Matta, Ohio St. opt to part ways

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thad Matta is out as Ohio State’s basketball coach after the Buckeyes missed the last two NCAA Tournaments.

Matta, 49, who has coached the team for 13 seasons, also cited his health at a news conference Monday. He has been troubled for years by chronic back problems that sometimes prevented him from taking off his shoes after a game.

Matta said he and athletic director Gene Smith agreed it was time for a change. Matta coached the Buckeyes from 2005 to 2017 and took them to two Final Fours. Ohio State was 17-15 this year — the worst season in Matta’s 17 years as a head coach. His teams won at least 20 games in 12 consecutive seasons. He won five regular-season Big Ten titles and four league tourneys. In other college news: • The University of Houston has agreed to home-and-home football series with Washington State and North Texas. The first game with Washington State will be at TDECU Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, and the two teams will meet at Pullman, Wash., on Sept. 12, 2020. The Cougars and Mean Green will play at Denton on Sept. 28, 2019, and UH host North Texas on Sept. 23, 2023.

• Three Michigan State football players were charged in an alleged sexual assault on campus in January. Ingham County prosecutor Carol Siemon said only that three people were being charged in the incident. Karen Truszkowski, an attorney for the accuser, told the Associated Press that the three are football players. The school also released a report from an external law firm that investigated the football program’s handling of the allegations. The investigation found no evidence that coach Mark Dantonio violated the school’s policy on relationship violence and sexual misconduct. The report said Dantonio “took prompt and decisive action” with respect to the January incident that has led to criminal charges.