Jake Diebler reacts to Colin White saying Ohio State is 'coming for blood' against Michigan

Ohio State, seeking a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, improved to 13-5 (5-3) Tuesday night with an 82-74 win in overtime against Minnesota. Riding a two-game winning streak, the Buckeyes will now be faced with their biggest challenge of the season Friday night, against rival No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In the first season of the Dusty May–Jake Diebler matchup in ‘The Game’, the Wolverines escaped with an 86-83 win in Columbus on Feb. 16, 2025. This season, Ohio State sophomore forward Colin White is fired up for the chance at revenge against their bitter rival.

“We hate Michigan, so we’re coming out for blood, we’re going up there to win, and we’re going to have fun doing it,” White said following the Minnesota win. White, who plays just 9.1 minutes per game, likely won’t have a large impact on the game. However, those words have definitely made their way to Michigan‘s brass.

Jake Diebler reacts to White’s statement, describes significance of Ohio State-Michigan game

Jake Diebler was asked about White’s comments during his postgame presser, and he went into detail about how important this game is for his program.

“I think I understand, figuratively, what that means,” Diebler said with a chuckle. “Listen, this is a game that obviously we all are really excited for. I think, for us, it’s a game that should be played twice a year. I’m glad the Big Ten did that, and it should be like that always and forever. We’re really excited for the opportunity and they’re playing really well. But, we’re doing some really good things too and we’re going to go up there and give it our absolute best.

“We’re going to prepare our absolute best for this game. This game means more. Yes, it counts as much on your Big Ten record as other games. But, make no mistake. It’s this way in every single sport… this game means a little bit more. But, we’ve got to prepare like we’ve been preparing. We can’t get caught up in anything other than being as mentally and physically prepared that we possibly can be.”

Under Diebler, Ohio State is 38-23 (19-15) across three seasons (he coached the final 11 games of the 2022-23 season). Michigan has dominated the rivalry dating back to 2018, winning seven of the last 12 meetings. The Buckeyes’ last win in Ann Arbor came on Feb. 12, 2022, by a score of 68-57.