Michigan and Ohio State will clash for the third time this season on Friday (noon, BTN) with a trip to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on the line.
The Wolverines won the first two meetings by an average of 16.5 points per game, but Ohio State has been playing better basketball down the stretch and secured its spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes bottomed out in their home loss to Michigan. That 82-61 Michigan win in Columbus on Super Bowl Sunday dropped OSU to 15-8 (7-6) and outside of the NCAA Tournament. Since then, the Buckeyes closed on a 6-3 stretch that easily could have been 7-2 without a late collapse against Virginia.
Since that Feb. 8 loss, Ohio State is ranked 11th nationally, per Torvik, 14th on offense and 42nd on defense.
The secret to Diebler’s turnaround is simple: make jump shots. Through that Michigan game, the Buckeyes had a 49.7 eFG% on jump shots in Big Ten games. Since that game, they have an eFG% of 59.4 on jumpers. For context, a 59.4 eFG% on jump shots would be second-best in the country in terms of season-long statistics.
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