March 17, 2006

Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta

"I thought we played, obviously, much better in the second half. I didn't do a very good job of getting these guys ready to go to understand just what it took. We were slow to balls. We were slow to rebounds. The last four points we gave of the first half were tap-back-ins. The challenge at halftime was to pick up our intensity. Offensively, we felt like we had to put the ball in the basket. It had to go in for us. Ron [Lewis] gave us a great boost. Terrance [Dials] down low did a tremendous job. I thought James' [J.J. Sullinger] activity all over the court was probably the difference. Ian Johnson, as I told Terrance [Dials], I don't have answers for a twelve-foot jump hook shot that hits nothing but the net every time. He played well. I'm telling you this right now, we beat a tremendous basketball team. I told our players after the game, the greatest words you can hear in college basketball is `Ohio State advances', and that's what we've done."

During the first timeout of the second half, was there any point there that you get worried that it was beginning to slip away?
"I felt like our defense was pretty good. When you play against a team like Davidson, high intellect, they execute, they're well-coached, you're going to give up some easy baskets. The ones I didn't like were the transition they got on us. I thought for the most part [in] our half-court defense we were challenging the shots. Like I said, [Ian] Johnson, I don't know who could have guarded him today and the flow he got in early on in the game. I just felt like if we could get a rhythm going offensively, and Ron [Lewis] really ignited that. I've been down 14 in the second half before and came back, and you don't want the guys to see any panic that you have. I think the biggest thing was trying to get our guys to just keep their composure and just keep going. Once we got going offensively and our spacing was good, we were pretty effective."

Last week in the Big Ten tournament, it seemed like as the games went on the guys relied more on the three. What might the second half do for the confidence of getting offense without it?
"Hopefully, it will help us. When you play against a team that's trapping like that and you get the ball out or they're living so far in the help positioning, you've got to get the ball swung. We had a couple of possessions in the first half that I thought were terrific from the ball movement and in drives and the kicks. I hope it gives us a little bit more of getting inside and finishing inside closer to the basket, obviously. Something we felt that we could do was get inside of them. We probably settled a little bit too much in the first half. I felt like we had some terrific looks that didn't go down for us, but that was the mentality that we wanted was to be a little more aggressive."

On Terence Dials holding up at half court in the second-half looking tired
"I think he thought we were shooting it from deep. He knew. I think, knock-on-wood, we'll have Matt [Terwilliger] back on Sunday. The way he was playing at that particular time, I was okay with him. There was a media time out coming and I think it was right around the 7:45 mark, and I knew we were going to get a blow."

Is there any surprise or shock in a 15 seed pushing a 2 seed these days?
"No. When we left Conseco [Fieldhouse, site of the Big Ten tournament] last Saturday night, we had three tapes of Davidson and watched them on the way home back Columbus. I got off the bus and I said, `My god, why do we have to play Davidson.' And then I look at the brackets and I'm like, `Who do you want to play?' I really believe that the parity, the neutral sites, and all that makes for these types of games. One of the hardest jobs there is right now is the seeding and trying to come up with who actually belongs in the tournament."

On Ron Lewis' offensive play
"It also generated some defense for us. He got a couple of deflections in that stretch. I've got to readjust my thinking. We were just really concerned with our defense going into this game and we were hoping we would make some shots. Ron Lewis is one of the greatest teammates I've ever seen. He's always picking guys up and talking the game and that sort of game. I think guys like to see him do well, and that uplifts us a little bit."

Concerned that Ian Johnson would get Terence Dials in foul trouble.
"From what we had seen, Sanders was more close to the basket and really needed angles to finish. I really thought he played well today as well. [Ian] Johnson, we'd seen run-off stagger screens. We had seen pick and pop as he did today. We thought Syl [Matt Sylvester] could be more mobile out on the floor."

Going into Sunday, are there outside shooting concerns?
"I'm concerned. They asked me right after the game, `Do you have a potion to help the outside shooting.' If I did, I would have used it a couple of weeks ago. It's just part of it. Everybody knows that when you get in here, you've got to get on a roll and make some shots. Fortunately, we did in the second half to the tune of 54 percent. Hopefully, that will give us a little ignition into it."

"Yes. We will talk to them [our players] about it. We did lose our composure a little bit there, most definitely. It is a different game."

Ohio State Student-Athletes

Senior Forward/Center Terence Dials

Elaborate on problems [Ian] Johnson gave you
"As far as me guarding him, he was a challenge on the outside. They way they run their offense I had to get some help sometimes. He is a crafty, skilled player. He knows when to pop and how to get open looks. He got me on a few of those threes. He reminds you of European players-the way he moves. He's a great player."

What was difference for you personally in second half?
"First half they were double and triple-teaming me. I couldn't get my shot off real cleanly. I just tried to manufacture some points other ways. I had to hit the offensive glass. Once I did that, then I started to get some clean put backs things started to fall for me-it started to open some things from the outside. Guys got some good shots."

On team not having much NCAA Tournament experience
"It's just another game. Tournament or not. You still have to come out and play hard. We know everyone is going to give us their best. We weren't prepared for the first blow that they gave us. We had to regroup at halftime, and we came out and responded like the number 2 seed that we are."

Senior Guard J.J. Sullinger

Did the first half make you think about other upsets in the tournament?
"During the course of the game I didn't really think much about the other games. I was concentrating on Ohio State and what we had to do to get back on top-to get the lead. As far as watching the games in the hotel: I think everybody did. This is tournament time. This is what people live for. This is where dreams come true. We definitely have to come out at the beginning of the game on Sunday with a lot more than we had today."

JJ on changes at half
"At halftime we talked as a team-we weren't being as aggressive as we need to be. A lot of the time we were shooting contested shots. They were kind of flying at us. We tried to give them a little shot fake. We had to mix it up a little bit."

On a scale from 1-10, what was Thad (Matta) at halftime?
"Probably a 13. No, he just told us what needed to be said. We didn't come all this way to play the way we did in the first half. We were reacting to them instead of making them react to us. We just weren't playing aggressive. We weren't playing Ohio State type basketball. That is something that we hang our hat on. Shots aren't always going to fall, but you've got to play with toughness and you've got to play with intensity and we just didn't have it in the first half."