It hasn't been a perfect season for Ohio State basketball, but the Buckeyes are positioned to secure an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in three years as March rolls on.
That’s progress in the eyes of Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork. During a radio appearance on 97.1 the Fan on Thursday, Bjork backed coach Jake Diebler.
"Jake's doing a great job and really meeting our expectations," Bjork said. "And now we just need to win those games that we were close on. And we know we can do it moving forward."
Ohio State is projected to make the NCAA Tournament by most experts after wins at USC and against Nebraska this past week. The Buckeyes need to add a little more to their résumé to secure that berth, whether that's another Quad 1 win at Indiana on Saturday or a Big Ten Tournament run, but OSU was well removed from Big Dance discussion at this time in 2023 and 2024.
There have been some missed opportunities and setbacks. Ohio State has lost five one-score games and got blown out at home by Northwestern. But Bjork appreciates the character of Diebler's program in year one.
"We're in the mix, right? And that's what we said," Bjork said. "We got to be in the mix. Now, could we have won some games that we had the lead in the last couple minutes and things like that? So there's things that Jake is learning. But what I love is the passion, the energy, the connectivity with our players."
Bjork also noted how Diebler has responded to adversity throughout the season. Transfer guard Meechie Johnson Jr., a planned starter, has been on a leave of absence from the team since December. Center Aaron Bradshaw also missed time due to a university investigation and later for an illness. Several other players also battled illness during the Buckeyes’ three-game losing streak that was snapped with the USC win.
But whether it was the latest pair of back-to-back airtight victories or responding to a three-game January losing streak with wins in four of their next five games – including upsets of ranked Purdue and Maryland teams – the Buckeyes have answered adversity all year.
"We haven't had a full roster the whole season," Bjork said. "Somebody could probably do an analysis of how many games have we had a full roster. Meechie has been out the whole year. Aaron Bradshaw has been in and out of the lineup. We've had other guys kind of dinged up and nicked up. So once we have a full complement of this roster, once we engage in recruiting at a higher level, which Jake and the staff are doing, to me, sky is the limit for this program."
Ohio State concludes its regular season at Indiana on Saturday. Tipoff is at 3:45 p.m. on CBS.
