# 2017–18 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his first 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 25–9, 15–3 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the West region. They defeated South Dakota State in the First Round before losing to Gonzaga in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2016–17 season 17–15, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Rutgers.
On June 5, 2017, the school announced that head coach Thad Matta would not return as head coach. On June 9, the school hired Butler head coach Chris Holtmann as head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Marc Loving | 2 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Toledo, OH | Exhausted Eligibility |
| D. J. Funderburk | 4 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Freshman | Lakewood, OH | Dismissed from the team due to failure to meet team expectations Later enrolled at NC State to play basketball. |
| David Bell | 10 | C | 6'9" | 225 | RS Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Transferred to Jacksonville |
| JaQuan Lyle | 13 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Sophomore | Evansville, IN | Transferred to New Mexico |
| Jimmy Jent | 23 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Sophomore | Columbus, OH | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Trevor Thompson | 32 | C | 7'0" | 250 | RS Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Declared for 2017 NBA draft |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Andrew Dakich | 13 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Graduate Student | Zionsville, IN | Transferred from Michigan. Will be eligible to play immediately since Dakich graduated from Michigan. |
| Daniel Hummer | 40 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Junior | Upper Arlington, OH | Transferred from Air Force. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hummer will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kaleb Wesson #11 C | Westerville, OH | Westerville South High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Jul 3, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kyle Young #21 SF | Canton, OH | Jackson High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jun 19, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Musa Jallow #27 SF | Bloomington, IN | Bloomington North High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR ||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 17, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaedon LeDee SF | Houston, TX | The Kinkaid School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Sep 19, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Duane Washington Jr. PG | Grand Rapids, MI | Sierra Canyon School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Luther Muhammad SG | Jersey City, NJ | Hudson Catholic High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Justin Ahrens SF | Versailles, OH | Versailles High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | Sep 24, 2017 |
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

The 2018 Big Ten tournament was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Due to the Big East's use of that venue for their conference tournament, the Big Ten tournament took place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday. This resulted in teams having nearly two weeks off before the NCAA tournament.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 5, 2017* 4:00 pm, BTN+ | | Wooster | W 88–63 | — | 17 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Dakich | Value City Arena (11,499) Columbus, OH |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Robert Morris | W 95–64 | 1–0 | 19 – Bates-Diop | 11 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (11,128) Columbus, OH |
| Nov 12, 2017* 2:30 pm, BTN+ | | Radford | W 82–72 | 2–0 | 22 – Bates-Diop | 10 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (10,425) Columbus, OH |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Texas Southern | W 82–64 | 3–0 | 17 – 3 tied | 12 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Jackson | Value City Arena (9,984) Columbus, OH |
| Nov 19, 2017* 2:00 pm, BTN+ | | Northeastern PK80–Phil Knight Invitational campus–site game | W 80–55 | 4–0 | 24 – Tate | 7 – Bates-Diop | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (10,779) Columbus, OH |
| Nov 24, 2017* 12:00 am, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 17 Gonzaga PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket Quarterfinals | L 59–86 | 4–1 | 12 – Tied | 10 – Bates-Diop | 3 – Jackson | Veterans Memorial Coliseum (7,878) Portland, OR |
| Nov 24, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Stanford PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket | W 79–71 | 5–1 | 23 – Jackson | 11 – Bates-Diop | 3 – Tied | Moda Center Portland, OR |
| Nov 26, 2017* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Butler PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket | L 66–67 $^{OT}$ | 5–2 | 19 – Jackson | 11 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Tate | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 65–79 | 5–3 | 21 – Bates-Diop | 7 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Tate | Value City Arena (17,189) Columbus, OH |
