Ohio State John Mobley Jr. out indefinitely with right hand injury
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Feb. 14, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET
- Ohio State’s second-leading scorer, John Mobley Jr., will miss time after undergoing hand surgery.
- The sophomore guard is averaging 15.1 points per game and is the team’s best three-point shooter.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ohio State will be short-handed as it takes on No. 15 Virginia on Feb. 14.
Sophomore guard John Mobley Jr., the second-leading scorer for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, will miss at least a week after undergoing surgery on his right, shooting hand for an injury suffered in the Buckeyes’ 89-82 win against USC on Feb. 11. In 24 games – all starts – Mobley is averaging 15.1 points per game while shooting 40.0% from 3-point range, the best mark for anyone on the team with more than 30 attempts.
Senior guard Bruce Thornton is the only other player to start the first 24 games of the season for the Buckeyes, who have been playing without opening-game starter Brandon Noel since he suffered a foot injury during a Jan. 5 home loss to No. 10 Nebraska.
Mobley injured his hand early in the second half of the USC game. After turning the ball over on a drive from the left corner, Mobley came back up the court, swiped at a ball and then backed away from the play while holding his right hand away from his body.
He subbed out of the game with 17:24 to play and received treatment on what appeared to be his right pinky finger. The television broadcast on the Big Ten Network showed him flexing his hand while under the supervision of the team’s training staff before returning to the game with 13:22 remaining. When he subbed back in, Mobley had his right pinky and index fingers taped.
The only two 3-pointers Mobley hit during the game were after that. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting but was 2 for 4 after the injury.
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler was asked after the win against the Trojans how Mobley’s hand was doing.
“Better, because he hit those 3s after that,” he said. “We’ll see. We haven’t talked about his hand yet.”
In a release, Ohio State noted that Mobley is out indefinitely but that he is expected to return this season. As they fight to get to the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Buckeyes will host Wisconsin on Feb. 17 before going to Michigan State on Feb. 22 and Iowa on Feb. 25.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
