2021–22 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his fifth 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 20–12, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the South region where they defeated in Loyola in the First Round before losing to Villanova in the Second Round.

2021–22 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	20–12 (12–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	Chris Holtmann (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Pedon (5th season) Jake Diebler (3rd season) Tony Skinn (1st season)
Home arena	Value City Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 14 Wisconsin	15	–	5		.750			25	–	8		.758
No. 19 Illinois	15	–	5		.750			23	–	10		.697
No. 10 Purdue	14	–	6		.700			29	–	8		.784
Rutgers	12	–	8		.600			18	–	14		.563
No. 16 Iowa †	12	–	8		.600			26	–	10		.722
Ohio State	12	–	8		.600			20	–	12		.625
Michigan State	11	–	9		.550			23	–	13		.639
Michigan	11	–	9		.550			19	–	15		.559
Indiana	9	–	11		.450			21	–	14		.600
Maryland	7	–	13		.350			15	–	17		.469
Penn State	7	–	13		.350			14	–	17		.452
Northwestern	7	–	13		.350			15	–	16		.484
Nebraska	4	–	16		.200			10	–	22		.313
Minnesota	4	–	16		.200			13	–	17		.433
† 2022 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Buckeyes finished the 2020–21 season 21–10, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place.^[1] They defeated Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan before losing to Illinois in overtime in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. However, they were upset in the First Round by No. 15-seeded Oral Roberts, ending their season.

Offseason

On October 14, 2020, the NCAA announced that all student-athletes in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year, including men's and women's basketball, would receive an extra year of athletic eligibility.^[2] Seniors CJ Walker and Kyle Young were eligible to use the extra year. Walker chose to forgo the extra year while Young elected to remain with the team.^[3][4]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Musa Jallow	2	G	6'5"	210	RS Junior	Bloomington, IN	Transferred to Charlotte
Duane Washington Jr.	4	G	6'3"	210	Junior	Grand Rapids, MI	Entered the 2021 NBA draft
CJ Walker	13	G	6'1"	195	RS Senior	Indianapolis, IN	Graduated
Ibrahima Diallo	15	C	6'10"	220	Sophomore	Saly, Senegal	Transferred to San Jose State
Jansen Davidson Jr.	40	G	5'11"	190	Senior	Kettering, OH	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Cedric Russell	2	G	6'2"	190	Graduate Student	Alexandria, LA	Transferred from Louisiana. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Joey Brunk	50	C	6'11"	255	Graduate Student	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred from Indiana. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Jamari Wheeler	55	G	6'1"	170	Senior	Live Oak, FL	Transferred from Penn State. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Malaki Branham #4 SG	Akron, OH	St. Vincent–St. Mary	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 22, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Kalen Etzler #21 PF	Convoy, OH	Crestview	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	May 12, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Roddy Gayle Jr. SG	Mount Pleasant, UT	Wasatch Academy (UT)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Nov 13, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 87
Bowen Hardman SG	Cincinnati, OH	Princeton (OH)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	May 13, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 82
Felix Okpara C	Branson, MO	Link Year Prep (MO)	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jul 20, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 85
Brice Sensabaugh SF	Orlando, FL	Lake Highland Prep (FL)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Sep 29, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 82
Bruce Thornton PG	Alpharetta, GA	Milton (GA)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Nov 26, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 86
