2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
APNo. 19
Record21–10 (11–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaValue City Arena
Seasons
2019–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Wisconsin 14 – 6   .700 21 – 10   .677
No. 9 Michigan State 14 – 6   .700 22 – 9   .710
No. 12 Maryland 14 – 6   .700 24 – 7   .774
No. 21 Illinois 13 – 7   .650 21 – 10   .677
No. 25 Iowa 11 – 9   .550 20 – 11   .645
Penn State 11 – 9   .550 21 – 10   .677
No. 19 Ohio State 11 – 9   .550 21 – 10   .677
Rutgers 11 – 9   .550 20 – 11   .645
Michigan 10 – 10   .500 19 – 12   .613
Purdue 9 – 11   .450 16 – 15   .516
Indiana 9 – 11   .450 20 – 12   .625
Minnesota 8 – 12   .400 15 – 16   .484
Northwestern 3 – 17   .150 8 – 23   .258
Nebraska 2 – 18   .100 7 – 25   .219
Note: The 2020 Big Ten tournament was canceled prior to the second round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

The 2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his third season with the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes played their home games at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 21–10, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. Following the regular season, the Big Ten tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly thereafter, all postseason tournaments were canceled due to the pandemic, ending the Buckeyes' season.

Previous season

The Buckeyes finished the 2018–19 season 20–15, 8–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Indiana in the second round 79–75 before losing to Michigan State in the quarterfinals 77–70. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the Midwest region. There they upset Iowa State in the First Round before losing to Houston in the Second Round.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
C. J. Jackson 3 G 6'1" 175 Senior Charlotte, NC Graduated
Joey Lane 14 G 6'1" 180 Senior Deerfield, IL Walk-on; graduated
Jaedon LeDee 23 F 6'9" 230 Freshman Houston, TX Transferred to TCU
Keyshawn Woods 32 G 6'3" 205 Graduate Student Gastonia, NC Graduated

Coaching changes

In April 2019, assistant coach Mike Schrage was hired as the new head coach at Elon.[1] Holtmann hired Jake Diebler as Schrage's replacement later that month.[2]

