The Ohio State men's basketball team is scheduled to open up its season on Nov. 11 at home against Oakland.

Whether that opener will take place as scheduled remains to be seen, but the sport is confident that a season will take place, and is taking measures to make sure it does not end up in the purgatory of the conference’s football situation.

As the season nears, the Buckeye roster is falling into place. Filled with a mix of high-level scorers and veterans with defined roles, this season could bring one of the most talented Ohio State teams since Thad Matta graced the sidelines.

Head coach Chris Holtmann enters year No. 4 in Columbus, having made two NCAA Tournaments in three seasons at the helm. His Buckeyes (21-10) ended last season abruptly, finishing top-five in the Big Ten and projected as a No. 5 seed in the big dance by Bracket Matrix.

The Buckeyes lost a significant amount of talent coming into this season. Andre Wesson graduated, his younger brother (and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder) Kaleb Wesson entered the NBA Draft after his junior season, and D.J. Carton, Alonzo Gaffney, and Luther Muhammad all transferred as promising underclassmen.

Still, Holtmann and company hold an exciting mix of returners and experienced transfers. Ohio State should be in the national preseason rankings and project as an NCAA Tournament team once again.

Over the past month, I've broken down a number of the Buckeyes' key contributors. Now it is time to take a look at the makeup of the roster as a whole.

The offense hums behind redshirt senior guard C.J. Walker, entering his second year with the team after transferring from Florida State. Walker’s production took a large leap after fellow point guard Carton left the team in early February- he averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in his last 11 games of the campaign.

Walker should return as one of the top point guards in the conference in his final run with Buckeyes. He controls the pace of games and has the patience and court-vision to lead an offense filled with scoring options.

Speaking of scoring, Ohio State’s top returning bucket-getter will likely start alongside Walker in the back court.

Junior shooting guard Duane Washington Jr. averaged 11.5 points per game last season on five three-point attempts per contest. Washington has been maddeningly hot-or-cold in his two seasons, but the 6-foot-3 off-guard holds the confidence to provide instant offense and the court-spacing Ohio State desperately needs.

After the two returnees, the Buckeyes have zero guards with experience playing Big Ten basketball, a concerning quality in a team losing its largest post presence.

Graduate transfer Abel Porter will fill the backup point guard role. Porter, who came over from Utah State this spring, started his career in Utah as a walk-on and ended it starting all 34 games for a 26-win Aggie team. He brings control and loads of experience, and will fill an Andrew Dakich-like role for Holtmann.

The last of the eligible guards in 2020 is freshman Eugene Brown III. At 6-foot-6, Brown has length and more size than his fellow guards, but is still a little raw, as most freshmen are. He was a four-star recruit coming out of Georgia, and could see limited action early as he puts on weight.

Ohio State possesses a pair of transfer small forwards with the skill and versatility to become all-Big Ten level contributors.

We’ll start with redshirt junior Justice Sueing¸ who spent last season with the program after transferring from UC-Berkeley. Sueing led his team in scoring as a sophomore and has proven to be a skilled driver with impressive free throw numbers, getting to the line over five times per game in his last season at Cal.

A still-improving shooter, Sueing brings athleticism and a great motor to the Buckeyes.

His counterpart, graduate transfer Seth Towns, provides the most upside of anyone on the roster. Still with two years of eligibility, Towns missed his final two seasons at Harvard with a series of leg injuries, but won 2018 Ivy League player of the year after averaging 16 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game as a sophomore.

Towns moves like a pro. He has more skill than any player Holtmann has seen at Ohio State. If healthy, he adds program-changing ability, all while returning to his hometown of Columbus.

Musa Jallow returns for his redshirt junior season after missing all of the last campaign with a right ankle injury. Jallow will get solid bench minutes as a wing stopper, rebounder, and high-energy player. He showed his potential in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, playing 29 minutes and registering 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals to help the Buckeyes to an upset win over Iowa State.

Last comes junior Justin Ahrens, a three-point specialist most remembered for his 29-point explosion against Iowa his freshman year. Unless he improves greatly on defense, Ahrens will not see more than spot minutes for a team stocked with wing talent.

The biggest (no pun intended) question mark for Ohio State in the upcoming season is its play down low. Replacing Kaleb Wesson will have to be done by committee.

It starts with the lone four-year senior on the roster, Kyle Young. A fan-favorite for his energy and hustle over the past three years, the Canton native averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 58.5 percent from the field his junior year.

Young is not a back-to-the-basket threat, but he finishes well and acts as the perfect glue guy for a team full of scorers. He pairs perfectly with his likely front court partner E.J. Liddell.

Liddell was a surprise in his first year donning the scarlet and grey, leading the Buckeyes in blocks while improving throughout Big Ten play, a rare sight for a freshman big. He ended up averaging just under seven points per contest while displaying nice touch in the post.

At just 6-foot-7, it will be tough for Liddell to replicate the massive Wesson, but his freshman season was a very nice start. He will be a future Ohio State star down low.

The only other incoming freshman this season is Zed Key, a 6-foot-8 forward out of New York. Key will be asked to contribute from the start on this team. The four-star recruit enters with the size of a Big Ten power forward, and rose up the recruiting rankings his senior year. It remains to be seen if Key can jump into things as quickly as Liddell.

Sophomore center Ibrahima Diallo rounds things out. Diallo entered the program extremely raw a year ago, and likely remains so. Against Stetson last season, Diallo scored six points, grabbed five boards, and somehow picked up four fouls in just 14 minutes.

He needs another season of experience before he will be ready to fully contribute as a Big Ten center, but there is promise for the Senegalese big man, the tallest player on Ohio State’s roster.

The combination of skill and experience on the Ohio State roster could make a top-three Big Ten team, but a history of injuries and key losses make things a little foggy.

Year No. 4 is a big one for Holtmann. He has not been able to get over the second-round hump with the Buckeyes, but tournament expectations will be high as we head into 2021.

While everyone stands by for a clear answer on Big Ten football this year, basketball remains on the back burner, ready for early its November entrance.

In unsure times like these, it's nice to look ahead at everything ahead of us. This Buckeye basketball team has the potential to be the best Ohio State squad in recent memory.