Men’s Basketball vs. Northwestern Postgame Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Ohio State 62 (11-3, 2-0 Big Ten), Northwestern 51 (5-6, 0-2 Big Ten)
Jan. 6, 2008
Value City Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 18,722
Postgame Quotes
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On the game
“Today we played well defensively and challenged shots but we had too many unforced turnovers. When we got the ball moving, we got the shots we wanted.”
On Northwestern’s style of play
“This was good for our guys to go against Northwestern’s zone. Next time we go against it vs. Michigan, we’ll know what to expect.”
On Ohio State’s freshman class
“They are getting better and have more of an understanding of their role and the competition they are facing game after game. These young guys have a passion for the game of basketball. They have had to learn with their feet in the fire with our schedule. Our veterans have done a good job helping them mature.”
Kosta Koufos, freshman forward
On the game
“We fought hard for all 40 minutes and just have to work on some things on offense.”
On the Northwestern defense
“They were aggressive and forced me to kick the ball out and the guys hit shots.”
On the Ohio State freshmen
“We’re a great group of freshmen. It doesn’t really matter how we get it done as long as we get the win.”
Evan Turner, freshman guard
On Northwestern
“They hit shots and never gave up. It was a different defense and they forced us into a lot of turnovers. If we would’ve taken better care of the ball it would have been a different story.”
On the team maturing as the season goes on
“Seeing different defenses like today will really help us in the long run and we won’t be surprised with anything we see. I think you’re seeing a lot of guys come in and hit shots. We’re really starting to mature.”
Bill Carmody, Northwestern head coach
On Ohio State’s performance
“They played a pretty balanced game, and we got killed on the boards. It’s pretty hard to win when that happens.”
On Jamar Butler
“He was content on running their team. He showed that he can hurt you in a lot of different ways. It was an impressive performance.”
Sterling Williams, Northwestern junior guard
On Northwestern’s defense
“We tried to force turnovers and make them feel uncomfortable, but we gave up a lot of open shots.”
On Northwestern’s second half run
“We’re confident in our ability to come back. We knew that if we could get some stops, we could make a run and we did. But they made some big shots and got some offensive rebounds and that killed us.”
