Man, that was fast. Thad Matta's basketball Buckeyes defeated Youngstown State last Friday night and moved from #3 to the top spot in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The jump to #1 became reality following weekend losses by previous #1 Florida and #2 North Carolina. This should add a little spice to the OSU/UNC showdown in Chapel Hill Wednesday night.
An interesting side note is that for the first time in school history, the football and men's hoops squads are ranked #1 at the same time. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to give thanks to Bad Thad and The Vest for turning our two favorite teams into elite national powers. And of course, I gotta give some love to the man that went against conventional wisdom and brought them here, Andy Geiger.
Comments
I am not sure how they are ranked #1. They play a bunch of young guys and have not beat nobody (yet). Are they for real??? I am a little sceptical.
You also got to give Thad an extra shout out for looking past the possible NCAA sanctions.
Everyone else thought we were going to get nailed.
That is why Thad rules.
@dytajb: Good point about the sanctions.
I am pretty surprised to see us ranked so high so early. I think pollsters recognize that the Buckeyes have great talent (even without Oden) and most importantly, have a great coach. Matta has had a lot of big wins already in a young career. Ultimately, the ranking isn't much good beyond bragging purposes in college hoops.
No doubt being #1 means nothing when it comes to what happens in March. To me, it's more about symbolism...Kind of letting everyone know that the OSU hoops program is back and plans to challenge for championships in both the conference and the country on a yearly basis from now going forward.
Great point, dytajb, that Matta deserves even more love for looking past the pending sanctions. His positivity and enthusiasm throughout the whole process was infectious and got people believing.
I think we can pull it off tonight. Matta ALWAYS has his teams prepared.
how can you give that Cooper lovin' Greiger credit for anything related to OSU sports...ever???
Gieger made 4 great hires before he left: Jim Tressel, Thad Matta, Jim Foster and John Markell.