March 9, 2007
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Ohio State Buckeyes
COACH MATTA: I think the biggest key in the first half was the rebounding by Michigan. They did a tremendous job, had us down 21-8 on the boards, and I thought we were we weren't finishing plays, and that's one of the big challenges that you've got to do in this certain segment. I thought guys made plays.
These two guys were spectacular today. Once we got going in the second half we were able to put together some runs. But you've got to give Michigan credit. They kept coming back, getting it to five, getting it to five, but like I said, we were able to finish it off down the stretch.
Q. Greg, just talk about your game offensively, 8-for-12. It didn't appear they were doubling you. Just talk about your mindset as you were getting the ball in good position there?
GREG ODEN: It was just to be more aggressive and take what the defense was giving us. They weren't doubling, so I had to go to work.
Q. Greg, would you say this was your best performance of the season so far?
GREG ODEN: I don't know (smiling). It was a win. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter about me personally.
Q. Greg, it seemed like after Thad got the technical, you started getting some calls inside. Was it not going your way for a while there in the second half and after your coach helped you out a little bit? Did it start going your way a little bit more?
GREG ODEN: I guess so. I mean, I guess I looked at the referees, knew that coach was going to be on them the rest of the way after he got the technical, so they started giving us a lot more calls and getting him off their backs.
Q. Ron, after that happened, though, you guys did go on a little run. Does that spark you guys, when something like that happens?
RON LEWIS: Yeah, it does. When your coach gets fired up, you get fired up, as well. We just tried to hang on his back and ride the horse.
Q. Greg, as you get into the Big Ten Tournament here and then ultimately into the NCAAs the following weeks, do your juices get rolling even more so as these games go on with more and more importance?
GREG ODEN: It does. This is my first go around in these types of tournaments. So I just feel for the guys who have been here before and they know when the time comes it's lose and go home. You've got to play hard every game.
Q. Greg, you looked like in the second half you were all fired up. Did Thad talk to you or were you just mad from what had happened in the first half?
GREG ODEN: I was just trying to do something for us to win. I was just trying to fire up my teammates.
Q. This is for Greg or Ron. What did you guys think of the new uniforms?
RON LEWIS: I loved them. If we keep winning in them, I'm going to keep loving them. If they lose, I'm not going to like them anymore (laughter).
Q. Either one, Greg, what did you think when you heard at halftime you had been out rebounded 21 to 8?
GREG ODEN: I was amazed. But I knew going into halftime that we had been out rebounded really bad, and we just had to step it up.
Q. Ron, besides winning, what do you particularly like about what they've done to the uniforms?
RON LEWIS: It gives the refs a better opportunity to call fouls if somebody is grabbing your jersey because they're so tight. So if your jersey is coming out, it's not because of you, it's somebody grabbing it. So it gives the refs a better chance to call a foul.
Q. Just a follow up on that question about Michigan's rebounding advantage in the first half, a lot of those rebounds were second chances on the offensive boards. What was the key in the second half to keeping them off the offensive boards more than you did in the first half?
GREG ODEN: Just block out and get the first time rebound, snatch at the board the first time when you get a chance to.
Q. Ron, can you just talk about the offensive flow when you guys were getting the ball to Greg, you were driving to the basket, just how the offense was working generally, especially second half?
RON LEWIS: I was really just spacing out and taking what the defense gave us. Greg (Oden) had his opportunities when they weren't doubling him, and then I took the opportunity when they spaced the floor and he was on the other side of the basket.
THE MODERATOR: We'll finish up with questions for Coach Matta now, please.
Q. I'll steal Doug's question about the technical. Lots of times that's going to go one way or the other. It's either going to help the other team or it's going to help yours. I don't think it was premeditated, but what kind of an effect do you think it had on the game and what prompted you to argue the way you did?
COACH MATTA: Well, I had no intentions of getting I never have an intention of getting a technical foul. I thought Greg (Oden) had got hit. It was a rough game, and I just said "call the foul." It was deserved. Those guys did a great job today.
I wanted them to know that we were that was important to us. It's just part of what we do. I probably get a little bit too carried away with it, but it's hard because it's so physical, and when you're going to Greg so much, there's going to be contact. He's hard to guard. You know, hopefully we do what's right.
