Thirty-one days.
Having crafted an 11-4 mark through the end of the 2017 portion of the schedule to provide a glimmer of hope for Ohio State basketball fans, Chris Holtmann just capped the 31 days of January with an 8-1 record, vaulting the program back into national relevancy for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
The magnitude of his team's January accomplishments must be celebrated against the backdrop of those four previous seasons that, while seeing varying degrees of success in January, not only fell short of what Holtmann and company just produced but also ended up outside of the final Top-25 at the end of each season.
| SEASON | RECORD AS OF 12/31 | JANUARY RECORD | JANUARY RANKING | FINAL SEASON RECORD | FINAL RANKING | POSTSEASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 11-4 (2-0) | 8-1 | 17 | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| 2016-17 | 10-3 (0-0) | 3-7 | UNRANKED | 17-15 (7-11) | UNRANKED | NONE |
| 2015-16 | 9-5 (1-0) | 5-4 | UNRANKED | 21-14 (11-7) | UNRANKED | NIT 2ND RD |
| 2014-15 | 11-3 (0-1) | 6-2 | UNRANKED | 24-11 (11-7) | UNRANKED | NCAA 2ND RD |
| 2013-14 | 14-0 (1-0) | 2-5 | 23 | 25-10 (10-8) | UNRANKED | NCAA 1ST RD |
The beginning of Thad Matta's decline traces back the 2013-14 squad that feasted on cupcakes through the November-December schedule on the way to a 14-0 mark before being exposed against league foes.
A 2-5 mark in January saw the Buckeyes close out the month losing four of five including an overtime loss at No. 5 Michigan State as a 20-3 run to end regulation went for naught thanks mostly to 21 turnovers.
The Buckeyes also lost by 10 at home to No. 20 Iowa before back-to-back road losses against Minnesota and Nebraska but the real killer was a 71-70 home loss to an ordinary Penn State squad.
The group rebounded to go 7-3 through the rest of the regular season conference slate, earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament but a sobering 60-59 loss to No. 11 seed Dayton let it be known Ohio State was no longer comfortably at the top of Ohio basketball pile.
A year later, Matta's 2014-15 team entered the 2015 calendar year with an 11-3 mark and proceeded to compile a respectable 6-2 mark in January on the strength of a three-game win streak to cap the month as D'Angelo Russell did his best Greg Jennings impersonation and put the team on his back.
Russell was sensational going for 33 points in a two-point win over Northwestern and 22 points and 10 boards as the Buckeyes beat No. 23 Indiana before an 18-point, 14-rebound, six-assist performance in a blowout victory over No. 16 Maryland.
The one-man band would go just 6-5 through the rest of the Big Ten regular season to earn a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Russell had one more signature performance in him as he tallied 28 points in an overtime win over No. 7 seed VCU before Ohio State got smoked by No. 2 seed Arizona ensuring unranked status in the final Coaches Poll.
D'Angelo Russell led the charge in 2014-15 averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
The 2015-16 season would offer just two highlights the entire season; a December win over No. 4 Kentucky and a late February win over No. 8 Iowa.
The November-December schedule produced a 9-5 mark featuring losses to UT-Arlington, Louisiana Tech and Memphis setting the stage for a 5-4 record in January, good for the second-worst record over the past five seasons.
Three of those losses did come to ranked teams though one was a 35-point spanking at the hands of Maryland. Ohio State did rebound with just a five-point loss to the Terps two weeks later which too many fans (including yours truly) accepted as a moral victory out of loyalty to Matta despite the reality the program was taking on water.
A modest four-game win streak against unranked squads pushed Ohio State's league mark to 10-5 but the Buckeyes would finish the regular season slate with an 11-7 record, good for seventh-place in the Big Ten and a berth in the NIT. The Buckeyes beat Akron before falling to Florida ensuring a finish outside the Top-25 for a third consecutive season.
What turned out to be Matta's final season in Columbus started out with a 10-3 mark entering January featuring a shocking loss to Florida Atlantic sandwiched between two more moral victories as the Buckeyes damn near beat No. 6 Virginia before a 13-point loss to UCLA and Lonzo Ball out in Las Vegas.
A 3-7 record in January including four straight to open league play dropped the 2016-17 team's overall record to 13-10. A 23-point loss at No. 18 Wisconsin capped the four-game tailspin as Matta uncharacteristically voiced his frustration talking about how his team was "a get well card for teams shooting the ball" amid comments about being unable to get through to his team.
The low point of the season occurred on the 28th of the month as Iowa, minus Peter Jok, spanked a listless Buckeye squad 85-72 in Iowa City.
The 2016-17 season summed up in one image.
A tough season to watch, especially knowing everything Matta accomplished putting the program back on the national map over a stretch that saw him emerge as the no-doubt best coach in the history of Ohio State basketball, mercifully ended without a postseason bid on the heels of a 17-15 campaign.
With Matta's departure over the summer, and the arrival of Holtmann (along with the return of Keita Bates-Diop), it was reasonable to expect an uptick in performance but what Holtmann has given Buckeye fans thus far has far exceeded expectations.
The November-December slate wrapped at 11-4 and wasn't without its warts as the Buckeyes gave away games against Butler and Clemson sandwiched around decisive losses to No. 17 Gonzaga and No. 5 North Carolina. A win over Michigan was certainly nice to cap a 2-0 start to league play but nobody could have imagined what Holtmann's program would do in January.
The 8-1 mark over the last 31 days saw Ohio State absolutely demolish then-No. 1 Michigan State and while the Big Ten is inarguably down this year, the Buckeyes dismantled Iowa, Maryland, Rutgers, Minnesota and Indiana, in addition to closer wins against Northwestern and Nebraska.
The lone loss came as Penn State's Tony Carr drained a 35-footer as the buzzer sounded which wasn't that surprising considering the Nittany Lions hit their first five and last five three-point tries in a hat-tipping upset.
The blazing hot January pushed the Buckeyes to 19-5 overall and 10-1 in Big Ten play, just one game behind unbeaten Purdue. Beating the No. 3 ranked Boilers in West Lafayette next Thursday night in a measuring stick game could be a reach but the fact Ohio State is even in the thick of the Big Ten race is a sudden yet welcome change of pace.
Buckeye fans should certainly give a nod to Matta for bringing in the overwhelming majority of contributors on this year's roster but Holtmann's steady stewardship and installation of a new culture deserve high-praise and signal an impending return of greatness for Ohio State basketball.