| Dec 2, 2017 5:00 pm, FOX | | at Wisconsin | W 83–58 | 6–3 (1–0) | 19 – K. Wesson | 11 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Bates-Diop | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Dec 4, 2017 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Michigan | W 71–62 | 7–3 (2–0) | 18 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Bates-Diop | 4 – Jackson | Value City Arena (12,546) Columbus, OH |
| Dec 9, 2017* 12:00 pm, BTN+ | | William & Mary | W 97–62 | 8–3 | 27 – Bates-Diop | 7 – K. Wesson | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (11,158) Columbus, OH |
| Dec 16, 2017* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Appalachian State | W 80–67 | 9–3 | 19 – Tate | 8 – Tied | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (12,616) Columbus, OH |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN | | The Citadel | W 94–65 | 10–3 | 17 – Tied | 8 – Potter | 5 – Dakich | Value City Arena (10,752) Columbus, OH |
| Dec 23, 2017* 1:30 pm, CBS | | vs. No. 5 North Carolina CBS Sports Classic | L 72–86 | 10–4 | 26 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Tate | 6 – Tate | Smoothie King Center (8,119) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 30, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | Miami (OH) | W 72–59 | 11–4 | 19 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (15,131) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 4, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Iowa | W 92–81 | 12–4 (3–0) | 27 – Bates-Diop | 13 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Dakich | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,933) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 7, 2018 4:30 pm, CBS | | No. 1 Michigan State | W 80–64 | 13–4 (4–0) | 32 – Bates-Diop | 7 – Bates-Diop | 5 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (17,599) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Maryland | W 91–69 | 14–4 (5–0) | 26 – Bates-Diop | 8 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Tied | Value City Arena (12,014) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 14, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | W 68–46 | 15–4 (6–0) | 20 – Bates-Diop | 9 – Tied | 6 – Jackson | Louis Brown Athletic Center (7,476) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 17, 2018 9:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Northwestern | W 71–65 | 16–4 (7–0) | 13 – Potter | 8 – Bates-Diop | 8 – Jackson | Allstate Arena (6,018) Rosemont, IL |
| Jan 20, 2018 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | vs. Minnesota B1G Super Saturday | W 67–49 | 17–4 (8–0) | 17 – Bates-Diop | 12 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Tate | Madison Square Garden (4,136) New York City, NY |
| Jan 22, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Nebraska | W 64–59 | 18–4 (9–0) | 20 – Bates-Diop | 7 – Tied | 4 – Jackson | Value City Arena (10,918) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 25, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Penn State | L 79–82 | 18–5 (9–1) | 25 – Bates-Diop | 10 – Tate | 5 – Jackson | Value City Arena (13,464) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | Indiana | W 71–56 | 19–5 (10–1) | 16 – Tate | 13 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Bates-Diop | Value City Arena (14,041) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 4, 2018 12:00 pm, FS1 | No. 17 | Illinois | W 75–67 | 20–5 (11–1) | 35 – Bates-Diop | 12 – Bates-Diop | 4 – Jackson | Value City Arena (18,743) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 7, 2018 8:30 pm, BTN | No. 14 | at No. 3 Purdue | W 64–63 | 21–5 (12–1) | 18 – Bates-Diop | 11 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Tate | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 10, 2018 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Iowa | W 82–64 | 22–5 (13–1) | 18 – K. Wesson | 8 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Jackson | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 15, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | at Penn State | L 56–79 | 22–6 (13–2) | 13 – Jackson | 5 – 3 tied | 2 – 3 tied | Bryce Jordan Center (10,981) University Park, PA |
| Feb 18, 2018 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 8 | at No. 22 Michigan | L 62–74 | 22–7 (13–3) | 20 – Tate | 15 – Tate | 3 – A. Wesson | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 16 | Rutgers | W 79–52 | 23–7 (14–3) | 18 – Jackson | 10 – Tate | 4 – A. Wesson | Value City Arena (15,620) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 23, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 16 | at Indiana | W 80–78 $^{2OT}$ | 24–7 (15–3) | 24 – Bates-Diop | 14 – Bates-Diop | 6 – Tate | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 2, 2018 6:30 pm, BTN | (2) No. 13 | vs. (7) Penn State Quarterfinals | L 68–69 | 24–8 | 25 – Bates-Diop | 7 – Tate | 6 – Jackson | Madison Square Garden (14,530) New York City, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 2018 4:00 pm, TNT | (5 W) No. 17 | vs. (12 W) South Dakota State First Round | W 81–73 | 25–8 | 24 – Bates-Diop | 12 – Bates-Diop | 5 – Jackson | Taco Bell Arena (11,662) Boise, ID |
| Mar 17, 2018 7:45 pm, CBS | (5 W) No. 17 | vs. (4 W) No. 8 Gonzaga Second Round | L 84–90 | 25–9 | 28 – Bates-Diop | 7 – Tate | 4 – Tate | Taco Bell Arena (11,686) Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 22 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 17 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 22 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 21 |
^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.