In Jake Diebler's first game as interim head coach, Buckeyes upset No. 2 Purdue

COLUMBUS — Gene Smith surprised the college basketball world Wednesday by firing Chris Holtmann with six regular season games left and four years remaining on Holtmann’s contract. The longtime, and outgoing, Ohio State athletic director — who signed Holtmann to an extension just two years ago — wanted a spark after back-to-back seasons of Big Ten woes.

Smith got it Sunday afternoon in the Schottenstein Center.

Actually, he got a fire — one that Jake Diebler lit under the Buckeyes, as Diebler seized the interim role with creativity, pace and energy, ultimately delivering a 73-69 upset win over No. 2 Purdue.

Diebler unloaded his bench and had his team push the ball in transition and play its best defense of the season.

A 14-2 run gave Ohio State the lead and momentum going into the half. A mid-range jumper from Jamison Battle — halting a 7-0 Purdue spurt that tied the game at 65-65 — and the fifth steal from Zed Key helped the Buckeyes seal the deal in dramatic fashion.

Lettermen Row has Three Points from the head-turning victory for the Buckeyes (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten), who snapped a nine-game Boilermakers (23-3, 12-3) win streak.

Purdue opens game on 8-0 run, but Bruce Thornton and Zed Key punch back

Braden Smith knocked down a mid-range jumper on the game’s first possession. Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones drained a 3-pointer shortly after that. Then Trey Kaufman-Renn converted an and-one in the post.

Just like that, Purdue had an 8-0 lead in hand. The thousands of Boilermakers fans in attendance made it known, too.

But Buckeyes point guard Bruce Thornton answered the flurry with a quick eight points, all off jumpers. He went 3-of-4 in that stretch. The sophomore followed up his lone miss in that sequence with an offensive rebound and second-chance bucket.

Thornton gave the baton to Key, and the backup center ran with it, providing the Buckeyes with a much-needed lift off the bench — on both ends.

Key, criticized for his defensive play during his four-year career, stepped up big time against Edey. There was one stretch where he stripped Edey of the ball not once but twice, forcing a Purdue turnover. On the other end, Key dialed up his third 3-pointer of the season.

Soon after, the senior scored or assisted on back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 16-16. First he gathered himself after losing his dribble in the paint and then went up for two. Next he whipped a pass to a cutting Roddy Gayle Jr., who finished at the rack with a two-handed flush.

Thornton rounded out the first half with 14 points. Key chipped in seven. Together, they gave the Buckeyes a chance in the opening frame.

All four Buckeyes freshmen play in the first half

Diebler’s rotation went 11 deep in the first half. That included all four of the Buckeyes’ freshmen.

Unsurprisingly, Devin Royal was the first off the bench for Ohio State. He contributed five points and three rebounds. Four of those five points, though, came during the aforementioned 14-2 run to end the first half.

Royal also assisted center Austin Parks amid that surge. Parks hadn’t registered a minute since Dec. 21 against New Orleans, which, interestingly enough, was when Diebler was filling in for a flu-ridden Chris Holtmann. With Diebler running the ship as interim, and Felix Okpara in first-half foul trouble, Diebler called Parks’ number. The big man from Northwest Ohio delivered his first field goal all season.

Similarly, Taison Chatman saw action for the first time in a while. The freshman point guard got off to a slow start in his Buckeyes career, missing key practice time during his recovery from a preseason knee surgery. Chatman — the highest-rated On3 Industry Ranking prospect of Ohio State’s 2023 class — played his first minutes of February against Purdue. He was put in with under eight minutes to go in the first half. Chatman entered the game with the Buckeyes trailing, 22-19. When he exited, they were still in reach. And although Chatman wasn’t credited with an assist, he set up a Thornton floater.

Without Scotty Middleton, this game might have gotten away from Ohio State in the opening period. Purdue countered Key’s push to tie the game at 16-16 with six straight points, starting with a thundering Edey dunk. Then Middleton knocked down his second 3-pointer since Jan. 10, and his first of the month.

Diebler got crafty with his rotation Sunday. And, perhaps most notably, he trusted his freshmen, at one point playing three of them at the same time down the stretch of the first half. The Buckeyes used a lineup of Parks-Royal-Middleton-Thornton-Gayle as they took control of the game before halftime.

Jamison Battle returns to form, sparks Ohio State second-half run

After two straight mysteriously quiet games, Battle appeared to be having another. Battle picked up three fouls in the first half, during which he didn’t score or even attempt a field goal.

Then the Battle of old — who earlier this season tied Jon Diebler’s program record with five or more 3-pointers in four consecutive games — erupted with a trio of long-range makes in the span of 61 seconds.

The first two were created by Evan Mahaffey hustle plays. Mahaffey, despite being dominated early by Kaufman-Renn in the post, used every ounce of his effort to pull down an offensive rebound and then, on the other end, make a diving save near the boundary to set the stage for Battle’s first two 3-pointers possible.

Key deserves some credit for Battle’s third triple. Key stepped in front of an entry pass for Edey, triggering a transition opportunity, which ended in Battle netting a shot from the left wing.

Battle’s second-half awakening staked the Buckeyes to a 12-point second-half lead, big enough for them to hold on to a massive upset Sunday.

Fittingly, Battle drilled the go-ahead basket with 1:19 left, as well as the game-clinching free throws. He had 19 points, and Thornton led the team with 22 points.