The 2025-2026 version of the Ohio State basketball team got on the court for its first official game of the season Monday night, and we were there to take it all in. Not only did we provide live coverage that included highlights, score updates, and analysis, but we also sat back and observed some things that might tell us a little about this team.
It was a winning night, with a record-setting score for a season-opener for Ohio State with a 118-102 victory, but not everything was chocolate and roses. In the end, there were some good things and some not-so-good things that we think are interesting to point out.
So, true to form, here are three things we think we learned about this Ohio State basketball team after the season-opener on Monday night.
Ohio State needs better composure and focus
Just really ugly Basketball in this 2nd half.
Defense, turnovers, rebounding, Free Throws.
— Ohio State Fanatic (@OhioStateFan92) November 4, 2025
Some of this can probably be chalked up to what you often see in a season-opener, but the roster that has been assembled and retooled this season by head coach Jake Diebler and staff has to be better at losing focus and composure.
Ohio State got up by a comfortable score, then was careless with the ball in the second half, sometimes lacked composure in the half-court, and seemed a little disinterested and disconnected at times. The good news is, you’d rather learn lessons from wins as opposed to losses, and I think when Deibler goes back over the film on this one, he’s going to see a lot to work on.
The press-breaker has to be better
The first half wasn’t bad — at least from the number of turnovers — but even then, the ability to break the press looked reactive as opposed to aggressive. Yes, ball-pressure can cause a lot of issues for the opposing offense, and you have to be calculated and composed at times, but it also presents opportunities to break that pressure and get easy baskets out of it.
Too often, Ohio State wasn’t moving both bodies and the ball against the press and getting it into the middle of the floor. They often inbounded it straight into the sideline and corner, which played right into the hands of IU Indy. Ohio State ended up the game with 17 turnovers and 17 fast-break points. Against a full-court press, that ratio has to be a lot better, and it is going to be a problem against a team like Illinois if things don’t improve.
Balanced and varied scoring
Tilly’s HOOPING 🗣️
25 and counting for the big man#GoBuckspic.twitter.com/vhe4IC1VvD
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) November 4, 2025
One thing is becoming clear about this team now that we’ve seen it twice in public. There are a lot of guys who can step back beyond the arc and hit from long range, and there are also a lot of scoring options. OSU shot 63% from the field and had four guys in double figures, and three that scored more than 20 points (Christoph Tilly 28, Bruce Thornton 26, Devin Royal 22).
John Mobley Jr. could have been in that group, too, and at times, you can bet freshman Amare Bynum will also get there in double figures and beyond. The ability to pass the ball off to a teammate that can score with a lot more options this year than last is something to build on.
Ohio State will next be in action on Friday when it hosts Purdue Fort Wayne. We’ll do it all over again then.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State basketball vs. IU Indy: 3 things we learned from Game 1
