Every game is pivotal right now for Ohio State. Thursday's tilt with Northwestern is no exception.
The Wildcats are fighting just to make the 15-team Big Ten Tournament, currently 17th in the conference with a 13-13 record overall and a 4-11 mark in conference play. But with a Quad 2 opportunity to boost or harm the Buckeyes' NCAA Tournament résumé, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler is taking nothing for granted, even as Northwestern is without injured star guard Brooks Barnhizer.
Diebler started his press conference with something beyond sport, however. Ohio State's coaches wore shoes decorated by cancer patients for Coaches vs. Cancer from Jan. 27 through Feb. 2. Diebler shared that the young woman who designed his, Charlotte Bauer – known by most as Charley – passed away at the age of 21 on Sunday.
“This time of year, things get moving so fast. When you're dealt information like that, it really forces you to take a second to pause and reflect and it's forced me to reflect on the honor it was to wear those (shoes). ... To hear even more of her story, the courage and the bravery that she showed – I don't know. That's something that I've been thinking about.”– Jake Diebler on the passing of Charley Bauer
Diebler added that, in his interactions with Bauer and the stories he heard about her, she still expressed great joy despite her circumstances. He encouraged those who can to support cancer charities like Nationwide Children's Hospital, where Bauer was a patient.
“Throw wins and losses out of the window. You really look at their games and it has been down to the wire in multiple games. ... This is gonna be a big-time Big Ten game.”– Jake Diebler on Northwestern
Northwestern has lost six of its last seven games, but its most recent three-game losing streak has all been by six points or less, to Diebler's point. Forward Nick Martinelli is still a major threat for the Wildcats, averaging 19.8 points per game. It won't be a do-or-die game for the Buckeyes' NCAA Tournament chances, but a loss takes Ohio State from a great spot to potentially an uphill climb.
“The big issue with our rebounding is we put ourselves in rotation at times where we didn't need to, where we just needed to communicate better. It would have kept us out of rotation so then we had a bigger guy boxing out bigs.”– Jake Diebler on Ohio State's rebounding issues vs. Michigan
Michigan's two 7-1 forwards created massive issues on the glass in Ohio State's 86-83 loss to the Wolverines on Sunday. Michigan held a 46-31 advantage on the glass with 19 offensive rebounds, but beyond the pure size, Diebler said the Buckeyes need to do a better job communicating defensively so they aren't caught with rebounding mismatches as defenders switch who they're guarding.
