Big Ten Outlook: What Does Expansion Mean for Ohio State Buckeyes' Basketball?

The Ohio State Buckeyes may be in the toughest conference for basketball next season.

Mar 19, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler yells during the first half of the NIT basketball game against the Cornell Big Red at Value City Arena. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Countless championships. Storied schools. Now, in the Big Ten.

Today is the last day the PAC-12 will officially be a unified conference. After racking up 16 national championships total, the conference will dissolve, and teams will be dispersed among other conferences (outside of Washington State and Oregon State).

The Big Ten will now be adding UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington for the forseeable future. Although a tough football schedule won't be anything new for the Buckeyes, how will the future of Ohio State basketball be impacted?

UCLA

The team with the most national championships of all time hasn't won one since 1995. Although many of those titles came under head coach John Wooden, in tandem with Lew Alcindor, UCLA still poses a constant threat to the national title.

Head coach Mick Cronin failed to make the NCAA Tournament last season, but has had recent success leading the school — the Bruins have made the Sweet Sixteen three of the past four years, including a Final Four appearance in 2021.

While Ohio State's Jake Diebler enters his first season as a full-time head coach, he will be tasked with defeating Cronin's experience and ability to lead teams deep in the tournament.

USC

Although Southern California made the Elite Eight just three years ago, they had not had much success under head coach Andy Enfield. In his 11 seasons, he made the national tournament just five times.

However, the Trojans bring in a new head coach as well with former Arkansas' coach Eric Musselman, someone who has taken deep runs with several Razorback teams and produced solid NBA talent; most recently Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black.

With Razorbacks leaving for Los Angeles, Musselman may be assembling a new squad to make yet another deep run.

Mar 14, 2024; Nashville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman reacts against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports / Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon

Perhaps the Ducks-Buckeyes football game in Eugene has taken the public eye more than basketball. But Dana Altman has made sneaky good teams go deep in the tournament.

However, with all of Will Richardson, Jermaine Couisnard and N'Faly Dante leaving for professional hoops, the Ducks may have a difficult time with Ohio State crafting a much more experienced team for the upcoming season.

Washington

Head coach Danny Sprinkle is coming off multiple successful seasons at Utah State and Montana State. While Washington has not seen recent success by any means — in fact, the most recent notable player in the NBA has been former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz — a new coach with a lot of experience seems to be the common trend among Big Ten teams.

Ohio State has constructed a team to win now, one with multiple veterans including transfers in Meechie Johnson Jr., Micah Parrish, Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart. In addition, the Buckeyes return several young players and recruits and return their key facilitator and scorer in Bruce Thornton.

Although it may be a sad day for all college sports fans, it is a new era of conferences and Big Ten basketball.