Thad Matta out as Ohio State basketball coach

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After 13 seasons Ohio State and Thad Matta are parting ways.

At a press conference Monday with athletic director Gene Smith, Matta said it was a “mutually agreed decision.” Matta’s teams have been in the bottom half of the Big Ten the past few years and he’s also been troubled by back pain following surgery complications.

Matta took over the Buckeye basketball program in 2004 and compiled a record of 337–123, the most wins by a coach in school history. The 49-year-old Matta also took OSU to the Final Four in 2007 and 2012, falling in the championship game to Florida in ’07. His past two teams failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Gene Smith said that the search for a new basketball coach will begin immediately.