Ohio State basketball: The only way for Chris Holtmann to save his job

It has been a rough couple of years for the Ohio State basketball program. It began last season when the Buckeyes finished just 5-15 in the Big Ten and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Chris Holtmann. That was the worst season for the Buckeyes in about 25 years. I didn’t think it could get any worse than that.

I stand corrected. The same type of slide looks possible for Chris Holtmann this year after the Ohio State basketball team got clobbered by Northwestern 83-58 over the weekend. It extends Ohio State’s road losing streak to 14 games, as they haven’t won a road game since January 1st, 2023. Things look extremely bleak.

The Ohio State basketball team must go on a run

Holtmann has one way to salvage his job at this point. He has to turn it around somehow and make the NCAA Tournament this season. Fans are already turning on the team. It looks like the team is turning on him too because it looked like the Buckeyes quit on Saturday night. Only Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara look engaged on the team.

The Buckeyes have to start winning some road games first to get that done. Their first chance to do that is Friday night at Iowa. First, though, they have to take on 10th-ranked Illinois at the Schott on Tuesday. A win against the Illini would go a long way to restoring confidence that Holtmann has a shred of a chance to turn this thing around.

Let me be clear; I have no confidence in Holtmann at all. I think Gene Smith needs to fire him before he retires at the end of June. The program has reached a low point and the only way out of this rut is with new leadership. I still think Holtmann has a shot to save his job if he can rally the troops late in the season though.

That rallying starts on Tuesday. Let’s all hope the Ohio State Buckeyes can finally get a quality win.