Dec. 18, 2007

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Cleveland State Head Coach Gary Waters:
"They shot the ball extremely well and we didn't shoot as well but a lot of that had to do with what they did and they did a good job defensively. That was one of my concerns going in against their zone because their zone is holding people to 37-38 percent defensively."

"At times we executed against their zone, but we just couldn't constantly do that."

"When you are playing as a counter-puncher it is really hard to get back into it. The first five minutes of the second half was the game. We got back in it the last five minutes of the first half and then the first five minutes of the second we got out of it."

"We're better defensive team than you saw to start the second half."

"Today they hit their shots, they hit short jump shots, they hit long jump shots, and they were shooting the ball today. I have to give them credit as they were ready to shoot the basketball."

"I think we were a little intimidated with the atmosphere to start the game but I expect that to happen early. There are 10 new faces on the floor trying to learn each other."

"I felt at times in the first half we played defensively like Cleveland State plays."

Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock:
"They altered shots and changed position and they caused problems at times."

"We take each game, step by step, every obstacle, this was a big game but it was just another learning process."

"We have to stick to our game plan and tonight we wavered from that."

"The press got us rattled and unfortunately I'm the culprit of that and I take the heat for that and it was a trickle down effect."

Cleveland State's George Tandy:
"I tried to stay with my game plan and try to lock them up defensively and that is what we are about defense so that was my main focus."

Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta:
"I thought Jamar played a heck of a game as the floor leader. We did a good job of sharing the ball and getting good shots against their defense. We were really concerned about their man to man defense and how hard they played, but fortunatley, we got off to a great start and were able to continue it."

"Jon (Diebler) is taking good shots and not fading back now. I think its good for him to finally see the reward. There is nobody working harder on his shot than Jon and the coaches are doing a great job of working with him on his shot before and after practice."

"I thought in the first half we did a good job of containing and they made some nice adjustments in the second half. Our guys did a good job of rotating and covering ground and guys on our front line were able to get a lot of loose balls and some turnovers."

"The biggest challenge is getting them (the freshmen) to come in every day and understand what direction we are heading in. Sometimes, I have show them what direction we are going in. They are making strides, but I still think we have a long way to go to get to where we want to be."