Q. You said that's important to you. What are you talking about there, impacting your offense?
COACH MATTA: Yeah, and just the overall post play and those types of things, yeah.
Q. Do you sense any kind of desperation in Michigan? Did you expect it and during the game did you sense it given their tournament situation?
COACH MATTA: Yeah, absolutely. I think honestly in the last six days we have played them twice, and fortunately for us and probably unfortunately for them we played pretty good basketball today. I've said this, I think Michigan is one of the best teams in the Big Ten. I think they're well coached, they've got great talent, and quite honestly, if you go back and watch tapes, we've been extremely fortunate.
Q. The top seed in this tournament and possibly the No. 1 in the NCAAs coming. Do you like that pressure of everybody gunning for you?
COACH MATTA: We're 28-3, and it has been that way for 31 games. Quite honestly, I'm used to it. And the one thing through all this, and it happened really about midstream of the season and we talked to our guys about it, there's nothing we can do about it. Let's keep the focus on us. Let's keep the focus on us getting better every day because it is there, and quite honestly, I've never coached a team like this.
These guys have done a very good job of handling that, that we know wherever we go, or some of the road environments we've been in this year have been some of the most amazing things.
I think you get numb to it all.
Q. When you went into halftime, when you talked to the team, was it something in your game plan, let's go to Greg, let's make a concerted effort to go to Greg as much as we can in the second half?
COACH MATTA: No. Honestly, the tone at halftime was basically rebounding and defense, rebounding and defense. I'm trying to think of exactly what we said. We didn't say a whole lot about offense. We were shooting 54 percent. We had two turnovers. We felt like we were doing a pretty good job with it.
Q. What was it in the first half with the rebounding? Was there something you could see? And what did you try and adjust?
COACH MATTA: It was finishing plays. They did a good job they had 16 yesterday and 22 today. It's like we're back in November (laughter). But I think that the big key for us was finish the plays, get back in the play.
Here's the thing: When they're shooting, those guys are just running and jumping and it is a little bit of desperation. I've got to give Michigan some credit. They were relentless on the boards.
Q. Izzo credited Michigan State's good shooting yesterday to the fact that his players talked him into coming over here yesterday morning for an early morning shoot around. I wondered if you guys had a chance to get an early shoot around here today?
COACH MATTA: No, nowhere. We came and got on the court as quickly as we could, but no, we did not use the facility.
Q. Because of how young your guys are and all the high pressure games you've played in the national spotlight, does that prepare a young team for the postseason or is there still a learning curve for these guys who haven't been here before?
COACH MATTA: I hope the curve is over because we're in the postseason. I think the games that we've played, without doubt, have prepared us for these types of situations. We've had some great challenges in the non conference, we've had some great challenges throughout the conference, and it's just I always tell them, or they tell me this and I repeat it, "it is what it is."
But you go down to Chapel Hill, you go to Gainesville, Florida, those were two of the craziest places I've ever seen, and those were good learning experiences with the losses for us.
Q. Can you talk about what you like or don't like about the new uniforms you guys are wearing and what you think it does for the players?
COACH MATTA: Today was the first day I saw them. I was a little bit nervous with the length of the shorts and I had a couple guys change, nothing major. But I liked the look of them. I feel honored that Nike would think this highly of us to do this, and for LeBron to take a special interest in our program has been amazing. It's funny, in talking with him this summer and his people, he's a Buckeye, and when you have a guy like LeBron James with his stature that cares enough to put his logo on your uniform, it's flattering that he would do that for us.
Q. Can you just talk about defensive effort? I mean, they only shot 26 percent in the second half, 33 percent for the game. I know the rebounding is part of defense, but what did you like about what you saw for your guys?
COACH MATTA: I felt like we were more aware of what was going on. One of the craziest things I've ever seen happen happened when Michael was trying to get out on the skip pass and the guy fell on his leg and they couldn't get out there and they make the three. The coaches were yelling, "come on, Michael," and Sims was laying on his leg. He couldn't move. It was like a bear trap out there. But I thought that we had a sense of what was going on, and really, we took a calculated risk.
We thought we played Michigan there was a strong chance we'd play them again, and we tried to take as many similarities from Minnesota to Michigan and incorporate them in our three days of practice. The things that we focused on, we did a much better job. The cross screen they got us in in Ann Arbor I don't think they got us on one time today. The ball screens weren't as effective as they were last Saturday. So I think our guys I'm proud of the fact that they took to heart what we worked on.
