Coach Fred Taylor started two sophomores at the beginning of the season, Lucas and Mel Nowell, with returnees Joe Roberts, Larry Siegfried and Dick Furry. An injury to Furry got Havlicek inserted into that first game, and he started thereafter. In this era, freshman could not play varsity college basketball. The recruiting class of Lucas, Nowell, Havlicek, Knight, and Gary Gearhart were not eligible to lead the Buckeyes until 1959–60. This was their first college season of play as the game is considered today. The 1959–60 team posted the best shooting, highest-scoring team in college basketball that season at over 90 points per game. The key to the attack was the rebounding and outlet passing of Lucas. The other four athletes routinely overwhelmed opponents with fast break baskets. In 1960, this kind of offensive play was then the cutting edge of the game, and a big reason why all five starters were later drafted into the
NBA. There were only eight NBA teams at this time, so this was not an easy feat. Lucas shot a then-record 63% from the floor that season in an era when some college starters commonly shot 35% from the floor. More than just a consistent rebounder, he also had an above average shooting eye for the time from as far out as 25 feet. While the statistic was not well-kept then, Lucas likely led this team in assists, at 5–6 per game by being a consistent passer. He came very close to leading the country in both individual scoring and rebounding as well as shooting. The Bucks also had a notable backcourt at the time in Siegfried and Nowell. Siegfried was then rated very highly as an all-around guard at both ends of the court. With Havlicek, he looked to contribute to the team's offense with his hustling defense, Siegfried became active this season in this area as well. Nowell had one-on-one playground skills that were well-developed and effective immediately that season. With three sophomores now starting, Ohio State did have two early-season losses to
Utah and
Kentucky, but then clicked through the rest of the schedule. A late-season loss to Indiana came after they had clinched the Big Ten. The Buckeyes steamrolled through the NCAA tournament by an average of 19.5 points a game, dusting off defending national champion
California 75–55 in the final behind two future NBA stars, Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek, two excellent guards in Larry Siegfried and Mel Nowell and a defensive work ethic that limited opponents to .388 shooting over the course of the season. The team was also very well-coached. After Hall-of-Famer Taylor, Graf had coached at
Harvard and was very strong on defense. Truitt later led as a college coach at several NCAA schools. ==NCAA basketball tournament==