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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2021–22 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Meechie Johnson Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Garfield Heights HS Cleveland, Ohio G 1 Jimmy Sotos 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Bucknell Elk Grove Village, Illinois G 2 Cedric Russell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Louisiana Alexandria, Louisiana G 3 Eugene Brown III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Southwest DeKalb HS Conyers, Georgia F 10 Justin Ahrens 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Versailles HS Versailles, Ohio F 14 Justice Sueing   6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr California Honolulu, Hawaii G 22 Malaki Branham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr St. Vincent–St. Mary HS Columbus, Ohio F 23 Zed Key 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Long Island Lutheran HS Bay Shore, New York F 24 Kalen Etzler   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Crestview HS Van Wert, Ohio F 25 Kyle Young 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Jackson HS Canton, Ohio F 31 Seth Towns   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Harvard Columbus, Ohio F 32 E. J. Liddell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Belleville HS Belleville, Illinois F 42 Harrison Hookfin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Lebanon HS Cincinnati, Ohio C 50 Joey Brunk 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) GS Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana G 55 Jamari Wheeler 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) GS Penn State Live Oak, Florida	Head coach Chris Holtmann (Taylor) Assistant coach(es) Ryan Pedon (Wooster) Jake Diebler (Valparaiso) Tony Skinn (George Mason) Roster^[5] Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 17	Indianapolis	W 82–46		15 – Brown III	9 – Tied	3 – Tied	Value City Arena (8,302) Columbus, OH
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 17	Akron	W 67–66	1–0	25 – Liddell	11 – Liddell	3 – Tied	Value City Arena (11,947) Columbus, OH
November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+	No. 17	Niagara	W 84–74	2–0	29 – Liddell	7 – Tied	6 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (9,749) Columbus, OH
November 15, 2021* 6:30 p.m., BTN	No. 19	Bowling Green Fort Myers Tip-Off campus site-game	W 89–58	3–0	13 – Tied	9 – Key	5 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (9,808) Columbus, OH
November 18, 2021* 6:30 p.m., FS1	No. 19	at Xavier Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 65–71	3–1	17 – Liddell	8 – Brown III	6 – Wheeler	Cintas Center (10,379) Cincinnati, OH
November 22, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1		vs. No. 21 Seton Hall Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division semifinals	W 79–76	4–1	28 – Liddell	8 – Young	3 – Tied	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL
November 24, 2021* 8:30 p.m., FS1		vs. No. 23 Florida Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division Championship	L 68–71	4–2	23 – Liddell	5 – Young	3 – Ahrens	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL
November 30, 2021* 9:30 p.m., ESPN		No. 1 Duke ACC-Big Ten Challenge	W 71–67	5–2	20 – Key	14 – Liddell	6 – Liddell	Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH
December 5, 2021 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Penn State	W 76–64	6–2 (1–0)	16 – Young	7 – Young	9 – Wheeler	Bryce Jordan Center (9,128) University Park, PA
December 8, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 21	Towson	W 85–74	7–2	18 – Young	9 – Key	5 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (9,472) Columbus, OH
December 11, 2021 12:00 p.m., BTN	No. 21	No. 22 Wisconsin	W 73–55	8–2 (2–0)	28 – Liddell	14 – Young	5 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (13,856) Columbus, OH
December 18, 2021* 5:15 p.m., CBS	No. 15	vs. No. 21 Kentucky CBS Sports Classic	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Ohio State					T-Mobile Arena  Las Vegas, Nevada
December 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 14	UT Martin	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Ohio State					Value City Arena  Columbus, OH
December 28, 2021* 6:30 p.m., BTN	No. 13	New Orleans	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Ohio State					Value City Arena  Columbus, OH
January 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 13	at Nebraska	W 87–79 ^OT	9–2 (3–0)	35 – Branham	14 – Key	5 – Liddell	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,478) Lincoln, NE
January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., FS1	No. 13	at Indiana	L 51–67	9–3 (3–1)	13 – Branham	9 – Liddell	6 – Wheeler	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (14,130) Bloomington, IN
