Ohio State's Thad Matta Needs Not Go All Out To Win Big Ten Tournament

Someone once told me to “sacrifice the battle to win the war.”   Does Thad Matta heed this philosophy?  I do not want to criticize him and come across as accusing him of not being a good coach, he is an excellent coach and has done a great job at Ohio State, but no one is perfect. 

Thad Matta’s contract stipulates that he will make $40,000 if he wins the Big Ten Tournament, $20,000 for reaching the Elite Eight and another $20,000 if he reaches the Final Four.  It is in Matta’s best interest financially to win the Big Ten Tournament. 

Matta will make an additional $100,000 if he wins the National Championship.  This should be his highest goal, discarding all else in the way.  In my opinion, Gene Smith should remove the 40k bonus from his contract so Matta would not be distracted.

Last year, Tom Izzo did not care at all about the Big Ten Tournament and had the higher goal of going far in the NCAA March Madness.  His MSU team lost early in the Big Ten, but got healthy and had plenty in the tank once March Madness began while Ohio State won the Big Ten tournament. 

Who went farther in the NCAA Championship Tourney? Buckeye fans have a painful reminder.  Ohio State lost to Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen while Michigan State made it all the way to the Final Four.  Matta should learn from Izzo and focus Ohio State on winning the NCAA tournament.  There are other reasons Matta should go light on the Big Ten Tournament.

1.) Avoid Injuries

In 2000, the University of Cincinnati was ranked No. 1 in the country, with the No. 1 player in the nation, Kenyon Martin.  Just 3:04 into the quarterfinal conference championship game against St. Louis, Kenyon Martin suffered a broken fibula and ligament damage and was lost for the rest of the season. Though the accident was freakish, and likely unpreventable, it still serves as a warning.  Martin was hurt during the conference tournament and Cincinnati did not go far in the NCAA tourney due to Martin’s injury. 

What if Jared Sullinger was lost?  What if David Lighty suffers an injury? Ohio State is currently playing seven people and can ill afford to lose anyone in the seven-man rotation.  Though playing less minutes does not insure freedom from injuries, the longer one plays the greater chance of getting hurt.  Matta needs to have a healthy team after the season ends.

2.) Keeping the Tank Full

When college football moved from an 11 game schedule to 12 games,  Jim Tressel cut back practice time.  Tressel knew that the physical body has limits and there is a time for physical exertion and a time for rest.  Matta needs to heed this principle.  One of Matta’s criticisms is that he plays the same players all the time and wears them down.  Trying to win the Big Ten tournament by playing only seven could deplete needed energy for the next round. 

After last year’s loss to Tennessee, some of the UT players commented that they felt the OSU players ran out of gas at the end of the game.  Matta should play Deshaun Thomas more, resting Jared Sullinger, as well as bench players like Jordan Siebert.

Some argued that John Wooden played seven players, but Wooden understood the concept of keeping the tank full.  He used to say that if he could rest a player before he was tired, he could re-enter him back in the game in 30 seconds. If he rested a tired player, it would take three minutes to return.  Matta needs to try to play more players during the Big Ten Tournament to give the top seven more rest so they will be fresher for the NCAA tournament.

3.) Already a No. 1 or No. 2 Seed

Most of the experts are projecting Ohio State to be a No. 1 seed.  At the very least, they will be a No. 2.  Zero No. 1 seeds have lost in the first round and only four No. 2 seeded teams suffered a first round loss.  Ohio State’s showing in the Big Ten Tournament will likely have little to no bearing on their seeding for the NCAA tournament.  So why go all out in the Big Ten when OSU is already going to be a high seed in the NCAA Championship?

Matta should have his eyes on the higher prize of the NCAA Championship.  He should sacrifice the battle of the Big Ten Tourney to win the war of an NCAA Championship. Tom Izzo gave him the example from last year’s Final Four run, hopefully Matta saw and learned. If he does, I think OSU has a great chance to win it all. 

Sacrifice the battle to win the war, Thad.  Good is the enemy of best, and the best for OSU would be to win it all.  Regardless, I will be rooting hard for Buckeye victories in all games; I just hope the final one will be in Houston, TX.