Ohio State's backcourt has sustained a major blow in the thick of its NCAA Tournament hunt.
John Mobley Jr. is out indefinitely with a hand injury he sustained on Wednesday in the Buckeyes' 89-82 win over USC. He is expected to return this season, per a team release, but will miss extended time.
A statement on John Mobley Jr.s status. pic.twitter.com/OPFdNGM25g
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 14, 2026
Mobley started all 24 games thus far for Ohio State at guard alongside Bruce Thornton, emerging as the team's second-leading scorer with 15.1 points per game. He's also been the Buckeyes' most lethal 3-point shooter, making 40% of his 3-point attempts. He's added 2.8 assists per game as a playmaker.
Taison Chatman has emerged as Ohio State's top guard off the bench in recent weeks, averaging 9.6 points per game across his last five contests, and is expected to start in Mobley's place as a result. Chatman was also the lone reliable source of bench scoring for the Buckeyes since forward Brandon Noel sustained a foot injury in the first week of January. Gabe Cupps will return to being Ohio State's top backup guard, assuming Chatman starts.
Cupps averages just 1.8 points in 13.2 minutes per game this season, but the Buckeyes will need someone from the group of him, wing Puff Johnson and center Ivan Njegovan to step up and provide offense from the pines. Chatman will have much more on his shoulders as well. All as Ohio State still has four Quad 1 games remaining on its regular-season schedule.
The first of those games arrives against No. 15 Virginia on Saturday. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on FOX.
