Ohio State Basketball: Final Grades for the Buckeyes' 2014-15 Season

Ohio State's season that began with high hopes ended up falling short of those expectations, but the 2014-15 campaign wasn't without accomplishments and highlights.

Picked to finish second in the Big Ten, OSU (24-11) tied for sixth in the league, and after losing in the conference tournament quarterfinals, the Buckeyes earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament. They beat seventh-seeded VCU in overtime in their first game before falling Saturday to No. 2 Arizona in the third round.

That 73-58 setback in Portland marked the final game for seven Buckeyes seniors and almost certainly freshman guard D'Angelo Russell. Those who had been in the program since 2012 ended their careers with a Final Four, two Elite Eight appearances and 109 victories, including eight in the NCAA tourney.

Now that the season is over, it's time to evaluate how each key contributor performed throughout the year. We'll also grade the work done by coach Thad Matta and also assign a final grade to Ohio State as a team.

Click through to see what grades the Buckeyes earned for the 2014-15 season, with players listed alphabetically.

Position: Forward

Year: Freshman

Final Statistics: 3.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 47.3% FG, 46.2% 3FG, 67.9% FT

The promise was there at times, but all in all Keita Bates-Diop didn't get much of a chance to show what he's capable of this season. That should change in 2015-16 with the number of starters and rotation players moving on, but for now Bates-Diop is a work in progress.

He played much earlier in the season, when Ohio State was rolling through a soft nonconference schedule. When the Big Ten schedule came around, though, his minutes dwindled. He did have a pair of big performances during the stretch when Marc Loving was suspended or in the doghouse, going for 14 points in a win at Rutgers and scoring 12 against Michigan.

The 6'7" Bates-Diop made his biggest impact with unexpected three-pointers, including hitting two (on his only two attempts of the game) in Thursday's overtime NCAA tournament win over VCU.

Final Grade: B-

Position: Forward

Year: Sophomore

Final Statistics: 9.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 45.9% FG, 46.1% 3FG, 76.8% FT

Marc Loving saw a big jump in playing time this season, going from 10.9 to 23.7 minutes per game and responding with improved numbers across the board. He developed into Ohio State's most dependable three-point shooter, yet he never got many chances to show that by averaging just over three tries per game.

The progress he made was stunted, though, by a three-game suspension in early February for undisclosed reasons. He returned on Feb. 14 against Michigan State, but over the 10 games after his absence, Loving only hit double figures once and only made five of 23 threes.

The 6'7" Loving is expected to take on an even bigger role next year, assuming D'Angelo Russell turns pro, but he'll need to show more consistency.

Final Grade: B-

Position: Freshman

Year: Guard

Final Statistics: 19.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 44.9% FG, 41.1% 3FG, 75.6% FT

What was likely D'Angelo Russell's final college game also ended up being one of his worst, as Arizona held the electric freshman to just 3-of-19 shooting and only nine points. But as was the case all year, Russell still managed to contribute even when he couldn't find his shot by pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out six assists.

With NBA-level skills that have him projected by NBADraft.net as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Russell played like a guy who wasn't in his first year of college but one who had complete control of the team. He had nearly twice as many shots as anyone else on the Buckeyes, and his amazing passing made him difficult to stop even when he struggled to shoot.

He also showed a swagger that fit well with his game, declaring prior to the loss to Arizona that the toughest player he faced this season was "nobody," a sentiment he reiterated after the game, per Ari Wasserman of Cleveland.com.

If anything, though, sometimes Russell was so good that the rest of Ohio State would seem to stand around and expect him to take over. Yet eight of the Buckeyes' 11 losses saw Russell shoot worse than 40 percent from the field, with no one else stepping up.

Final Grade: A+

Position: Guard

Year: Senior

Final Statistics: 8.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 41.2% FG, 28.4% 3FG, 74.2% FT

With Aaron Craft having graduated, this was the year for Shannon Scott to take over the offense and lead the charge. But then D'Angelo Russell came along, and Scott had to once again take a back seat in the production area, instead focusing on helping create for players other than Russell.

Scott's ratio of 2.49 assists to one turnover was strong, though down the stretch he became clumsier with the ball by giving it away 13 times in the final four contests. With Russell commanding the vast majority of opponents' attention, Scott could have capitalized on this, but like most Buckeyes he didn't often assert himself.

