Let’s look at the facts about Ohio State basketball:

In Thad Matta’s 11 seasons at Ohio State, our record is 299-94. His average record is 27-9, and his 299 wins are more than any B1G coach in those 11 years—even Izzo. Pretty darn good. I don’t think anybody was happy with last year’s team, but just two years ago we were 29-6 and went to the elite 8. We won or tied for the regular season B1G title in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and have won it in 5 of Matta’s 11 years coaching. That’s second all-time to Fred Taylor, who won 7 in his 18 years coaching, and had 199 wins in his first 11 seasons. We have won the B1G tourney 4 times in his 11 years. Matta’s winning percentage is WAY higher than any previous OSU basketball coach. He has coached his teams to 20 wins every one of the 15 years he has been head coach of any team.

We have reached the NCAAs for 7 consecutive years and 9 out of 11 under Matta. The one year we did not reach the NCAAs when we were eligible (we were not eligible for postseason play his first year) we won the NIT. In the last six years, we have reached the final four twice, and the elite 8 four times.

Again, we are victims of our expectations. The fact that we are in the running for recruits with such teams as Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, etc., just shows you the state of our program. I know we’d all love to have Tom Izzo’s NCAA record—the man is great at coaching in the tourney, but those who think we need a new coach should be careful what they ask for.

I know last years’ team underachieved, but they lost to a strong Arizona team in the NCAAs after winning their first round game.

The early results are grim, but I expect this team to continue to improve, and next year to be a force to be reckoned with in the B1G. Let’s get behind them!