Despite finishing the season with a bang, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be putting their dance shoes away for the second year in a row.
On Sunday night, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament matchups were revealed. Sadly for the Buckeyes and their supporters, the Scarlet and Gray were not paired in those previously suggested combinations.
With 11 victories in their first 13 games, Ohio State had a fantastic start to the season. After that, the Buckeyes lost nine of their next twelve games, and everything went south.
Athletic director Gene Smith removed former head coach Chris Holtmann with six games left in the regular season and appointed assistant Jake Diebler as the team’s temporary manager.
The Buckeyes went 6-2 under Diebler, winning at home against rival Michigan, on the road against Michigan State and Rutgers, and in the victory against Purdue. Additionally, Ohio State defeated the nationally ranked No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini by three after defeating the seventh-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes by twelve in the Big Ten Tournament’s second round.
In fact, Diebler performed so well that he was formally designated the program’s new full-time head coach on Sunday morning, taking Holtmann’s place as the team’s captain. With a five-year deal signed by the former assistant, Diebler became the fifteenth head coach in Buckeyes men’s basketball history. The new athletic director, Ross Bjork, wrote the contract.
Sadly for the Buckeyes, Diebler will not lead Ohio State into March Madness to begin his official career.
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is the last chance left for the Scarlet and Gray to play post-season basketball. The NIT released its pairings at 9:30 p.m. eastern today.
