Ohio State’s first exhibition of the season gave Jake Diebler plenty to study, and not all of it came from the final score.
Playing outdoors at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, the Buckeyes spent more than 23 minutes in front against Cincinnati in the CareSource Invitational before the Bearcats pulled away late for a 79-68 win Wednesday. Ohio State used 11 players, but only guard John Mobley Jr. reached double figures, finishing with 15 points.
The Buckeyes opened with John Mobley Jr., Curtis Givens III, Anthony Thompson, Amare Bynum and Ivan Njegovan. Bynum was the only other Ohio State player to log more than 29 minutes, and he finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. Justin Pippen and LJ Smith were next in minutes off the bench, part of what Diebler made clear is still an unsettled rotation.
“I would not put a penny’s worth of stock in who we started, who came off the bench first, none of that,” Diebler said. “I think we’ve got a few guys who have solidified a starting position, and then we’ve got a lot of competition happening right now.”
The biggest issue Wednesday came inside. Cincinnati controlled the paint 48-32, while Ohio State’s Ivan Njegovan, Josh Ojianwuna and Andrija Jelavic combined for seven rebounds and 12 fouls. Diebler said he expects better from that group.
“Those guys didn’t have a good day today,” Diebler said, “It is what it is. That’s not how they’ve been or how they’ve played and [it] won’t be how they play moving forward.”
Ojianwuna, who missed the 2025-26 season while recovering from knee surgery, was a particularly important piece to get on the floor before the games start counting. Diebler pointed to the value of simply getting him game minutes.
“Just having him out there and getting the minutes was really more important than some of the details for today,” Diebler said. “He’ll be a lot better moving forward.”
Njegovan started but played less than eight minutes, and Diebler said consistency will shape how much the center factors into the rotation once November arrives.
“Ivan’s had some really great lead-in practices leading into this,” Diebler said, “I think [what] we’re looking for as we iron out our rotation heading into November is consistency.”
Ohio State’s freshmen also got their first taste of college action. The Buckeyes are bringing in their first top-25 recruiting class since 2023, led by five-star forward Anthony Thompson and four-star guard LJ Smith. Outside of Bynum, Mobley and Pippen, no Ohio State player saw more floor time than those two newcomers.
Smith finished with nine points on 11 shot attempts and two steals, while Thompson added two points and four rebounds. Diebler said both showed the kind of aggression he wants, but also where they need to grow.
“I think LJ at times may be a little over-aggressive, [Thompson] at times not aggressive enough and we just need both of them to grow as decision makers,” Diebler said. “They’re really good players.”
Mobley liked what he saw from the freshmen in their debut.
“I feel like they played hard and did everything they can to try to help us win,” Mobley said. “It’s tough, it’s your first game.”
The Buckeyes had control for long stretches, taking an 11-9 lead with 12:19 left in the first half and carrying it into the second. Ohio State was still up 56-49 with 10:05 remaining before Cincinnati ripped off a 24-8 run over the next seven minutes.
From there, the Buckeyes never got back in front. The outdoor setting only seemed to sharpen the challenge in the second half, when Ohio State went 2-for-14 from 3-point range and 11-for-21 from the free throw line.
Diebler said that stretch will matter more than the early lead.
“That second half is going to be so valuable for us, way more valuable than the first half when we were winning,” Diebler said. “I think that’s what we’ll take from this.”
He also said he wants his team to keep running into uncomfortable moments before Big Ten play begins.
“You’re going to see it every single game,” Diebler said. “We handled it well at times, I thought late we didn’t handle it as well as we needed to [as we did] earlier in the game.”
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