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OSU Draws TCU In 8-9 Game To Open NCAA Tournament

Bruce Thornton’s career has been about looking for a way to get the Buckeyes into the NCAA Tournament. (Press Pros File Photos)

Ohio State’s four-year absence from March Madness is over in Jake Diebler’s second season. Bruce Thornton finally reaches his goal after three frustrating seasons.

Jake Diebler wouldn’t speak for Bruce Thornton. But he didn’t have to.

Anyone who knows anything about Thornton’s record-setting Ohio State basketball career knows the most important missing line on his resume: the NCAA Tournament. Thornton’s reaction to Sunday night’s news doesn’t take any imagination.

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“We were standing next to each other, and it was a big, big hug when we saw our name pop up there,” Diebler said.

And it didn’t take long. Ohio State’s first-round game on Thursday against TCU was the second game revealed during the CBS selection show Sunday evening. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes knew they had played their way in with important late-season victories. But seeing it in high definition allows a team that finally worked its way off the bubble to take a deep breath.

Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert

For Diebler, the last time he was part of an NCAA Tournament game was as an assistant coach in 2022 when the Buckeyes won one and lost one. Then the program nosedived under Chris Holtmann. And everyone who cares about the program has been watching and wondering, maybe even doubting, if Diebler could get the Buckeyes into meaningful March games.

Until now. And two years to the day after Diebler coached his final game with the interim label, he has the Buckeyes back where he says they should always belong. There is no just-happy-to-be-here sentiment.

“This is a payoff moment, but we want to keep this momentum going,” Diebler said. “That was a big thing we talked about today. We’re playing our best ball at the right time of the year. Let’s keep it up.”

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The nation will know right away if the Buckeyes are able to maintain the momentum of a four-game winning streak that ended with a well-played loss to No. 1 seed Michigan by four points in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

The eighth-seeded Buckeyes and ninth-seeded TCU are in the East portion of the 68-team field and open the tournament with a 12:15 p.m. tipoff on CBS in Greenville, South Carolina. They will play at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, a 15,000-seat home to minor league hockey, arena football, the SEC women’s basketball tournament and the occasional Furman men’s basketball game.


Locals call it “The Well.” The Buckeyes hope to call it a springboard to greater things. Getting a first-round victory would be important to the program’s growth and rebuild. Getting a second-round victory and a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Sweet Sixteen would be monumental.

Not just because it’s been so long since the last Sweet Sixteen – 2013 – but because their second-round opponent would be No. 1 overall seed Duke. The Blue Devils don’t have a literal bye, but they open with No. 16 seed Siena.

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Ohio State’s strong finish will tempt fans to move the Buckeyes ahead on their bracket at least one game. But Diebler’s team also possesses a trait that often helps teams advance: good veteran guard play.

Senior Bruce Thornton (20.2 scoring average) and sophomore John Mobley Jr. (15.7) are, in Diebler’s opinion, one of the best guard duos in the country. He’s not wrong. Thornton is able to control the game and Mobley Jr.’s three-point shooting can send the Buckeyes on a scoring run.

Add in Devin Royal’s ability to score (13.7) inside and outside at the three position, and Taison Chatman’s recent bench scoring, and the Buckeyes present difficult matchups for most teams.

“Should be a really fun game. You got two high-level teams who were playing some really good ball down the stretch.” – Jake Diebler

“It’s been a huge part of our success this season, and it’s going to play a major role in our game on Thursday,” Diebler said. “This is how we were designed.”

The Buckeyes are also defending at a much higher level lately and are as healthy as they’ve been since the first day of practice. Even Brandon Noel, an early season starter, played for the first time against Michigan. Midseason addition Puff Johnson saw action after missing some time. Chatman did not play against Michigan but tried to.

“Hopefully everybody’s ready to go,” Diebler said. “I feel like we’re going to be in that place come Thursday.”

And for what it’s worth, the Buckeyes (21-12) own a 65.4% advantage over the Horned Frogs (22-11) according to the ESPN matchup predictor. They are a 2.5-point favorite.

Like Ohio State, TCU isn’t a team that needs to reset. The Horned Frogs own the momentum of seven straight wins and wins in 10 out of 11 games before falling to 14th-ranked Kansas in the Big 12 tournament.

TCU finished sixth in the Big 12 without a big scoring star. They are balanced and led by sophomore forward David Punch at 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

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TCU missed the tournament last year but made it as a nine seed in 2024 and 2022 and as a six seed in 2023. The won first-round games in 2022 and 2023 for their first tournament wins in 35 years. They haven’t been to a Sweet Sixteen since 1968.

The other experience factor TCU has over Ohio State is head coach Jamie Dixon. He returned to his alma mater in 2016 and has taken the Horned Frogs to four NCAA appearances. Previously he had a successful 13-year run at Pitt where he won four national coach of the year awards. He led the Panthers to three Sweet Sixteens and one Elite Eight.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to go up against a coach with that type of resume and against a team that’s going to play really tough, and that’s what we do,” Diebler said. “Should be a really fun game. You got two high-level teams who were playing some really good ball down the stretch.”

And no one who will play in this game – and a lot of others – is playing better than Thornton. In nine of the last 10 games, he has scored 20 or more points eight times with a high of 32.

Thornton, if anyone, will be motivated to produce more than one shining moment.

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