UCLA's bench played double the minutes Ohio State's did in the Buckeyes' 86-74 win over the Bruins on Saturday.
Sixty-six minutes to an even 30. This isn't an anomaly of late for Ohio State. Four of the Buckeyes' five opponents this January used their benches for more minutes than OSU, and Nebraska joined UCLA in doubling up the Buckeyes' bench minutes, 46 to 22.
There's a reason for it. In those same five games, opposing benches outscored the Buckeye backups 91-29. Bench production has been an issue all season for Ohio State, but it's become especially glaring in the absence of sixth man and forward Brandon Noel.
For as long as that remains the case, it makes sense to extend the minutes for starters further. But one has to wonder if it will wear on the legs of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal et al. when Ohio State is battling to make the NCAA Tournament in February and March. Jake Diebler is certainly hoping it's not what he has to do long-term.
"We're not at a point where it has to be this way," Diebler said after the victory over the Bruins. "I think we're continuing to work with some guys to step up and give us more, and I think we're seeing some better play."
Thornton and Mobley each played 38 minutes against UCLA. Each man was on the floor for 95% of the game. Starting power forward Amare Bynum and center Christoph Tilly each reached 32 minutes, and Royal would have played that many, too, had he not fouled out with two minutes to play after a 22-point outing.
Such a load is not new to Thornton, who is averaging 36.3 minutes per game this season after averaging 36.2 last year, but Mobley played 27.8 minutes per contest in 2024-25 and is at 29.6 in 2025-26. Bynum is a freshman, and this is Tilly's first season averaging more than 22.6 minutes per game. That's a lot of new minutes to be putting on the latter trio.
"We lean on sports science," Diebler said about managing the load. "We're very efficient with our time, and we have a great staff who helps us recover every day."
Aggression is the main element Diebler wants to see from his bench on the offensive end of the floor, and on defense, it's about execution. That's when the rotations can start running deeper.
"What I'm evaluating when the game is going on is, are they being aggressive," Diebler said. "Are they executing our schemes defensively? Like, offensively, I want to see them be aggressive. They can make mistakes. Just make them aggressive ones. And then defensively, let's execute at a high level, let's communicate and let's show tremendous fight. They do those things, and we got confidence in them, and they can really help us. So that's what we're fighting for is just a little bit more of that, and I think we're moving in the right direction with those guys."
"We're not at a point where it has to be this way."– Jake Diebler on the Load on Ohio State's starters
With Noel out, guard Gabe Cupps is the lone player on the Buckeyes' bench who's put up meaningful numbers in at least one Big Ten game. He scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting in Ohio State's 72-62 win at Oregon on Jan. 8. On the season, however, he averages just 1.9 points and 1.4 assists in 19.9 minutes per game. His hustle and defense make him playable, as exemplified by the three-guard lineups with him, Thornton and Mobley that OSU is using with decent frequency since Noel's injury, though there are size concerns in the look.
"I think Bruce plays a lot bigger than he is, he's so physically strong and tough, and he anticipates so well," Diebler said of the lineup. "And then there's some things we can do behind those guys to help negate maybe what isn't a real imposing third perimeter player, right? But defensively at times, Gabe's provided some pressure on the ball, which has been really good. The biggest question we have in that group is rebounding. And I think those guys have fought really hard in that space and gotten better. So we felt like, with Brandon going down and looking at some of the analytics of lineups throughout the course of the year, we felt like this was one that we needed to get going a little bit."
Center Ivan Njegovan has been Ohio State's second-most impactful bench player without Noel. He's been the Buckeyes' most efficient rebounder at 11.3 rebounds per 40 minutes, with Tilly in second place all the way down at 7.9 boards per 40. There are clear offensive limitations with Njegovan, however, especially considering that he also leads the team in turnovers per 40 minutes at 3.3. He did score OSU's only two bench points vs. the Bruins, at least, and is 16-of-24 (66.7%) shooting on the year.
Guard Taison Chatman and small forward Colin White are, at least for now, the only other contributing depth pieces. White is playable on the defensive end but has offered little in terms of offense so far, shooting 35.3%, while Chatman has had brief flashes offensively with an equal number of lapses defensively. Still, as always, Diebler's faith in his players remains skyward.
"We had a game where we had some guys on the bench who didn't take a single shot in, like, 21 combined minutes," Diebler said. "That hasn't been the case anymore. So that's a step in the right direction. And some of those guys, Taison, Colin, they see one go in and it's a different ballgame now. So we've got a high-level belief in those guys."
"Offensively, I want to see them be aggressive. They can make mistakes. Just make them aggressive ones."– Jake Diebler on what he needs to see from his bench
The last factor for Ohio State's bench is Puff Johnson. The former Penn State wing received a temporary restraining order in his lawsuit against the NCAA for a sixth year of college basketball, allowing him to join the Buckeyes midway through the season. A hearing will be held on Jan. 30 to determine whether he will receive a permanent injunction to remain eligible for the rest of the season.
Johnson averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for Penn State in 2024-25. There are a lot of hurdles to clear in getting him back to game shape, getting him in rhythm with Ohio State and developing chemistry with its players, but anything close to resembling those numbers would be welcome to bolster the Buckeyes' depth.
"As far as when he's gonna be on the floor, I don't know," Diebler said. "He's gotta go through some things to get cleared at Ohio State. He and I have had conversations, certainly, and we're hoping to get him here as soon as we possibly can and begin that process of him becoming part of our team."
For now, Ohio State either has to hope it can survive with a pile of extra minutes on the legs of its starters or get more production from the bench players it has. The former worked against UCLA, but into the future is dubious.