His shooting was more a matter of opportunity than ambition, and his lack of a consistent outside shot or the willingness to get to the line kept him from being more effective this year.

Final Grade: B-

Position: Forward

Year: Freshman

Final Statistics: 8.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 58.9% FG, 15.8% 3FG, 52.0% FT

Jae'Sean Tate moved into the starting lineup in late January and never left it, becoming a key role player on the defensive end while also showing a great knack to score at the rim. He's the player who would be labeled as the "glue" or "trash" guy for his ability to dive for loose balls and get down and dirty, but his game still needs a lot of work.

An undersized wing at 6'4", he still needs to develop an outside shot as well as become more confident at the foul line. He attempted the second-most free throws on the team, but that became a liability as he struggled to stay above 50 percent for the season.

The work Tate did since becoming a starter shows what he's capable of, as he averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 50 percent or better in 14 of 16 contests.

Final Grade: B

Position: Forward

Year: Senior

Final Statistics: 10.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 46.6% FG, 26.2% 3FG, 66.0% FT

Sam Thompson continued the upward trend that he was on during his entire Ohio State career, having his best season yet and being much more involved in the offense. He was the Buckeyes' second-leading scorer this year, playing only slightly less minutes than D'Angelo Russell.

Though most known for being OSU's top dunker, frequently finding his way onto highlight reels and top plays recaps, Thompson was also a solid interior defender who often had to play center depending on the lineup on the court.

At his best when driving toward the basket, Thompson never developed much of a shooting touch despite his hitting two of five three-pointers in Saturday's loss to Arizona.

Final Grade: B-

Position: Center

Year: Senior

Final Statistics: 6.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 66.1 FG%, 0.0% 3FG, 63.0% FT

Each year the hope was that Amir Williams would develop into a real asset for Ohio State, yet every season he failed to make that happen. The 6'11" Williams even regressed toward the end, with all of his minutes and production going down as a senior.

He came to Ohio State as a McDonald's All-American yet finished with just 660 career points. When given the opportunity to score, he came through, but as the Buckeyes remained a perimeter-oriented team this season, he wasn't able to make much of a difference with his strong shooting percentage.

Final Grade: C-

Position: Guard

Year: Freshman

Final Statistics: 5.4 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 45.2% FG, 34.2% 3FG, 91.3% FT

When Kam Williams gets more minutes, he's going to be pretty good. That opportunity just didn't exist this season, and when the postseason came around, he was a forgotten part of the team with only 24 minutes over the last four games.

Williams showed off a strong outside shooting touch in November and December, but he went only 3-of-19 over the final 14 games. It looked like he was jacking up shots rather than making them count with limited play.

He was also a defensive liability especially when compared to D'Angelo Russell and Shannon Scott on the perimeter, and that's an area he'll need to shore up next season.

Final Grade: C

Thad Matta had to replace three starters who were the heart and soul of last year's team, and with a veteran-laden group this shouldn't have been too much of an issue. But Matta ended up letting one of his newcomers serve as the floor leader, and while D'Angelo Russell's play justified this role, it might have ended up contributing to the seniors not faring as well.

With Russell doing so much, Matta struggled to ensure that OSU wasn't a one-man team, and this ended up costing the Buckeyes when Russell had an off day. Known as a great motivator, Matta didn't seem to have the connection with his upperclassmen that he had in the past.

Matta has to start over again in 2015-16, with Russell very well already out the door and several other seniors moving on. The team he has next season can be good, but it will be in his best interest to make it a little more balanced.

Final Grade: B

It's fair to say this Ohio State team underachieved, especially considering how great D'Angelo Russell made the Buckeyes look at times. But in the end, the fact that no other players could come close to having his impact made the freshman far too integral to success, and that ended up dooming them.

Russell had a bad game in the third round against Arizona, and that was the death knell much as it was in other games in 2014-15.

The 11 losses were OSU's most since 2008-09, and while there weren't any "bad" losses, there also were few big wins. Only a home victory over Maryland qualifies for that category, as the Buckeyes' better opponents knew that keeping Russell from dominating was the key to victory.

Final Grade: B

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.