# 2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his fourth 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, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan before losing to Illinois in overtime in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. However, they were upset in the First Round by No. 15-seeded Oral Roberts.

## Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. The 2020 Big Ten men's basketball tournament and 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Alonzo Gaffney | 0 | F | 6'9" | 198 | Freshman | Cleveland, OH | Transferred to Northwest Florida (JUCO) |
| Luther Muhammad | 1 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Sophomore | Jersey City, NJ | Transferred to Arizona State |
| D. J. Carton | 3 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Freshman | Bettendorf, IA | Transferred to Marquette |
| Andre Wesson | 24 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Westerville, OH | Graduated |
| Kaleb Wesson | 34 | F | 6'9" | 270 | Junior | Westerville, OH | Declared for 2020 NBA draft |
| Daniel Hummer | 40 | G | 6'0" | 175 | RS Senior | Upper Arlington, OH | Walk-on; graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jimmy Sotos | 1 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Senior | Elk Grove Village, IL | Transferred from Bucknell. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Seth Towns | 31 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Graduate Student | Columbus, OH | Transferred from Harvard. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Meechie Johnson Jr. PG | Cleveland, OH | Garfield Heights (OH) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Eugene Brown III SG | Conyers, GA | Southwest DeKalb (GA) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 16, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Zed Key PF | Bay Shore, NY | Long Island Lutheran (NY) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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. ||||||

### 2021 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Malaki Branham #4 SG | Akron, OH | St. Vincent-St. Mary | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 22, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kalen Etzler #21 PF | Convoy, OH | Crestview | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | May 12, 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Ohio State canceled its game against Alabama A&M due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M. They also postponed their game against Penn State, rescheduling the game to January 27, 2021.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 23 | Illinois State | W 94–67 | 1–0 | 19 – Sueing | 8 – Tied | 6 – Walker | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| November 29* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | UMass Lowell | W 74–64 | 2–0 | 21 – Washington Jr. | 8 – Tied | 5 – Walker | Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH |
| December 2* 5:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | Morehead State | W 77–44 | 3–0 | 16 – Liddell | 9 – Young | 4 – Tied | Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH |
| December 5* Canceled | No. 23 | Alabama A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alabama A&M | Value City Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 8* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | at Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 90–85 | 4–0 | 19 – Liddell | 12 – Liddell | 4 – Tied | Edmund P. Joyce Center (156) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 13* 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Cleveland State | W 67–61 | 5–0 | 17 – Washington Jr. | 10 – Key | 3 – Walker | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| December 16 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 20 | at Purdue | L 60–67 | 5–1 (0–1) | 14 – Sueing | 8 – Young | 7 – Walker | Mackey Arena (250) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 19* 4:15 pm, CBS | No. 20 | vs. UCLA CBS Sports Classic | W 77–70 | 6–1 | 14 – Washington Jr. | 6 – Key | 4 – Walker | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| December 23 4:30 pm, BTN | No. 23 | No. 11 Rutgers | W 80–68 | 7–1 (1–1) | 22 – Washington Jr. | 12 – Young | 5 – Walker | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| December 26 2:00 pm, FS1 | No. 23 | at Northwestern | L 70–71 | 7–2 (1–2) | 15 – Liddell | 8 – Tied | 5 – Walker | Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL |
| December 30 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 25 | Nebraska | W 90–54 | 8–2 (2–2) | 18 – Ahrens | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 3, 2021 5:30 pm, BTN | No. 25 | at No. 21 Minnesota | L 60–77 | 8–3 (2–3) | 21 – Washington Jr. | 7 – Tied | 3 – Sueing | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 9 12:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 15 Rutgers | W 79–68 | 9–3 (3–3) | 17 – Washington Jr. | 10 – Sueing | 5 – Sueing | Rutgers Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 13 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | Northwestern | W 81–71 | 10–3 (4–3) | 23 – Washington Jr. | 10 – Liddell | 6 – Washington Jr. | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 16 12:00 pm, FOX | No. 21 | at No. 14 Illinois | W 87–81 | 11–3 (5–3) | 26 – Liddell | 7 – Tied | 4 – Sueing | State Farm Center (175) Champaign, IL |
| January 19 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Purdue | L 65–67 | 11–4 (5–4) | 21 – Washington Jr. | 7 – Liddell | 6 – Washington Jr. | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 23 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 15 | at No. 10 Wisconsin | W 74–62 | 12–4 (6–4) | 20 – Liddell | 7 – Liddell | 4 – Washington Jr. | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| January 27 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Penn State | W 83–79 | 13–4 (7–4) | 22 – Liddell | 10 – Sueing | 6 – Washington Jr. | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 31 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 13 | Michigan State | W 79–62 | 14–4 (8–4) | 20 – Liddell | 8 – Liddell | 3 – Washington Jr. | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| February 4 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at No. 8 Iowa | W 89–85 | 15–4 (9–4) | 16 – Tied | 11 – Sueing | 9 – Walker | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (503) Iowa City, IA |
| February 8 9:00 pm, FS1 | No. 4 | at Maryland | W 73–65 | 16–4 (10–4) | 18 – Tied | 6 – Liddell | 4 – Washington Jr. | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| February 13 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | Indiana | W 78–59 | 17–4 (11–4) | 19 – Liddell | 10 – Sueing | 4 – Walker | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| February 18 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 4 | at Penn State | W 92–82 | 18–4 (12–4) | 23 – Liddell | 6 – Sueing | 7 – Walker | Bryce Jordan Center (244) University Park, PA |
| February 21 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 4 | No. 3 Michigan Rivalry | L 87–92 | 18–5 (12–5) | 30 – Washington Jr. | 10 – Liddell | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| February 25 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | at Michigan State | L 67–71 | 18–6 (12–6) | 18 – Liddell | 8 – Liddell | 5 – Walker | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| February 28 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 4 | No. 9 Iowa | L 57–73 | 18–7 (12–7) | 15 – Liddell | 5 – Tied | 4 – Walker | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| March 6 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | No. 4 Illinois | L 68–73 | 18–8 (12–8) | 19 – Liddell | 8 – Sueing | 6 – Washington Jr. | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:00 pm, BTN | (5) No. 9 | vs. (13) Minnesota Second Round | W 79–75 | 19–8 | 16 – Tied | 7 – Sueing | 6 – Walker | Lucas Oil Stadium (6,206) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 12, 2021 2:00 pm, BTN | (5) No. 9 | vs. (4) No. 20 Purdue Quarterfinals | W 87–78 $^{OT}$ | 20–8 | 20 – Washington Jr. | 10 – Sueing | 7 – Walker | Lucas Oil Stadium (7,634) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 13, 2021 1:00 pm, CBS | (5) No. 9 | vs. (1) No. 4 Michigan Semifinals/Rivalry | W 68–67 | 21–8 | 24 – Washington Jr. | 6 – Washington Jr. | 4 – Tied | Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 14, 2021 3:30 pm, CBS | (5) No. 9 | vs. (2) No. 3 Illinois Championship | L 88–91 $^{OT}$ | 21–9 | 32 – Washington Jr. | 8 – Washington Jr. | 4 – Walker | Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 3:00 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 7 | vs. (15 S) Oral Roberts First Round | L 72–75 $^{OT}$ | 21–10 | 23 – Liddell | 12 – Liddell | 5 – Liddell | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 25 | RV | 21 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | Not released |
| Coaches | 24 | 24^ | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20т | RV | RV | 18 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 15 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.