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Justice Sueing 14 F 6'7" 215 Junior Honolulu, HI Transferred from California. Under NCAA transfer rules, Sueing will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
D. J. Carton
#5 PG 		Bettendorf, IA Bettendorf High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jul 14, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Alonzo Gaffney
#5 SF 		Cleveland, OH Brewster Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 10, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
E. J. Liddell
#8 PF 		Belleville, IL Belleville West 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 1, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ibrahima Diallo
#64 C 		Saly, Senegal Prolific Prep 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Apr 14, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2020 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Eugene Brown III
#22 SG 		Decatur, GA Southwest DeKalb 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 16, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Meechie Johnson
#23 PG 		Cleveland, OH Garfield Heights 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 13, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Zed Key
#33 PF 		Glen Head, NY Long Island Lutheran 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sep 22, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2019–20 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Alonzo Gaffney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Cleveland, Ohio
G 1 Luther Muhammad 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Hudson Catholic Regional High School Jersey City, New Jersey
G 2 Musa Jallow Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Bloomington High School North Bloomington, Indiana
G 3 D. J. Carton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bettendorf High School Bettendorf, Iowa
G 4 Duane Washington Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Sierra Canyon School Grand Rapids, Michigan
F 10 Justin Ahrens 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Versailles High School Versailles, Ohio
G 13 CJ Walker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Florida State Indianapolis, Indiana
F 14 Justice Sueing Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr California Honolulu, Hawaii
C 15 Ibrahima Diallo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Prolific Prep Saly, Senegal
F 24 Andre Wesson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Westerville South High School Westerville, Ohio
F 25 Kyle Young 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Jackson High School Canton, Ohio
F 32 E. J. Liddell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 236 lb (107 kg) Fr Belleville High School-West Belleville, Illinois
F 34 Kaleb Wesson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Jr Westerville South High School Westerville, Ohio
G 40 Daniel Hummer (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Air Force Upper Arlington, Ohio
F 42 Harrison Hookfin (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lebanon High School Lebanon, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		No. 18 Cedarville W 95–52  –
  23 – K. Wesson   9 – Young   5 – Carton  Value City Arena (12,656)
Columbus, OH
Regular season
November 6, 2019*
8:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 18 Cincinnati W 64–56  1–0
  14 – Young   13 – Young   2 – Tied  Value City Arena (13,845)
Columbus, OH
November 10, 2019*
4:00 p.m., ESPNU 		No. 18 UMass Lowell W 76–56  2–0
  13 – Tied   13 – K. Wesson   5 – K. Wesson  Value City Arena (11,632)
Columbus, OH
November 13, 2019*
7:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 16 No. 10 Villanova
Gavitt Tipoff Games 		W 76–51  3–0
  14 – Washington   11 – K. Wesson   7 – Walker  Value City Arena (16,419)
Columbus, OH
November 18, 2019*
8:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 10 Stetson
Ohio State Classic 		W 86–51  4–0
  15 – Young   10 – Young   5 – Tied  Value City Arena (9,774)
Columbus, OH
November 22, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN Plus 		No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne
Ohio State Classic 		W 85–46  5–0
  15 – K. Wesson   7 – K. Wesson   5 – Washington  Value City Arena (11,609)
Columbus, OH
November 25, 2019*
6:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 10 Kent State
Ohio State Classic 		W 71–52  6–0
  17 – K. Wesson   7 – Washington   3 – Tied  St. John Arena (8,850)
Columbus, OH
November 29, 2019*
9:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 10 Morgan State W 90–57  7–0
  19 – A. Wesson   8 – K. Wesson   3 – Walker  Value City Arena (10,947)
Columbus, OH
December 4, 2019*
9:30 p.m., ESPN 		No. 6 at No. 7 North Carolina
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		W 74–49  8–0
  18 – Washington   9 – Tied   5 – A. Wesson  Dean Smith Center (21,115)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 7, 2019
12:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 6 Penn State W 106–74  9–0
