The 2021–22 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, in his fifth season with the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes played their home games at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–12, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Penn State in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the South region where they defeated Loyola in the First Round before losing to Villanova in the Second Round. As of 2026, this is the most recent Ohio State team to make the NCAA Tournament.

Previous season In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Buckeyes finished the 2020–21 season 21–10, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan before losing to Illinois in overtime in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. However, they were upset in the First Round by No. 15-seeded Oral Roberts, ending their season.

Offseason

On October 14, 2020, the NCAA announced that all student-athletes in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year, including men's and women's basketball, would receive an extra year of athletic eligibility. Seniors CJ Walker and Kyle Young were eligible to use the extra year. Walker chose to forgo the extra year while Young remained with the team.

Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Musa Jallow 2 G 6'5" 210 Bloomington, IN Transferred to Charlotte Duane Washington Jr. 4 G 6'3" 210 Grand Rapids, MI Entered the 2021 NBA draft CJ Walker 13 G 6'1" 195 Indianapolis, IN Graduated Ibrahima Diallo 15 C 6'10" 220 Saly, Senegal Transferred to San Jose State Jansen Davidson Jr. 40 G 5'11" 190 Kettering, OH Graduated

Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Cedric Russell 2 G 6'2" 190 Graduate Student Alexandria, LA Transferred from Louisiana. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. Joey Brunk 50 C 6'11" 255 Graduate Student Indianapolis, IN Transferred from Indiana. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. Jamari Wheeler 55 G 6'1" 170 Senior Live Oak, FL Transferred from Penn State. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

2021 recruiting class

2022 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition

!colspan=9 style=|Regular season

!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten tournament

!colspan=9 style=|NCAA tournament

Source

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References