When did Ohio State men’s basketball last miss the NCAA Tournament?

On Feb 1, 2023

Chris Holtmann is on a path to uncharted territory in 2022-23.

After four NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons as Ohio State’s men’s basketball coach — missing out on a canceled NCAA Tournament in 2019-20 — the Buckeyes are seemingly on a path to miss the 2023 NCAA Tournament with an 11-10 overall record and only three wins in 10 Big Ten games.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Ohio State currently as one of his “Next Four Out” teams in his latest NCAA Tournament bracket projection, while CBS’ Jerry Palm does not have the Buckeyes listed.

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Here’s a look at the last five times Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State 2016-17 season: 17-15 overall, 7-11 Big Ten

The last time Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament came in Thad Matta’s final season as the Buckeyes’ head coach.

After missing the tournament in 2015-16, Ohio State finished 10th in the Big Ten with its first losing season in conference play since 2003-04, winning seven of 18 games against Big Ten opponents.

And with a run of four losses in six games to end the regular season, Ohio State lost to Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, which kept the Buckeyes out of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season.

While Jae’Sean Tate, Marc Loving, JaQuan Lyle and Trevor Thompson each averaged more than 10 points per game, Ohio State allowed 69.8 points per game: fifth-worst in the conference.

Ohio State 2015-16 season: 21-14, 11-7 Big Ten

In 2015-16, Ohio State barely missed the NCAA Tournament.

In the Buckeyes’ first time missing the tournament since 2007-08, Ohio State finished seventh in the Big Ten and was one of nine conference teams to have 20 wins or more. But the Buckeyes won only two of its nine matchups against ranked opponents, including a 27-point loss to No. 2 Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament, to keep them out of the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State instead advanced to the National Invitation Tournament, where it earned an overtime win against Akron before falling to Florida in the second round.

The Buckeyes’ averaged only 70.3 points per hame, shooting only 43.9% from the field with players like Loving, Keita Bates-Diop, Tate and Lyle leading the way.

Ohio State 2007-08 season: 24-13 overall, 10-8 Big Ten

Despite a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten and the program’s fourth-straight season of 20 wins or more, Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08.

Ohio State lost four of its last six games of the regular season, even with back-to-back home ranked wins against Purdue and Michigan State heading into the Big Ten tournament. But a seven-point loss to the Spartans in the first round of the conference tournament secured the Buckeyes’ NIT bid.

With players like Jamar Butler and Kosta Koufos leading the way, Ohio State went on to win the NIT, beating Massachusetts in the final.

Ohio State 2004-05 season: 20-12 overall, 8-8 Big Ten

In Matta’s first season, Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament despite being one of six Big Ten teams with more than 20 wins.

The Buckeyes, led by Terence Dials and Tony Stockman, finished with eight wins in 16 conference games and was the sixth-ranked team in the Big Ten. Ohio State lost three of its last four games of the regular season despite capping off the campaign with a one-point win against No. 1 Illinois at home.

After a first-round win against Penn State in the Big Ten tournament, an 11-point loss to No. 23 Wisconsin ended Ohio State’s season.

Ohio State 2003-04 season: 14-16 overall, 6-10 Big Ten

Ohio State’s most recent losing season kept the team out of the NCAA Tournament.