The stakes of Ohio State’s Big Ten Tournament results are well-known.
Iowa
Hawkeyes
Multiple wins over tough opponents are required to give the Buckeyes a realistic shot at the NCAA Tournament. Interim head coach Jake Diebler could be vying for a bid for the full-time head coaching position, even if it’s not at the front of his mind.
As much as anything, however, Ohio State wants to capitalize on the incredible turnaround it has seen since its head coach was fired a month ago.
“We’ve talked openly about what’s at stake,” Diebler said. “We talked about that going into last game, and I think our guys, the leadership of this team have helped everyone keep the main thing the main thing though, and that is, ‘Focus on the next game.’ So none of that matters without us being prepared and giving our absolute best on Thursday.”
Entering the tourney on a four-game winning streak and winners of five of its last six games, Ohio State will lean on its depth and aggressive play style while trying to do a better job on the glass and in the turnover department.
“The depth of this team is a real strength,” Diebler said. “Whether that is brief segments or guys stepping up in a bigger way than they had anticipated going into a particular game. Our team has embraced that depth is a strength for us, but you’re also seeing that guys are playing so hard that they’re asking for breaks at times, and that’s a great place to be at as a team.”
Of Ohio State’s six non-starters who play a significant role for the team, four have seen an increase in minutes since Diebler took over.
Zed Key’s playing time has stayed relatively consistent as the team’s top bench big, playing 15 minutes per game under Diebler after going for 16 a contest under Holtmann. Dale Bonner has gone from 19 to 21 minutes per game. Scotty Middleton’s minutes per game have increased from 15 to 17. Taison Chatman’s playing time has gone from an average of one minute per game to four minutes per game after he missed the first four games of the season with injury. Devin Royal’s playing time has shot up from nine minutes per game to 16 minutes a contest.
Bowen Hardman has seen a decrease in action, going from three minutes to two per game, though his pre-Diebler playing time was boosted by 21 minutes in Holtmann’s final game at Wisconsin.
With their increased use, the Buckeyes’ bench players have seen a jump in production. Royal is perhaps the biggest example of that, going from 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game to 7.8 points and 2.7 boards per contest.
Even Chatman has hit his first few shots as a Buckeye, including a big three off the window while Ohio State’s last game at Rutgers was still in close contest.
“Taison’s banked three was a big shot, it was,” Diebler said. “You stay ready. There’s examples like that every game for multiple guys and that togetherness we have right now has set us up and positioned guys for – when it is time for them to go in – to have success.”
“The depth of this team is a real strength.”– Jake Diebler
Rolling depth will be important for trying to go on a tournament run, given Ohio State could play four days in a row if it makes it to the championship game.
“Our young guys, they’re not scared,” Diebler said. “They’re a confident group and we love that about them. But I think our guys are so focused on the task at hand right now that I don’t anticipate the moment being too big for anybody from one through 15.”
Most of the players key to Ohio State’s jaunt from the first round to the semifinals of last season's Big Ten Tournament – the first team in the conference ever to do so since it expanded to 14 teams – are back for this go-round. Star Brice Sensabaugh was out for the last two games of that tourney last year, giving others a chance to step into bigger roles.
| Round | Day | Time (ET) | TV | Possible Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second | Thursday | 6:30 p.m. | BTN | #7 Iowa |
| Quarterfinal | Friday | 6:30 p.m. | BTN | #2 Illinois |
| Semifinal | Saturday | 3:30 p.m. | CBS | #3 Nebraska, #6 Indiana, #11 Penn State |
| Final | Sunday | 3:30 p.m. | CBS | #1 Purdue, #4 Northwestern, #5 Wisconsin, #8 Michigan State, #9 Minnesota, #12 Maryland |
Bruce Thornton is back at point guard for the Buckeyes after racking up 15.5 points and 4.3 assists per game in wins over Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State before a loss to top-seeded Purdue in last year’s tournament. Last year’s run was a breakout sequence for this year’s starting shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr., as he averaged 14.7 points in the final three aforementioned contests after posting 3.7 points in the 32 games he played prior.
Felix Okpara remains the team’s starting center. Even Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle, starting at power forward this year, has three career Big Ten Tournament games under his belt across two seasons with the Gophers. He played at least 31 minutes in each and averaged 11 points.
“I think we have a core group of guys who know what to expect with the Big Ten Tournament, who have confidence in what they’re able to accomplish,” Diebler said. “All that’s valuable, certainly. Each season, each team is different. But our guys know what it feels like and what we’re capable of, certainly, and hopefully, we can build on that.”
Coming off a first-round bye, 10th-seeded Ohio State’s opponent for the second round on Thursday is seventh-seeded Iowa, a fellow team on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. With comparable résumés entering the conference tourney, their matchup could serve as a de facto eliminator for the field of 68.
Diebler pointed out that Iowa’s experienced its own run of late-season gains, winning four of its last six games. Star guard Payton Sandfort, the team’s leading scorer with 16.2 points per game, has picked up at least 23 points in each of the Hawkeyes' three most recent contests.
The Buckeyes fell to the Hawkeyes 79-77 in Iowa City on Feb. 2. Chances to win down the stretch of that game give his team confidence it can come out on top on a neutral court, Diebler said, but there will also be an element of revenge to the affair.
“They’re experiencing momentum, too,” Diebler said. “They didn’t win their last one but they’ve been playing well. Sandfort, he’s been really, really good. I think they have depth on the perimeter and in the interior, which gives them some versatility.
“They’re a really good team with a really good coach and we played them tough at their place, but I think we’re in a different place, they’re probably in a little bit of a different place. So we’ll lean on last game to pick some things up and evaluate that, we’ve already begun doing that and we’ll evaluate that further. But I think both these teams right now have a little of momentum, so it should make for a fun one on Thursday.”
Guard Tony Perkins picked up 20 points the last time out against Ohio State and is the team’s second-leading scorer on the season, averaging 14.5 points per game with a team-high 4.5 assists. Forwards Ben Krikke and Owen Freeman put up double-figure scoring numbers themselves and Freeman is the squad’s leading rebounder and shot-blocker with 6.5 boards and 1.8 swats per contest.
“Each season, each team is different. But our guys know what it feels like and what we’re capable of.”– Jake Diebler on his team's tournament experience
Iowa guard Josh Dix provides another deadly perimeter threat, shooting 44.1% from three this year. As a team, Iowa is 14th nationally with 83.1 points per game.
For both beating the Hawkeyes and going on a tear beyond that point, Dielber wants to see better rebounding and ball security from his bunch. The Buckeyes gave the ball away a combined 30 times in their last two tilts against Michigan and Rutgers and surrendered 21 total offensive rebounds.
“We have to continue to fight to be good on the glass, both sides of the ball,” Diebler said. “Those two areas are gonna be important. I like the aggressiveness we’ve played with on both sides. We’ve been more aggressive defensively, we’ve been able to get some turnovers ourselves, which has helped. ... But I would say us taking care of the ball, creating some turnovers and then rebounding.”
Should Ohio State make it past Iowa, it will face second-seeded No. 13 Illinois, who beat the Buckeyes 87-75 in Value City Arena earlier this year. Third-seeded Nebraska will be next if the Huskers beat either Indiana or Penn State, and a win there plants OSU in the Big Ten title game.
“It’s March Madness, anything can happen,” Diebler said. “This is the beauty of this tournament, and as a program, we’ve had a couple nice runs here in the last few years.”
Ohio State tips off with Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
