Ohio State hasn't made it to at least the Sweet 16 since the 2012-13 season when Thad Matta reached the Elite Eight before falling to Wichita State.
The Buckeye program earned NCAA Tournament bids in six of the eight years since and of course last year didn't afford an opportunity to play postseason games due to the onset of the pandemic. The jury is still out on how this season's squad will fare.
During those last eight seasons, only once did the program finish at least second in the Big Ten regular season standings. The seven other campaigns saw the Buckeyes place no better than fifth with sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th-place finishes dotting the resume.
That time period encapsulates the last four years of the Matta era and the first four of Chris Holtmann's tenure. And while the fanbase did grow restless as Matta failed to reach the NCAA Tournament amid major roster turnover in back-to-back seasons before his ouster, the majority of fans never really frothed at the mouth about the program's eventual shortcomings. Some of that was obviously a nod to Matta's overall greatness as the winningest coach in the history of the program complete with five regular season conference titles, four conference tourney titles and a pair of Final Fours. Some of it was an understanding that even elite coaches get stuck in ruts.
But I often wonder if much of it was my perception that too many Ohio State athletics fans simply don't set a high enough standard for a basketball program rich with resources, located in one of the most advantageous Big Ten cities for student-athletes and boasting a solid though not spectacular basketball history. Like they just didn't care enough to get worked up.
I realize Ohio State basketball isn't in the same stratosphere with Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina or some other blue-blood but has Ohio State's basketball program underachieved historically on the national stage?
Those who say no will call out Ohio State is sixth all-time with 11 Final Fours but the counterpoint is eight of those came before we put a man on the moon.
Before Thad saved the program, taking it to heights not seen since the great Fred Taylor won seven Big Ten titles, went to four Final Fours and captured Ohio State's only national title in 1960, Jim O'Brien turned in a tumultuous seven-year run.
O'Brien led Ohio State to a pair of conference titles in seven seasons, reached the NCAA Tournament four times and even took the Buckeyes to the 1999 Final Four before his final two seasons saw the Buckeyes go 31-31 with no Dance bids and bottom of the conference results. And then of course O'Brien landed OSU on three years probation, the Final Four appearance was vacated and he earned himself a show-cause penalty from the NCAA.
O'Brien's run had nothing on the eight-year Randy Ayers rollercoaster in which the Buckeyes fielded juggernauts for two seasons, winning two league titles, before falling short in the Dance with a Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Ayers' final five seasons generated zero NCAA Tournament bids, one NIT selection and five straight finishes of seventh or worse in conference play. Over the final three years of Big Ten action, Ohio State went 10-44. The only shots they hit during that run came as center Gerald Eaker shot out the tires of teammate Antonio Watson's car before leaving the scene in a car driven by another teammate in Greg Simpson.
Gary Williams arrived via Boston College before Ayers' stint and hopes were high that his fullcourt press and uptempo style would take Ohio State to the next level after Eldon Miller's 10-year tenure produced zero Big Ten titles and two Sweet 16 appearances.
But Williams earned just one NCAA bid in three seasons and finished sixth in league action each year before his alma mater came calling. He would later reward Maryland's decision by winning the 2002 national title.
So yeah, some pretty awesome highs over those decades, dotted with some truly remarkable players in guys like Dennis Hopson, Jim Jackson, Michael Redd, Scoonie Penn, Terence Dials, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, D'Angelo Russell and numerous others.
Thinking about that body of work over those last 40 or so years, depending on your age, were you generally satisfied with each era? How much of that was a product of your own expectations and interest level? How did those expectations and level of interest compare to your expectations and interest for the football program?
As someone who's followed the hoops program as closely as the football program for as long as I can remember, certainly dating back to the mid-80s, I again get the sense I have much higher expectations for Ohio State basketball than most fans. And that grates on me, to be honest.
Further, and more importantly, I think Chris Holtmann wants more than anything to shape the program in a way where fan expectations do elevate to a more elite level, just like Thad did for the bulk of his tenure.
For Holtmann to raise the bar of expectations, he obviously must consistently win. And not just win in the early-middle portion of schedules but actually close seasons in a way that makes them memorable for capturing Big Ten regular season and/or conference tournament titles and making deep runs in March.
Look, not even Duke or Kentucky or insert-blue-blood-here expects to win it all each year but the threat of having enough talent to make a deep run, and at least get to the second weekend at a much higher rate than the last few decades should be an fair expectation for Holtmann at the micro level and Ohio State at the macro level over time.
Holtmann was able to bank one NCAA Tournament win in each of this first two seasons at Ohio State but failed to reach the second weekend. Last year, his team looked to be playing better basketball down the stretch but the onset of the pandemic canceled the Dance.
This season, we know Holtmann's current squad stumbled down the regular season stretch with four straight losses (three of which came to top-10 teams) but also beat three teams (Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin) in KenPom's current top-11 teams in the country and went 12-8 in a historically-deep Big Ten conference.
Regular-season peaks and valleys aside, for this fan, anything less than reaching the Sweet 16 will feel like a major underachievement and an Elite Eight run should be considered within reach. I'm confident Holtmann feels the same, and welcomes those expectations. Now it's time to deliver.
