Ohio State Showing Newfound Unbreakable Will Under Jake Diebler in Big Ten Play
By
Andy Anders on February 7, 2025 at 11:27 am
@andyanders55
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Watching Maryland take the floor against Ohio State on Thursday felt like the entrance of Ivan Drago before his climactic fight with Rocky Balboa in "Rocky IV."
Drago had been built throughout that movie as more robot than human. He killed Rocky’s rival-turned-mentor, Apollo Creed, in the second round of an exhibition bout. As Creed lay bleeding and breathless in the ring, Drago stated five words devoid of emotion into a microphone and television cameras,
“If he dies, he dies.” The movie’s famed
training montage contrasted Rocky running up mountains and chopping wood with Drago having steroids injected into his thigh and a surrounding of machinery for every run, punch and weightlifting rep.
Drago walked into the arena before rowdy home fans stoic before the pair’s fight, and as expected from a Hollywood script, he beat Rocky to a pulp in the first round, knocking him down. Still, Rocky walked back out for the same round that killed Creed and after surviving another barrage, cut the Russian beneath his left eye with a massive right hook. The movie then flipped the machine motif on its head.
“He’s not human,” Drago said in his corner after the round. “He’s like a piece of iron.”
No. 18 Maryland entered Value City Arena on Thursday with an 83-59 evisceration of Ohio State at home in its back pocket. Like Drago towering above Rocky, the Terrapins held an imposing size advantage over the Buckeyes in the frontcourt, as OSU power forward Devin Royal (6-6, 220) matched up with Julian Reese (6-9, 252) and center Sean Stewart (6-9, 220) with Derik Queen (6-10, 246).
The Buckeyes weathered their own barrage of punches, Maryland opening on a 15-2 run and holding a 17-point advantage at one stage in the first half. But Ohio State’s comeback for a
73-70 win flexed the unbreakable will Diebler’s team has shown as his first full Big Ten slate has worn on.
"I just want you to understand how connected and tough this group is," Diebler said after the game. "I thought that was on full display tonight. Maybe we lacked a little bit of that early, but it took everything we had from a toughness and a togetherness (standpoint) to come back, win this game against this team who's arguably playing some of the best basketball in the league right now."
As counterintuitive as it may seem from a 24-point loss, one of the earliest examples of Ohio State demonstrating its toughness this season was in its first matchup with Maryland.
The Buckeyes played one of their worst halves of basketball in the first 20 minutes against the Terrapins on Dec. 4 and entered halftime trailing 50-17. That lead ballooned to 55-17 at the start of the second period, but Ohio State outscored Maryland by 14 points from there. It was an ultimately meaningless gesture considering the game in its totality, but at the very least, Diebler’s team didn’t quit.
Ohio State's comeback win over Maryland showcased an intangible toughness and will that Jake Diebler's squad is building in Big Ten play.
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