Crucial injury news may be the final straw for Ohio State basketball’s season, and the chances of HC Jake Diebler making it another year
Ohio State got the injury news they couldn’t afford, and it isn’t going to help them make the NCAA Tournament.
The Ohio State Buckeyes Men’s basketball team is 16-9 coming out of the weekend after a tough loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.
Ohio State badly needed a win over No. 15 Virginia in a neutral-site game in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday with its NCAA Tournament chances slipping away. The Buckeyes fell 70-66 and left another chance at a Quad 1 win on the table.
However, the toughest news of the weekend for the Buckeyes had nothing to do with Saturday’s game.
John Mobley Jr. out for Ohio State may be the nail in the coffin
Tough injury news is the last thing the Buckeyes needed and they received just that this weekend. Sophomore G John Mobley Jr. is out indefinitely with a hand injury. A major blow to the Buckeyes with only six regular-season games remaining on the schedule.
Mobley is expected to return at some point this season, but missing your second-leading scorer is a major loss. Ohio State’s best shooter is averaging 15.1 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game. Mobley is shooting 40 percent from three-point range and 87.8 percent from the free-throw line.
The central Ohio native has seven games this season of at least 20 points scored. Mobley has hit at least three three-pointers in 10 games for the Buckeyes this season.
What’s next for the Buckeyes with John Mobley’s injury?
Ohio State has games left against Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Penn State, and Indiana. That’s a tough stretch of games for the Buckeyes for the most part and missing your second leading scorer for multiple games is far from ideal. Ohio State has to win just about every remaining game if it wants to be playing meaningful basketball in March.
The Buckeyes went with Taison Chatman starting in Mobley’s spot against Virginia. Chatman gives the Buckeyes shooting ability in the backcourt, and he’s been a key part of the rotation since Jan. 16. Chatman is shooting 55 percent from three-point range on 30 attempts this season.
Ohio State is facing an uphill battle these next couple of weeks, and it just might be too tough to climb.
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