When Thad Matta was informed of his home record in the month of March as Ohio State's head coach, he sat back in his chair and flashed a giant smile.
After earning a 65-61 win over Purdue on Sunday, Matta is now 13-0 at home leading the Buckeyes during college basketball's most important month, but he was unaware of the feat when a reporter asked him about it during his post-game press conference.
"Is that right?" Matta said.
It's a pretty startling statistic, really. Matta is now in his 11th season commanding the Buckeyes and still has yet to lose a home game in March. Ohio State has one more at home this season: next sunday against Big Ten-leading and No. 5 Wisconsin.
"What's my road record?" Matta joked. "No, that’s an amazing deal in March to say the least."
Ohio State's Big Ten tournament and NCAA tournament games obviously are not played within the friendly confines of the Schottenstein Center. But the Buckeyes play crucial games late in the conference season at home and Matta's flawless record to this point has been a big part of why he's already won five regular-season Big Ten titles.
Ohio State won't win one of those this year. The Badgers have already clinched at least a share of the league crown and can clinch it outright with a win in one of their final two games or a loss by Maryland. Wisconsin has been the class of the Big Ten all season.
But there might not be a more dangerous team in the conference — a team feared by other outside opponents — more than this Ohio State squad.
The Buckeyes have a ton of talent mostly led by freshman sensation D'Angelo Russell. But they also have a ton of experience with a large group of seniors who have been on teams that have made Final Four and Elite Eight runs in their careers.
"This is the type of win that we have to get especially in the month of March," senior forward Sam Thompson said following the victory against the Boilermakers. "It’s too late for us to be taking steps backwards now and it’s our time to hit our stride, to really get going and to really put together a run. This is just a step in the right direction."
Under Matta, Ohio State seemingly always hits its stride around this time of year. The Buckeyes had made four-straight Sweet 16s prior to last season and have been to the Final Four twice in Matta's first 10 years as the Buckeyes head coach.
How deep Ohio State can go in this year's NCAA tournament remains a big question mark, so much of that depends on seeding and matchups when the bracket is released in two weeks.
But the Buckeyes have a nice combination of young talent and senior experience that could set them up for a deep run. They also have a head coach who does fairly well in the month of March.
“I could get used to this; this is great," said Russell, who scored 28 points in his first-ever college game in March. "Coach preached in shootaround it’s March. Every win counts and any win can trigger a run. We’re making our strides forward and there’s no room to go backwards.”