Q. I think you called this a tough game. Could you elaborate on that? What made this a tough game?
COACH MATTA: Well, I think just the you play a team for the second time in six days, they're extremely athletic, you see that, they've got guys we're fortunate, Harris, 1 for 13 today, he doesn't do that very often. He had some pretty good looks. But I just thought it was physical at the end. They started running and jumping and trapping and all those things, and I thought we handled that well to the tune of five turnovers today.
Q. About the defense, did you switch up more today between zone and man than you did in the previous games? It looked like you were going back and forth quite a bit, and was that I think maybe last week you talked about doing it to keep them out of rhythm?
COACH MATTA: Yeah, and we did more in the first half. Second half we were I think all man to man. But in the first half there, and maybe that had something to do with the rebounding, I'll have to take a look at it, but yeah, we just thought that it was effective for us up there. Our offense was a lot better today than it was up there on Saturday.
THE MODERATOR: Appreciate your time, Coach. Thank you.
Michigan Wolverines
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: Obviously, they're very talented, very deep, and I think every time we were trying to get to a position to put even more game pressure on them, they certainly had an answer. And obviously with (Greg) Oden on the interior for their team, they can always throw it in there. We didn't do a good enough job obviously of pushing him out further from the block. But that's difficult to do.
But I give them a lot of credit. I thought we did some tremendous things on the glass. I thought we were active and had a lot of obviously second chance opportunities, but certainly not enough offensive fire power to be able to put the game away. We put more game pressure on their ball club.
Q. Dion, why did it seem like some of the things you guys did offensively against Ohio State in the first game, why did they seem less effective today?
DION HARRIS: I don't know. I just thought we didn't shoot the ball well. I think that had something to do with it. Not to take anything away from them, I thought they did a good job of shutting down some driving lanes for us, things like that.
But looking at the field goals and all, I don't think we shot that well. I think that had something to do with us not executing our offense and scoring baskets.
Q. What's the mood in the locker room right now? How are you guys feeling? How disappointed are you? How ready are you to move on? What's kind of the general feeling?
DION HARRIS: Of course we're disappointed. This is a big game for us in the Big Ten Tournament. But with us, we've always done a good job of taking that in and looking at things and what happened in games before and then moving on, addressing things and then moving on.
Q. This is for Dion: Did you happen to notice the new Ohio State uniforms, and especially being a Michigan kid, what did you think of them and the changes that they're trying to do?
DION HARRIS: I don't know. I mean, obviously they were new uniforms, but I don't think we paid much attention to that. We had a game to play, so I don't know.
Q. Brent, can you talk about your team and specifically your effort on the offensive glass, just what you were trying to do? You did it against Minnesota and here today, too. What was the adjustment during the regular season for the Big Ten Tournament about offensive rebounding and especially today?
BRENT PETWAY: I wouldn't say it was so much of an adjustment that we made. We may have given it a little more effort. We were tipping a lot of balls out and our guards were a little bit more alert, I believe, getting to those loose balls when we were able to get in and tip them out. I think the whole season really, I think we've always gone to the glass pretty hard, and again, that's the emphasis we have in our program is to rebound offensively and defensively.
Q. For both Dion and Brent, you guys had obviously made the NCAA Tournament a goal this year. Right now it looks like you're not going to make it. Very close. How come? What will you point to as to why you didn't quite get there?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: I don't think that's fair to say that we will not make it, so I don't think we have that information to answer that question. So I don't think you should ask them what would point to why we didn't make it. We haven't been told we're not going to be included in that tournament yet. I think that's fair. I don't think we should assume that right now and ask those kids to have an answer for something that is not proven to be accurate yet.
Q. Brent, how tough is it to handle Oden offensively and defensively, especially late in the game when they can kind of dump it into him?
BRENT PETWAY: Yeah, he's a load down there. He's a great player. He has his size and he knows how to use it. It's tough to match up with him and not foul. It's tough to stay out of foul trouble. We had that happen to us. That hurt us a little bit. Again, you've just got to give him credit. He knows how to play the game and use his size.
Q. Do you guys think there's a chance you're in the NCAA tournament?
BRENT PETWAY: I think we've always got a chance to get in. We played, we've shown we have the ability to win some games. Again, it's up to the committee. No one knows that answer.
