Thad Matta is in his seventh season as head basketball coach at Ohio State, and he has already etched his name in the record books in some august company. By winning his fourth Big Ten championship in his first seven seasons, Matta joins Bob Knight, Tom Izzo and Wisconsin’s Walter Meanwell as the only coaches to reach that level of success that quickly.

Matta has a career mark at Ohio State of 184-56, a .767 winning percentage, which equals his overall career percentage, including his years at Butler (2000) and Xavier (2001-2004). He has been a success everywhere he has coached...taking three different teams beyond the first round of the NCAA Tournament, something that might have been expected from a guy who hails from Hoopeston, Illinois.

But despite one Elite Eight appearance with Xavier, and one Final Four berth at OSU, Matta has not been known for his postseason successes. On more than one occasion his teams have been bounced from the tournament by underdogs of one breed or another, and his resume is still lacking that which Knight and Izzo have achieved...a national championship.

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Nine players from Ohio State’s 2010-2011 team attended the NFL Combine this year, and with the grand spectacle coming to a close earlier this week, we can now look back and see how each former Buckeye performed. Each player was put through a number of physical and mental tests ranging from running 40 yards as fast as they can to fielding questions from an army of media-zombies*. Regardless of your feelings toward the combine, whether you think it’s pointless or pivotal, how these NFL hopefuls perform can dramatically alter their perceived value to a professional football team.

* Can you imagine if each player was interviewed by an actual army of zombies? Think about it -- navigating a room full of curios zombies who want nothing more than to feed on your flesh would test the mental strength of a player more than any other situation could. Why don’t they do this? Who decides what these players have to go through during combine week? Because that person clearly messed up by excluding the zombie Q&A session.

This is a brief overview of how the nine former Buckeyes fared at the combine. After reviewing each players work-out results, I’ll reveal a picture of former Hollywood star James Van Der Beek that reflects whether the player improved, hurt, or did nothing to their draft value. Here’s how it’ll work:

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Ohio State traveled to Penn State for its final road game of the regular season Tuesday night and destroyed the Nittany Lions behind a record setting performance by Jon Diebler. The Buckeyes posted an 82-61 victory, but Diebler overshadowed every storyline by hitting an Ohio State record 10 3-pointers in the game.

Diebler finished with a game-high 30 points, all from behind the arch, while chipping in three rebounds and five assists. The senior guard attempted just 12 threes (shooting 83% from the 3-point line), making his record setting performance even more impressive. The previous record, originally set by Jay Burson when he hit nine 3-pointers in a game 22 years ago, was matched by Diebler earlier this year against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. His performance against Penn State last night pushed him over the top, and the Big Ten’s greatest 3-point shooter  just added to the history he’s making in Columbus.

When asked about the record after the game, Diebler said, "I just found out. It's cool, I guess it's something I'll look back on later down the road." He later added, "I'm just happy we won. It was a great team effort."

While Diebler was enjoying a career-game, the other members of the Buckeyes’ squad were putting in work as well. The team as a whole shot 55% from the field against Penn State and assisted on 21 of their 31 made field goals. Buford finished the game with 21 points and four assists, Sullinger recorded a double-double scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds and David Lighty chipped in six points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Buckeyes were just as impressive on defense, especially in the first half. The Buckeyes limited Penn State severely through the first 20 minutes of action, holding them to just 18 points on 26% shooting (6-23). Penn State only managed two assists against six turnovers, and the 18 points scored was a season low for the Nittany Lions.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes (27-2) dominated the Indiana Hoosiers in Columbus Sunday night, posting a 15 point halftime lead before cruising to an 82-61 victory.

The Buckeyes were led by a strong performance off the bench by freshman Deshaun Thomas. When Sullinger and Lighty were forced to sit in the first half because of foul trouble, Thomas came in and provided a huge lift for Ohio State. The freshman scored 16 first half points on 6-7 shooting while grabbing four rebounds.

“It felt great,” Thomas said after the game. “Every day in practice Coach Matta was telling me we need you, and after today I’m proud of myself and my teammates.”

Thomas finished the game with a team-high 22 points and four rebounds, but it was his first half performance that left the biggest impact on the game. Indiana had started the game relatively hot, connecting on four of their first six shots before going cold. After scoring eight quick points, the Hoosiers missed 14 of their next 16 shots in a dismal offensive performance. Despite Indiana’s lack of production, Ohio State wasn’t able to pull away early. The Buckeyes fell victim to some whistle-happy refs, and Jared Sullinger was called for his second foul three minutes into the game.

At the 10 minute mark, Ohio State had just three made field goals and only 13 points. With the Buckeyes struggling offensively, head coach Thad Matta went to his bench and inserted Thomas midway through the half. That decision proved to be a very good one.

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