There was a time, not too long ago, when Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta was accused of having no acumen for half-court offense and a strange disdain for man-to-man defense. The arguments seemed compelling at the time because, well, Matta’s set offense was a three-point shot and his defense was — gasp — a zone.

It is time to give a little credit where it is due.

Matta coaches to his talent, and that is just about the best thing one can say about a coach. Last night was another in a series of new testaments.

Purdue was the last team to beat Ohio State in Value City Arena, two years ago. The Boilermakers were poised to win again and break the Buckeyes’ 38-game home win streak.

Center Jared Sullinger and point guard Aaron Craft were on the bench for a large swath of the second half because of foul trouble. The Boilermakers looked unguardable in the first half, and they had the whiff of an upset in their nostrils.

This one had all the markings of a bruising defeat for the Buckeyes. It turned into a statement victory.

Matta had to prod his team’s toughness, and ply its depth, to pull the lads through it. William Buford scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half, and Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson and Evan Ravenel played key roles down the stretch as the Buckeyes held on for an 87-84 victory.

This is a much different Ohio State team than we have seen in recent years — and Matta has them playing differently, not to mention incredibly well.

When Jon Diebler, Jeremie Simmons, David Lighty and a younger Buford were in the lineup, Matta was criticized by some (ahem) for his lack of imagination. He took the guff and let his shooters fire away. It worked.

Understanding that Kosta Koufos and Byron Mullens could not guard the high pick-and-roll and that Diebler could not guard a lawn chair, Matta installed a zone defense. It looked dreadful, but it worked. In 2008-09, the Buckeyes were the highest-ranked zone team in the nation until Lighty went down with a broken foot that ended his season. As for Diebler, by the time he finished his career, he was a smart and effective help defender, at least — and he was draftable.

Matta wins 20-plus games every season, and he looks smarter all the time. He is not one of the precious few college coaches who might be able to handle the high-speed chess game at the next level, but he is more than just an excellent recruiter. This season, his talented group is highly polished, and it is being re-buffed every week.

On Saturday afternoon at Wisconsin, the Buckeyes launched all of seven three-pointers, and made one, in a 58-52 win over the Badgers.

“When I first started coaching, people said, ‘You guys take too many threes,’ ” Matta said at his Monday news conference. “I’m just trying to even it up now.”

That is another thing to like about Matta: His self-deprecating humor (to go along with his indulgence in windy non-speak) tends to belie a facile basketball brain. He does not chest thump when OSU wins, nor does he rip his players when things go awry.

If you like watching basketball, this team is a treat. It plays nasty man-to-man defense led by a ball hawk in Craft. Offensively, it is the most beautiful thing Matta has orchestrated in his time here. The ball moves, in, out and around the big fella, Sullinger.

Last night, Matta’s team showed a special brand of resilience. Coming off a stirring victory and coming in against a Purdue team that was amply motivated, on a night when their grit and their bench were tested as never before, the Buckeyes dug down and showed the country the stuff of which they are made.

Michael Arace is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.

marace@dispatch.com