classic | W 71–65 | 11–1 | 15 – Carton | 8 – K. Wesson | 5 – Walker | T-Mobile Arena (18,800) Paradise, NV |
| December 29, 2019* 12:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 2 | vs. No. 22 West Virginia Cleveland Classic | L 59–67 | 11–2 | 17 – K. Wesson | 11 – Young | 3 – Muhammad | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (16,781) Cleveland, OH |
| January 3, 2020* 7:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 5 | Wisconsin | L 57–61 | 11–3 (1–2) | 22 – K. Wesson | 13 – K. Wesson | 4 – A. Wesson | Value City Arena (19,049) Columbus, OH |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 11 | at No. 12 Maryland | L 55–67 | 11–4 (1–3) | 15 – K. Wesson | 9 – K. Wesson | 3 – Tied | Xfinity Center (16,192) College Park, MD |
| January 11, 2020 12:00 p.m., FOX | No. 11 | at Indiana | L 54–66 | 11–5 (1–4) | 15 – A. Wesson | 10 – K. Wesson | 3 – Carton | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (15,456) Bloomington, IN |
| January 14, 2020 6:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 21 | Nebraska | W 80–68 | 12–5 (2–4) | 18 – Walker | 14 – K. Wesson | 5 – Carton | Value City Arena (12,954) Columbus, OH |
| January 18, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 21 | at Penn State | L 76–90 | 12–6 (2–5) | 20 – Washington | 5 – Tied | 6 – Carton | Bryce Jordan Center (14,785) University Park, PA |
| January 23, 2020 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | Minnesota | L 59–62 | 12–7 (2–6) | 14 – Young | 14 – K. Wesson | 3 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (13,234) Columbus, OH |
| January 26, 2020 6:30 p.m., BTN | | at Northwestern | W 71–59 | 13–7 (3–6) | 17 – Carton | 10 – K. Wesson | 5 – Walker | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,121) Evanston, IL |
| February 1, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | Indiana | W 68–59 | 14–7 (4–6) | 15 – K. Wesson | 11 – K. Wesson | 4 – Tied | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| February 4, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Michigan | W 61–58 | 15–7 (5–6) | 23 – K. Wesson | 12 – K. Wesson | 5 – Walker | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 9, 2020 1:00 p.m., CBS | | at Wisconsin | L 57–70 | 15–8 (5–7) | 11 – A. Wesson | 6 – K. Wesson | 3 – Young | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Rutgers | W 72–66 | 16–8 (6–7) | 16 – K. Wesson | 10 – A. Wesson | 5 – Tied | Value City Arena (15,552) Columbus, OH |
| February 15, 2020 12:00 p.m., FOX | | Purdue | W 68–52 | 17–8 (7–7) | 16 – Young | 8 – K. Wesson | 4 – Tied | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| February 20, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 25 | at No. 20 Iowa | L 76–85 | 17–9 (7–8) | 17 – Liddell | 8 – Liddell | 7 – Walker | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,001) Iowa City, IA |
| February 23, 2020 4:00 p.m., CBS | No. 25 | No. 7 Maryland | W 79–72 | 18–9 (8–8) | 22 – Muhammad | 9 – K. Wesson | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| February 27, 2020 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 23 | at Nebraska | W 75–54 | 19–9 (9–8) | 16 – K. Wesson | 18 – K. Wesson | 3 – Walker | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,611) Lincoln, NE |
| March 1, 2020 4:00 p.m., CBS | No. 23 | No. 19 Michigan | W 77–63 | 20–9 (10–8) | 20 – Washington | 9 – K. Wesson | 7 – Walker | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 19 | No. 23 Illinois | W 71–63 | 21–9 (11–8) | 19 – K. Wesson | 11 – Liddell | 5 – Walker | Value City Arena (16,382) Columbus, OH |
| March 8, 2020 4:30 p.m., CBS | No. 19 | at No. 16 Michigan State | L 69–80 | 21–10 (11–9) | 16 – Washington | 6 – K. Wesson | 2 – A. Wesson | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 6:30 p.m., BTN | (7) No. 19 | vs. (10) Purdue Second round | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 18 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 (5) | 5 | 2 (9) | 5 | 11 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Coaches | 16 | 16 | 9 | 9 (1) | 6 (1) | 2 (2) | 4 | 2 (7) | 5 | 12 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 18 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

## Individual awards

Weekly Awards :
| Player | Award | Date Awarded | Ref. |
| Kaleb Wesson | Big Ten Player of the Week | November 18, 2019 | |