Postgame Quotes: Ohio State 81, Nebraska 57 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2015
POSTGAME QUOTES?
Ohio State 81 (20-8, 9-6 B1G), Nebraska 57 (13-15, 5-11 B1G)
?Feb. 26, 2015?
Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio?
Attendance: 13,712
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On Ohio State’s performance?
“I thought our guys came out and the things that we had talked about in terms of our pace on offense and our activity on defense, they did a really nice job with that. Nebraska is a team that can pose some problems in terms of match-ups. We made some alterations throughout the course of the game. Guys did a great job picking it up out of time-outs. They did a good job executing offensively out of time-outs. That kind of tells you that their minds are where they need to be.”
On starting the game strong
?“Sometimes it’s easy to talk about and it’s harder to do. We got hands on balls and our rotations were pretty good. I thought the deflections led to some easy baskets for us. Our guys did a good job. We told them before the game it’s a ‘do both’ game. You’re going to have to have to help, you’re going to have to recover, you’re going to have to guard, and they did a good job with that.”
On Jae’Sean Tate’s play?
“I thought Jae’Sean was terrific. There’s not a selfish bone in him. The plays that he made were there for him. I thought he took great advantage of them. He was really moving off the ball well in the first half. He found some scenes for some lay-ups and he’s so competitive. With that said, it excites you to coach a kid like that. Not just the 22 points and seven rebounds, I just love his energy.”
Jae’Sean Tate, freshman forward?
On playing at home tonight?“It definitely feels good to be home, but I wouldn’t say it made a difference in our play tonight. It feels like we haven’t been home in forever, and we really needed this win, so we had to buckle down, come together, and play Ohio State basketball.”
On what was going right offensively tonight
?“It’s pace more than anything. We executed at a high level, and that comes from practicing hard the past few days and carrying it over to the game. When we’re playing at a fast pace and executing, nobody can stop us.”
On his energy on the court?
“It comes from heart. I have pride, and I take it personally. I love a challenge, and I think that mindset raises my energy level, and makes me go out there and play hard.”
Sam Thompson, senior forward?
On recovering from the loss in Ann Arbor
?“We practiced hard. We’ve all lost games before, and we’ve all been disappointed before, but it’s all about how you respond. We practiced hard and competed hard, and took it upon ourselves to set the tone this game.”
On taking momentum from this win?
“You definitely feel good after this, but in the same way you recover from a loss you have to put a win behind you. It feels better to win than to lose, but Purdue doesn’t care that we won by 25. We need to have a few good days of practice and come ready to play on Sunday.”
On the importance of playing well in transition
?“It’s huge. When we’re running in transition and doing what we want to do, it’s hard to stop us. You saw on Sunday the byproduct of us not doing that, so we need to make sure our defense is dictating our offense.”
Tim Miles, Nebraska head coach
On Ohio State’s hot start?
“I thought Ohio State’s start was the key to the game. Their defensive pressure did a good job stopping the ball and then that got us standing around … If you’re going to contend here, you can’t get down early.”
On Ohio State’s defensive intensity?
“They’re so athletic and their defensive intensity is kind of their trademark in my book. For as long as I’ve been around they’ve hade phenomenal defense. You know there are going to be some steals and tipped passes.”
On the strength of Jae’Sean Tate?
“He takes contact well, he’s a bit of a truck in there. He takes contact well and still finishes. Even though he doesn’t have a huge height advantage, he’s so strong and he’s very athletic so he’s able to deliver contact as much as he takes contact and finish shots.”
