Jamison Battle on Ohio State's win vs. Nebraska: 'March is near'

The Ohio State basketball team has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence ever since they fired former head coach Chris Holtmann and replaced him with interim head coach Jon Diebler. They stayed hot on Thursday night, handling a Nebraska team that’s trying to make their way into the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Buckeyes won 78-69 in slowing down the Huskers, a team that had rattled off four straight wins before Thursday.

Ohio State forward Jamison Battle on the big win

Jamison Battle poured in a career-high 32 points in propelling Ohio State to the win on Thursday. Following the game, he spoke with the broadcast crew from FS1. He came out scorching hot, scoring his team’s first 11 points.

What was his focus coming into the game?

“Man, I think, you know, March is near. That was a thing for us. March is near. And we know what’s at stake for us and we know what we have to do in order to keep playing. And I think that’s big for us making sure that we control our own destiny,” the Ohio State star said.

Battle played 39 minutes and along with his 30-plus points, he stuffed the stat sheet with four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

“And that’s the mentality that we have. It’s the mantra that we’re going with. And obviously, without our leader, Bruce [Thornton]. You know, we had to pick it up, just because, you know, I felt like those guys picked it up for me back at Michigan State. So, I had to return the favor,” Battle continued.

Following the coaching change, what’s been the mentality and mindset in Ohio State’s locker room that has fueled the Buckeyes’ resurgence?

“Yeah, I’d say we’re just rallying together as a team. Understanding the adversity we were facing obviously with Coach Holtmann being moved on. But I think that’s just the thing for us is that adversity’s always gonna be there. It’s just how we respond to adversity. Do we respond? It’s just going out and playing hard every day,” Battle said.

Under Diebler’s watch as the interim head coach, the Buckeyes have won three of their last four games, with one of those being a stunning 73-69 victory over then No. 2 Purdue.

“And I think there for us in shootaround, in walk through, whatever it may be. There’s a sense of urgency for us because of the year. Like I talked about it. We control our own fate. We control our own destiny. I’m sure the guys in that locker room. We don’t wanna go home yet. So, we’ve got two games left. We’re not looking too far ahead but we’re just trying to go day by day. Brick by brick. And we’re just trying to grind it out the rest of the season,” Battle finished.

Ohio State will finish their regular season with games against Michigan (March 3rd) and Rutgers (March 10th). The Big Ten Tournament will then take place on March 13th-March 17th.