It was an amazing homecoming on Sunday afternoon at the Schottenstein Center as basketball season is on the horizon.
One of the great additions to college basketball over the last couple of years is the emphasis on the preseason exhibition games. On Sunday alone, Kansas hosted Duke; Duke played Tennessee a few days ago, and several other teams are playing high-profile warm-up games.
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The Ohio State Buckeyes had a big day on Sunday as they hosted the Butler Bulldogs for one of their tune-up games before the season officially kicks off in a week.
While playing the Bulldogs, they made it a homecoming celebration for one of the greatest coaches ever to do it. Thad Matta had announced last year that he was retiring as the head coach of the Bulldogs basketball team and transitioning into a front office role for Butler Athletics. He is now the Athletic Director and Special Assistant to the President.
He made the trip with the team to Columbus and there was a party waiting for him.
Up into the rafters went a Thad Matta banner that listed each of his accomplishments on it. He was the head man in Columbus from 2005-2017 and in that time, had the Buckeyes basketball at a level that they had never been at before.
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He won five Big Ten titles, he won four Big Ten Tournament Championships, he made two final fours, and most importantly, he notched 337 victories, which is the most in Ohio State history.
He had the Buckeyes’ basketball at the highest level it had ever been, and it has been since. The Buckeyes have been chasing that level ever since and have come up short.
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However, if there was ever a year that they were close to that level, it would be this year. Jake Diebler has the Buckeyes back to having an elite roster that features great depth, great youth, and great experience. It is a true trifecta of talent on the roster, and they are going to be in a really good spot from a talent perspective.
The obvious goal is to get back to where Matta had the program when it was rolling. The Buckeyes were consistently a top-half seed in the tournament and always made a run to the second weekend and beyond.
It is baby steps for the program right now. They got back to the tournament last year, and now the goal is to get to the second weekend. Anything they do on top of that is going to be icing on the cake.
Sunday was a great day for Ohio State Basketball as they honored a legend. It sets the table for what could be a great year for the program.
