With Ohio State's 83-73 win over No. 16 Wisconsin Thursday night, Thad Matta reached another milestone. He has now coached more games than any other head coach in the program's history.
Thursday night's win over the Badgers was Matta's 457th on the sidelines for Ohio State. It's his 13th year leading the Buckeyes and he is 336-121 in that timeframe.
Following the victory, Matta was asked about his latest milestone and Ohio State's head coach also gave a subtle jab — jokingly — toward some critics as his teams have struggled a bit these last two seasons.
“I’ve been counting down since the day I got here. It’s been a long road but I just check them off each time," Matta joked. "[Director of basketball operations] Dave Egelhoff is nervous because he just told me that it went 455, 456, 457 and he’s wondering if I’m going to show up again. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who wouldn’t be pissed off if I didn’t come back."
"No, I say that just from the standpoint of I guess that’s a tremendous feat, I don’t know. I kind of like the most wins more than the most games to be honest with you.”
Matta became the winningest coach in program history at the end of the 2014-15 season — a mark he has since added to.
Matta tied Fred Taylor (455) for the No. 2 spot all time in the game vs. Michigan State Feb. 14 and Harold G. Olsen's 456 games (259-197) the last time out vs. Nebraska (Feb. 18). Taylor was on the sidelines from 1959-76 (297-158).
Thad Matta is No. 13 all-time in career Big Ten regular-season victories with 148 career league triumphs. He passed Harold “Bud” Foster (WIS 1935-59) who won 143 league encounters with the win over Michigan State (72-67/Jan. 15 in Columbus). The No. 12 spot is held by former Olsen (1923-46). He won 154 league games over his tenure.
Thursday's win improved Ohio State to just 16-13 on the season and 6-10 in the Big Ten. Over the last two seasons, the Buckeyes are just 37-27. Barring a Big Ten tournament championship, Ohio State will likely miss the NCAA tournament for the second-straight season.
There are questions out there about Matta and the state of the program, but after another milestone, Matta seems determined to keep on chugging along.
“Yeah, like I said, I [couldn't] care less," Matta said. "I look forward to getting back in here with these guys, going to work and I’m excited. Hopefully we can build off this and play this way the next couple games.”
