Loved the football article and saw someone in the basketball forum posted it would be neat to see the same for basketball, so I had to take a stab at the best wins in the last 25 seasons, 2000-01 through 2024-25. Certainly room for debate as to which should land at #1, whereas football was pretty straight-forward on that point.

25. 12/4/19: 6) Ohio State 74 - 7) North Carolina 49. The beating in Chapel Hill was so thorough that the smattering of OSU fans chanting stadium O-H-I-O was all that was left in the Dean Dome.

24. 2/21/10: 9) Ohio State 74 - 11) MSU 67. OSU pulled away late to march on through East Lansing in the pursuit of a share of the 2010 Big Ten title.

23. 2/7/18: 14) Ohio State 64 - 3) Purdue 63. Bates-Diop drops 18 including the game-winning putback, leaving Mackey Arena silently stunned and OSU firmly in the Big Ten race.

22. 12/21/19: 5) Ohio State 71 - 6) Kentucky 65 in Vegas. All wins over UK are fun. Top 10 wins are funner!

21. 1/7/18: Ohio State 80 - 1) MSU 64. Bates-Diop dropped 32, the bank was open for Dakich, and everything was falling as OSU ended the half on a 12-0 run and once again downed a #1 team.

20. 1/15/12: 5) Ohio State 80 - 7) Indiana 63. After losing on NYE in Bloomington, the Bucks put an end to the Hoosier's fun with a stomp, en route to a Big Ten title.

19. 11/30/21: Ohio State 71 - 1) Duke 66. Key and Liddell placed a sour note in Coach K's final season.

18. 3/22/12 Sweet 16: 7) Ohio State 81 - Cincinnati 66. On paper it was a mismatch, but the regional hype for this game was a blast, en route to a Final Four.

17. 3/24/13: 7) Ohio State 78 - Iowa State 75. A tip-toe charge taken by Craft and a 3-point dagger sent Ohio State fans in Dayton home happy as the Bucks advanced to the Sweet 16.

16. 3/13/21: 9) Ohio State 68 - 4) Michigan 67. OSU dishes Michigan some cold revenge in Indy for the top 5 loss at the Schott in a near fan-less season.

15. 1/12/10: Ohio State 70 - 6) Purdue 66. Robbie Hummel's amazing first half couldn't hold off Evan Turner's second as ET came into form after his injury and jump started the trek to Big Ten and BTT titles.

14. 3/12/10: 5) Ohio State 69 - Michigan 68. "Are you kidding me, Dave O'Brien?!" Evan Turner leaves the entire Big Ten in disbelief as Michigan mouths drop in disgust with his half-court game winner in the BTT.

13. 3/17/07 1) Ohio State 78 - Xavier 71 (OT). OSU slept-walked most of the game, but Xavier's missed FT set up Ron Lewis's 3 and one of Gus Johnson's greatest NCAA calls. Those that live for thrills got another one in the next round vs. Tennessee.

12. 1/13/13: 15) Ohio State 56 - 2) Michigan 53. The Buckeyes hold off Trey Burke and Michigan. Both schools came within a game of the Big Ten title and it was nearly a Final Four that included both.

11. 3/24/07 Elite 8: 1) Ohio State 92 - 5) Memphis 76. The Memphis center suggests he is Goliath and Greg Oden and company bring the slingshot. OSU punches the ticket to our 10th Final Four.

10. 3/28/13 Sweet 16: 7) Ohio State 73 - 21) Arizona 70. A 3-point dagger for the second tournament game in a row, this time from Ross, to march to the Elite 8.

9. 3/5/13: 14) Ohio State 67 - 2) Indiana 58. The Bucks ruin Senior Night in Bloomington, avenging an earlier top 10 loss to IU at home. A missed Michigan layup in the subsequent game for IU was all that kept the 2013 Buckeyes from a Big Ten title, though they would win the BTT.

