Ohio State sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. has gotten good news about his injured right ankle, but what that means for his availability at Northwestern on Dec. 6 is not yet known.
With about two minutes left in the first half at Pitt on Nov. 28, Mobley was fouled on a jump shot inside the paint and landed awkwardly. On the ground, he grabbed at his right ankle, grimaced in pain and eventually got to his feet for two free throws.
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He missed both, subbed out and did not return to the game. After the 67-66 last-second loss to the Panthers, Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler said Mobley would need to undergo more testing. On Dec. 1, Diebler said the injury could have been worse than what the Buckeyes appear to be dealing with.
“We got some imaging done,” Diebler said. “Praise God, there wasn’t anything that is going to be long, long-term. Right now it’s evaluating exactly what timeline we’re dealing with. He’s showing some progress (but) as far as availability in the near future, we’re not sure yet.”
After limping his way to the bench, Mobley was unable to go through second-half warmups and spent time with a member of the team’s training staff before retreating to the locker room and reemerging with a walking boot on his right leg.
Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) shoots the ball in the first half of the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.Ohio State has the benefit of a full week of rest before playing at Northwestern on Dec. 6 in the team’s Big Ten opener, and Mobley’s not the only player who could benefit from the rest. Senior center Christoph Tilly is still dealing with an unspecified lower-body injury that sidelined him for the second half of a blowout win against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 25, and although he played 31:42 against the Panthers he missed seven of his eight field goals and had three turnovers with no assists.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“He’s recovering,” Diebler said. “He clearly wasn’t 100%. Going into that game (at Pitt) we weren’t sure if he was going to be available. Even going into this game (against Northwestern). We’ve got some time we’re utilizing to try to get better. We just don’t know long-term for those guys yet.”
Mobley entered the Pitt game as Ohio State’s second-leading scorer at 16.8 points per game while Tilly was just behind at 16.2 and was second only to Bruce Thornton in assists with 22.
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at [email protected], on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How are Ohio State's Mobley, Tilly healing as Big Ten play looms?
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