Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2003
Recap| Box Score| Notes
Zach Williams, Ohio State forward
About the loss:
“We just didn’t execute on the offensive end. We had opportunities but we didn’t put the ball in the basket towards the end. They had some good defensive stretches and they shut us down.
About players getting into foul trouble early:
“It takes you out of sync personnel-wise, but you have to be ready for anything. Guys have to step in and do their part. We just didn’t make shots. We can’t dwell on this. We have to come back tomorrow and try to win the next game.”
Brent Darby, Ohio State guard
On the loss:
“We didn’t knock down our shots. It was tough for us on the offensive end. They put a big guard (Bernard Robinson) on me and he did a great job of checking me. Connolly and I didn’t get any open shots. You have to give Michigan credit.”
On what they need to improve:
“We have to get the ball to the basket and finish the easy buckets. We went on a run early but got into foul trouble. It broke our rhythm and we just didn’t do a good job of shooting. Anytime you lose at home its tough, but we have to keep our heads up and try to win the next one.”
Shun Jenkins, Ohio State forward
On the loss:
“You have to give Michigan credit. They are a tough team that plays with a lot of intensity. We can’t get down on ourselves, we just have to put this one behind us and move on.”
On tonight’s offensive effort:
“We knew we were in store for a physical game. They really played us tough in the second half which forced us to take some very tough shots. I don’t think a got one open look the entire second half.”
Michigan Head Coach Tommy Amaker
On Win
“It was a heck of a win for our ball club tonight. Anytime you win three games in a row against your conference it is big, especially when the third win is on the road against the defending Big Ten Champs. I recognize how difficult it is to win on the road that is why I am so proud of our guys right now.”
Holding Darby Down
“We were lucky to face Darby on a night where he missed some of his usual jumpers. You cannot stop him completely but we were able to limit the amount of good shots he had a look at. Bernard Robinson did an outstanding job guarding him and our changing defenses were effective tonight. Robinson’s our best perimeter defender and when we switched to our zone we were still able to remain effective.
Ohio State Head Coach Jim O’Brien
On Ohio State’s difficulty on offense:
“We could not score tonight. We are a team that is going to have difficulty when Sean Connolly and Brent Darby do not get baskets in the second half. We had four points over the last eight minutes. If you score 50 points as a team then you must keep your opponent under 50 to win the ballgame. You have to give Michigan credit. They guarded us tough. We just did not have enough firepower to get a win tonight.”
On Michigan’s play in the second half:
“They have some good offensive players on that team who made some 3-pointers tonight. We got into foul trouble early and we had to play zone and they hit some threes over that zone.”
On Ohio State’s foul trouble throughout the game:
“Radinovic had three fouls, Williams had three fouls. We are a team that just cannot afford to have those guys on the bench and hope to win. The foul trouble was very costly for us tonight.”
More on the foul trouble:
“We are a team that must screen on offense to succeed. When your big men are in foul trouble it hampers your ability to screen on offense. Our players were tentative to set screens because they did not want to pick up any fouls with illegal screens.”
