The Ohio State Buckeyes announced yesterday that John Mobley Jr. would be out indefinitely while recovering from a hand injury against USC. It's an important loss for the Buckeyes as they are fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives. As a bubble team, every game down the stretch feels like a "must-win," and now, they have to do it without their second-leading scorer.
Mobley is averaging 15.1 points a game and is their go-to free-throw shooter in close games at 87% from the line. Mobley will almost assuredly be out for the Wisconsin game, and that's important news for both teams.
A statement on John Mobley Jr.’s status. pic.twitter.com/OPFdNGM25g
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 14, 2026
John Mobley Jr. is out indefinitely after injuring his hand against USC
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Wisconsin has been one of the hottest teams in the country since January and just got done knocking off two top-10 teams in a row: Illinois and Michigan State. Their next opponent is already looking down the barrel of the red-hot Badgers, but now will need to find secondary scoring from somewhere else.
Wisconsin beat Ohio State 92-82 earlier this season and limited Mobley to only nine points, yet the Buckeyes found scoring from Amare Bynum (18), Bruce Thornton (18), and Devin Royal (16). So, they found success with Mobley playing a background role last time, just not in the win department.
Ohio State is staring down a tough schedule to close the season. It's boom or bust in a big way. They have plenty of opportunities, but if it goes south, it could go south fast. The Buckeyes end the season by facing off against Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Penn State, and Indiana. That's three quad-1 games and three quad-2 games. Not ideal for a team that's trying to make it into the tournament and currently sitting on the bubble, especially without Mobley.