It’s time for the first look at the 2026-27 Ohio State men’s basketball team.
The Buckeyes cap off summer workouts with two exhibition games in Puerto Rico. They are part of an eight-day trip that also features a stopover in Miami for one day of practice. The level of competition Ohio State will face when it plays against teams labeled Equipo 1 and Equipo 2 on August 2 and 3 in San Juan remains to be seen, but these games will provide the first glimpse at how third-year coach Jake Diebler’s team is coming together before fall practice.
Diebler is expected to liberally rotate through his 14-man roster during the two games, giving everyone from the team’s leading returning scorer in John Mobley Jr. to work-in-progress freshman center Vuk Lazarevic opportunities to show what they can do.
As The Dispatch prepares to head to Puerto Rico, here are six things to keep an eye out for.
How do John Mobley Jr. and Justin Pippen look together?
Bruce Thornton’s contributions won’t be easily replaced, but his heir apparent in the backcourt is University of California transfer Justin Pippen. The Buckeyes brought him in via the transfer portal with hopes of pairing him with junior John Mobley Jr., who averaged 15.7 points per game and went through the NBA draft process before opting to return.
During summer practice sessions open to the media, Mobley and Pippen have almost exclusively guarded each other, and the competition has been spirited. Now they get to team up. How well they complement each other will be a significant factor in what Ohio State can do this season.
How does Amare Bynum score the majority of his points?
As a freshman, Bynum steadily played his way deeper into Diebler’s rotation and ended the year averaging 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. He shot 61.6% (101 for 164) from two-point range and 30.8% (28 for 91) from 3-point range while playing power forward and occasionally as a small-ball center.
He was a unanimous pick for the team’s best dunker in the anonymous 2025-26 preseason poll conducted by The Dispatch and showcased that throughout the year, but his 3-point shot steadily improved as well. Bynum was 8 for 31 (25.8%) from 3 through the first 15 games before going 20 for 60 (33.3%) the rest of the way. His shooting stroke has looked smoother during the summer, potentially setting him up for a breakout sophomore season with a more consistent 3-point shot.
Who stands out among the bigs?
This year’s Ohio State team will be bigger than last year. Diebler has added more size to the backcourt and more big bodies to the frontcourt, setting up some interesting battles for playing time as the Buckeyes sift through multiple options down low. Junior Ivan Njegovan has two years of program experience and is listed at 7-2, 260. Baylor transfer Josh Ojianwuna, who sat out last year due to injury, is 6-10, 270. It’s not clear if he’ll be available for the trip as he continues to rehab, but Ohio State also added Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic (6-11, 240) and Lazarevic (7-1, 230).
Then there’s Bynum (6-8, 245), who could also fit into that mix down low. Jelavic might be able to slide out to power forward and pair with one of the other centers, giving the Buckeyes their biggest frontcourt potentially ever. This is going to be one of the most interesting positional battles this season, and the trip to Puerto Rico will be the first glimpse into who can do what.
What do the five-star freshmen look like?
It’s been 18 years since Ohio State had two five-star freshmen on campus. The 2008 Buckeyes added B.J. Mullens and Williams Buford, both five-star players in the 247Sports.com rankings. This year, Ohio State features Anthony Thompson and LJ Smith.
Thompson is the fourth-highest-rated recruit in program history and brings a 6-9, 215-pound frame to his freshman year. Smith, a 6-4, 180-pound guard, was a five-star prospect in the 2027 class before graduating early and reclassifying to 2026.
Both will have to acclimate to the physicality of playing against older, stronger players this season, and this will be the first test to see how well they handle it. Both are expected to be key contributors in 2026-27.
Does someone emerge as a breakout player?
Ohio State took a similar trip in 2022, when it went to the Bahamas and played exhibition games against teams from Egypt and Puerto Rico. When the Buckeyes left the Atlantis resort, freshman Brice Sensabaugh had scored more points than anyone else on the roster. It was a sign of what was to come from Sensabaugh, who became a one-and-done player thanks to his ability to go get a bucket.
Success or failure during this trip doesn’t predetermine the path for any of the 14 players currently on Ohio State’s roster, but these games will present opportunities to set a tone for what’s to come — especially with the likelihood of equal playing time. Is there a surprise player who makes a strong impression?
What does Ohio State look like without Bruce Thornton?
So much of what the Buckeyes did and how they did it the past four years revolved around Thornton. The program’s first four-time captain departed as its all-time leading scorer with an ironman reputation: He missed just one game and played 34.1 minutes per game in 135 career appearances. He was Ohio State’s go-to player, its primary ballhandler, its most prolific scorer and its public identity.
He did a lot. And now he’s with the Houston Rockets. When things get tough, where do the Buckeyes turn? How differently do they look with new faces in the lineup? Pippen and fellow transfer guards Jimmie Williams and Curtis Givens III all bring different types of skills compared to Thornton’s bulldog profile, so does that lead to a faster style of play? Different defensive pressure? This is going to be a dominant storyline as the season gets going.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 6 things to watch as Ohio State heads to Puerto Rico for exhibition games
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
