# 2018–19 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his second season with the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes played their home games at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes finished the 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 before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals. 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.

## Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2017–18 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Micah Potter | 0 | C | 6'9" | 240 | Junior | Mentor, OH | Transferred to Wisconsin |
| Jae'Sean Tate | 1 | F | 6'4" | 230 | Senior | Pickerington, OH | Graduated |
| Andrew Dakich | 13 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Graduate Student | Zionsville, IN | Graduated |
| Kam Williams | 15 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Senior | Baltimore, MD | Graduated |
| Keita Bates-Diop | 33 | F | 6'7" | 235 | Junior | Normal, IL | Declared for 2018 NBA draft; selected 48th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Matt Lehmann | 43 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Junior | Columbus, OH | Graduated |
| Connor Fulton | 45 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Freshman | Salt Lake City, UT | Professionalized in Japan |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| CJ Walker | 13 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Florida State |
| Keyshawn Woods | 32 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Graduate Student | Gastonia, NC | Wake Forest |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| 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 C | Napa, CA | 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. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | UNC Pembroke | W 81–63 | – | 13 – Potter | 10 – K. Wesson | 3 – Muhammad | Value City Arena (10,147) Columbus, OH |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Cincinnati | W 64–56 | 1–0 | 15 – K. Wesson | 8 – Young | 5 – Woods | Fifth Third Arena (12,012) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 11, 2018* 4:00 pm, BTN | | Purdue Fort Wayne Buckeye Basketball Classic | W 107–61 | 2–0 | 25 – Jackson | 7 – K. Wesson | 5 – Jackson | Value City Arena (12,040) Columbus, OH |
| November 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at Creighton Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 69–60 | 3–0 | 19 – Woods | 6 – Young | 4 – Woods | CHI Health Center Omaha (17,146) Omaha, NE |
| November 18, 2018* 2:00 pm, BTN Plus | | South Carolina State Buckeye Basketball Classic | W 89–61 | 4–0 | 18 – K. Wesson | 7 – Jallow | 4 – Tied | Value City Arena (10,935) Columbus, OH |
| November 20, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | No. 23 | Samford Buckeye Basketball Classic | W 68–50 | 5–0 | 19 – K. Wesson | 9 – Jackson | 4 – Woods | Value City Arena (10,725) Columbus, OH |
| November 23, 2018* 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 23 | Cleveland State Buckeye Basketball Classic | W 89–62 | 6–0 | 19 – K. Wesson | 8 – LeDee | 3 – Tied | St. John Arena (13,276) Columbus, OH |
| November 28, 2018* 7:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | Syracuse ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 62–72 | 6–1 | 19 – Jackson | 8 – K. Wesson | 6 – Muhammad | Value City Arena (16,962) Columbus, OH |
| December 2, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 16 | Minnesota | W 79–59 | 7–1 (1–0) | 16 – A. Wesson | 8 – Young | 4 – Jackson | Value City Arena (11,668) Columbus, OH |
| December 5, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | vs. Illinois | W 77–67 | 8–1 (2–0) | 18 – Woods | 9 – Jallow | 5 – Jackson | United Center (5,285) Chicago, IL |
| December 15, 2018* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Bucknell | W 73–71 | 9–1 | 22 – K. Wesson | 10 – K. Wesson | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (14,241) Columbus, OH |
| December 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Youngstown State | W 75–56 | 10–1 | 31 – K. Wesson | 7 – Tied | 7 – Jackson | Value City Arena (12,637) Columbus, OH |
| December 22, 2018* 3:00 pm, CBS | No. 15 | vs. UCLA CBS Sports Classic | W 80–66 | 11–1 | 22 – Jackson | 12 – K. Wesson | 10 – Woods | United Center (15,124) Chicago, IL |
| December 29, 2018* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | High Point | W 82–64 | 12–1 | 20 – Jackson | 9 – A. Wesson | 4 – Tied | Value City Arena (14,264) Columbus, OH |
