Ohio State basketball sees its first player enter the transfer portal

The first Buckeyes hoops player to leave the team this transfer cycle. #GoBucks

It was inevitable that the Ohio State basketball team would see a player enter the transfer portal, and that’s exactly what happened on Thursday.

Sophomore guard, [autotag]Bowen Hardman[/autotag], has put himself into the portal after a season that saw him play sparingly. He played in 18 games averaging 4.3 minutes in those contests. Hardman shot well from beyond the arc, hitting 9-of-21 attempts, but just couldn’t scratch out a role with the team.

The 6-foot, 3-inch, 160-pound Ohio native wasn’t seen as a big-time prospect coming out of high school, but did show enough for the Buckeyes to offer him a scholarship. Hardman moving on opens up a scholarship for another transfer if the program decides.

We wish Hardman the best of luck finding a new basketball home.

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Former Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson in transfer portal, potential to return to Buckeyes

Could he be returning to the program? #GoBucks

The transfer portal can be a crazy place these days, but it’s not often that a player that transfers to another school gets linked back to his original landing spot out of high school.

In the case of former Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson, that appears to be a possible reality after the South Carolina player entered the transfer portal for the second time. You’ll most likely remember that Johnson left the OSU program after his sophomore season and landed in Columbia for the last two seasons.

This year, he helped lead the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament as the team’s leading scorer with 14.1 points a contest but is now back in the transfer portal according to multiple reports.

So, where will he land? There are rumblings that Johnson may be thinking about a return to Columbus and new head coach Jake Diebler. If that did happen, it would seem to be a good fit. Johnson knows the culture and would add to what many hope is a lot of returning talent on a team that seemed to figure things out at the end of the season.

Of course, nothing is giving in the brave new transfer portal and name, image and likeness universe, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on where this thing goes as Johnson has one year of eligibility remaining.

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WATCH: Ohio State basketball coach Jake Diebler reacts to Georgia loss in NIT

Hear from Diebler after the loss to Georgia. #GoBucks

The Ohio State basketball team had quite the run to end the season, but it all came to an end on Tuesday night when the Buckeyes finished just one play away from continuing on to the semifinals of the NIT Tournament. OSU fell  to the Georgia Bulldogs by a agonizingly close 79-77 score despite more than one chance to win it at the end of regulation.

The loss ends the season for OSU, but the final chapter was written with some hope for the future. The team played with renewed energy and purpose under new head coach Jake Diebler, and hopefully, the players and program can build upon it and take that momentum into next season.

Diebler was understandably upset after the loss but had to face the music in front of the media afterwards and did so with grace. In case you missed any of what he said, thanks to our friends at the Columbus Dispatch, we have his comments in their entirety.

Ohio State will now go into the offseason and we’ll be on top of any news that comes up until the Scarlet and Gray step back on the court to start the 2024-2025 season.

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PHOTOS of Ohio State basketball’s loss to Georgia in the NIT Tournament

Re-living the last time the Ohio State men’s basketball team will play this season in pictures. #GoBucks

Well, it was fun while it lasted, this end of the season renaissance that was the Ohio State men’s basketball season. After winning nearly winning enough games to get a crack at the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes had to settle for a No. 2 seed in the NIT Tournament where it continued to show more fire and grit under new head coach Jake Diebler than what we saw under Chris Holtmann.

That all came to an end on Tuesday night when OSU lost to No. 4 seed Georgia, 79-77, in the quarterfinals of the tournament in front of a home crowd at Value City Arena.

Still, it was a good game and one where Ohio State battled back multiple times to fight to the end and have a chance to win it. And while that ultimately didn’t happen, it was good theater and made for some amazing photos of all the action that we’re sharing with you.

Here are some of the best high-resolution photos of Ohio State basketball’s last game in the Schott for the 2023-2024 season.

Ohio State basketball’s season ends in heartbreaking loss to Georgia in NIT quarters

Oh, so close! #GoBucks

The Ohio State basketball’s season has come to an end in heartbreaking fashion in Value City Arena on Tuesday night with a 79-77 loss. The No. 2 seeded Buckeyes matched up with No. 4 seed Georgia and it was a game of back-and-forth runs with the clock seemingly running out on the Scarlet and Gray.

In fact, both halves saw runs both ways with the Bulldogs enjoying the largest leads with OSU battling back each time. The teams went to halftime with Georgia up by just one point, 36-35.

The Dawgs would take control of the game with a double-digit lead more than once in the second half, but as we’ve seen under new head coach, Jake Diebler, the Buckeyes simply wouldn’t give up, eventually taking the lead late.

However, Georgia made one more play than Ohio State and was able to notch the close victory with clutch shots at the end of the game. OSU would have one a couple of chances at the end, but Bruce Thornton’s three-point attempt rimmed out, and one last ditch three-point effort by Jamison Battle to win the game with just 1.3 seconds left was also off the mark.

Battle led Ohio State in scoring with a game high 22 points. Thornton (13), Felix Okpara (12), and Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) also scored in double figures.

The loss closes the books on the 2023-2024 season. OSU ends the campaign with a 22-13 record but with what looks like a bright future if it can carry through the momentum of what we saw at the end of the season.

