Ohio State 79 (12-3; 3-0 Big Ten), Iowa 48 (7-9; 0-3 Big Ten)
Jan. 9, 2008
Value City Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 18,473
Postgame Quotes
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On the first half
“I thought we got off to a great start. The big challenge was coming in with a lot of energy. I think our defense got our offense going. It was the kind of defense we have been looking for.”
On team participation
“We were fortunate tonight to get some guys some minutes. We have not been able to do that much this season.”
On having no turnovers in the first half
“The pace of our offense was better tonight. Coming off of the Northwestern game that was a big concern for us. Focus and concentration and team maturity has been the biggest challenge.”
On players coming off the bench
“I thought our guys did a pretty decent job. Eric and P.J. did well and Kyle played tremendous. They had a good idea of what Iowa was doing.”
On Iowa’s defense
“I think we were pretty prepared. We knew we would see their 1-1-3 defense at some point and we did. When they went to it, Othello saw it and I think we ended up getting a basket out of it.”
On Jamar Butler’s patience
“Watching Jamar, he has a great command of what is going on. He has a great command of the game. He has improved reading the game and is better at reading the pick-and-roll. He has a lot more patience.”
Jamar Butler, senior guard
On playing while ill
“It was good to play only 21 minutes tonight. I’m pretty sick right now. I could have gone 40 minutes if I needed to. Our training staff did a great job to get me ready to play.”
On beating Iowa by 31 points
“I think they’re a good team. Anybody can have a night like that. They’ve played some tough games recently since the Big Ten is such a good conference. I also think it was good for our young guys to get a lot of minutes tonight.”
David Lighty, sophomore guard
On Ohio State’s defense
“Our defense got us going tonight. We pressured the ball really well and got lots of steals. It was a fun game to play in tonight because everybody got involved. It was good for me personally because I finally started making lay-ups. It got my confidence going.”
On Ohio State’s young players getting playing time
“It was really good for our young players to get so many minutes tonight. We’ve got a lot of tough games coming up. They work just as hard as we do in practice, so it’s really fun to see.”
Othello Hunter, senior forward
On Ohio State’s team identity
“I really think we’re coming together as a team. We’ve won seven in a row now and I think we’re maturing. We don’t have a real identity yet, but I like the way we’re moving.”
On resting during a big win
“Coach (Matta) wants everyone to play so nights like this are great. Our legs get fresh when we only have to play for 20 minutes or so. We’ve got some tough games coming up so this definitely helps.”
Todd Lickliter, Iowa head coach
On the loss
“I’m not the first coach and we’re not the first team to go through something like this. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. It could have been worse. We had a difficult time executing our game plan.”
On calling three timeouts in the first eight minutes of the game
“We lost our composure. We weren’t able to execute. During the timeouts, I was reminding the team of what their assignments were and to not deviate from them. I was reminding them of the game plan.”
On coaching against Thad Matta
“I couldn’t think of a better friend to have in the business and a better person. I wish him success in all of his games. We’re fortunate guys and it is great to see him have success.”
