Diebler, Buckeyes Clinch Share Of Big Ten Championship

Threebler!

Whether wide open, fading away from a defender or with a bad look at the basket with a hand in his face, Ohio State's Jon Diebler had one of those games in which he just couldn't miss.


The kid was on absolute fire Tuesday night at Penn State, draining 10 3's for tying a conference record. Diebler had a career-high 30 points and set a school record with 10 3-pointers Tuesday night to lead top-ranked Ohio State to an 82-61 rout of Penn State to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Diebler went 5 of 6 from behind the arc in the first half as the Buckeyes (28-2, 15-2) built a 15-point halftime lead and never let up. There wasn't much talk afterward about tying for the title -- a loss by No. 6 Purdue at Iowa on Saturday or an Ohio State win over No. 10 Wisconsin on Sunday would give the Buckeyes the title outright.

Penn State is now falling fast on the chances of going to the NCAA tournament this year, and they'd better find their footing quickly, otherwise their feet will be on the couch watching March Madness on the TV. 


Senior Talor Battle scored 18 points in his final regular-season home game for Penn State (15-13, 8-9).

My Thoughts:


- Jon Diebler scored a career-high 30 points as the Buckeyes clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title. Diebler (10-12 3-pt FG) made 10 straight 3-pt attempts, missing his first and last attempts of the night. What a stud.


- This is the fourth time Ohio State has earned at least a share of the Big Ten Title since Thad Matta took over as head coach for the 2004-05 season. That is the most by any Big Ten school during that span. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Thad and Tress are two very similar men, in coaching, it appears.


- The Buckeyes' win was the first road win by a No. 1 ranked team in the Coaches' poll since Feb. 6, when Ohio State won at Minnesota. Since then, Ohio State lost at Wisconsin, Kansas lost at Kansas State and Duke lost at Virginia Tech while ranked No. 1.


- The loss dropped Penn State to 3-7 in games against teams ranked in the RPI top 50. The Nittany Lions are now 0-12 all-time against AP No. 1 ranked teams.


- Wisconsin, here we come. We're ready.