Buzz Williams reveals how much of last year's Ohio State team he is studying

Texas A&M will host the back end of a home-and-home series with Ohio State Friday night. Buzz Williams remains the Aggies head coach but somebody new is leading the Buckeyes. Chris Holtmann was fired mid-season last year and Jake Diebler took over. Diebler was then given the full-time job and now runs the program.

Not too much tape of Diebler’s time as a head coach is out there for Texas A&M to study. Usually, a coach could look at last year’s matchup and attempt to learn from that. However, the coaching change could result in different looks.

Williams admitted when studying for the game, he would only be watching games Diebler was in charge as the interim and then Ohio State’s two contests early in ’24-25.

“We’ve really tried to concentrate on those 13 games,” Williams said. “I think anytime you get put in a spot like that as a coach, it’s hard to know if you completely throw everything away that you were doing in February. Completely different team.”

Those 13 games have resulted in a ton of success for Diebler. Ohio State now sports a 10-3 record with him at the helm, making a run late in Big Ten play. An NIT quarterfinal was more than anyone in Columbus could have imagined at one point. Now, this season has opened with a win against Texas and a blowout vs. Youngstown State.

If there any similarities at all, Williams sees it in the offensive scheme Diebler is running. The personnel is just quite different though, having a roster full of talent.

“I do think Coach Diebler had offensive responsibility last year,” Williams said. “You can tell that’s one of many of his gifts in what they’re trying to accomplish offensively. But a brand new team in many respects.”

Tip-off in College Station is set for 8 p.m. CT as Texas A&M looks for a big-time nonconference win. There appears to be a ton of respect for the two head coaches despite Diebler still being the new kid on the block.