Michigan State - Ohio State Post Game Quotes
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2002
MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo:
"Well, we kept it exciting. Give Ohio State some credit. They have done that game after game, some games they have won and some they've lost. They have a lot of character and seem to hit some big shots. Brian Brown hit that big three that closed the margin and I thought we were in a little bit of trouble. Poor Alan (Anderson) on that one, I have to say that is more my fault than his. We should know that the time is more important than baskets at that point in the game."
"I thought we rebounded pretty well in the first half and I thought we defended about as well as you can defend that team. They have a lot of movement in their offense and I thought we did a pretty good job on them."
"We got tired today. It just seemed like our big guys got tired two or three minutes into the game and yet Adam (Ballinger) and Al (Anagonye) really battled through."
"It was a big win for us. We shot the ball pretty well, especially from the field. We didn't turn it over too many times, especially in the second half. I also thought Marcus (Taylor) bounced back well after going through what he did and played really well. Ballinger and Anagonye did a good job inside."
OSU Head Coach Jim O'Brien:
"The key stretch was from about the 14 minute mark to the eight minute mark in the first half. They went on a 13-0 run and we missed seven shots and two free throws. I thought that we had some pretty good looks and that we got the ball underneath the basket a couple of times. But I think that was the key element of the game. That drought really, really hurt us. Then we regained the lead at 36-35, but then we went down 12 points. So the droughts hurt. On top of that, I thought they got to many easy looks. They had a lot more easy baskets than we did."
"We're going to have to be sure that we stay real positive. We lost at two of the more difficult places to play in the conference. Wisconsin (last Ohio State loss) had won 44 of its last 51 home games, and we don't have to search too deep to realize that Michigan State wins most of its home games as well. We lost in overtime in one game and three points here. We have to make sure our guys keep sticking with this. We are going through one of the most difficult stretches in our schedule. We just can't let our guys get discouraged."