Ohio State AD Addresses MBB Coach Jake Diebler's Job Status With Buckeyes on Bubble

Ohio State kept it in the family last year, after firing men's basketball coach Chris Holtmann in February. Jake Diebler, an Ohio State assistant since 2019 and brother of former Buckeyes standout Jon Diebler, was elevated to the interim coach role after Holtmann's dismissal, and ultimately earned the full-time job after navigating the program to an 8–3 finish and NIT berth.

Things have not gone so smoothly for Diebler in his first full season leading Ohio State, however. The Buckeyes are just 17–13 with a 9–10 record in the rugged Big Ten, placing them firmly on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. Their performance in the upcoming Big Ten tournament may prove crucial if they want to go dancing.

Athletic director Ross Bjork isn't concerned about Diebler's performance, saying that the 38-year-old coach is "doing a great job and really meeting our expectations" during a radio appearance on 97.1 The Fan Thursday.

"And now we just need to win those games that we were close on," he continued. "And we know we can do it moving forward."

The Buckeyes have solid wins over teams like Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and Maryland this season, but are 6–10 against Quad 1 opponents and 3–3 against Quad 2 foes. They're 4–4 in games decided by a single possession this season.

In his Thursday bracket watch update, Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney has Ohio State as one of the last four teams in the NCAA tournament field.

"We're in the mix, right? And that's what we said," Bjork continued. "We got to be in the mix. Now, could we have won some games that we had the lead in the last couple minutes and things like that? So there's things that Jake is learning. But what I love is the passion, the energy, the connectivity with our players.

"We haven't had a full roster the whole season. Somebody could probably do an analysis of how many games have we had a full roster. Meechie [Johnson] has been out the whole year. Aaron Bradshaw's been in and out of the lineup. We've had other guys kind of dinged up and nicked up. So once we have a full complement of this roster, once we engage in recruiting at a higher level, which Jake and the staff are doing, to me, sky is the limit for this program."

Johnson, who averaged over 14 points per game last year, has appeared in just 10 games, missing time on what the program has called a leave of absence. He last played in December against Auburn. Bradshaw missed time as the school investigated an alleged domestic incident at his off-campus apartment, and later dealt with an illness. Only three Buckeyes players—guards Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Evan Mahaffey—have played in all 30 of the teams games.

Ohio State can help itself in Saturday's regular season finale at Indiana, another potential Quad 1 or 2 win and a head-to-head matchup with a fellow bubble program. The game at Assembly Hall tips at 3:45 p.m. ET.