You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State men’s basketball record will be broken next?

From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about records, the ones that have been broken, the ones that could be broken, and the ones that will never be broken. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Broken Records” articles here.

Welcome to “Broken Records” week at Land-Grant Holy Land. Our writers are taking a deep dive on which Ohio State records — be it football, men’s or women’s basketball, or anything else — may never be broken, as well as which records could maybe be broken.

Our basketball writers usually head up the resistance party, shying away from whatever the site’s (mainly football focused) themes are during the summer. But this week, we’re biting on it. More on this later.

Last week, Connor and Justin each picked one former Ohio State basketball player that they thought would definitely have been drafted if the NBA Draft was expanded to three rounds. Connor went with William Buford, while Justin chose Kaleb Wesson.

55% of the voters sided with Connor, 36% sided with Justin, and the final 8% said that neither Buford nor Wesson would’ve been drafted even if there was a third round of the draft. Connor is almost back to a tie with Justin, but not quite.

After 106 weeks:

Justin- 46
Connor- 45
Other- 11

(There have been four ties)

Today’s Question: Which Ohio State men’s basketball record will be broken next?

Connor: Single-game defensive rebounds (14)

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The current record for defensive rebounds in a single game at Ohio State? 14. This record was set by Evan Turner on Nov. 12, 2009 against James Madison. Jared Sullinger tied — but did not exceed — that mark of 14 twice during his time in Columbus. He did it first against South Carolina on Dec. 18, 2010. He then did it again the following month, on Jan. 22, 2011 against Illinois.

Several others have come within one rebounds recently, with 13 — Kaleb Wesson, Trevor Thompson, and Keita Bates-Diop, to name a few. There’s an art to rebounding, but another big part is simply being in the right place at the right time and being really big. Heck, most double-double’s include 10 rebounds. If you can grab a handful more, you could own an Ohio State prgram record.

The reason I think this particular record will be broken soon is because Felix Okpara showed promise this past season as a big-time rebounders for the Buckeyes. Okpara had two games last season where he grabbed 12 rebounds, but one of those games he had eight defensive, and the other was six. There’s still a ways to go there, but Okpara also did not see consistent minutes until the end of the seasonwhen Zed Key hurt his shoulder. He should see a more even split with Key this year, assuming Zed returns to health. If he’s not 100% right away, Okpara could step in and assert himself as the starting center.

If Okpara is hanging around the basket for 20-25 minutes per game this season, it’s hard for me to not see him grabbing at least 14 defensive rebounds at some point. Especially if he sees the floor a ton early in the season, when the Buckeyes face non-conference opponents who will likely miss a boat-load of shots.

So not only do I think this record will be broken eventually, I think it could be broken this season by Mr. Okpara.

Justin: Most games started (137)

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

I did this one a little differently. I actually just picked a current player and then looked at the records and picked the one that I think he is most likely to break.

The player I chose was Bruce Thornton, and the record I chose was most games started. Currently, that record is held by William Buford. Buford started 137 games from 2009-12. That included some deep runs in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, as Buford played for some of the best teams in recent Ohio State history, so he benefited from those postseason runs as well.

However, Buford played in 145 games and started in 137. His freshman season, he played in 33 games and started in 25. His other three years at Ohio State he started in every single game.

To be honest, as long as Thornton stays healthy and stays four years (which I do think he will as of right now because as good as he is, I don’t think he leaves early), I think this record inevitably goes down. Thornton started in all 35 games he played in this past season, so if he stays four years he will start in 140 games.

I will make the assumption he starts in every game because he is the future of the point guard position as Ohio State. It is very safe to say that every time he puts on the Ohio State jersey, he is starting. Also, the Buckeyes did not make the postseason last season, which was an anomaly. Based on history, the Buckeyes should return to the NCAA Tournament over the next three season every year and that will add games to his resume.

Plus, there is some serious talent in and coming to Columbus over the next few seasons and that could create some deep postseason runs for the Buckeyes.

I think Thornton shatters this Buford record.