Ohio State Basketball Needs These Two Players To Step Up in John Mobley Jr.’s Absence

Here are two players who must rise to the occasion with John Mobley Jr. sidelined due to injury.

Feb 11, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) is introduced before the game against the USC Trojans at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team faced a significant setback on Saturday, just hours before their game against Virginia.

Ohio State announced that sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. will be out indefinitely due to a hand injury. Mobley injured his hand late in the Buckeyes' victory over USC on Wednesday, and this could be season-ending.

Mobley has played in 24 games this season, averaging 15.1 points and 2.8 assists per game. He has been instrumental in getting the offense on track, alongside point guard Bruce Thornton. Now, a few players need to step up in Mobley's absence.

Taison Chatman

Chatman is a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, and he needs to step up as one of the pivotal players for the Buckeyes. In Ohio State's 70-66 loss against Virginia, Chatman played 31 minutes but struggled to make an impact, scoring only four points. These minutes were crucial, but unfortunately, he was unable to contribute effectively.

There’s no reason why Chatman can’t start gaining momentum in the upcoming games. On Tuesday, the Buckeyes will host Wisconsin, a team that Ohio State faced earlier this season.

Ohio State suffered a loss to the Badgers in January, but Chatman still managed to score 14 points. This week, Ohio State will rely on him to replicate that performance.

Gabe Cupps

Cupps was one of the few players Ohio State brought in through the transfer portal last offseason, moving from Indiana. Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, it’s a great opportunity for him to represent his home state. However, he needs to step up his game to make a larger impact.

The sophomore guard is averaging 13.1 minutes over 24 games this season, with a scoring average of 1.8 points per game. Cupps played 13 minutes on Saturday but did not record a single point. He is likely to see increased playing time moving forward, as the Buckeyes are going to depend on him to contribute points off the bench.

Ohio State had four players come off the bench against Virginia, and together they scored just four points in 39 minutes of play.

The Buckeyes won’t win many more games unless they can get more production from their bench.

As the regular season approached its final three weeks, many college basketball analysts considered the Buckeyes a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State will need a quick turnaround over the next six games if it hopes to break its streak of missing the NCAA Tournament for the last three seasons.

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