Jake Diebler, Jamison Battle praise Ohio State after advancing in Big Ten Tournament

Ohio State was 4-10 in conference play this season when the school opted to fire head coach Chris Holtmann. Interim head coach Jake Diebler made history in his first game at the helm, knocking off No. 2 Purdue.

Diebler didn’t stop there. Since taking over, Diebler has led the Buckeyes to a 7-1 record, most recently defeating Iowa in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Despite Diebler’s storybook run, he refuses to take the credit for Ohio State’s turnaround.

“It’s not me. We are 6-1,” Diebler said after OSU’s win over Iowa. “I’m so happy for Coach Holtmann. So happy for him, and he’s gonna do great. He’s a great coach. But listen, our guys have come together. They’ve battled. We’ve raised our toughness and our togetherness, and that’s been the biggest difference.”

Ohio State’s togetherness was on full display on Thursday night. In the 90-78 win over the Hawkeyes, OSU shot 31-60 (51.7%) from the field and 11-20 (55%) from beyond the arc.

Jamison Battle knows what he’s fighting for

With the triumph, OSU is on the edge of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State fifth-year senior Jamison Battle isn’t letting his team forget how vital every remaining game is.

“We know what’s at stake,” Battle said. “We know how we started Big Ten play and just understanding that it wasn’t up to our standards, and understanding how talented of a team we have and how much we just want to win. I think it’s showing this last stretch of games where we don’t want to go home. And it’s just got to continue.

“It’s everything we got. We’re playing for our live right now. We’re playing for our lives. We’re playing for our season right now. We understand that. But, it’s just taking it day by day and understanding that we have to hone in on what we have to do and the rest will take care of itself.”

Battle tallied a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds against Iowa. All 23 of his points came in the second half. OSU can’t afford a slow start from its star player next game. On Friday, the Buckeyes will square off against No. 2 seed Illinois at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Ohio State lost 87-75 when it faced off against the Fighting Illini earlier this season. Diebler believes his team is ready for their chance at revenge.

“We’re a different team absolutely,” Diebler said. “But, they’re a really good team. We got to go get some rest, recover, Finish the prep. We’ll get ready. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”