Postgame Quotes: Iowa 71, No. 20 Ohio State 65 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2014
POSTGAME QUOTES
Iowa (10-4, 1-0) 71, No. 20 Ohio State (11-3, 0-1) 65
December 30, 2014
?Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 15,189
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On getting behind early on in the game
“Well if we play the zone we’re supposed to play and we didn’t foul at the level we were fouling, we would have been fine. They stunned us early by pushing the ball up the floor. They scored seventeen points in the first four minutes. We were in a hole where we were fighting the entire game. We didn’t have the energy we needed.”
On the trending slow starts
“There is a trend there. I don’t know why that is though. I think we’re missing some momentum things that we have to get figured out. The starts have got to start getting better for us. Seventeen points in the first four minutes is not acceptable.”
Sam Thompson, senior forward
On being down in the first half
“We let them dictate what they wanted to do. We always pride ourselves on defense and today we didn’t have the type of activity and communication we needed to early in the game to impose our will on the game. We let them get into a good rhythm and we let them decide what they wanted to do offensively.”
On the frustration of playing from behind
“Yes, it was frustrating but we should not have been in the position to need that run. It was the opening game of the eighteen games in the Big Ten conference season. It was a home opener and we have to come out better. We have to come out with more fire and be ready to play. We can’t dig ourselves into a hole like that again.”
Marc Loving, sophomore forward
On his struggles on offense today
“I have to give credit to Iowa because they played very hard. They created a lot of turnovers and we were stagnant in the first half. We weren’t moving as well as we were in the second half. It doesn’t come down to my shots, it comes down to getting the ball to whoever is open at the time and getting the best shot we possibly can.”
Fran McCaffery, Iowa head coach
On the continued success against Ohio State
“Anytime you beat a team of this caliber, it’s in many ways an unbelievable standard we’ve set. They’ve had a great run, they’ve been unbelievably consistent, they keep winning, and I have the utmost respect for Coach Matta and what he’s built at multiple schools. Looking at this team, they’re much different than what we have, so today we wanted to execute. Toughness isn’t pushing and shoving, it’s being able to play through the run and deal with the crowd. When Russell hit the three to cut it to three, someone needed to make a play, and Oglesby was phenomenal. That’s what good teams need to do.”
On the lineup changes in the final minutes
“Obviously we had to go zone. We couldn’t play a man-to-man with that lineup. We wanted longer possessions, and they started taking us off the dribble, which they do very well. They have a lot of drivers, and I thought Thompson today was aggressive and played very well. What we need to do is contain, contest, and not give them multiple shots on a possession. We did stop running at that point and were too conservative, but I want to be aggressive even then.”
On handling Ohio State’s zone defense
“We handled the press and moved the ball against the zone. You cant get impatient and start jacking shots. You have to go side to side, high post, baseline, shot fakes and pass fakes. You have to move it, and be patient enough to score at the end of the shot clock. You want to attack the press, but realize that shooting at the end of the shot clock is okay. We understood that, had some great opportunities, and made those shots, which helped us get a win.”
