Ohio State made a tough decision to fire men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann on Wednesday.
It didn’t come as a shock to Ohio State fans but did come as a shock to Holtmann. Per a report from The Athletic, Holtmann was “blindsided” by the decision.
The firing comes after Ohio State lost to Wisconsin on Tuesday morning and dropped to 14-11 overall and 4-10 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes have lost nine of their last 11 games and aren’t going to make the NCAA Tournament.
In seven seasons at the helm, he led the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament four times, most recently in 2021-22. However, it all went downhill for Holtmann after that season.
The Buckeyes finished the 2022-23 season with a 16-19 overall record and it’s gotten worse this season. They now need a new head coach who can come in and get the program back to winning games in the NCAA Tournament.
Holtmann finished his tenure with a 137-86 record. Before he coached the Buckeyes, he coached the Butler Bulldogs for three seasons and the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs for three seasons.
The Buckeyes’ next game will be at home against the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday, Feb. 18.