There was a moment during the game a week ago that an Ohio State player — who shall go nameless — glimpsed some light at the end of the tunnel.
So, too, at that moment, did coach Thad Matta.
“I don’t want to say (he) lost his mind,” Matta said this week, “but he went solo for a couple minutes — and actually apologized. He said, ‘Hey, I lost it there.’
“And I said, ‘Wow, that’s a step in the right direction’ that he knew it (and) I wasn’t the only one that was thinking that.”
Through 10 games this season, Matta at times has seemed like a latter-day Hans Brinker with more than one hole in his dike. He plugs one — say, rebounding — and another one — perhaps transition defense — spouts somewhere else. Plug that, and some players’ focus begins leaking. And so on.
It’s been awhile since Matta has had so many recurring holes to fill at the start of a season.
“My freshman year, that was the best team in college basketball, in my opinion,” junior Deshaun Thomas said. “We had (three) seniors that had been in that atmosphere and knew what it takes. It seemed like we had a connection right away. (Last) year, we had our ups and downs, but we picked it up at the right time.
“This year, it’s taking long. Coach doesn’t want us to make the same mistakes (twice). Last year, we probably would have made a mistake once and then never make it again. It’s kind of different, and difficult. He’s trying to find guys their roles on this team. That’s why he’s playing everybody, see where they fit in
Matta and everyone else should get a good indication today of where the seventh-ranked Buckeyes (9-1) are, with the start of the Big Ten season 11 days away.
Kansas (9-1), which beat them twice last season, including in the Final Four, visits Value City Arena this afternoon. The No. 9 Jayhawks are the first ranked team that Ohio State has played since its 73-68 loss at then-No. 2 Duke on Nov. 28, and they will challenge the Buckeyes with a large lineup that ranks among the best in the country on defense.
Kansas’ starting guards stand 6 feet 4, 6-5 and 6-6, and 7-foot center Jeff Withey averages an NCAA-best 5.4 blocked shots per game. Jayhawks opponents have averaged 58.5 points and shot 35.1 percent from the field.
Ohio State ranks fifth nationally in offensive efficiency but shot 33.8 percent against Duke and has not tested itself against a major-conference opponent since. The Buckeyes won five home games by an average of 28.1 points during that span.
“We really haven’t played that good-competition team (since) Duke,” Thomas said. “Now we want to show people we can play (with) these teams.”
