To that end, Holtmann held a revote for Ohio State's captains over the last few days. Justice Sueing, Zed Key and Isaac Likekele began the year as the three captains for the Buckeye basketball team, but Holtmann said Monday that freshman guard Bruce Thornton now officially has that status following the recent vote.

"I just wanted our guys to have a say in revoting for the leadership on the team. And I just thought it was a good time to do it," Holtmann said. "And they revoted and he got the significant number of votes. First time we've really had a freshman do that. Typically we do it earlier in the year and it's just once on the year. But I just think with such a new group, it was important to do it again."

Holtmann didn't make it clear whether or not any of the previous captains lost their title following the vote.

"I would certainly not share that publicly. But I don't mind you asking," Holtmann said. "But not gonna put our players on blast if that were to happen. So no, it happened just a couple days ago."

As for the state of the team in general, Holtmann said he remains positive that Ohio State will see results if it can make the necessary improvements in short order.

"I think if you focus your thoughts too much on what has happened or what's ahead of us or what's next, I think that can be overwhelming for everybody. I think we have to focus on the work," Holtmann said. "And there's optimism if we focus on the work that ultimately, if we show improvement, that there'll be dividends that will be paid."

Ohio State takes on Northwestern on Thursday in a rematch of the Buckeyes' 73-57 win over the Wildcats on Jan. 1. The contest tips off at 8 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center, and you can check out Holtmann's thoughts on the matchup in the video above.