Ohio State Basketball Takes Aim at Minnesota, No. 1 Ranking
When his team last played eight days ago, Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann was speaking only in theory about the Buckeyes handling expectations loftier than they currently shouldered.
Now, that challenge may be only one win away.
OSU (9-0, 1-0) returns to the court for the first time since its 106-74 win over Penn State with 6:30 p.m. tip-off Sunday at Minnesota (4-5, 0-1).
A win at Williams Arena could very well vault Ohio State into the nation's No. ` ranking when The Associated Press poll is released on Monday.
The Buckeyes held the No. 3 spot last week after warming up for its annihilation of previously-once-beaten Penn State with a 74-49 humbling of North Carolina on the road four days earlier.
No. 1 Louisville lost to Texas Tech since taking over the top spot and is likely to fall a bit.
No. 2 Kansas beat two over-matched opponents badly, but the Jayhawks are not unbeaten and they gained one fewer first-place vote last week than OSU.
National championship and No. 1 aspirations are nothing new at Ohio State this time of year, but they're not customarily a part of the basketball program's mindset.
They were for a decade during the Thad Matta regime, but consecutive losing seasons in 2016 and 2017 resulted in Holtmann's hiring and a two-year rebuild that's exceeded expectations.
But even while OSU was squeezing into the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2019, and reaching the second round both times, Holtmann knew his team lacked the depth and talent to make a deep post-season run.
Now, he has plenty of both, but on a roster with only one senior and two juniors who figure in his rotation.
Would the No. 1 ranking at this point make his young team hungrier, or would it distract them?
Would tantalizing OSU football fans already hell-bent on winning the College Football Playoff with the notion Buckeye hoops might be similarly capable help be too much too soon?
Holtmann has the unique and challenging task of running a program where he wants the same expectations for his team that exist annually in football, while knowing his team's achievements will be largely ignored until the football team concludes its season.
"When you sign up here, in my position, you realize that's the position you're in," Holtmann said. "I'm completely comfortable with that. I hope over time people appreciate -- I know they have -- how we play, who our kids are and how we go about it.
"Listen, we have a really special start. I'm not trying to diminish winning nine games and some of our performances. I just think it's a long season and we're going to run into some issues...We have to stay as grounded as possible.
"We have really good players who are in a good place right now. I think they also appreciate that there are other programs here, particularly football, that are on the path toward hopefully achieving something special. We're behind them in that effort."
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