Postgame Quotes – Ohio State 62, Florida 49 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Ohio State (8-3, 0-0 Big Ten) 62, Florida (11-2; 0-0 Southeastern) 49
Value City Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Dec. 22, 2007
Attendance: 19,049
Postgame Quotes
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On the game
“I think we got past the shellshock in the beginning when were not that sharp. Once we figured it out defensively we managed to do some good things offensively. We moved the ball well and got some great looks at the basket.”
On the youth of both teams
“If you look out at the court the average age of those guys can’t be any higher than 19. Everyday in practice we just try to keep getting better than the week before. I’m sure that Billy (Donovan) does the same thing also.”
On Florida
“Florida is definitely one of the premier programs in the nation. Last year, we won 35 games and lost four, two of which came against Florida. It’s nice to beat them this year and take a little bit of that bad taste out of your mouth.”
Jamar Butler, Ohio State senior guard
On beating Florida after last year
“Last year is over with. We got a win and that’s all that we concentrated on.”
“To be 40 minutes away from winning the national championship and to lose it will always stick in a player’s head but this definitely helped in getting over it.”
On getting a win heading into Christmas
“We played tough and left everything out on the floor. It’s special for us to go into Christmas with a win.”
On how far the team has come this year
“We’ve come a really long way. Our coaches had faith in us and we had faith in ourselves. These games definitely will help us in the long run and will help us if we get into the tournament.”
David Lighty, Ohio State sophomore guard
On the offense
“Our penetration really helped us out today to get some open shots and really get things going for us.”
On the defense
“Coach is always stressing our defense because our defense is what starts to get our offense going and it did that today.”
Kosta Koufos, Ohio State freshman center
On how he has progressed so far this year
“My whole mental outlook has been more relaxed lately and today I was able to get some more open looks because of that.”
On the difference in the team as of late
“We’ve been practicing harder, we’ve been playing much harder for all 40 minutes and we did that today.”
Billy Donavan, Florida head coach
On the game
“Congrats Ohio State they played well. I though we got off to a good start. For me not knowing what to expect because for eight of 12 guys it was their first real road game, I though we played well.”
On the game
“16 of their 32 points came off either bad shots or turnovers. That hurt us our guys looked press offensively looking at it as a whole you have to give Ohio State a lot of credit they play very good defense.”
On Ohio State
“Ohio State has a variety of ways they can score they have Jamar Butler, who can do just about everything. They have David Lighty cutting to the basket and making plays, Kosta Koufos up front. They have Jon Diebler coming off the bench who can hit a 3-ponit from anywhere. We don’t have as many ways to attach him. Butler, Lighty, Hunter and Terwilliger are great college players.“
On the crowd
“I though the fans were very respectful and cheered very hard for their team. Ohio State has so much and I don’t think they have any reason to feel bitter and I know they don’t.”