8. 3/6/05: Ohio State 65 - 1) Illinois 64. "Onions!" I'd rank it top 10 as it seemed to serve as a launchpad for a second golden age of OSU basketball under Thad Matta.

7. 3/6/11: 1) Ohio State 93 - 10) Wisconsin 65. "Deal with it." OSU avenges one of only two losses during the regular season by squashing Bo Ryan and his Badgers in utterly satisfying fashion.

6. 3/22/07 Sweet 16: 1) Ohio State 85 - 25) Tennessee 84. OSU storms back from a tremendous 20-point deficit and Greg Oden's block secures the Sweet 16 win over the 5-seed Vols as part of a FF and NCG run.

5. 3/24/12 Elite 8: 7) Ohio State 77 - 2) Syracuse 70. OSU knocks off top-seeded 'cuse in Boston to punch the ticket to our 11th and most recent Final Four. SI puts Craft on the cover.

4. 3/4/12: 10) Ohio State 72 - 5) MSU 70. William Buford delivers to win a share of the Big Ten title for the Bucks in the season finale on Senior Day in East Lansing, MI.

3. 3/31/07 Final Four: Ohio State 67 - Georgetown 60. Our first Final Four win since 1962. Perhaps not as thrilling as a few behind it such as the Sweet 16 game vs Tennessee, but FF wins are rare to come by.

2. 2/25/07: 1/2) Ohio State 49 - 2/1) Wisconsin 48. Conley's floater seals it in a 1 vs. 2 matchup that avenged one of just 3 regular season losses earlier in Madison, and sealed the Big Ten title. The teams would meet a third time in the BTT final with OSU dominating 66-49.

1. 11/29/11: 2) Ohio State 85 - 3) Duke 63. OSU absolutely spanked Coach K's boys...he even told the press that! I think either game listed above this could qualify for the top game, but in my mind even though it was November, this dominating game on a national stage showed that OSU was solidly among the most elite programs in the nation.

Near-misses from the list: the 2013 home win vs. 4) MSU, BTT CG wins vs Wisconsin (2007 and 2013), the 2012 BTT top 10 rubber match vs. Michigan, the 2010-11 and 2011-12 November sweep of top 10 games vs. Florida, a top 10 win at Iowa on a snowy night in 2021, the 2019-20 Gavitt Games whooping of 10) Villanova, any hallmark game from the 2006 Big Ten title run (at MSU or vs Illinois), home upsets of 3) MSU and 3) Illinois in 2001, more hits from the 2011 season (Florida or Purdue), the 2024 upset of 2) Purdue, and either of the two upsets of top 4 Kentucky (2015-16 and 2024-25).

Summary count by season: 2006-07 (5), 2011-12 (5), 2012-13 (4), 2009-10 (3), 2017-18 (2), 2019-20 (2), 2004-05 (1), 2010-11 (1), 2020-21 (1), 2021-22 (1). I struggle coming to terms with only having the "Deal with it" game from the spectacular 2010-11 season, but that season was fairly lacking in big games compared to 2007, 2012, and 2013, and I don't see one I'd drop from the current list for even the dominating 2010-11 wins over 9) Florida in November or 12) Purdue at home. The list included 8 NCAA tournament games - with all 6 Sweet 16 or better wins accounted for, 2 BTT games - both wins were over Michigan and no BTT title games were included (right or wrong), 4 regular season games against the likes of Duke, UNC, and Kentucky, and 11 Big Ten regular season games.

One highlight of the football list is that we remain at the highest level, with NCs from the most recent season on that list (2024), back to the 24th most recent (2002) and another in the middle (2014). Basketball presents a different story with the meat of the highlights coming 2007-2013, though admittedly Holtmann's squads (though vastly underachieving over the full course of a season) did produce a decent number of high quality wins. I know we have a ways to go, but here's to hoping the days of 2006-2013 might be repeated at Ohio State again in the not too distant future!