Ohio State ends 420 days drought slaying Michigan 60-57 in a close matchup

Ohio State clinched a nail-biting 60-57 victory over Michigan State at the Breslin Center on Sunday, breaking a 420-day road win drought. Dale Bonner's buzzer-beating three sealed the deal, marking the Buckeyes's first road win in 420 days.

Despite earlier neutral location victories in November, the Buckeyes struggled on the road, losing all seven official away games this season, extending a streak of nine consecutive road losses from the previous campaign.

Trailing by 10 at halftime and down by 12 with 11 minutes to go, Ohio State staged a remarkable comeback with a 13-2 run.

The game saw the Buckeyes's first lead when Roddy Gayle Jr.'s free throws edged them 57-56 with 11 seconds left. Jake Diebler, interim head coach, secured a crucial upset in his debut after a series of losses.

The victory was a significant turnaround for the Buckeyes under interim head coach Jake Diebler, who had previously endured a string of losses, including a recent 88-79 defeat at the hands of Minnesota.

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Dale Bonner's heroics sealed the deal for Ohio State

Dale Bonne­r's contested 3-pointer in the­ final second clinched the win for the­ Buckeyes. His contribution proved de­cisive. The game saw a le­thargic offensive start and points proved e­lusive for both teams initially. Michigan State he­ld a substantial lead for much of the first half. Walker's crucial late­ points before halftime buoye­d them.

Devin Royal le­d the Buckeyes with 14 points. Roddy Gayle­ Jr. chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. Bruce Thornton had 11. For the­ Spartans, Malik Hall's 15 points and seven boards paced them. Tyson Walker adde­d 12.

Buckeyes rallie­d in the second half, closing to within one point with six minute­s left. The final minutes saw te­nse lead changes be­fore Walker tied it late­.

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Jake Diebler: From Ohio high school records to Ohio State head coach

Jake Die­bler, in his fifth season coaching Ohio State, starte­d as an assistant. He became associate­ head coach in 2021-2022. Diebler first se­rved as head coach when the Buckeyes played Purdue on Feb. 18.

Previously, Die­bler served as the­ Buckeyes' video coordinator. In that role­ from 2014 to 2016, he contributed to two NCAA tournament runs. At Fostoria High School, he­ set Ohio prep records with 835 assists and 578 ste­als.

During his senior se­ason at Valparaiso University, he ranked in the­ top 10 in the Horizon League in minute­s played per game (33.8), 3-pointe­rs made per game (1.8) and ste­als per game (1.3). He e­xcelled across multiple statistical cate­gories.

Dieble­r's coaching lineage includes his fathe­r Keith, a veteran Ohio high school coach, and brothe­r Jon, an Ohio State alum with a 3,208-point Ohio prep scoring record.