It’s never too early to look at what’s to come. Over the next few weeks, we will give you a peek at what is ahead for teams in the Power 5 conferences and some other teams expected to be players on the national scene. Next up: Ohio State Buckeyes.

Thad Matta's youngest team in his 12-year tenure at Ohio State produced the kind of inconsistent results expected from a team with little experience. The Buckeyes were just 2-8 against teams with winning records in the Big Ten. Their intensity on the road often dipped, as evidenced by double-digit defeats in all of their road losses. That included a 100-65 beatdown at Maryland, which holds the dubious honor of the worst loss under Matta.

Overall, it seemed like the perfect metaphor for the Buckeyes’ season was Jae'Sean Tate's ill-timed floor slap against Nebraska. (While Tate was busy slapping the floor three times successively on defense, Nebraska’s Tai Webster drove right past him and was fouled in the act of shooting.) This was a team that was just too immature to get it right.

Every now and again, though, the Buckeyes showed flashes of their potential. They rode a three-game losing streak into their matchup against No. 10 Virginia, yet nearly pulled off an upset before falling 64-58. They exposed No. 4 Kentucky 74-67 in a game they led for 35 minutes for their first win over a ranked team.

Ohio State missed the NCAA tournament for just the third time under Matta. When it happened in 2005, it was his first year at the helm. In 2008, it was the season after Greg Oden and Mike Conley became the Buckeyes’ first one-and-dones.

The hope in Columbus, Ohio, is that last season’s ups and downs will lead to a much smoother ride in 2016-17. So far in the offseason, it hasn’t been that way.

Ohio State did not have any seniors, but not everyone returns next season. Matta signed a five-man class to Ohio State in 2015 that ranked ninth by Recruiting Nation for its combination of inside-outside balance. Shooting guard Austin Grandstaff, the highest-rated player of the bunch at No. 50 in the ESPN 100, didn’t make it to the new year. He decided he wanted to transfer in the middle of December. The mass exodus happened after the season when the team’s leading shot blocker Daniel Giddens decided he would leave and A.J. Harris and Mickey Mitchell announced that they would follow.

JaQuan Lyle is the lone remaining player from the class, which is ironic considering he wasn’t even supposed to be in Columbus. Lyle originally committed to Louisville before signing in 2014 with Oregon. He was denied admission and spent a year in prep school before redirecting to Ohio State.

Lyle, a 6-foot-5 guard, will be one of the Buckeyes’ building blocks next season. He recorded the fifth triple-double in program history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against Rutgers. He was ninth in the Big Ten with 4.2 assists per game, which was second among the league’s freshmen to Rutgers’ Corey Sanders. Lyle will have to cut down on turnovers, as he averaged nearly three per game.

Forward Marc Loving, the lone rising senior on the roster, looks to continue from where he finished last season. Loving led the team in scoring with a 14.0 average, but was particularly strong in the final seven games of the season averaging 19.4 points over that stretch.

Guard Kam Williams finished behind Loving in made 3-pointers, but led the team by shooting 43.7 percent from behind the arc. Williams could see his role and minutes increase with the departure of Harris.

The player transfers will hurt the Buckeyes’ frontcourt depth the most, and fortunately for them Trevor Thompson didn’t add to it by leaving for the draft. The 6-foot-11 center, who averaged just 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, took advantage of the new NCAA rules and declared for the NBA draft in order to get feedback. The former Virginia Tech transfer will return for his junior year, but will need to do a better job staying out of foul trouble in order to have any sort of impact.

The Buckeyes played best last season when they played small as 6-foot-7 forward Keita Bates-Diop and Tate, a 6-foot-4 guard, both led the team with an average of 6.4 rebounds. They should get help from their incoming freshman class. Derek Funderburk, a 6-foot-9 forward, will need to add strength to his 210-pound frame, but he’ll bring athleticism to the post. Micah Potter, at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, has the range to step outside the 3-point line, but he’s won’t camp out on the perimeter. He’s equally as adept at scoring in the post.

Ohio State returns its top six scorers next season and likely won't have to rely on any freshmen in the starting lineup. Inexperience should no longer be an issue for Matta as the Buckeyes look to return to the NCAA tournament.