POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 16 Ohio State vs. Maryland
2/6/2022 2:15:02 PM | Men's Basketball
JUSTIN AHRENS POSTGAME QUOTES
On his rough stretch of shooting
“It was tough, obviously when you’re not making shots there’s no excuses, no one wants to make shots more than I do. My family helped me a lot and I continue to take it one day at a time. EJ (Liddell), Malaki (Branham) and Jamari (Wheeler) they know how good of a shooter I am.” “In games they tell me keep letting it fly. It’s always feels good to see the first one go down.”
On what he was focused on when his shot wasn’t falling
“Coach Pedon told me to focus on three, defense and rebounding. Everything will fall into place as long as you focus on these things and play hard.”
On the resilience of the team
This team is more battle-tested, we’ve had a lot of games that have come down to the last shot, and that helps us in the long run.”
On EJ Liddell
“I’ve been with EJ all three years and to see him grow as a player has been amazing to watch.”
ZED KEY POSTGAME QUOTES
On Justin Ahrens’ game
“I loved it Justin had been going through a shooting slump, but we told him keep shooting.”
On the Purdue game
“After the Purdue game the coaching staff told me to be more consistent, they wanted me to shoot a lot more and be consistent.”
What went wrong vs Purdue
“I picked up two quick fouls and I couldn’t get into the flow of the game after that. Coaching staff told me to be better and I took that to heart.”
On what the difference was in the second half today
“Coach said we need to get more offensive rebounds, so we came out in the second half rebounding a lot more.”
On the difference today from last Sunday vs. Purdue
“I think it was our energy and our will to win, I think we came out of the jump ready to go and feeding off the crowd kept us going.”
CHRIS HOLTMANN POSTGAME QUOTES
Opening thoughts
“Good win for us against a Maryland team that’s played well.. We know they’re a team that can go on a run in a hurry. I’m thrilled for Justin (Ahrens), because I know he’s been putting in his work. He’s a pros’ pro. I was just really happy for him, because he’s an incredible kid, a pro’s pro.”
On Zed Key
“Zed I thought had some really good moments, we want him to be consistent, as that’s the sign of growth from a player. He has to continue to grow in that area.”
On Ahrens’ shooting
“Yeah I think it was a relief to them because we needed those shots, he was shooting well in practice and we knew a good game was coming.”
On the closing stretch of games
“The challenge now is staying fresh, and getting ready for a stretch I don’t think we’ve ever been a part of.”
On the home crowd
“Our students have been phenomenal, they sold out this year. They’ve been consistent this year and we’ve had good energy. In the two past non-COVID years it’s grown. It’s important when you have a building this size to keep it energized.”
