It has been nearly two years, 38 games in all, since the Ohio State men’s basketball team lost a home game.

On Feb.17, 2010, fourth-ranked Purdue visited Value City Arena and paid back the ninth-ranked Buckeyes for the upset they had pulled off on the Boilermakers’ court a month earlier. Ohio State nearly overcame a 13-point halftime deficit but lost by three when two shots in the closing seconds did not fall.

Purdue visits Value City Arena again tonight. It is not the same team it was then.

Neither is the Buckeyes’ home court the same.

Last season, the athletic department finally moved the student section from both end zones of the arena to behind the team benches. The Buckeyes have not lost at home yet with the “Buckeye Nuthouse” having their backs — and getting on the backs of opponents.

“My hat’s off to them,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “It’s not a place where I want my family sitting anywhere nearby, but they are really good.

“I think they’ve made a lot of good moves inside of that arena in the short time I’ve been in this league to enhance the atmosphere. It’s one of the tougher ones (to play in in the Big Ten), there’s no doubt about it.”

It has been tougher than ever this season. The third-ranked Buckeyes have won their 15 home games by an average of 26.5 points. The closest was 15 points against Michigan.

Ohio State’s 38-game home winning streak is the second-longest in NCAA Division I-A to Kentucky’s 48, and the second-longest in the history of the program. The Buckeyes won 50 in a row in St. John Arena from 1959 through 1964.

“I think it’s advantageous for us,” said Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who pushed for the change for several years.

“For one thing, I think it really, really involves the students, and they feel a part of the game. And in terms of having them that close to us, I think it maybe gives our guys more of a sense of home-court advantage.”

Jared Sullinger said the arena is louder.

“Before, it was just on one end. Now, it’s everywhere,” he said.

“And it’s not only the students but it’s the (other) fans as well. They’re starting to get into it, they’re starting to get loud, they’re standing up and cheering.”

Purdue coach Matt Painter acknowledged an “intimidation factor” and difficulty communicating when a student section is right behind an opposing team’s bench. But there is an antidote, he said.

“The one thing you have to do on the road, no matter where you’re playing, you have to make shots, you have to make plays, you have to have discipline, and then it takes the crowd out of it,” he said. “If you don’t do those things, now it gets to be an advantage (for the home team).”

Ohio State sacrificed revenue for 240 seats for the 10 games in the students’ ticket package. Black tarps cover four rows where standing students would have obstructed the view of season-ticket holders behind them.

It has been been worth it, associate athletic director Miechelle Willis said.

“There have been games this year that were off the charts with the energy in the building,” she said, “and that starts with that courtside section.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose 11th-ranked Spartans play in Value City Arena on Saturday night, said Ohio State made the right move.

“This will sound insane, but I love it,” Izzo said. “I think it is harder on us, but I also think it’s the collegiate way.”

Michigan State placed students courtside when it opened the Breslin Center in 1989, and the “Izzone” has become the bar by which other such sections are measured.

“You look around, and the best programs don’t win games just because of their teams,” Izzo said. “There’s a reason Kansas, Kentucky and Duke are so hard to win at.”

bbaptist@dispatch.com