Jason Burgos
A new report suggests that despite a frustrating loss at home on Wednesday to conference rivals Iowa, Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler is in no danger of being ousted after this season.
Former associate head coach Jake Diebler has done a solid job during his two and a half seasons leading the Buckeyes. He was thrust into the lead role during the 2023-24 season after his predecessor, Chris Holtmann, was fired. However, he guided Ohio State basketball to eight wins and their last 11 and created new hope.
Last season, the first time head coach was given a lot of leeway to learn on the job and oversaw a decent 17-15 team in 2024-25. However, it meant a third straight season not playing in the NCAA tournament. Heading into this season, there were higher expectations that Deibler could end that streak and get the program back into the tourney and, hopefully, win a game or two.
Unfortunately, over the last month, Ohio State has struggled. Since a January 23 loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes have gone 4-6. The most recent setback came on Wednesday when OSU was soundly beaten by Iowa on its home court by a score of 74-57. The loss dropped their record to 17-11 and put them in a position where they must win their final three games to have any chance of getting to the tournament.
Jake Diebler’s job at Ohio State is safe
The defeat has also reignited speculation that maybe Deibler isn’t the man to end their streak outside March Madness, and maybe a change could come in the spring. Well, according to Adam Jardy, the coach is in no jeopardy of losing his job at the moment.
During an appearance on 97.1 The Fan’s T-Bone & Tyvis, the Columbus Dispatch OSU reporter claimed the basketball decision makers “understand the resources available and understand the playbook that’s been given to the program to work with.” And that they know they have not given Diebler enough to be competitive.
“There’s frustration. Everyone would like things to get better, but I don’t get the sense that it’s brewing for something bigger if you catch my drift,” Jardy said.
