Post Game Quotes From Ohio State’s Victory Over Michigan State – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2000
Recap| Box Score| Notes| Interview
Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien
“We are proud of this team. We beat a premier team tonight. Will, Cobe and the rest of the bench did a great job tonight. We played terrific defense and that was the difference.
“It doesn’t seem to get a whole lot better than this. It was a big-time atmosphere and a big-time game against a great team. To get a win like this a great thing for our program and our guys.
“Our guys deserve a lot of credit. I thought we were very good defensively.
“We’ve been getting better every time out, and each time we seem to improve a little bit. Every week we seem to be getting closer as a team. Hopefully we can keep going in this direction to get to where we were last season.
“The critical element of the game was our nine turnovers. Michigan State is one of the best teams in the nation in turning your mistakes into their baskets.”
Ken Johnson
“We knew Michigan State would not let up in the second half. We came out, stepped it up and got a great win.
“Will played a tremendous role in this game. That’s what we need from him in every game.
“When you step up and play good defense, good things happen.”
Michael Redd
“We hit our free throws and hung tough down the stretch. Tonight felt like a tournament game. The crowd was awesome. They played a big role in this game.”
George Reese
“We practiced transitions all week and it paid off tonight.
“Will and the rest of the bench played a great game and helped a great deal.”
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo
“We had a couple glaring deficiencies on our part. We’ve been struggling with our backup point guard. It was a key turn when Mateen (Cleaves) got his second foul and we had to take him out.
“I told Jim (O’Brien) before the game that his team is getting better because his bench is getting better, and that really showed when they outscored us 24-6. They made the same adjustment with George (Reese) like we did with Morris (Peterson) last year.
“I’m not saying we didn’t play hard, they just played a little harder. Ohio State deserves the credit. It was a game they needed to win, and they played that way. They kept their energy level up, and the crowd helped them with that.
“I give my guys credit for not quitting at the end.”
Michigan State’s Jason Richardson
“We just didn’t come out to play, but Ohio State did. We really need to pick up on our defense. We’ll see them down the line and hopefully next time it will be a different outcome.”
