Tom Izzo admits he was surprised that Jake Diebler got Ohio State job

When Ohio State decided to fire Chris Holtmann, new athletic director Ross Bjork could have conducted a national search to find the program’s next guy. Instead, he took the interim tag off Jake Diebler, with him being introduced as the next head coach on Monday. Diebler had success down the stretch with the Buckeyes and will now have the opportunity to do so on a full-time basis.

Ohio State deciding to hire Diebler surprised a few people across the country, including Michigan State‘s Tom Izzo. While happy Diebler wound up getting the job, Izzo did not expect h

“I was surprised,” Izzo said. “Happy for him. I was a little surprised, yeah. But I’m also happy for him. I think it’s great.”

Izzo and Michigan State did face Ohio State when Diebler was in charge. It turned into one of his six victories of the season, a 60-57 win for the Buckeyes in East Lansing. Four more wins followed before crashing out of the Big Ten Tournament to Illinois.

Unfortunately not enough to make the NCAA Tournament, Ohio State did earn a spot in the NIT.

Had Ohio State not gone with Diebler, there would have been some tough competition out there. In just the Big Ten, arch-rival Michigan is looking for a new leader. The plug was pulled on the Juwan Howard era after an eight-win season in 2023-2024.

Louisville is another big-name program looking to replace Kenny Payne. Izzo suspects more will open over the coming days and as disappointing NCAA Tournament results occur across the country.

“A lot of good jobs open,” Izzo said. “It will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see how many more open in the next two to three days or maybe by the end of next weekend. Which is sad for me in the profession.”

But Ohio State has the luxury of already having hired somebody. The NCAA transfer portal opened on Monday, giving Diebler a head start on schools currently preparing for the NCAA Tournament or looking for a head coach.

Roster retention could be important for Ohio State as well, hoping to keep the current group together to make another run next season.

Izzo will surely see Ohio State on the schedule next season, even with conference expansion occurring. Coaching directly against Diebler for a second time was not something he expected but it’s certainly a welcomed surprise.