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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio State Buckeyes have reportedly parted ways with head basketball coach Chris Holtmann in the middle of his seventh season.
Multiple reports indicate the Buckeyes have fired Holtmann after OSU suffered a 62-54 loss Tuesday to No. 20 Wisconsin, continuing a streak of no road wins for over a year. His buyout will be $14 million.
Holtmann finishes his career with the Buckeyes with a 137-85 record. His Big Ten record with the Buckeyes was 67-64. His departure makes him the shortest tenured OSU men’s basketball coach since Gary Williams, who coached the Buckeyes for three seasons from 1986 to 1989.
No reports have indicated who the Buckeyes will appoint as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team will now search for its 16th head coach in program history. Incoming athletic director Ross Bjork, who will step in for Gene Smith on July 1, will have to make a head coaching hire in one of the major Ohio State sports.
Holtmann arrived at Ohio State in 2017 to replace Thad Matta. After his first season with Ohio State, he earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors leading the Buckeyes to a 25-9 record and a second place finish in the conference; however, the Buckeyes lost to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tournament. That was the beginning of postseason frustrations for Holtmann and OSU.
The Buckeyes posted 20-win seasons in each of his first five years with the program and made the NCAA tournament. Still, the Buckeyes never made it past the Round of 32 with Holtmann at the helm.
His sixth and seventh seasons with Ohio State saw a downturn in results. In 2022-23, the Buckeyes started strong, but had a brutal finish going 7-16 from Jan. 1 to Mar. 11. That did include a run to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament; but; also included a 9-game losing streak. OSU missed the NCAA tournament that year, marking the first time they missed the tournament since 2016-17.
This season, the Buckeyes again showed some promise early including a win over at the time No. 17 Alabama on Nov. 24. Once again, Big Ten play saw struggles return with OSU having a 4-10 conference record at the time of Holtmann’s departure, leaving them 13th in the conference standings.
Ohio State men’s basketball has not made the March Madness regional finals since 2012-13 and has not made the Final Four in over a decade. The Buckeyes next game is Sunday afternoon in Columbus against No. 2 Purdue.
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