With new coach, Buckeyes back

Ohio State’s elimination from the Big Ten tournament by lowly Rutgers in March showed the depths to which Buckeyes basketball had fallen in a just few short seasons.

First-year coach Chris Holtmann showed his players video cuts of that debacle before Sunday’s game. Ohio State then went out and routed Rutgers 68-46.

On Monday the Buckeyes cracked the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in nearly three years. On Wednesday night they beat Northwestern to improve to 7-0 in the Big Ten — matching the number of conference wins they had all of last season.

Ohio State, 16-4 overall, is tied for first place in the conference with No. 3 Purdue and has forced its way into the NCAA tournament conversation. Holtmann is the first coach in 95 years to win his first seven Big Ten games.

Who would thought?

The Buckeyes missed the tournament for the second straight season last year. The loss of three of the top four scorers, transfers and a thin recruiting class led to a gloomy forecast for 2017-18. Thad Matta, who oversaw have the program for 13 seasons, was fired and Holtmann, who had success at Butler, was brought in.

Holtmann managed to pull some pieces together but did his best in the preseason to keep expectations low for what looked like another lost season.

He’s still trying to temper expectations.

“Any coach that, through a third of the season, went undefeated would have to say they’re surprised,” he said. “I just think fortunately our team in general has played well and our really good players have led the way with that, both at home and on the road.”

None of those players has been better than Keita Bates-Diop, who missed all of the Big Ten schedule last season with a left leg /injury/. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 19.8 points per game.

Creighton forward Martin Krampelj will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee Wednesday.

The sophomore from Slovenia started all 19 games and averaged 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. AP