Postgame Quotes: Indiana 96, Ohio State 92 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2017
POSTGAME QUOTES
Indiana 96 (17-14, 7-11 B1G), Ohio State 92 (17-14, 7-11 B1G)
March 4, 2017
Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 15,560
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On Indiana’s hot start
“We needed a cover over the basket. They opened up leading by 11. We saw that a little bit with Michigan State a month ago, but Indiana just kept going and going. At the start, we had a couple decent looks, but they were making shots at an alarming rate.”
On Ohio State’s overall defensive performance
“I didn’t think we were as aggressive defensively as we needed to be. They were shooting deep shots, and at halftime I said we needed to adjust our defense. We needed to close farther out and get a hand up. I challenged our guys to make Indiana feel us a little bit more on the defensive end. I didn’t think we were too awful on the offensive end. It was more just the challenge on the defensive side and doing what we needed to do.”
C.J. Jackson, Ohio State sophomore guard
On the runs to open the game
“They were making tough shots and hitting threes, and that kind of killed us. From there we missed a couple free throws and that hurt us. We knew that they were a good team that could make shots, and that started off early.”
On team’s defensive strategy
“At the beginning of the game we didn’t do so well. Later towards the second half their guards were very aggressive. They tried to live in the paint and kick for threes, so the focus was to guard your man.“
Jae’Sean Tate, Ohio State junior forward
On what team was missing defensively
“I don’t want to say that we didn’t have anything, it’s just that they were on fire. It seemed like every shot they were taking was going in. We knew that they were a transition team and that killed us.”
On not being able to avoid the first round of the tournament
“Of course, no loss is going to feel too good, but what’s done is done and we have to get prepared to make a run in the tournament. We have to work hard in practice. We’re not sure who or when we’re playing, but we just have to go.”
Tom Crean, Indiana head coach
On Thad Matta
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Thad. When he is eligible he has earned his way to the Hall of Fame. Especially with what he’s been able to do here. You could see it at Butler and Xavier but you can really see it at Ohio State. We all hit skids. We have tons of respect for those players and for him.”
On holding off an Ohio State comeback
“It is a great confidence builder for our guys. It was good for our guys to see that we could make the stops we needed. We were really good coming out of timeouts. They were really locked in. The first step on defense and the ball movement were great. They never brought any panic and showed tremendous confidence.”
