Thad Matta's 13th year at the helm of the Ohio State men's basketball program is officially down to postseason play. The Buckeyes fell at home on Saturday afternoon to Indiana 96-92 to finish the regular season 17-14 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play.
That was good for an 11th place finish in the conference standings. As a bottom-four team in the league, the Buckeyes are scheduled to play on Wednesday, the first day of the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State locks horns with Rutgers at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
On Monday evening, Matta joined Ron Stokes and Paul Keels on 97.1 The Fan for his weekly in-season radio show.
NOTES:
- “For players, these tournaments are opportunities to really make some great memories.”
- On Indiana: “They played like the No. 3 team in the country ... they were rolling. We just weren't as sharp defensively as we needed to be.”
- Matta said Big Ten teams shot more than 430 3-pointers against Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes didn't even reach 350 attempts: “It's amazing how many threes have been shot this year against us.”
- Tim Hortons Coffee With the Coach Question from Scott in Lima: How do you prepare a team to play five games in five days? Matta noted how he did four in four days at Xavier, beating Dayton on its home floor to win the title.
- Matta said you worry about fatigue as conference tournaments continue but games come so quick that there are too many other things to worry about.
- “These tournaments are for players. Players gotta go out and make plays and have fun with it.”
- Matta credited the Schottenstein Center crowd for the energy it provided when Ohio State managed to come all the way back and take the lead on Saturday against Indiana. He noted how the Buckeyes missed the front end of a 1-on-1 out of a timeout shortly thereafter, a loose ball ensued, Indiana got it and hit a 3-pointer: “That was a tough sequence.”
- Matta said the propensity of big men making 3-pointers has all but eliminated the power forward position: “That's a trickle down effect from the NBA.”
- Matta said he doesn't see the college game going to four quarters because [joking] "we like to be so much different than everybody else."
- However, Matta likes the idea of playing four quarters instead of two halves: "It's better for the players, it's better for the fans.
- Elk & Elk Injury Report: Matta said everyone is good "for the most part" except for JaQuan Lyle. He did not practice on Monday and had his knee drained the other day. Matta said he expects Lyle to be ready for the Big Ten Tournament.
- C.J. Jackson suffered a cramp against Indiana.
- Jimmy in Dublin: How does Matta integrate the younger players into the lineup so as to prepare them for next season? Matta noted that Jackson, Andre Wesson and Micah Potter have earned their rise in minutes this season: “I've been very happy with that.”
- Bob in Columbus offered to sit next to Matta on the plane to Portland next year. He then asked if Ohio State would use a zone defense in an effort to keep players fresh. Matta: “I don't think we will. We've literally talked about it. We've had it ready but I just haven't felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger on it ... I'm just trying to get us back to the way we defended at certain points this season.”
- Matta said the hardest thing that he's found in coaching man-to-man defense is that he's never happy with it: “You're constantly trying to adjust and do little things differently.”
- Matta said one of the best offensive players he's ever coached against zone defenses was Deshaun Thomas because he knows how to find all the holes and can hit shots from everywhere: “Some guys just have a knack for that.”
- Matta on college basketball officiating: “Sometimes the whistle blows and I say to myself, 'I have no idea what they're going to call here.'”
- He then pointed out a multiple play sequence with Jae'Sean Tate getting called for fouls with the judgment call in the lane and the restricted circle: “I feel for the officials sometimes because that's a tough call but other times it's hard to figure out what they want from you.”
- Matta said Ohio State turned the ball over a lot against Rutgers when the two teams met in February. He added that his team gave up four offensive rebounds in the first half and 11 in the second: “Taking care of the basketball and handling the changing defenses ... that's going to be big.”
- On Rutgers: “They're going to play as hard as any team we've played this year, obviously a neutral site game, going to be very competitive.”
- Matta said Ohio State will be as prepared for Northwestern as it can be but Rutgers is most important: “Should we win the first game, you have 9 p.m. the next night so you'll have all day to look at things.”
- Ohio State will have a half hour shootaround at the Verizon Center on Wednesday starting at 10:30 a.m.: “The positive thing, is no one else has played there either.”
- Max in Delaware asked Matta what the free-throw practice regiment is like at Ohio State before outlining how his Division III college team had to run sprints during water breaks if they missed shots in practice. Matta said he's tried "a lot of different things over the years" to help that.
- In year's past, Matta said he would line every player up at the line at the end of practice and they had a 1-and-1: “If they missed, they ran. If they missed, I'd come back to them.”
- Matta said his Y-Ball youth team won its first game on Sunday at the Delaware YMCA. His team of girls team beat a team of boys on the "Jae'Sean Tate Penn State Play."
- More on Jackson: “You love to see a guy like C.J. play well because he's a guy who does all the things right ... I think he's getting a much better command of the team when he's on the floor. He's doing a nice job.”
- Matta called Purdue "a heckuva team" and he agrees with Caleb Swanigan winning Big Ten Player of the Year.
- Jae'Sean Tate and Trevor Thompson were named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Matta: “There's a lot of great players in our league this year.”
- Jackson also received the Big Ten's Sportsmanship Award: “You just love him as a kid. His mind, his heart is in the right place. He's a guy that's very, very appreciative of being at Ohio State. He cares.”
- Matta said if you're a "true player," this is the best time of the year: “This is when players play. March is for the players. You throw everything out the window and it's when your back is against the wall.”
- Matta admitted that Kam Williams might be pressing too much lately: “He wants the ball to go in so bad.”
- Matta said Williams's best shot is in transition — "I never hesitate when I see him pull a three on the break."
