Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, January 25, 2016
(AP) Ohio State coach Thad Matta pushed a couple of buttons to help the Buckeyes beat Penn State 66-46 on Monday night and snap a two-game losing streak.
The first came two days before the game, when he sat down Keita Bates-Diop to talk about a scoreless performance against Purdue his last time out.
"I told him 'I need you to be more aggressive,'" Matta said.
The sophomore forward took the message to heart and responded with a game-high 22 points against the Nittany Lions.
"When he said that, I didn't want to let him down, come out and do the same thing again," Bates-Diop said. "The talk definitely helped."
He found his shooting stroke early, scoring 13 points in the first half.
That included a 3-pointer less than three minutes in that put Ohio State (13-8, 5-3) on top for good.
Bates-Diop finished the night 8 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 7 from long range.
