Ohio State has risen from the ashes in recent weeks to earn the all important first round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. When the tournament tips off later this evening in the Target Center in Minneapolis, the Buckeyes will be spectators, awaiting their first round matchup with Iowa tomorrow evening. Since the firing of Chris Holtmann, interim coach Jake Diebler has led this team to a 5-1 mark, including wins over Purdue and a road win at the buzzer over Michigan State, snapping a yearlong plus road losing streak. They now sit on the precipice of the NCAA tournament bubble. While most experts believe Ohio State will need to beat Iowa and 14th ranked Illinois on Friday to secure a spot, the fact that they enter the conference tournament with a clear path is borderline miraculous. After a 62-54 defeat at Wisconsin on February 13, the Buckeyes were 14-11 and 4-10 in the Big Ten and sat in the cellar of the conference standings with little hope of making anything positive out of this season. That’s when Gene Smith and the administration decided to make a coaching change. At the time, Gene Smith talked about giving Jake Diebler some “runway” to salvage what was left of the season. I don’t think anyone in Buckeye country could have envisioned what was to come. In the first game under Coach Diebler, Ohio State upset 2nd ranked Purdue and all of a sudden, there was some positivity around the program. After going to Minneapolis and being outworked and physically manhandled, there was some trepidation that the Purdue game was just an anomaly. But, after the dramatic win in East Lansing, and 3 more wins to finish the regular season, including a second straight road win, Ohio State is riding high with confidence and takes a 4 game winning streak into the Big Ten Tournament.

The recent success is a result of a renewed focus on the defensive end and a willingness to play with tempo at every opportunity. The Buckeyes are closing out on shooters defensively, getting to the glass at a high level and in most cases, winning the 50/50 balls. They are utilizing their strong defensive efficiency to push the ball up the floor at every opportunity, playing with more tempo and forcing teams to defend in the open floor much more than they were earlier in the season. This is a direct result of the way Jake Diebler wants them to play. In his short time as the interim head coach, his influence has been evident. They are playing more depth due to that pace, at times playing up to 10 guys early in basketball games. The slight changes to the style of play have led to a much more aesthetically pleasing and competitive style of basketball. The guys have clearly bought in at a high level and let’s face it, they are having more fun. It’s always fun to win games and since the change, the wins have piled up.

Heading into the matchup with the Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes are confident, having lost a close 2 point game in Iowa’s gym, where they had the ball in the closing seconds with a chance to win before a turnover extinguished those hopes. Ohio State is a much different team since that game and the matchup on paper seems like a good draw for the Buckeyes. Iowa will be motivated as well, sitting on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament field themselves. A loss for either team will end those hopes and send the loser to the NIT. A win for Iowa may secure their spot in the NCAA and a win for Ohio State sets up a potential play-in game against Illinois on Friday evening. Iowa brings in one of the most efficient offenses in the conference, ranking 3rd in adjusted offensive efficiency, but ranks next to last in the conference in defensive efficiency. Ohio State, on the other hand, ranks 6th in the conference in both metrics. If Ohio State can get to the glass and limit second chance opportunities against a team that struggles on the backboards, they should be able to push the tempo and score in transition at a high level. While Iowa doesn’t do one thing particularly well offensively, they won’t turn it over so Ohio State will have to be very detailed on the defensive end, closing out on shooters, hedging screens and recovering on the weak side. If they continue the level of defensive intensity we have seen in recent weeks and get the ball down the floor with pace, they will keep Iowa on their heels which should be the recipe for getting the win that will keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive, setting up a huge game on Friday. If not, they will head back to Columbus and await their fate in the NIT.