Ohio State is expected to promote interim head coach Jake Diebler to the full-time position, sources told ESPN on Saturday night.
Diebler replaced Chris Holtmann in mid-February after the seventh-year head coach was fired following a 4-10 start in Big Ten play. In his first game as interim head coach, Diebler led Ohio State to a 73-69 victory over then-No. 2 Purdue.
The Buckeyes finished 6-2 after Diebler took over, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before narrowly losing Friday night to Illinois, 77-74. They got into the NCAA tournament bubble with regular season wins over the Boilermakers, Michigan State and Nebraska and then a conference tournament win over Iowa.
Diebler joined Holtmann's staff in 2019 after spending three years under Bryce Drew at Vanderbilt. The older brother of former Ohio State guard Jon Diebler, who left the Buckeyes as the Big Ten's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (he has since been surpassed by Iowa's Jordan Bohannon), his first stint in Columbus was as coordinator of video. on Thad Matta's staff from 2014 to 2016.
Diebler also spent time as Drew's assistant coach at Valparaiso, where he played his college baseball. He averaged 5.1 points in 116 games as a Valpo player.
Unless there is an upset on Selection Sunday, Ohio State will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Buckeyes haven't been out of the tournament's opening weekend since 2013, when Matta led them to the Elite Eight. Diebler's first task will be to find some level of continuity on the roster as the NCAA transfer portal opens on Monday.
