Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2002
Recap| Box Score| Notes
Michigan Head Coach Tommy Amaker
“I am extremely disappointed in our ball club in the way it responded in certain situations. We will certainly have to do better. This was our worst performance of the season.
“We tried to do things to take (Boban) Savovic off the threes. We knew coming in that they were good on the perimeter, but we weren’t able to guard them off the dribble. We had a great a deal of respect for them coming in. The perimeter is the catalyst for their team.
“I think we shot poorly, we didn’t work to get good shots. In order to be a good team we have to be patient and work the ball around.”
Ohio State Head Coach Jim O’Brien
We have to be very happy with the outcome and how we played defensively and how we guarded. Our guys really stepped it up on defense and got after it. They came in averaging over 70 points and we held them under 50, which is a terrific accomplishment for our defense.
“On the other end we did a good job moving the ball and got a lot of open shots. The big difference in the game was that our shots started to fall in the second half.
“He (Zach Williams) did a great job on (LaVell) Blanchard (held to 11 points). They have tough frontcourt players and they are very difficult to guard. We did a good job taking that away tonight.”
Brian Brown
“We came out tonight and played our game. They were giving us some open shots and they went down. We took quick shots in the first half and then slowed down in the second half.
“Our defense was locking them up and keeping their shooters away from the 3-point line.
“This was a fun, but tough game. It was great to win, but even better to win on national television. We want to stay on top of the Big Ten.”
Boban Savovic
“We played great defense the whole game. We missed some open threes and gave them some fast breaks, so they caught up to us. We were able to come out strong in the second half and finish them off.
“The key to our success is that we take it one game at a time. We give respect to every team in the Big Ten.”
Zach Williams
“We came out in the second half and executed really well. That was the difference in the game. We pride ourselves on defense. Tonight we did a good job executing our defense.”
