CBB Coaching Carousel: Ohio State Expected to End Search

Ohio State is expected to keep interim HC Jake Diebler and award him the permanent head coaching job, as reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Diebler took over after OSU fired Chris Holtmann on Feb. 14.

BREAKING: Ohio State is targeting Jake Diebler for the permanent job, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Diebler took over and did a terrific job, leading the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record after taking over following the departure of Chris Holtmann.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 17, 2024

Since taking over the interim job, Diebler coached the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record. Ohio State was sitting 14-11 after a good start to the year at the time. OSU’s effort the last month at least got them back into NCAA Tournament at-large talks, but eventually the poor Big Ten start was too much to overcome.

Ohio State won one game in the Big Ten Tournament before falling to Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday.

This is a very similar move to what happened with Texas last year, giving interim Rodney Terry the permanent job. Terry took over for Chris Beard, who was let go early in the season and then Terry coached the Longhorns to the Elite-8.

OSU had the opportunity to search for an external hire, but thinks that they already have their guy on the staff.

When Ohio State makes this official, they’ll leave the coaching carousel search that consists of Louisville, Michigan, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Washington, Stanford and Vanderbilt out of the high-major programs.