Ohio State knocked off No. 2 Purdue Basketball marking their first against a top-five team since they beat No. 1 Duke on Nov. 30, 2021.
Ohio State (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten) led for the final 22:28 against Purdue (23-3, 12-3). The Buckeyes had lost nine of their past 11 games while Purdue boasted the nation’s fifth-longest active win streak at nine.
“What a resilient group,” Diebler said.
“We have some great young men in there who came together at a high level in the last few days in a way that I don’t know that any of us fully anticipated that level we could get to in a short amount of time. They deserve so much credit. I’m so very happy for them and proud of them.”
As the final horn sounded, the fans stormed the court. They bounced to “Seven Nation Army” and sang out “Sweet Caroline,” with fans yelling at Diebler, “That’s my coach!”
“He was excited, man,” guard Bruce Thornton said of Diebler. “His hands were shaking at the first media timeout.”
During a first-half timeout, 2022 first-round NBA pick Malaki Branham was recognized, and he hugged Diebler before heading into the stands.
Thornton led the Buckeyes with 22 points. Battle scored 19 all in the second half.
“It felt great, man,” Thornton said. “All coming together, seeing the smile on everybody’s faces, that’s all college basketball is about.”
