Mike80 said:

He needs to be in the Ohio State Hall of Fame no later than next year. The ultimate unicorn in Ohio State basketball history and the era that every coach who will be at Ohio State will be measured by going forward.

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DaveyBoy said:

true.....it's remarkable that so many, me included.....me especially.....left this team and the Diebler Program for deal in early late January/early February. I'm so happy to be wrong and proud that an Ohio boy can make it here. At least for another couple seasons until he makes some noise in the B1G and the NCAA, then he'll have a longer leash.

It's such a shame this team was a mess when it lost to Pitt and Nebraska and it was injury plagued when it lost to Michigan State and Virginia.

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Bestbuck36 said:

Might finally have a chance to settle and get right without being thrown to the wolves.

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• Baylor
• Colorado
• Creighton
• Minnesota
• Oklahoma
• Rutgers
• Stanford
• West Virginia

Mike80 said:

So....

They won the games they needed to win against Ped state, Maryland and Indiana. They beat Wisconsin's ass and upset Purdue. It sucks they couldnt have pulled out the Virginia or Sparty games. All in all, they did what was needed.

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Mike80 said:

Cheering list for tonight:

Sharks over Senators
Ducks over Habs
Kraken over Florida
Minnesota over Toronto because fuck Canada....

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Mike80 said:

10 games left...6 wins to get to 20 on the season.

Wins I see: Maryland, USC, Iowa, Ped State

Toss-ups: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin

Unlikely to win: TCUN, Purdue

Not winning: @Sparty

@ Maryland

vs 3 Michigan

vs USC

vs 17 Virginia *

vs Wisconsin

@ 7 Michigan State

@ Iowa

vs 12 Purdue

@ Penn State

vs Indiana

I think if they can get to 20 wins against what they have left, and maybe win a game or two in the Big Ten tournament, they get in. We'll see - they could easily blow any of the 4 games they "should" win at the top too...

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Mike80 said:

Here's the thing though - that's NEVER been Ohio State historically, until Thad Matta that is. Thad Matta looks evermore like a complete unicorn in this program's history and since we're past 20 years since he was hired, and nearly 10 years since he was let go, the landscape of college basketball has changed entirely but Ohio State is still playing it like it's 2005.

To go full sports dork on you, I assigned a numerical value to every tournament appearance (25 out of 48 seasons if you were wondering and if you count O'Brien's 4 tournament years) from 1978-79 onward. This year was picked as it was the year of the Magic/Bird rivalry and the beginning of the modern era of College Basketball. The tournament expanded in 1985.

Anyway - of those 25 appearances, Matta REALLY stands out as the unicorn I keep saying he was with 9 of the 25 total appearances...I assigned each tournament result a number, from 7 (which is playing in the national final) to 1, which would be playing in but losing a play-in game, which hasn't happened yet. Here are the results:

Eldon Miller - 13
Gary Williams - 3
Randy Ayers - 12
Jim O'Brien - 14
Thad Matta - 40
Chris Holtmann - 11

It was an absolute stroke of luck (or genius) to hire Matta with the sanctions and whatnot that were ongoing at the time. As it is, he's the ONLY coach to elevate this program past its historical mean and he basically got run out of town. Without the Matta era, this program is moribund.

It's not that it can't happen - it's been proven it CAN. Should is another matter entirely. "Should" is earned, not a given. As far as that goes, there isn't a quick fix here - and anyone pretending that a new coach is going to magically fix everything is delusional.

It's going to take time, much increased NIL, a better or at least updated game atmosphere and a bigger national recruiting effort (international as well). All of it is going to take a much more aggressive focus from the AD to get it done.

Let us also remember that at Ohio State, if they are making money, the dog won't bark too loudly. That's just reality. Football is making money for the ENTIRE AD.

FWIW I don't think Diebler gets fired unless they somehow lose the rest of their games this year. I think they give him the 2nd full year (this is the 2nd full year) before putting on the pressure to win now in year 3. That said, if they DO pull the trigger, they cannot miss on the next hire and they absolutely must have a contingency plan (i.e. NOT what Ped State did when they fired Franklin)....and if they DO miss and that coach gets canned in 2 or 3 seasons, that rep of being a coaching graveyard at a football-focused school becomes harder to beat.

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RB07OSU said:

Graham won yet another consecutive state title in DIII but the margin wasn't quite so wide. But for now, the streak continues.

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DZ83CK said:

He signed a 5-year contract, this is Year Two. I don't see anything wrong with giving him an extra year now but it's probably not a huge priority.

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Herb Kirkstreit said:

What's the neck size on that shirt for Coach Locklyn?

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Mike80 said:

So.....

1 or 2 year extension for Diebler? I don't see any way they let him go into his last year of the contract he has without at least a 1 year extension to it.

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DZ83CK said:

Maybe I'm just biased, but I'm thinking Duke looks ripe for the upset

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ScriptOhio said:

Former Ohio State Basketball Coach Thad Matta Retires After Four Seasons at Butler

Former Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta announces his retirement after a four-year return to coaching at Butler.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Former Ohio State Basketball Coach Thad Matta Retires After Four Seasons at Butler​

Thad Matta is concluding his coaching career.

The former Ohio State basketball coach announced his retirement from coaching on Monday following a four-year return to coaching at Butler. Matta will remain with Butler, his alma mater, as a special assistant to the university president and athletic director.

"After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines," Matta said in a news release by Butler. "The love my wife, my daughters and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here. Butler has always meant more to us than just basketball—and that connection is why I'm grateful to continue working with the University and offering my help in any way I can. My commitment to Butler and to the future of this program remains as strong as ever. I want this program to compete at the highest levels of the Big East and national landscape, and I am excited to be part of what we continue to build here.”

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Matta ends his coaching career with a 502-223 record over 21 seasons as a head coach, earning his 500th win in February. Thirteen of those seasons were at Ohio State. The winningest coach in Ohio State basketball history, Matta went 337-123 with the Buckeyes, leading Ohio State to a national championship game appearance, two Final Fours, three Elite Eights, five Sweet 16s and nine total NCAA Tournament appearances.

Let go by Ohio State after the 2016-17 season, Matta took five years off from coaching before returning to the sideline in 2022 at Butler, where he started his head coaching career in 2000 after multiple stints as an assistant. Matta was unable to recapture his previous success in his second stint at Butler, however, going just 63-69 across four seasons.
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Fungo Squiggly said:

I mean, it was 4 inches off the plate. It wasn’t borderline. Perdomo did what he needed to do and the umpire fucked up. He has a right to be upset about it. It was a bad call and a shitty way to end a great game.

That being said, fans, as always, are whiny bitches when calls don't go their way.

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