Revenge is a dish best served cold, but when it comes to that narrative of Ohio State’s rematch with Iowa in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament, the frigid emotion felt is indifference.
When it comes to getting motivated to play in the conference tourney, the postseason stakes themselves are all that’s needed to get the Buckeyes going.
“I don't know that you can manufacture any more motivation than what we already have playing in the Big Ten Tournament,” Jake Diebler said on Wednesday. “I think where our guys are at, their focus, it's hard. There's no real coach speak, that kind of strategy that you got to trick them into playing tougher and harder. Our guys are playing really tough. They're playing really hard. They're playing together. It doesn't matter who we go up against or, really, what the outcome was against them earlier in the year.
“We certainly remember that game, and we'll reference that game, but we'll reference it from a standpoint of, ‘Hey, these are the things that we didn't do well enough that we got to do better. These are areas we can maybe exploit them.’ And things like that. This team doesn't need any extra motivation.”
Ohio State is riding into the Big Ten Tournament with more momentum than it has held at any point this season, with an NCAA Tournament berth all but secured after a three-game winning streak to close its regular season. The Hawkeyes embarrassed the Buckeyes on Feb. 25 to spur that victorious tear. A loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament also ended Ohio State's 2024-25 campaign.
But none of that will change the approach that’s yielded such great late-season results for Diebler’s squad.
“We know it's postseason time,” Diebler said. “There's going to be a champion crowned at the end of this week and stuff. But how we get there, we feel, for this group is to just focus one day at a time.”
“This team doesn't need any extra motivation.”– Jake Diebler on whether Ohio State is hungry for BTT revenge against Iowa
The final 35 minutes of basketball between the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes were a disasterclass for Ohio State.
It leapt out to a 14-2 lead in Iowa City through the first five minutes, then immediately yielded an extended 31-4 run for a 33-16 deficit that proved plenty decisive. The Hawkeyes carried a 37-23 lead into halftime and led by double-digits for the remainder of a 74-57 victory. Iowa shot 57.4% from the field while Ohio State shot just 41.9%, a difference of 15.5% that is the Buckeyes’ worst field-goal shooting margin of the season. It’s also the highest percentage they’ve allowed an opponent to shoot.
Ohio State has a healthier lineup this time around. Starting center Christoph Tilly missed that game with a lower-body injury. Star guard John Mobley Jr. had just returned from a broken finger, though he did shoot 3-of-4 from 3-point range in a 15-point outing. Forward Devin Royal had just returned from an illness that affected a few other players.
Not only is that trio back to as near 100 percent as possible this late in the season, but two bench players that have been out for the Buckeyes could also return in the Big Ten Tournament: Wing Puff Johnson and forward Brandon Noel.
“For the first time really all season, we had every single player warm up this week,” Diebler said. “So that was that was nice. We joked about that as a team. It was really crowded in warm-ups, which is a good sign. We were able to get Puff and Brandon in some reps in practice. A lot's going to depend on how things look today as far as what (the game) looks like for those guys. But they were limited a little bit and we're trending in the right direction with guys.”
Diebler added that for Noel, who’s been out since the first week of January with a foot injury, any potential return in the Big Ten Tournament won’t be in as big a role as when he served as Ohio State’s sixth man before his injury. The team doesn’t want to mess with the rhythm it’s found or lean on a player sidelined for two months for extended minutes. But all depth is welcome for the Buckeyes.
Forward Brandon Noel could make his return for Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Beyond the health of its roster, Ohio State’s efficiency on both offense and defense has been dynamite since it faced Iowa the first time. It outshot its opponents by 5% or more in the three contests that followed.
“We started playing better defensively,” Diebler said. “Even, I think you can go back and reference the Michigan State game (on Feb. 22). And so we've been trending in a positive direction analytically, really in spite of missing really important players in multiple games. I think that combined with, we've practiced in a way to get better as the year went on, which is important.”
Ohio State’s loss to Iowa put its back against the wall for an NCAA Tournament bid, and it responded with an upset win over Purdue to get back on the right side of the bubble, then cemented that standing with victories over Penn State and Indiana. The Buckeyes have been playing in critical contests for roughly two months now, with many other must-win games for postseason ambitions along the way. That experience is helpful entering the Big Ten tourney.
“I don't think this team is rattled by the moment,” Diebler said. “I think we've proven that. I think being healthy has helped. But what's helped probably even in a bigger way is this team's connection and chemistry, the maturity of this team and the basketball IQ, which I talked about before the season, that's allowed us to make adjustments and tweaks. Not only as the year has progressed, but even to some degree game to game. And I think we're in a rhythm where guys are really trusting each other.”
Regardless of what’s happened before, Ohio State is sticking with the methods that have worked on its three-game hot streak. Perhaps it can spark a run in the Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff between the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes is at noon Thursday on Big Ten Network.
“We have to approach this the same way because that's been successful for us,” Diebler said. “That's what's helped us play our best ball. And we can't change now. We can't change that. So I don't want our guys to feel anything different. I want us to keep going out and approaching these games the right way with tremendous fight, playing together and having that connection that we've seen on both sides of the ball. And, I think if we do that, the rest takes care of itself.”
The winner between Ohio State and Iowa will face No. 1 seed Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Friday.
