Jake Diebler coached his first game as Ohio State basketball’s interim head coach on Sunday with quite the challenge ahead of him and his Buckeyes: No. 2 Purdue and reigning national player of the year Zach Edey.
He came away from that game with the first statement win of his coaching career.
Ohio State upset No. 2 Purdue 73-69 on Sunday — the Buckeyes’ first win over a ranked top-three team since Nov. 20, 2021, when they took down No. 1 Duke.
REQUIRED READING: Ohio State shocks No. 2 Purdue, caps tumultuous week with signature win
An Ohio State (15-11, 5-10) upset over Purdue (23-3, 12-3) is itself a massive storyline in college basketball. The fact that it came just days after the university fired Chris Holtmann before the completion of his seventh season in Columbus makes it that much bigger.
Here’s a sampling of the best reactions to Ohio State’s upset win over No. 2 Purdue:
Ohio State basketball upsets Purdue: Social media reacts
Add No. 2 Purdue at Ohio State, with an interim coach, to the insanely long list of top-10 teams losing to unranked teams on the road. What a season.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) February 18, 2024
CONGRATULATIONS @OhioStateHoops and @JakeDiebler on a MASSIVE win against #2 Purdue. Good for these boys-been a tough year and to come out battlin after losing their head coach this week was impressive!
Showed serious grit and perseverance-congrats fellas keep it rollin!— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) February 18, 2024
On Wednesday, Ohio State parted ways with Chris Holtmann after it lost 9 of 11 games.
Today, the Buckeyes beat Purdue.
Anarchy?
Nope. Just College Basketball.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 18, 2024
As time expires, Jake Diebler reacts to earning his first win as Ohio State’s interim head coach.
A game, day, and week filled with a wide range of emotions.
And it is clear to see how much this moment means to Diebler. pic.twitter.com/s1Dct1f6uZ
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 18, 2024
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball upsets Purdue: Social media reacts to Buckeyes win
