Ohio State opens up the Big Ten tournament Thursday as the No. 7 seed taking on 10th-seeded Penn State. Many feel the Buckeyes must at least advance to the championship game of the tournament, if not win the entire thing, to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
It's a tall task, of course, as Ohio State would likely have to beat both Michigan State and Maryland in the quarterfinals and semis just to reach Sunday, and that's assuming the Buckeyes can take care of the Nittany Lions in their opening game.
But despite those circumstances, Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Monday on a teleconference previewing the Big Ten tournament he likes where his team is at as it prepares for what's ahead in Indianapolis.
“Hopefully our guys have a pretty good understanding that you’re entering into a tournament where if you don’t win you go home," Matta said. "At that particular juncture, the level should be raised in terms of how we want to play and how we want to compete.”
Obviously, with the youth on the Buckeyes' roster, very few players on the team have experienced the Big Ten tournament. Matta knows that will be a challenge, but hopes it's one his guys are up for.
"I think the one thing about this tournament is, or any type of tournament, things happen so fast and just a bad stretch here or there can cost you," Matta said. "I think our guys have a pretty good understanding, but we have a lot of new guys who have never been in this situation before."
Additional Matta notes:
- Matta said Penn State is "a much better basketball team" than the first time these two teams played, a 66-46 win for Ohio State way back on Jan. 25.
- In terms of slowing down the Nittany Lions' duo of Shep Garner and Brandon Taylor, Matta said, "I thought we defended pretty well in Game 1 and obviously on Thursday we’re going to have the same type of effort, the same type of focus of not letting those guys get going.”
The 13 other Big Ten men's basketball coaches met on a teleconference Monday morning to preview the upcoming Big Ten tournament, which begins Wednesday in Indianapolis. Highlights from each coach are below:
Tom Crean (Indiana):
- "To win 15 games in this league and to win the title is a great, great reward for the way these guys have worked."
- Crean said he still takes more value in winning a Big Ten regular-season title as opposed to the conference tournament. "Oh, absolutely."
- Crean said the status of Juwan Morgan and Robert Johnson (injuries) is unknown for the Big Ten tournament. "We'll just see how all of that goes. There's no concrete update past that right now."
Fran McCaffery (Iowa):
- McCaffery on Jarrod Uthoff: "You just don't end up there, you work your way to get there and he's one of the most incredible workers I've ever been around."
- McCaffery on defending Michigan State's Bryn Forbes: "You cannot relax for one half of one possession if you're going to try and stop Bryn Forbes. If you do, he's going to get you."
John Groce (Illinois):
- "We're excited to ship to what we call Season 3 and get to where we can move forward."
- Groce on the challenges of beating a team three times in one season: "Every game is different and we've got to play on Wednesday."
Chris Collins (Northwestern):
- Will Northwestern's three-game winning streak help Wildcats make a Big Ten tourney run? Collins: "I think any time you win some games in our league you feel some momentum. In our conference, it's so hard to win one game."
- Collins on Michigan, Northwestern's opening opponent: "If they had Caris LeVert, they wouldn't be in this position, and they're still in a great position to make the NCAA tournament."
Mark Turgeon (Maryland):
- Turgeon: "I think teams can turn it on a dime."
- Turgeon on the Big Ten tournament: "You try to win the darn thing. It prepares you. The more games you play, the better you're going to get. We have a lot to gain this weekend in preparation for the NCAA tournament."
Matt Painter (Purdue):
- Painter said freshman big man Caleb Swanigan had his best game of the season Sunday against Wisconsin with a 27-point, eight-rebound effort.
- Painter on value of regular-season versus Big Ten tournament titles: "I like the way it is. You've got to be able to use the Big Ten tournament to hopefully help you. I think they both have a lot of value, but now the value is a little bit different."
Richard Pitino (Minnesota):
- Pitino on Minnesota's opening game against Illinois: "It's an uphill battle with the state of our roster. We've got to do everything we can to score a massive upset."
- Pitino officially ruled senior Joey King out for the Big Ten tournament.
Tom Izzo (Michigan State):
- Izzo on advancing in Big Ten tournament: "I think the biggest key is whether or not you can stay focused and pay attention to the little things."
- Izzo: "To me, it may be harder to move on in the Big Ten tournament than it will be in the NCAA tournament."
- Izzo: "This has been the craziest Big Ten I've been in."
- On the Big Ten as a whole: "Really good for writers, really good for fans, really bad for coaches who are trying to figure out where their team is."
Eddie Jordan (Rutgers):
- Jordan: "I'm happy for our team for winning its last game. We needed that win."
Greg Gard (Wisconsin):
- Gard: "Having started 1-4 in league play, then going 11-2 over the next 13 given the teams we've played is a tremendous credit for our guys."
- Gard on how his team has righted the ship: "They are a very resilient group. We have not hit our ceiling yet. We have a lot of room for improvement and growth."
John Beilein (Michigan):
- Beilein: "We have to turn the page, we have no other choice and move forward. We're in a situation a lot of other teams are in right now. We're in a tournament and we have to play really well in the tournament if we want to go on in the postseason."
- Beilein on Michigan's 3-point struggles: "It has not been good and it's the reason we have not been successful."
Patrick Chambers (Penn State):
- Chambers on Brandon Taylor's development: "He committed to the weight room, he committed to his conditions, he committed to the things you need to do to become a better basketball player. ... He worked really, really hard in the offseason."
- "They're just more cohesive. Defensively, they're long, they're active. ... We're really two different teams so it should be an interesting matchup."
Tim Miles (Nebraska):
- Miles sent out a tweet this morning thanks Nebraska fans for their support and apologizing for team's performance. "We feel bad for our fans for not being more successful. I want to have a program that everybody is ignited about."
