As we head into February The Ohio State Basketball team is poised and in position to make a tournament appearance but will it be the NCAA or the NIT or College Basketball Crown? The last 2 are really undesirable if you are an Ohio State fan. Kind of like your Prom date cancelling on you and taking your sister instead. With the recent loss to Wisconsin Ohio State is now 7 spots lower at NET 40 than they were before the game. What in a NET Ranking?
So Ohio State at this point (Feb 1 2026) is a Bubble Team.
WHY ARE THEY A BUBBLE TEAM? There is 1 Answer > LACK OF DEFENSE! In the recent loss to Wisconsin Ohio State surrendered 42 points in the paint and most were dribble drives by Wisconsin's Guards. As you will note, the Top 2 players on this photo are Wisconsin's Starting Guards.
Not only did the Guards from Wisconsin carve them up. A guy in Austin Rapp who averages 8.9 points per game hit his season and career high in 5, 3 point baskets in the 1st half against OSU. MR Rapp is 29 of 92 on the season for 31%. You say well 31% is an OK number as far as 3 pt shooting. Then we take another look and ask who did he make his 29 shots against.
4 of 7 - 3pt baskets vs Central Michigan, Ranked #302 in team defense, 3 of 6 - 3pt baskets vs Northwestern, Ranked #71 in team defense, 5 of 11 3pt baskets vs Providence, Ranked #88 in team defense, 3 of 9- 3pt baskets vs SIU Edwardsville No Ranking DIV3?, 5 of 7 3pt baskets vs OSU., In his 6 games prior to the OSU game he had made 4 of 21 3pt attempts. If you watched the game The OSU Defense left him Wide Open on almost every one.
The Defensive Lapses Started Early:
In this Video OSU in Man Defense, Notice Royal and Tilly get confused on hand off switch, as Royal is beat so Tilly helps and Royal fails to switch back and leaves his man Wide open which causes Bynum to have to help to avoid a 3pt shot as Mobley is caught on off his man who is 10 feet behind the 3pt line and lets the cutter who was Bynum's man run free to the basket. This all started because Tilly helped Royal, they failed to communicate and call out a switch but Mobley was no closer to his man than Bruce was so he should take the biggest threat which is the cutter.
Hustle must have been left on the Plane or in Columbus? 4 guys getting beat down the floor by 1 is totally inexcusable! All 4 are caught ball watching and no communication about the guy under the basket.
Communication Again? As Royal and Tilly again get caught in between on a 2 man switch but this time Bynum fails to step down and stop the drive. In this case the drive is a bigger threat than the guy standing 35 feet from the basket, so you stop the drive.
Story of The Day: This is what hampered the Buckeyes all day, Iso drives and the helpers not seeing what was happening around them. Chatman fails to wall up and runs along side his man all the way to the basket but no one stepped in to stop the drive. I have no Idea What Puff and Bynum are doing with their backs to the ball watching a cutter come through a screen, Can they not call out here comes and cutter low? This is mind blowing and was pretty much why Wisconsin scored 42 points in the paint and Both Guards having 20 points with Minimal 3pt baskets by either.
Folks if the Defense don't get better this team is going No Where Fast.
(Mod Edit: Moved to the Basketball Forum. Much better than Anything Else.)