DION HARRIS: I agree with what Brent said.
Q. Dion, was there anything they did specifically to you on defense that kind of held you down, or was it just missing shots?
DION HARRIS: I mean, if you look at the stats sheet, I didn't shoot particularly well. I don't think I did a good job probably trying to go get shots and make sure I worked hard for open shots like I did in the previous games.
THE MODERATOR: We'll finish with questions for Coach Amaker.
Q. Coach, you guys really seemed like you stole the momentum in the second half there getting it down to three, but then Oden came back and really established himself and was dominant. Is there any reason you guys didn't double team him more during the game and let somebody else try and beat you the way he asserted himself?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: We've had a strategy playing their team the two previous times and obviously it wasn't good enough to win the basketball games, but we haven't been a team that's actually doubled that much in the post. I thought that if we could make him try to score over the top of us a little. We didn't do a good job of pushing him further out from the basket. I thought his post position was so deep that it put us at a disadvantage. I like the strategy we've had and we've been within striking distance with this ball club. I thought we had opportunities, and every time we had one, we couldn't push it over the top. We certainly felt we had a solid strategy of trying to go at Ohio State.
Q. Do you think you're in the NCAA tournament?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: I don't know. I don't know if anyone knows the answer to who's in the tournament. There's no need for me to answer a question that I have no knowledge or input to make a reality. We're hopeful. We've done so many things to put ourselves in position, but certainly a lot of teams are in the same boat that we're in, so who knows.
Q. Should you be in it and if so, why?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: We're hopeful. We're hopeful that we can be included in that, and if we aren't, we'll take the next step, whatever that may be.
Q. Last year when you got the news that you were not in, you were very good about saying we had our season, we had our chances, we're not going to gripe or complain about it. Obviously you don't know what's going to happen, but do you look at the season and say we did the best we could do and do you feel the same as last year?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: Again, it's premature for me to answer it. We're coming off a loss, and if we get a chance to revisit the year a little bit and reflect, right now I don't think it's the time for me to reflect on the whole year.
If we would like to talk about the basketball game today, I'm more than happy to do that.
Q. Where do you go from here? Do you sit and wait for Sunday? Do you meet with the team?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: We'll meet with our ball club as we normally will and see what the next step is for us for this season, whatever that may be. We'll try to look forward to it and do the best we can.
Q. You went from 41 percent in the first half to your team shooting just over 25 percent in the second half. What did they do different after the break?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: Well, certainly we didn't shoot the ball well in this tournament, yesterday nor today. I thought our guards in particular took the majority of our shots, didn't shoot well from the outside. I don't have an answer right now what they did differently. I'm not sure that they probably had a different strategy to change. We didn't shoot a great 41 percent. It's not lighting it up. So I'm not sure they changed much.
I thought we missed some opportunities We missed some chances to get a few lay ups when we had a fast break opportunity. I thought it was deflating for us. No excuses. We didn't shoot the ball well and certainly it hurt us. Yesterday it hurt us somewhat and certainly it hurt us against a very talented Ohio State team today.
Q. Having a 21 8 rebounding edge and down by six to Ohio State, what did you tell the team coming out of the locker room?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: Well, we certainly felt that we missed a one and one with 17 seconds left to go in the half, and then they came down and scored at the end of the half with (Mike) Conley's shot. We thought we had a chance to close the gap, we thought we did a tremendous job on the glass, and hopefully we could continue that in the second half. We really felt that our ability to box them out was going to be critical, and they were doing that for us. Our kids were doing it. And then we thought if we could attack their zone, we thought we were playing too much on the perimeter, not working the ball out for shots, so we concentrated on those three or four things, and that was pretty much what we talked about at halftime.
Q. When you guys were leading in the rebounding category there for a while, and when you do that you can get in transition, did you want to get into a transition game, or did you feel like, you know, we really don't want to run with this team? Was there something in that strategy where you did not want to run or did you try to get in the transition game?
COACH TOMMY AMAKER: Well, we wanted to try and see if we could get easy buckets. They're hard to score against in a half court set. Obviously they're big and physical and deep especially across the front line. We felt if we could get something out on the floor and get a primary or fast break opportunity to get an easy bucket early, we certainly wanted that, and certainly that wasn't the case for us today.
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