Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Wisconsin – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2001
Recap| Box Score| Notes
UW head coach Brad Soderberg:
“I was disappointed with the way we ran our offense. We were off-balance on our shots. We didn’t execute in the stretch and in a close game, you have to do that. We tried to keep Darby out of the lane.
(On fouls in the lane) “Every time there was penetration, a whistle was blown. I told the players to stop penetrating to stay out of foul trouble.”
(On first half vs. second half) “We had really good movement and shooting in the first-half. The second-half, they changed their defense and it disrupted our rhythm. I have to give O’Brien credit. He realized we were in a good rhythm in the first half and he changed defenses in different possessions to break up that rhythm.”
(On Boone) “He told me he was ready so I put him in. I know he shot poorly tonight and I don’t know if that has anything to do with his left hand. Roy struggles with his shot but we kept him in for his defense. I don’t bailout on a guy because he misses a couple of shots. He has been hitting shots for us all year.”
(On Kowske) “We have been working with Andy on his penetration and stepping towards the baseline. He had a wide open shot and he missed it.”
Jim O’Brien:
“We came out with a little fire in the second half. We were disappointed with the first half. You have to give credit to Wisconsin. They are so difficult to guard. We were bouncing off screens like pinball’s. Their shooters are so good and they kept knocking down their shots. We gave up seven threes in the first half. The staff has to take some credit. They were begging me to play a zone, but I was hesitant because of all the threes they were hitting.
“I talked to Sean, Boban and Brent a few days ago. I talked to the three of them about stepping up and (Darby) he has. We need a third guy to score. It cannot just be Brian and Kenny. The most likely candidates are those three guys and he (Darby) has taken that to heart.
(On Darby) “He had 18 points, but what I am more impressed with is he played 35 minutes and only had one turnover. We know he can score and now he has been taking care of the ball. Maybe coming in off the bench gives him less pressure.”
We have had a couple of really good wins lately. It helps our portfolio. I few get to the point were we have a case, this will help, but we are ways away. We have a lot of games left we have to win.
Brian Brown:
(On UW offense) “They are so tough to play against. The coaches can’t help and you can’t scout their offense. They run around in circles with their big guys setting screens and they shoot the ball so well.
(On O’Brien at the half) “Coach got on us at the half about not being tough. We picked it up, went back out there and played tough. Coach told us to guard the three. We cut down their three-point shots. They had two in the second half compared to seven in the first. Twenty-one of their 33 points were from three. We wanted to shut that down and force them to drive the lane. That was the difference in the game.”
Brent Darby:
(On O’Brien needing another scorer) “Coach talked to me, Sean and Boban about needing one of us to step up and score. I like that. I had to go out there and be aggressive today. Wisconsin is a great team. You have to give them credit. They played us tough and knocked down seven threes in the first half.”
(On the NCAA tournament.) “We are not looking at the NCAA’s. We just want to win as many games as we can.”
Ken Johnson:
“I got kneed in the calf and I had to step it up mentally. I knew I was physically hurt but it forced me to play tough. If Kowske beat me off the dribble, I knew I had help. I just had to go out there and play ball.”
“I am really positive. Everybody is really positive right now. We are working really hard and everyone is mentally tough. We just have to go out there and play hard.