| January 5, 2019 12:00 pm, FOX | No. 14 | No. 8 Michigan State | L 77–86 | 12–2 (2–1) | 25 – K. Wesson | 8 – K. Wesson | 5 – Jackson | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| January 9, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 16 | at Rutgers | L 61–64 | 12–3 (2–2) | 18 – K. Wesson | 7 – K. Wesson | 4 – Jackson | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,379) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 12, 2019 2:30 pm, BTN | No. 16 | at Iowa | L 62–72 | 12–4 (2–3) | 13 – A. Wesson | 6 – K. Wesson | 4 – A. Wesson | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,528) Iowa City, IA |
| January 18, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | | No. 19 Maryland | L 61–75 | 12–5 (2–4) | 15 – Jackson | 6 – K. Wesson | 3 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (14,716) Columbus, OH |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | | Purdue | L 67–79 | 12–6 (2–5) | 22 – A. Wesson | 6 – Jallow | 3 – Jackson | Value City Arena (12,736) Columbus, OH |
| January 26, 2019 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at Nebraska | W 70–60 | 13–6 (3–5) | 24 – Muhammad | 11 – Wesson | 4 – Jackson | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,890) Lincoln, NE |
| January 29, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 5 Michigan | L 49–65 | 13–7 (3–6) | 12 – K. Wesson | 8 – Jackson | 4 – Jackson | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 2, 2019 12:00 pm, BTN | | Rutgers | W 76–62 | 14–7 (4–6) | 27 – K. Wesson | 7 – Jackson | 5 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (14,961) Columbus, OH |
| February 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Penn State | W 74–70 | 15–7 (5–6) | 20 – Muhammad | 10 – K. Wesson | 4 – Muhammad | Value City Arena (15,824) Columbus, OH |
| February 10, 2019 1:00 pm, CBS | | at Indiana | W 55–52 | 16–7 (6–6) | 15 – A. Wesson | 6 – Jallow | 4 – Jackson | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| February 14, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Illinois | L 56–63 | 16–8 (6–7) | 17 – Jackson | 5 – Jackson | 3 – Woods | Value City Arena (12,420) Columbus, OH |
| February 17, 2019 1:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 11 Michigan State | L 44–62 | 16–9 (6–8) | 12 – A. Wesson | 9 – K. Wesson | 4 – A. Wesson | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 20, 2019 8:30 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 63–49 | 17–9 (7–8) | 22 – K. Wesson | 8 – K. Wesson | 4 – K. Wesson | Value City Arena (12,032) Columbus, OH |
| February 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 24 Maryland | L 62–72 | 17–10 (7–9) | 15 – Washington | 7 – K. Wesson | 4 – Tied | Xfinity Center (17,569) College Park, MD |
| February 26, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 22 Iowa | W 90–70 | 18–10 (8–9) | 29 – Ahrens | 11 – K. Wesson | 6 – Jackson | Value City Arena (14,118) Columbus, OH |
| March 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 14 Purdue | L 51–86 | 18–11 (8–10) | 16 – LeDee | 8 – Young | 3 – A. Wesson | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| March 6, 2019 9:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | L 50–68 | 18–12 (8–11) | 15 – Woods | 7 – Woods | 2 – Jackson | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,534) Evanston, IN |
| March 10, 2019 4:30 pm, CBS | | No. 21 Wisconsin | L 67–73 $^{OT}$ | 18–13 (8–12) | 22 – Jackson | 8 – Young | 5 – Jackson | Value City Arena (18,231) Columbus, OH |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 12:30 pm, BTN | (8) | vs. (9) Indiana Second Round | W 79–75 | 19–13 | 18 – Woods | 13 – K Wesson | 5 – Jackson | United Center (16,207) Chicago, IL |
| March 15, 2019 12:30 pm, BTN | (8) | vs. (1) No. 6 Michigan State Quarterfinals | L 70–77 | 19–14 | 16 – Woods | 3 – Tied | 5 – Jackson | United Center (17,369) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 9:50 pm, TBS | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) No. 24 Iowa State First Round | W 62–59 | 20–14 | 21 – K. Wesson | 12 – K. Wesson | 2 – Tied | BOK Center (12,443) Tulsa, OK |
| March 24, 2019* 8:40 pm, TNT | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 11 Houston Second Round | L 59–74 | 20–15 | 18 – Jackson | 6 – Tied | 4 – Woods | BOK Center (12,606) Tulsa, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 16 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | 23 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 11-T | 12 | 17 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV |
^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did.
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings