Ohio State’s Likely Lineup Ahead of March Madness Date With TCU

On Thursday afternoon the 8th-seeded Ohio State men's basketball team will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2022 season against 9th-seed TCU. When they do, don't expect the Buckeyes to deviate much from the core group of players who got them to this point.

Ohio State has played 33 games thus far this season and senior point guard Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes' all-time leader in points scored, has started each one. You better believe he'll be one of the first five on the floor come Thursday's tip.

Center Christoph Tilly, forward Devin Royal, and guard John Mobley Jr. are all but certain to join Thornton in the starting group. All three have started every game this season in which they've played. Mobley's suited up for 30 games and Tilly and Royal have each done so for 31 contests. That quartet has combined for 60.6 points per game for an OSU team that averages just under 80.

Who will get the final spot?

The final spot in the starting lineup, another forward, will almost certainly go to freshman Amare Bynum over senior Brandon Noel.

Bynum has season averages of just under 10 points and five boards to go along with what seems like at least one explosive dunk per contest. After starting the season by coming off the bench in the team's first 10 games, Bynum's started the last 23 games for the Buckyes and flashed of late. A four-star from Missouri, Bynum's scored at least 14 points in four of Ohio State's last five games. He had maybe his most complete game of the season in the regular season finale versus Indiana in which he registered 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block in the OSU win.

Bynum's playing his best basketball at the most important time of the year.

Buckeye Bench has a number of contributors

Noel had been starting ahead of Bynum to begin the season before being moved to a bench role. He was injured in early January during a loss to Nebraska and didn't return to the court until the Buckeyes' loss to Michigan on Friday in the Big Ten tournament.

He'll seemingly be counted on to take a large role off the bench given his experience: he's avergaed better than 14 points and seven rebounds a game throughout his career which saw him play three seasons at Wright State before joining the Buckeyes this season.

Guard Gabe Cupps, who played in 32 of 33 games, center Ivan Njegovan, and guard Taison Chatman (who missed OSU's last game due to injury) should join Noel as the bench players most likely to find significant minutes in coach Jake Diebler's rotation.

Given that it's now mid-March and it's win or go home, don't expect Diebler to go too deep into his rotation or to rely on the bench much unless foul trouble rears its head. If the Buckeyes are to advance to Round Two, they'll do so because of the guy's who got them here, mainly Thornton.

The 6-foot-2 guard, making his first NCAA tournament appearance, leads Ohio State in scoring (20.2), assists (3.9) and steal (1.9) per game. Royal leads in rebounds (5.7) and Bynum in blocks (0.8) per game.

Once the Buckeyes' First Round game was announced Sunday, Diebler said of his team: "We got some versatility in our backcourt. And certainly, Bruce (Thornton) and (John Mobley Jr.) have led the way with that. And this is when great players step up and have a chance to do something special. And we're certainly going to lean on those guys."

The first opportunity to do something special comes Thursday at 12:15 ET when the Buckeyes and Horned Frogs tip-off in the opening game of the NCAA tournament's slate.