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Georgia at Ohio State basketball: TV, preview and prediction

Georgia basketball plays Ohio State in the NIT quarterfinals on Tuesday

The Georgia Bulldogs (19-16, 6-12) basketball team plays Ohio State on the road in the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Georgia faces a tough test from the Buckeyes (22-13, 9-11).

The quarterfinal game will be played on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Georgia-Ohio State game will be televised on ESPN.

Head coach Mike White and the Bulldogs won at Wake Forest 72-66 on Sunday. Ohio State, who is a strong team at home, is coming off a 81-73 win over Virginia Tech. Ohio State is 15-4 at home this season, while Georgia is only 5-6 on the road.

Georgia knocked off Xavier, 78-76, in Athens in the first round of the NIT. Ohio State picked up a first round NIT win over Cornell.

Georgia’s leading scorer is guard Noah Thomasson, who averages 12.9 points per game. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, one of Georgia’s top players, missed the Wake Forest game with an ankle injury and is likely out against Ohio State.

[lawrence-related id=100043]

Guard Bruce Thornton is Ohio State’s leading scorer at 15.8 points per game. ESPN gives Georgia just a 21.3% chance to defeat Ohio State. Ohio State is 8.5-point favorites against Georgia according to BetMGM.

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Prediction: Ohio State 80, Georgia 72

Georgia will put up a fight, but Ohio State is a tough team to beat at home. We think Georgia’s NIT run comes to an end against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State basketball vs. Georgia: How to watch, stream the NIT matchup

One more win and the Buckeyes head to the NIT Final Four. #GoBucks

The Ohio State men’s basketball team continues to play well with new head coach Jake Diebler at the helm. The Buckeyes sent Virginia Tech home with a win on Saturday night by a score of 81-73.

Most thought that would be the last men’s game in The Schott this season, but then Georgia upset No. 1 seed Wake Forest. And since OSU is the higher seed, the Bucks get to host one more game. The Bulldogs were near the bottom of the pack in the SEC standings with a 19-16 overall record and a 6-12 conference record.

If Ohio State can get past UGA on Tuesday night, the team will head to Indianapolis to play in the NIT Final Four at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Basic info

When: Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. ET

Where:  Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: ESPN

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Radio: IMG Radio Network (flagship station WBNS 97.1 The Fan)

Radio announcers:

  • Paul Keels (play-by-play)
  • Ron Stokes (analysis)

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Jake Diebler welcomes back former Ohio State coach to his staff

Welcome back coach!

As the college basketball season is winding down, we are starting to see new Ohio State basketball head coach [autotag]Jake Diebler[/autotag] round out his coaching staff.

One Monday, one of those dominoes fell as it was announced that [autotag]Dave Dickerson[/autotag] has returned to Columbus as the associate head coach. The former Maryland forward turned to coaching shortly after his playing career ended, and he moved up the ranks and held the same title for the Buckeyes from 2010 through 2017.

Dickerson recently was the head coach at University of South Carolina Upstate, where he didn’t fare all that well going 10-20 on the year.

Regardless of Dickerson’s record, he was an instrumental part of Thad Matta’s successful run and will now hope to duplicate that as a member of Diebler’s staff.

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Ohio State loses in NCAA Tournament, USC women’s basketball won’t have March Madness rematch with Buckeyes

USC is a No. 1 seed. Ohio State, the No. 2 seed in USC’s region, is out. The Trojans must be vigilant against Kansas.

The USC Trojans received an important message on Sunday, while they rested before their second-round NCAA Tournament game against Kansas: Beware of the March Madness upset. Ohio State was ambushed. USC needs to avoid the same fate.

USC is the No. 1 seed in its NCAA Tournament region. Ohio State was drawn as the No. 2 seed in USC’s region. The two teams met in the very first game of the season on November 6 in Las Vegas, so the bracket provided the possibility of a rematch. Now that possibility won’t happen after OSU lost at home to Duke in the second round on Sunday.

Buckeyes Wire has more:

“Things looked good at first, with OSU leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, but the second half was a different story. Duke used its effort on the defensive end to halt the Ohio State defense to a grind, eventually grabbing the lead late in the third quarter and doing enough down the stretch in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 75-63 victory.”

USC must be vigilant against Kansas, and the Trojans need to be sharper than they were against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday.

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Ohio State basketball vs. Virginia Tech: How to watch, stream the NIT

Ohio State hosts Cornell in the first-round of the NIT. #GoBucks

The Ohio State men’s basketball team took care of business in the opening round of the NIT Tournament but it wasn’t easy. Ivy League foe Cornell proved to be a tough out with its full-court press and backdoor cuts. The Buckeyes were able to come out on top with a five-point victory in the contest.

Now it’s time to move onto the second round where OSU will host the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies come into the match with a 19-14 record and were a middle-of-the-pack ACC team. Tech seems to have the same problem the Buckeyes had earlier in the year… getting wins on the road. The Hokies are just 2-9 away from Blacksburg.

Here’s how to see all the action.

Basic info

When: Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. ET

Where:  Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: ESPN+

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Radio: IMG Radio Network (flagship station WBNS 97.1 The Fan)

Radio announcers:

  • Paul Keels (play-by-play)
  • Ron Stokes (analysis)

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion.