Ohio State men’s basketball team welcomes No. 10 Virginia amid losing streak

OSU sophomore Keita Bates-Diop (33) takes a free throw in a game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 24 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU lost 82-74. Credit: Maria Martello | Lantern Photographer In Ohio State coach Thad Matta’s head coaching career, he has stood on the sideline for 531 games. He has won 403 of those, while dropping 128. But in none of those 531 contests has his team had more losses than wins in the record column. That will change on Tuesday, as the Buckeyes (2-3) are set to welcome No. 10 Virginia (5-1) to the Schottenstein Center for a 7:30 p.m. matchup as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. OSU’s season started off without any noteworthy results, grabbing 20-plus-point victories over a pair of unspectacular opponents. The wheels came off from there, however, as consecutive home losses to Texas-Arlington and Louisiana Tech dropped OSU to .500, before an overtime loss to Memphis in Miami gave Matta a losing record for the first time in his career. Sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate said having a losing record comes as a shock when a player comes to a school like OSU, but the team has to keep its composure and keep getting back on track. “None of us expected to be 2-3, but we’ve just got to stay the course,” Tate said. “We have to learn how to grow, how to improve every week in practice.” Tate and fellow sophomore forward Keita Bates-Diop each offered the same two culprits for the Buckeyes’ struggles: turnovers and poor free-throw shooting. “We’re not losing games by a lot. …

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