Pundits have the Buckeyes picked as a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team for their first year under Jake Diebler.
A poll of 33 conference media members – at least one from each of the 18 teams now in the league – placed Ohio State at No. 8 entering the 2024-25 season, one spot ahead of rival Michigan. Buckeye point guard Bruce Thornton also received first-team All-Big Ten honors in the poll.
To no one's surprise, two-time defending Big Ten regular season champ Purdue took top honors in the poll, even with the loss of superstar center Zach Edey. Five other schools received first-place votes, however. Second-place Indiana got seven to the Boilermakers' 20, third-place UCLA and fourth-place Illinois each got two and the Buckeyes joined fifth-place Michigan State with one. Ohio State's first-place vote came from Tyler Tachman, who covers Iowa for The Des Moines Register.
| RANK | TEAM | VOTES (1ST) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PURDUE | 572 (20) |
| 2 | INDIANA | 549 (7) |
| 3 | UCLA | 510 (2) |
| 4 | ILLINOIS | 458 (2) |
| 5 | MICHIGAN STATE | 448 (1) |
| 6 | OREGON | 412 |
| 7 | RUTGERS | 391 |
| 8 | OHIO STATE | 369 (1) |
| 9 | MICHIGAN | 342 |
| 10 | MARYLAND | 263 |
| 11 | IOWA | 249 |
| 12 | WISCONSIN | 212 |
| 12 | NEBRASKA | 212 |
| 14 | USC | 196 |
| 15 | WASHINGTON | 158 |
| 16 | NORTHWESTERN | 153 |
| 17 | PENN STATE | 87 |
| 18 | MINNESOTA | 62 |
The Big Ten expands from 14 to 18 teams in 2024-25, and two of the new additions, UCLA and Oregon, rank ahead of Ohio State on the ballot. The Buckeyes opened conference play 2-1 last season before losing eight of their next nine league matchups.
After a later loss to Wisconsin dropped Ohio State's Big Ten record to 4-10, former head coach Chris Holtmann was fired midseason. Diebler took over as interim head coach, upset No. 2 Purdue in his first game and took five of six conference contests to close the regular season and earn a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Defeating Iowa in the second round of the tourney, the Buckeyes lost in the quarterfinals to Illinois, the eventual champion.
The media poll also selected Purdue guard Braden Smith as preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Rutgers guard Ryan Harper as Freshman of the Year and Indiana center Oumar Ballo as Transfer of the Year. Lastly came ballots for first- and second-team All-Big Ten, and Thornton made first-team as the No. 4 vote-getter after making the official preseason All-Big Ten team alongside nine other players on Tuesday.
First-Team All-Big Ten
- Braden Smith, Purdue (64 votes)
- Payton Sandfort, Iowa (48)
- Oumar Ballo, Indiana (47)
- Bruce Thornton, Ohio State (34)
- Dylan Harper, Rutgers (32)
Second-Team All-Big Ten
- Jackson Shelstad, Oregon (30)
- Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State (26)
- Great Osobor, Washington (26)
- Ace Bailey, Rutgers (25)
- Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (23)
