Ohio State continues to play in the postseason. With interim coach Jake Diebler in charge, Ohio State won five of its final six games to close off the regular season. On Friday night, the team will play Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament.
The No. 10 seed in the tournament is occupied by the Buckeyes. With Illinois as the second seed.
On Thursday night, Ohio State defeated Iowa, the seventh-seeded team, 90-78 to move on to the quarterfinals. According to Jamison Battle, the Buckeyes handled the Hawkeyes by embracing the urgency rather than the pressure.
On senior day for the Scarlet Knights, the Buckeyes defeated Rutgers 73-51 to end the regular season last Sunday. One week earlier, on senior day at Value City Arena, they had defeated the Wolverines 84-61, their most decisive victory against Michigan since 2005. The players at Ohio State think a run to March Madness is still feasible because the team has won four straight games—its longest winning streak since they won four straight from December 16–January 3.
With six games left in his sixth season as coach, Chris Holtmann was fired by athletic director Gene Smith on February 14. Four days later, at Value City Arena, the Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Purdue 73-69 under interim head coach Jake Diebler’s leadership. Following the final whistle, the team celebrated by court-storming.
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Illinois is ahead 110–82 in the all-time series. The Fighting Illini defeated Ohio State 87-75 at Value City Arena on January 30 to win the only meeting between the two teams this season.
