ESPN college basketball insider connected Ohio State to a Jake Diebler replacement ahead of the Buckeyes falling to Iowa on the road
Ohio State basketball is in a tough spot and on the edge of missing the tournament once again. As a result, Jake Diebler has to be on the hot seat.
Wednesday night was a huge opportunity for the Ohio State Buckeyes to pick up a Quad 1 win on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Despite getting off to a 14-2 lead early on, Ohio State was blown out by a score of 74-57 and Iowa controlled things the majority of the game.
Ohio State is now 17-11 on the season and its chances at reaching the NCAA Tournament are just barely hanging on. The Buckeyes are on track to miss the postseason for a fourth straight season, which would be the entire career of Bruce Thornton.
Thornton was held to just 10 points on Wednesday night and nothing was working for the Buckeye. Devin Royal returned to action with 16 points, but the Buckeyes looked outmatched on the road.
Jake Diebler is on the hot seat, here is a potential replacement for the Buckeyes
Ohio State hired Diebler after his interim head coach run went well a couple of years ago and he’s 42-29 since being put in charge. If Ohio State falls flat on its face the last couple of weeks of the season as it did on Wednesday night, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Diebler is out.
“It’s only two years into Jake Diebler’s tenure in Columbus, but the Buckeyes are squarely on the cutline for the NCAA tournament. If they don’t hear their name on Selection Sunday, that will be two years without a tournament appearance for Diebler, four years for the program as a whole,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote on Wednesday.
“The latest word out of Columbus is that he’s probably safe for another season, but that could depend on what happens over the next three weeks. The school would be on the hook for just over $3 million.”
The Buckeyes have regular-season games left against Purdue, Penn State, and Indiana before the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State needs a huge win on Sunday to upset the Boilermakers, and they can’t fall to Indiana, which is another team on the bubble.
ESPN’s Borzello has named Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger as a potential name to pay attention to. Otzelberger has been the head coach of the Cyclones since 2021, and previously was the head coach at UNLV. Otzelberger and the Cyclones are 24-4 this season and haven’t lost more than 10 games in a season since Iowa State was 19-14 in 2022-2023.
“Otzelberger has established himself as one of the elite coaches in college basketball, and he signed a new contract in December 2024 with a restructured buyout that makes him potentially attainable. If Ohio State were to open, there’s reason to believe the Buckeyes would look to gauge Otzelberger’s interest. That said, he’s happy in Ames, with no signs of him itching to leave, and he has a great relationship with Cyclones athletic director Jamie Pollard.”
It’s make or break time for the Buckeyes and the same should be said about Diebler’s time in Columbus. Wednesday night on the road just couldn’t happen for a team fight to make the tournament
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