"I am surprised at the timing": Chris Holtmann's firing causes whirlwind in CBB world with analysts making Ohio State's benchmark known 

Basketball analysts were stunned by Ohio State's decision to fire head coach Chris Holtmann on Wednesday.

CBS Sports College Basketball insider Jon Rothstein was surprised at the timing of Holtmann's firing, as it was in the middle of his seventh season with the program.

CBS sports writer Kyle Boone cited the looming leadership change within the Ohio State program, with athletic director Gene Smith retiring after the 2023-24 academic year.

Ross Bjork will replace Smith in the next academic year. Boone indicated that Bjork might replace Holtmann due to his lackluster record in the past two seasons.

Big Ten/SEC trending reporter for the USA Today Network Craig Meyer cited the Buckeyes' decline under Holtmann that caused Ohio State to pull the trigger.

Holtmann guided the Buckeyes to a 137-86 win-loss record during his tenure. His coaching record was second-best in the school behind Ohio State great Thad Matta.

Before the firing, the Buckeyes (14-11) are 13th in the Big Ten Conference with a 4-10 record. Since 2022-23, they went 30-30 and 9-25 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is on its way to duplicating its 13th-place finish in the conference in 2022-23.

Ohio State v Iowa

'High' standards led to Chris Holtmann's firing

The school later confirmed Holtmann's firing, with Smith emphasizing the high standards set by the school in terms of sports:

"Nothing's changed. All of our programs have the same standard. The standard for men's basketball is the same. Be in the hunt. Periodically win the (Big Ten) championship," Smith said.

The Buckeyes made it to 11 Final Fours, sixth among Division I programs. Since 1960, Ohio State has won 14 Big Ten regular season championships and took home the 1960 national championship with greats Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek leading the team.

A leadership change was seemingly needed to meet the school's standards in sports, particularly men's basketball, and Holtmann did not meet the high bar set on coaches.

The firing could motivate the Buckeyes or destroy them moving forward. Their next game is on Saturday against No. 2 Purdue. Interim coach Jake Diebler will assume head coaching responsibilities for the remainder of the season.

Holtmann had four years remaining in his contract and due to this, Ohio State owes the coach $12.8 million.

Did Ohio State make the right decision to fire Chris Holtmann as its men's basketball coach? Let us know in the comments section.