January 9, 2022 5:30 p.m., BTN	No. 13	Northwestern	W 95–87	10–3 (4–1)	34 – Liddell	8 – Wheeler	6 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (10,620) Columbus, OH
January 13, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 16	at No. 13 Wisconsin	L 68–78	10–4 (4–2)	18 – Liddell	8 – Key	3 – Wheeler	Kohl Center (15,571) Madison, WI
January 16, 2022 12:00 p.m., BTN	No. 16	Penn State	W 61–56	11–4 (5–2)	19 – Liddell	8 – Liddell	3 – Liddell	Value City Arena (13,565) Columbus, OH
January 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m.^[6], BTN	No. 19	IUPUI	W 83–37	12–4	14 – Brown	10 – Liddell	9 – Sotos	Value City Arena (10,666) Columbus, OH
January 27, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 16	at Minnesota	W 75–64	13–4 (6–2)	23 – Liddell	15 – Liddell	5 – Liddell	Williams Arena (10,179) Minneapolis, MN
January 30, 2022 12:00 p.m., CBS	No. 16	at No. 6 Purdue	L 78–81	13–5 (6–3)	20 – Tied	7 – Branham	3 – Liddell	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
February 6, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS	No. 16	Maryland	W 82–67	14–5 (7–3)	24 – Liddell	11 – Liddell	5 – Liddell	Value City Arena (15,912) Columbus, OH
February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN	No. 16	at Rutgers	L 64–66	14–6 (7–4)	19 – Branham	12 – Key	4 – Liddell	Rutgers Athletic Center (8,019) Piscataway, NJ
February 12, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 16	at Michigan Rivalry	W 68–57	15–6 (8–4)	28 – Liddell	8 – Brown	2 – Young	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
February 15, 2022 8:30 p.m., BTN	No. 18	Minnesota	W 70–45	16–6 (9–4)	16 – Liddell	10 – Liddell	3 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (12,360) Columbus, OH
February 19, 2022 2:30 p.m., FOX	No. 18	Iowa Rescheduled from February 3	L 62–75	16–7 (9–5)	22 – Branham	8 – Tied	3 – Tied	Value City Arena (15,876) Columbus, OH
February 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., FS1	No. 22	Indiana	W 80–69 ^OT	17–7 (10–5)	27 – Branham	7 – Liddell	3 – Branham	Value City Arena (13,744) Columbus, OH
February 24, 2022 9:00 p.m., FS1	No. 22	at No. 15 Illinois	W 86–83	18–7 (11–5)	31 – Branham	6 – Liddell	3 – Wheeler	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
February 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBS	No. 22	at Maryland	L 60–75	18–8 (11–6)	13 – Branham	6 – Tied	3 – Branham	Xfinity Center (15,842) College Park, MD
March 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN	No. 23	Nebraska Rescheduled from January 22	L 70–78	18–9 (11–7)	27 – Liddell	14 – Liddell	3 – Brown	Value City Arena (12,268) Columbus, OH
March 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 23	Michigan State	W 80–69	19–9 (12–7)	22 – Branham	8 – Liddell	4 – Branham	Value City Arena (14,951) Columbus, OH
March 6, 2022 12:30 p.m., FOX	No. 23	Michigan Rivalry	L 69–75	19–10 (12–8)	18 – Branham	13 – Liddell	3 – Wheeler	Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
March 10, 2022 9:15 p.m., BTN	(6)	vs. (11) Penn State Second Round	L 68–71	19–11	25 – Liddell	8 – Liddell	4 – Branham	Gainbridge Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2022 12:15 p.m., CBS	(7 S)	vs. (10 S) Loyola-Chicago First Round	W 54–41	20–11	16 – Liddell	10 – Liddell	2 – Branham	PPG Paints Arena  Pittsburgh, PA
March 20, 2022 2:50 p.m., CBS	(7 S)	vs. (2 S) No. 6 Villanova Second Round	L 61–71	20–12	23 – Branham	11 – Key	4 – Branham	PPG Paints Arena (18,506) Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[7]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	17	19	RV	RV	21	15	14	13	13	16	19	16	16	16	18	22	23	RV	RV	Not released
Coaches	17т	17т^	RV	RV	22	15	13	12	12	15	18	16	16	16	18	19	23	25	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. "Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule 2020–21". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
2. "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
3. Lind, Andrew (12 April 2021). "Ohio State Guard C.J. Walker Declares For NBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. from the original on 2021-04-13.
4. Dooley, Josh (5 May 2021). "Kyle Young is coming back to OSU for his basketball PhD, and we're all winners for it". Land-Grant Holy Land.
5. "2021–21 Roster". Ohio State Athletics.
6. "Men's Basketball Adds Game vs. IUPUI". 10 January 2022.
7. "Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio State Athletics.