Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is one win away from tying Fred Taylor's record for most wins (297) in program history.
The 23rd-ranked Buckeyes have two games left in their regular-season. They play Wednesday night at Penn State and host No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday. Then, it's off to Chicago for the Big Ten tournament and after that is the NCAA tournament.
In all likelihood, Matta will tie (and probably break) Taylor's record this season. He's not worried about that right now, though. His focus is strictly on the Nittany Lions.
"Honestly, I haven’t thought about it," Matta said Tuesday when meeting with the media. "It's more in terms of I know this teams till has a lot it has to accomplish, that it can accomplish. I think if it happens I may take a deep breath and say, ‘Hey, let me think about what it really means to me.’”
If Matta is to tie the record, Ohio State must go on the road and beat a Penn State team which has lost five games in a row. The Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions, 75-55, at the Schottenstein Center on Feb. 11.
Matta said Ohio State will likely be without starting big man Anthony Lee for the sixth-straight game. Lee, who is suffering from a lingering groin strain, has not practiced in three weeks, according to Matta.
"The hard part is he hasn’t practiced in three weeks, so how effective could he be once he gets healthy?" Matta said. "He did some skill work yesterday trying to feel it out, but I wouldn’t expect him tomorrow night.”
Notes:
- Despite losing five straight, Matta said Penn State has been in nearly every game it's played at home. The Nittany Lions are coming off an overtime loss to Iowa on Saturday. "It seems like we’re invited to their Senior Day every year. It’s amazing how many times we’ve been invited over there on Senior Day," Matta said. "I think you look at their team and it’s a very, very good basketball team."
- The Buckeyes have played their fair share of close games this year, too, and finally were on the winning side of one Sunday against the Boilermakers. "I think from the standpoint of in those games, a lot of them we have been playing catch-up," Matta said. That’s more the problem of putting ourselves in that position as opposed to did we make that shot or get this stop or whatever."
- Matta said he feels confident in his team's ability in close games because "we've got a great player who can make plays" in reference to freshman guard D'Angelo Russell.
- Matta said he's in favor of reducing the shot clock to 30 seconds and giving players six fouls until they foul out in college basketball, citing he'd like to see the best players staying on the court.
- Matta said he's a little surprised at the success freshman Jae'Sean Tate is having right away as a true freshman. " I thought Jae’Sean was tough, I knew he was competitive. I probably was a little taken back by his basketball IQ," he said. "His footwork, his fakes, those types of things around the basket, his explosiveness, you don’t see all that in the recruiting process, but then you get to see it every day. I’m elated with how he is playing, he’s going to be a great player here.”