(1–0) 		 28 – K. Wesson   10 – K. Wesson   7 – Walker  Value City Arena (12,901)
Columbus, OH
December 15, 2019
6:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 3 at Minnesota L 71–84  9–1
(1–1) 		 19 – Carton   6 – K. Wesson   3 – K. Wesson  Williams Arena (9,854)
Minneapolis, MN
December 17, 2019*
7:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 5 Southeast Missouri State W 80–48  10–1
  18 – K. Wesson   10 – K. Wesson   6 – Walker  Value City Arena (13,177)
Columbus, OH
December 21, 2019*
5:15 p.m., CBS 		No. 5 vs. No. 6 Kentucky
CBS Sports Classic 		W 71–65  11–1
  15 – Carton   8 – K. Wesson   5 – Walker  T-Mobile Arena (18,800)
Paradise, NV
December 29, 2019*
12:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 2 vs. No. 22 West Virginia
Cleveland Classic 		L 59–67  11–2
  17 – K. Wesson   11 – Young   3 – Muhammad  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (16,781)
Cleveland, OH
January 3, 2020*
7:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 5 Wisconsin L 57–61  11–3
(1–2) 		 22 – K. Wesson   13 – K. Wesson   4 – A. Wesson  Value City Arena (19,049)
Columbus, OH
January 7, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 11 at No. 12 Maryland L 55–67  11–4
(1–3) 		 15 – K. Wesson   9 – K. Wesson   3 – Tied  Xfinity Center (16,192)
College Park, MD
January 11, 2020
12:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 11 at Indiana L 54–66  11–5
(1–4) 		 15 – A. Wesson   10 – K. Wesson   3 – Carton  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (15,456)
Bloomington, IN
January 14, 2020
6:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 21 Nebraska W 80–68  12–5
(2–4) 		 18 – Walker   14 – K. Wesson   5 – Carton  Value City Arena (12,954)
Columbus, OH
January 18, 2020
12:00 p.m., ESPNU 		No. 21 at Penn State L 76–90  12–6
(2–5) 		 20 – Washington   5 – Tied   6 – Carton  Bryce Jordan Center (14,785)
University Park, PA
January 23, 2020
6:30 p.m., FS1 		Minnesota L 59–62  12–7
(2–6) 		 14 – Young   14 – K. Wesson   3 – K. Wesson  Value City Arena (13,234)
Columbus, OH
January 26, 2020
6:30 p.m., BTN 		at Northwestern W 71–59  13–7
(3–6) 		 17 – Carton   10 – K. Wesson   5 – Walker  Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,121)
Evanston, IL
February 1, 2020
12:00 p.m., ESPN 		Indiana W 68–59  14–7
(4–6) 		 15 – K. Wesson   11 – K. Wesson   4 – Tied  Value City Arena (18,809)
Columbus, OH
February 4, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Michigan W 61–58  15–7
(5–6) 		 23 – K. Wesson   12 – K. Wesson   5 – Walker  Crisler Center (12,707)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 9, 2020
1:00 p.m., CBS 		at Wisconsin L 57–70  15–8
(5–7) 		 11 – A. Wesson   6 – K. Wesson   3 – Young  Kohl Center (17,287)
Madison, WI
February 12, 2020
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Rutgers W 72–66  16–8
(6–7) 		 16 – K. Wesson   10 – A. Wesson   5 – Tied  Value City Arena (15,552)
Columbus, OH
February 15, 2020
12:00 p.m., FOX 		Purdue W 68–52  17–8
(7–7) 		 16 – Young   8 – K. Wesson   4 – Tied  Value City Arena (18,809)
Columbus, OH
February 20, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 25 at No. 20 Iowa L 76–85  17–9
(7–8) 		 17 – Liddell   8 – Liddell   7 – Walker  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,001)
Iowa City, IA
February 23, 2020
4:00 p.m., CBS 		No. 25 No. 7 Maryland W 79–72  18–9
(8–8) 		 22 – Muhammad   9 – K. Wesson   3 – Tied  Value City Arena (18,809)
Columbus, OH
February 27, 2020
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 23 at Nebraska W 75–54  19–9
(9–8) 		 16 – K. Wesson   18 – K. Wesson   3 – Walker  Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,611)
Lincoln, NE
March 1, 2020
4:00 p.m., CBS 		No. 23 No. 19 Michigan W 77–63  20–9
(10–8) 		 20 – Washington   9 – K. Wesson   7 – Walker  Value City Arena (18,809)
Columbus, OH
March 5, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 19 No. 23 Illinois W 71–63  21–9
(11–8) 		 19 – K. Wesson   11 – Liddell   5 – Walker  Value City Arena (16,382)
Columbus, OH
March 8, 2020
4:30 p.m., CBS 		No. 19 at No. 16 Michigan State L 69–80  21–10
(11–9) 		 16 – Washington   6 – K. Wesson   2 – A. Wesson  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten tournament
March 12, 2020
6:30 p.m., BTN 		(7) No. 19 vs. (10) Purdue
Second round 		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP1816101063 (5)52 (9)51121RVRVRVRV2523191919
Coaches161699 (1)6 (1)2 (2)42 (7)51219RVRVRVRV2423192018

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Individual awards

Weekly Awards
Player Award Date Awarded Ref.
Kaleb Wesson Big Ten Player of the Week November 18, 2019 [3]

References

  1. ^ "Ohio State assistant Mike Schrage hired as Elon head coach". coachesdatabase.com. Coaches Database. April 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "FSU basketball hiring former Clemson assistant Steve Smith to coaching staff". Cleveland.com. April 17, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Kaleb Wesson Named Big Ten Player Of The Week After Win Against Villanova". Eleven Warriors. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.