At last, Ohio State gets an extended break from its road trips.
After seeing hostile environments for three of their last four contests, the Buckeyes return home for three straight games, starting Wednesday against Washington. With his team at 14-10 and on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Jake Diebler met with the media on Monday to discuss where his team is looking to improve.
Plenty of discussion centered on Ohio State's frontcourt, particularly after an injury to star forward Devin Royal, who went down with an injury in the first half of the team's loss at Nebraska. The coach updated his status and spoke on other areas his team is working on as February rolls forward.
“It’s just too early to tell. But I think (I’m) certainly optimistic and hopeful and prayerful that he'll be able to go. And again, he's a tough kid.”– Jake Diebler on Devin Royal's status for Wednesday
Diebler said that Royal was technically available in the second half against the Huskers, but he and the Buckeyes' staff made the decision to hold him out, even as the sophomore wanted to reenter. But that doesn't guarantee he'll play vs. Washington as trainers continue monitoring his progress.
“I don't want to just play fast to play fast. I want us to play with great intent. We talk all the time about pace with poise.”– Jake Diebler on playing with pace
While urgency and pace were big points of emphasis for Diebler entering his first season as Ohio State's head coach, the reality is that it's difficult to do all the time when stars like Bruce Thornton are playing north of 35 minutes regularly, as Diebler pointed out. But the coach still wants his team to play fast, and specifically wants them to generate more opportunities to push the pace with plays on defense.
“There's levels, certainly, but every Big Ten game is really like a rivalry game. You just have to fully embrace (that), even these four teams from the West Coast.”– Jake Diebler on the intensity of the Big Ten
While Diebler noted that the Michigan game will always be of another class when it comes to Ohio State's Big Ten rivals, he doesn't want any lesser attention on Washington despite its last-place standing in the conference. “This is a big game,” he added, and complimented the Huskies on their last three performances.
