The Buckeyes are all set for a Thursday night 9 p.m. (-ish) date with the winner of Wednesday’s match-up between Minnesota and Rutgers.
As Thad Matta prepares to take his Buckeye hoops team into the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, it’s worth a look back at the success Ohio State has enjoyed under their head coach since he took over the program in 2004-05.
The league’s postseason tournament has been Matta’s plaything over his tenure in Columbus. Matta’s teams have won the tournament four times and reached the final on three other occasions in 10 years. Only once has Ohio State failed to register at least one win in the tourney.
His career mark in the event is 21-6 for a winning percentage of 77.8%.That’s pretty filthy. Not many coaches win more than three quarters of their conference tournament games.
Here’s a year-by-year glance at Matta’s tournament success:
2005: In Matta’s first season, the sixth-seeded Buckeyes beat Penn State on Thursday but fell to No. 3 seed Wisconsin on Friday in the quarterfinals.
2006: Ohio State entered as the top seed and beat Penn State and Indiana on the way to the final, where the Buckeyes fell 67-60 to No. 2 seed Iowa.
2007: No. 1 seed Ohio State took down Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin to win the tournament in Matta’s third season.
2008: It wasn’t until Matta’s fourth trip to the tournament that the Buckeyes failed to win a tournament game. Ohio State, the fifth seed, fell 67-60 to No. 4 seed Michigan State.
2009: The Buckeyes again entered as the fifth seed. But this time they went on a run, beating No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 1 Sparty. The Cinderella run ended with a narrow 65-61 loss to No. 3 Purdue in the title game.
2010: The Buckeyes were the top seed, but they didn’t play like it in Indianapolis. Ohio State squeaked past eighth-seeded Michigan, 69-68 on a bomb by Evan Turner. I love writing about it because it gives me a chance to embed the video for you.
The Buckeyes needed two overtimes in the semifinals to outlast No. 5 Illinois, 88-81, but finally played like the favorites in the tournament final, stomping Minnesota, 90-61.
2011: Matta liked that run so much that he basically did it again in 2011. His No. 1 seeded squad required overtime to topple mighty Northwestern, 67-61 on Friday and beat No. 4 Michigan by seven on Saturday. Ohio State finally got a double-digit win by taking down No. 6 Penn State in the final.
2012: As a No. 3 seed, your Buckeyes tried to make it three straight B1G tourney titles, and things looked good early. Ohio State easily handled No. 6 Purdue and No. 2 Michigan to get to the final on Sunday. The Buckeyes gave top seed Michigan State everything it could handle, but Sparty prevailed, 68-64.
2013: Matta’s Buckeyes avenged their loss to Sparty the next year, defeating Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin to win the whole thing in Chicago’s United Center.
2014: Last year, the Buckeyes were just the No. 5 seed, but they snuck past Purdue and Nebraska to face No. 1 seed Michigan on Saturday in the semifinals. In a hard-fought game, Ohio State came up a possession short, falling 72-69. The game may have taken its toll on the Wolverines, who fell to Sparty by 14 on Sunday.
What this year’s tournament holds in store is anyone’s guess. The Buckeyes are entering as the sixth seed, the lowest Matta’s team has been since 2005, his first year in the league. Ohio State was also the No. 6 seed that season. Back then, sixth was in the lower half of the conference, though. With the addition of Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland in recent years, No. 6 is in the upper half.
Despite Ohio State’s roller coaster of inconsistency this year, people are not sleeping on Matta’s ability to get his team amped up for the league tourney. Bovada gives the No. 6 seed the second-best odds of winning the whole shebang, at 7:2. Only Wisconsin (10:11) has better odds at the moment.
Regardless of the odds, with Thad Matta on the bench and D’Angelo Russell on the floor, betting against the Buckeyes might not be the wisest investment, given historical data.
