COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — There are two things that seem to follow Ohio State coach Thad Matta around: 20-win seasons and the label “great recruiter.”
But there are a lot of reasons to believe Matta is far more than a great collector of talent. This year he guided his Buckeyes (29-7) to a share of the Big Ten title, the conference’s tournament championship and, now, a trip to the round of 16. The Buckeyes play Tennessee on Friday night in St. Louis.
The Buckeyes are led by Evan Turner, who has been transformed under Matta’s watch from an unsure kid into a dominant player. Matta also showed a steady hand when Turner missed more than a month this season with broken bones in his back.
