Devin Royal’s performance against Minnesota is analogous to his 2025-26 season – it required an adjustment.
Fresh off perhaps his best performance at his new small forward position (with some power forward mixed in) against UCLA, Royal opened the contest 2-of-9 shooting with four turnovers. But in the final five minutes of regulation, with the game swinging in a clock-like rhythm between Ohio State and Minnesota leads, the junior came alive.
Royal finished on a 4-of-5 shooting stretch, collecting nine total points in that last quintet of regulation minutes and the five that followed in overtime to propel the Buckeyes to an important 82-74 victory. He finished with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting and five rebounds.
“I thought he settled a couple times in the first half, and I thought he got back to just being a force on the glass, being a force in the paint,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said after the win. “Certainly there were a couple threes I thought he didn't need to take, a couple of them he does and he'll hit most of the time. So I just felt like he got a little, just settled a couple times early. And when he's flying around on the glass, that's how you know he is really dialed in.”
There have been lumps, but Royal has settled into the small forward position for Ohio State after moving from his former power forward spot and started to string together the performances the Buckeyes will need from him to reach their first NCAA Tournament in four seasons. And the leadership, too.
“Coach is expecting me to have the most energy, bring the energy out of everybody, bring the dog out of everybody,” Royal said on Saturday. “Before every game, I go hit everybody in the chest, make sure they’re locked in for the game. I do that every time. So, really just having high energy and being aggressive, going to the rim early, going to get rebounds early, not just shying away from the outside because I’m on the outside now.”
Royal is averaging 14.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game so far this season, marks which rank third and first on Ohio State’s roster in 2025-26. But as he’s moved to the wing, his top area of focus during his work this offseason has taken shape: Royal has become a legitimate 3-point threat.
The Pickerington, Ohio native is up from 27.6% to 37.9% shooting the three ball from last campaign to this one. That’s on nearly double the attempts per game, too, as he’s taking 3.4 per game this season. Thin options at small forward necessitated Royal’s move to the perimeter this offseason, but he’s developed the shooting skill to space the floor there.
“His offense can come from a variety of areas,” Diebler said. “It can come from three, it can come inside, it can come from the mid-post, it can come from drives. And we tried to get him in some good, favorable spots there in the second half to help him get it going, and he stepped up and made some big-time plays, big rebounds, and some big-time buckets.”
Getting back to the inside game that saw Royal emerge as a star in 2024-25 actually became important for him as this season continued. Getting to his spots on the interior didn’t just require him to post up anymore. He had to learn how to drive to the basket on the ball and cut to it off the ball more effectively.
One pain point, at times, has been taking care of the basketball. Royal is averaging a career-high 2.2 turnovers per game, sometimes throwing passes to no one that sail out of bounds, as he did early in the game against Minnesota. He had games of just one turnover against Nebraska and Washington this January, but with seven combined against Minnesota and UCLA, it’s something to keep working on.
“His taking care of the ball and creating for others has gotten better,” Diebler said ahead of the Minnesota game. “We believe in his shooting, I know he’s shooting it well lately. For him, the game just seems to be slowing down a little bit, and that’s good. I like what he’s been doing on the glass, really, both sides of the ball, his rebounding’s been good.”
There’s been clear growth in his offensive consistency since the beginning of the season, however. In Ohio State’s second Big Ten game of the year against Illinois on Dec. 10, Royal went just 4-of-15 shooting, then followed that with a 4-of-11 night against West Virginia. Even during those rougher patches of the season, Royal maintained his confidence.
“I’m confident, I work on it every day,” he said after the Illinois loss. “More work before and after (practice). So I’m confident in my shots. They’re gonna fall. So that’s all I can really think about, just keep working at it.”
After a 22-point performance against UCLA and his late-game heroics vs. Minnesota, Royal has shown he’s coming into his own offensively from the small forward position. If he can clean up his turnovers, he’ll be the co-star Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. will need down the stretch as Ohio State pushes to make the big dance.
“It’s just the maturation of a player who’s had to make an adjustment and change of positions,” Diebler said. “And while he’s doing that, it’s a new team and we’re doing some things different offensively. So I think, because he’s a really good player, because he works really hard, that’s why we’re seeing the consistency and the level at which he’s consistent be so good.”
