We are officially in the dead period of college basketball and will be for months. However, that doesn’t stop us from looking ahead to what could be in 2021-2022. For Ohio State, it’s looking to build on a rather surprising 2020-2021 campaign that saw it stay in the Big Ten race most of the year, make the Big Ten Tournament championship game, and receive a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament as one of the top teams of the latter half of the year.
We won’t talk about the whole thing coming down with a thud by OSU losing its first-round NCAA game to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts. The point is, things are pointed in the right direction.
In today’s college basketball, it’s becoming even harder to project how teams will be the following season because of one-and-dones, guys going through the NBA draft process, and the transfer portal. But, many believe the Buckeyes are primed for an even bigger breakout season this coming winter.
BTN’s Andy Katz believes that too. He recently did a short segment on IF/THEN and said he believes Ohio State can go as far as winning the Big Ten if one thing happens during the offseason.
“IF, E.J. Liddell and Duane Washington withdraw from the NBA draft and return to Ohio State, THEN the Buckeyes will once again be right near the top of the Big Ten — possibly champs of the Big Ten. And … E.J. Liddell will enter the Big Ten season as a potential Big Ten Player of the Year.”
You can watch the short segment that also includes a couple IF/THEN propositions for two other teams in the league by clicking on the below video shared by the Big Ten Network’s Twitter account.
The college hoops offseason is wild. 🤯@TheAndyKatz fills in the blanks for @BoilerBall, @OhioStateHoops and @TerrapinHoops in a B1G Men's 🏀 edition of:
𝑰𝒇 _______, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 ________. pic.twitter.com/sEQyIahUvE
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) April 20, 2021
The Big Ten is certain to be a physically demanding and talented league once again this coming season, so even with Liddell and Washington still in the mix, that’s obviously not a given. However, Ohio State should be primed to have its best team so far under head coach Chris Holtmann as long as it stays healthy and focused.
It’s good to see the Buckeyes getting some offseason love here as of late, including ESPN’s resident bracketologist. None of it means anything though and must be proven on the court as always.
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