Be honest, when Ohio State was 2-4 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak back in November, did you think the Buckeyes would sit at 4-1 in the Big Ten on Jan. 15?
Didn’t think so.
Ohio State head coach Thad Matta may not have believed it either.
Because, to be honest, Ohio State was not a good basketball team back then. But things have changed a bit now and the Buckeyes have some momentum now with their 4-1 league mark.
“If I would have said to you guys, ‘Hey, I would like to be 4-1 on Jan. 13, in November, in the Big Ten, you would have been like, ‘Yeah, that’s going to happen.’” Matta said after his team’s most recent win, a 94-68 pasting of Rutgers on Wednesday night. “I think with that said, I like the position we’re in.”
When discussing the Buckeyes’ recent surge, though, it’s important to keep some perspective.
| DATE | OPPONENT |
|---|---|
| Jan. 16 | at Maryland |
| Jan. 21 | at Purdue |
| Jan. 25 | vs. Penn State |
| Jan. 28 | at Illinois |
| Jan. 31 | vs. Maryland |
| Feb. 4 | at Wisconsin |
| Feb. 9 | vs. Northwestern |
| Feb. 13 | at Rutgers |
| Feb. 16 | at Michigan |
| Feb. 20 or 21 | at Nebraska |
| Feb. 23 | vs. Michigan State |
| Feb. 27 or 28 | vs. Iowa |
| March 5 or 6 | at Michigan State |
Ohio State has eight wins in its last nine games, but the Buckeyes’ lone loss in that stretch was a 25-point defeat at the hands of Indiana last Sunday; Ohio State only has two wins in that timeframe over teams currently ranked in the RPI’s Top 100: Kentucky and Northwestern; and, the combined league record of the Buckeyes’ four Big Ten wins is just 3-16.
Nevertheless, 4-1 in the league is 4-1 in the league, and Ohio State needs every win it can get at this point, especially those in the Big Ten. There is no set magic number of league wins the Buckeyes need to make the NCAA tournament, but it’s likely their total needs to at least reach double digits.
“We’ve got to keep finding ways and challenging,” Matta said. “Accept the challenge of practice, accept the challenge of preparing for games, accept the challenge of warming up and getting yourself ready to play.”
Things are about to get much more difficult for Ohio State, though. Three of the Buckeyes’ next four games are on the road and their next two are against top-25 opponents. This next tough stretch begins Saturday when Ohio State travels to take on No. 3-ranked Maryland. After that, it’s a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana for a date with 24th-ranked Purdue.
Despite the tough slate of games coming up, though, the Buckeyes remain optimistic about their chances and where they are currently sitting in the grand scheme of things.
“Going into Maryland, tough environment, we can definitely have a little confidence on this,” sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate said. “Sitting at 4-1 in the Big Ten, that’s pretty good.”
Ohio State was an interesting team before the season because of the amount of uncertainty surrounding the team. A few weeks into the season, that uncertainty quickly turned to doubt.
But now that Matta and Co. have the Buckeyes playing well to start the Big Ten season sans one clunker, it’s starting to get interesting again. Ohio State has an opportunity over the next week to fully cement itself back onto the NCAA tournament bubble.
“I don’t think in today’s modern era of college basketball that you can ever have a ton of confidence because the next game is going to be challenging,” Matta said. “What I’m searching for is that button that I push that says, ‘Hey, we’re ready to play.’
“I’ve always said this: I want guys not necessarily with confidence in themselves, but confidence in the system, confidence in what we’re trying to do, confidence in each other. When you have that, I think good things happen.”
