Ohio State's Jon Diebler a threat from 3-point land

IOWA CITY - Ohio State shooter Jon Diebler is hardly deceptive in his shot of choice.

Diebler, a senior guard, often finds the left corner against an opponent and throws up a 3-point shot. More than half go in.

"He really works hard so when he does get to that spot you're talking about," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "He sprints there. He works. He moves without the ball and makes himself hard to guard. Now you couple that with (William) Buford and (David) Lighty, who are driving without the ball, (Aaron) Craft is driving the ball and the big fella (Jared Sullinger) in the hole. Now he's got enough room to really do some damage."

Diebler ranks first among Big Ten players in 3-pointers per game (3.14) and is No. 8 in Division I men's basketball.  He owns Ohio State's career 3-point record with 304. Of Diebler's 106 shots this season, 86 are 3-point attempts. He's hit 51.2 of those 3-point attempts.

Diebler averages 12.4 points a game, 21st in the Big Ten. He has helped pace No. 2-ranked Ohio State to a 14-0 record.

"He was 5-for-5 against Indiana, made (nine) 3s in another game (against Florida Golf Coast)," McCaffery said. " He's shooting 51 percent. It's amazing because he's a guy that shoots a lot of 3s so sometimes you see those numbers and they're shooting 1-for-2. He's putting them up there, 84 percent of his shots are 3s for the season. So you know what he's going to do, and he does it anyway. But I think it's a reflection of how hard he works and a reflection of who's playing with him."

Diebler blasted Iowa for 27 points in the 2008-09 Big Ten opener, a three-point Ohio State win. In Ohio State's current four-game win streak against Iowa, he's scored in double figures three times. McCaffery coached Siena against Ohio State and Diebler in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Siena beat the Buckeyes 74-72 in double overtime, and Diebler was held to six points.

"I think one of the things of having coached against him in the past is really unique is how big his is," McCaffery said. "He's one of those guys who you feel like you got to him but he's 6-6 and long he gets it off. It's right in your face even if you're on him."