Under Thad Matta, the Buckeyes typically turn on the afterburners when the calendar flips to February. That same sprint to the finish does not appear to be in the cards this year.
We've reached the portion of the college basketball season where the good teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. If March and April are when the actual championships are won, February is when the cream begin to distinguish themselves from the crop.
Under Thad Matta, Ohio State has fallen under the "cream" category in just about every year. The Buckeyes have prevailed in nearly 71 percent of their games from February through the Big Ten tournament under Matta.