Chris Holtmann expects fewer mistakes from Ohio State freshmen

The Ohio State men’s basketball team has had a tough time staying consistent this season. A large part of that could be linked to the Buckeyes starting three freshmen and another receiving substantial playing time. Guards Rodney Gayle Jr and Bruce Thornton, along with forward Brice Sensabaugh and center Felix Okpara, complete the young talented core for head coach Chris Holtmann. And while his young stars have struggled at times this season, Holtmann expects fewer mistakes from his freshman going forward.

“I think it does. But they’ve also played a lot right now, where we should start to see less of that. And again, they’re still freshmen, but we play them a lot,” said Holtmann. “I do think there’s a fatigue element to some of this. But, as an older kid, you don’t experience this much. And I don’t have the numbers; I just don’t remember us, here, starting three freshmen that much, outside of maybe one game a few years ago with a bunch of injuries. So it is different.”

Sensabaugh is leading the charge for Ohio State and the freshmen in scoring. The six-foot-six Orlando, FL, native leads the team in points per game at 17.5 while averaging just under 24 minutes per contest. Horton and Okpara, the other two starting Buckeyes freshmen, along with Gayle, have contributed nicely when Ohio State has been successful. Still, the four have accounted for 98 of Ohio state’s 214 turnovers on the season. That is just shy of 46 percent of the turnovers committed by Ohio State. But if Holtmann is right, there should be a change in that department coming soon.

Former Ohio State basketball player Mark Titus: ‘Everything is fine’ after loss to Nebraska

Ohio State started the month of January with a victory over Northwestern to improve to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play and looked primed for a potential run in league play. Things haven’t gone well since — and former Buckeye Mark Titus made a bold prediction regarding the rest of the season.

Ohio State has lost its last five games, including Wednesday night’s 65-62 loss to Nebraska when Sean McNeil’s three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. The Buckeyes now find themselves 2-5 in conference action and a half game ahead of last-place Minnesota in the standings.

With that in mind, Titus made quite a prediction about Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and Iowa. He’ll be in attendance and plans on seeing a victory.

“We’re fine,” Titus tweeted. “Everything is fine. I’m going to Columbus on Saturday to personally deliver a W and save the program. We will beat Iowa. Not a promise, a guarantee. Again, we are fine. Do not spread false rumors that we are not fine because they have no basis in reality. Thank you.”