Jake Diebler believes Ohio State "absolutely" deserves to be in the NCAA Tournament conversation as the Big Ten Tournament opens this week.
The Buckeyes' resume is probably going to need bolstering by a couple more wins to truly enter that discussion, but with the confidence he's seen from his players, Diebler believes OSU has a good chance to get that done, too.
In the Big Ten Tournament, the 10th-seeded Buckeyes will face seventh-seeded Iowa in the second round on Thursday, hoping to grab a win over the Hawkeyes and advance to the quarterfinals. Should they advance, they'll meet second-seeded No. 13 Illinois.
Ohio State enters the postseason on a four-game winning streak and winners of five of its six games since interim head coach Jake Diebler took leadership of the team. Most recently the Buckeyes trounced Rutgers on the road 73-51, holding the Scarlet Knights under 30% shooting.
Before the Buckeyes’ trip to Minneapolis, Diebler met with media at Ohio State on Monday to discuss his outlook on the conference tourney, NCAA Tournament chances and what areas OSU can still stand to improve on.
- On what Ohio State can take from last year's Big Ten Tournament run: "We have a core group of guys who know what to expect ... who have confidence in what they're able to accomplish. ... I told our guys last night, I was really proud, I don't think anyone anticipated us positioning ourselves with a bye. ... It's March Madness, anything can happen."
- "We're excited, and our guys are confident right now. I think that confidence is the most important piece."
- Another reason Diebler has faith in the Buckeyes to find success is the off-court approach of his players. "The leaders of our team have really raised their voice throughout the last few weeks, and I think that's been a big ingredient. ... Our guys are so focused on the task at hand right now, I don't anticipate the moment being too big for anybody."
- Thoughts on Iowa: "They're experiencing momentum too. ... (Payton) Sandfort, he's been really, really good. They have depth on the perimeter and depth on the interior, which gives them some versatility. ... They're a really good team with a really good coach. ... Both teams have some momentum."
- Diebler said that Ohio State and Iowa are both different teams now, but keeping things tight on the road with the Hawkeyes earlier this season should provide some more confidence."The idea that we had the ball with a chance to win it in their gym, that is something that we'll absolutely reflect on. ... An element of this game is that it's a payback game."
- The Buckeyes have had 30 combined turnovers the last two games, but did only cough it up six times in the second half at Rutgers: "Going back and watching, I didn't feel like we had as many empty or careless turnovers as we did against the Team Up North. ... With Rutgers, that's what they do. ... There were some things that were self-inflicted from a turnover standpoint. ... I thought we made a great adjustment."
- On where else the Buckeyes need to improve: "We have to continue to fight to be good on the glass, both sides of the ball. Those areas are going to be important. I like the aggressiveness we've played with on both sides. ... Us taking care of the ball, creating turnovers and then rebounding."
- One of the biggest catalysts during Ohio State's four-game winning streak remains the coaches surrounding Diebler, he said. "Our staff deserves a ton of credit, not just for the improvement defensively, but for how the last few weeks have gone."
- On why momentum is important this time of year: "I think it's important because it gives you a chance to play your best. ... We're trying to hold onto it as best we can. ... I told our guys too, 'We haven't played our best yet.' And we're still striving to put longer stretches together."
- Diebler was pleased with how his team maintained its attention to detail and aggression on defense regardless of how things were going on the offensive end against Rutgers. "The biggest fear I had is, when we had some offensive lulls, because they've done that to a lot of teams, how would that affect our defense?"
- Diebler said that they've tried to keep things as similar as possible from a staff structure standpoint, but the team has "bumped up" Terence Dials to more of an on-court coaching role. They've also adjusted how play calling is structured, leaning more on Mike Netti.
- On support from the athletic department entering the Big Ten Tournament: "From the day everything happened, there's been unbelievable support, and people have circled around this program to keep it moving forward. Gene's kind of been a leader in that." Diebler said that the administration has also been great from a logistics perspective.
- On whether Ohio State deserves to be in the NCAA Tournament conversation: "Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm no expert on all the metrics that go into making that decision, but I think a couple of our top wins would stack up against anyone in the country. ... Also, the momentum that we have and the way we've been playing. ... But absolutely, we deserve to be in the conversation."
- Diebler said that he still gets nervous before every game. "I would imagine that will always be the case. ... I think that stems from how much I care, how competitive I am, how much I care about this game."
