Ohio State has removed the interim tag from men’s basketball coach Jake Diebler’s title and announced he will receive a five-year contract.

Ohio State has stunned No. 2 Purdue in its interim coach’s debut, winning 73-69 a day after the NCAA Tournament selection committee picked the Boilermakers as the early favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed during March Madness.

Ohio State has fired seventh-year basketball coach Chris Holtmann with the Buckeyes in the middle of another subpar season.

Ohio State plans to hike Ryan Day’s annual salary to $9.5 million as part of a two-year contract extension that will put him among the nation’s highest-paid college football coaches.

Mike Krzyzewski won his first NCAA Tournament game as Duke’s coach in 1985 and his 98th on Friday night.

DeVante’ Jones scored 21 points and Michigan rallied in the second half, wrapping up its up-and-down Big Ten regular season by beating No. 23 Ohio State 75-69.

Jaden Ivey hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left and No. 6 Purdue fended off a late charge from No. 16 Ohio State for an 81-78 victory.

Zed Key saved No. 17 Ohio State from a season-opening embarrassment on Tuesday night, catching a sharp pass from freshman Malachi Branham in the paint and laying in a buzzer-beater to give the Buckeyes a 67-66 win over Akron.

Big Ten basketball entered a whole new world when it returned to Indianapolis for the first of two media days.

Liddell received following the Buckeyes' NCAA Tournament loss on Friday. Ohio State associate athletic director for communications Dan Wallenberg told The Associated Press he contacted police on Saturday morning about the threats Liddell received after the second-seeded Buckeyes were upset by No. Liddell, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the game, revealed on his Twitter feed he received threatening messages. Liddell, while not from or representative of Ohio State fans, are vile, dangerous and reflect the worst of humanity," Holtmann posted on Twitter. AdSister Jean taught at Chicago's Mundelein College when Loyola beat Illinois in the 1963 NCAA Tournament.

The best COVID-19 vaccine shots in America just might be the two that went into Sister Jean’s arm. The breakout star and model for the most coveted bobblehead of the 2018 NCAA Tournament is now eight months beyond her 101st birthday and still serving as chaplain for the Loyola Chicago basketball team. 1 seed Illinois, is bound to provide a much stiffer test of Sister Jean’s faith. AdYet her celebratory fist bump at the buzzer was one of the signature moments of the first full day of an NCAA Tournament canceled a year ago due the pandemic. 8 North Carolina hardly qualified as an upset, unless you count Tar Heels coach Roy Williams’ first-ever loss in a tournament opener.

Second-ranked Baylor (22-2) headlines the South Region and opens against 16th-seeded Hartford, the America East Conference champion. 2 seed in the South after losing in overtime to Illinois in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament final. The Raiders (14-1) won the Patriot League title and entered Selection Sunday averaging 86.3 points, led by Jordan Burns' 17-point average. When his eighth-seeded Tar Heels (18-10) face ninth-seeded Wisconsin, Williams will look to improve to 30-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament games. CONFERENCE WATCHThe Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern Conference combined to take six of the top seven seeds in the South bracket.

Aaron Henry had 18 points to help the Spartans improve their chances of making the NCAA Tournament with a 71-67 win over No. This year, though, it looked as if the Spartans (13-9, 7-9 Big Ten) would not make their usual appearance in the NCAA Tournament until their recent surge with three straight wins. Michigan State beat top-five teams in consecutive conference games for the first time in program history. “Give Michigan State credit," Holtmann said. AdBIG PICTUREOhio State: Despite losing at Michigan State after a 92-87 setback to Michigan, earning top seeding in the NCAA Tournament is still within reach for the Buckeyes.

Liddell during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. After six ties in the second half, Michigan pulled away in the final minutes and then held off Ohio State 92-87 Sunday in a meeting that showcased two teams aiming for No. Ad“I thought his length and size bothered us," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann acknowledged. Ohio State and Michigan both are projected to be No. Ohio State: At Michigan State on Thursday.

Their meeting Sunday headlines the national AP Top 25 schedule for the week, a matchup of teams contending for No. Meanwhile Ohio State (17-4, 11-4) has won six straight overall — including against the Badgers and No. “The biggest thing as a coach right now is we’ve got to get better,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said after Saturday’s win against Indiana. 25 last week but visits Michigan on Thursday. There’s also Belmont (22-1, 16-0 Ohio Valley) chasing the program’s first AP Top 25 poll ranking.