Ohio State fired men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann on Wednesday amid a tumultuous season that took another downturn with the team’s ninth loss in its last 11 outings, the school announced Wednesday. Holtmann and the Buckeyes fell to 14-11 this season after a 62-54 loss at No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday which kept the team one game out of last place in the Big Ten standings with a 4-10 conference record. According to the school, Ohio State still owes Holtmann $12.8 million from his current contract.
“I want to express my appreciation toward Chris for the first-class program, and the well-respected program, he has run here at Ohio State,” OSU athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement. “He and his wife, Lori, are wonderful people. I thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus and I wish them well.”
Associate coach Jake Diebler will take over for Holtmann on an interim basis. Future Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork will head up the search for Hotlmann’s full-time replacement. Bjork isn’t scheduled to take over as AD until July 1, but will report to work on March 1 to serve in an interim role as senior advisor to Smith.
The in-season ouster comes as a stunner as Holtmann, 52, was not long ago considered one of the top 10 coaches in college basketball. The Buckeyes hired him away from Butler in 2017 to replace coach Thad Matta, and he took the team to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to begin his tenure. (And likely would have been five if there had been an NCAA Tournament in 2020.)
Holtmann leaves Ohio State with a 137-86 overall record and 67-64 in the Big Ten during a troubling few seasons in Columbus, Ohio, that went sideways. After going 107-56 through his first five seasons, Ohio State was 30-30 and 9-25 in league play between last season and this season
The Buckeyes went to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2022 but never made it to the second…
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