With the first week of conference play in the books, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta joined the 13 other Big Ten men's basketball coaches Monday for the first of what will be weekly teleconferences.
Matta led the Buckeyes to a 75-73 victory against Illinois Sunday night in Columbus, their sixth straight victory. Ohio State sits at 2-0 in Big Ten play before back-to-back road games at Northwestern Wednesday and Indiana Sunday.
How his players will respond when they leave the friendly confines of Columbus for the first time in Big Ten play has Matta intrigued.
"We've got a lot of challenges ahead of us," Matta said.
Additional Matta Notes:
Matta said he didn't have a conversation with Kam Williams about him needing to do more after the departure of freshman guard Austin Grandstaff. Since Grandstaff's transfer, Williams has averaged 8.6 points per game and shot better than 50 percent from the floor.
"We just wanted him to be more of a complete player," Matta said of Williams. "He's a competitor and wants to give everything he has to this program."
On Marc Loving's recent resurgence, Matta said he expects more from the junior since he is the oldest player on a team littered with underclassmen: "Having a heightened awareness in terms of his responsibility to the program, I think he's becoming more aware of that.
"Marc is scoring the basketball in a variety of ways, something that with this team, is important."
Tom Crean (Indiana)
Crean spoke about his team's upcoming game Tuesday, which will be a "special night" due to the 1976 championship team — the last one in college basketball history to finish the season undefeated — getting recognized when the Hoosiers host Wisconsin.
Crean said he and his staff "haven't had any concrete conversations about" adding a football player or two like tight end Jordan Fuchs to the basketball rotation. Fuchs is listed on his team's roster.
Fran McCaffery (Iowa)
On his team being ranked, McCaffery said it changes things a bit with how opponents view you when they prepare to play your team: "Everybody wants to beat ranked teams." The Hawkeyes broke into the top-25 Monday, winning eight of their last nine games with the only loss being on the road to No. 11 Iowa State.
With such a senior-laden ball club, McCaffery said his focus is improving it as a whole because of how many players have experience: "Who knows what the ceiling is? It's just every day coming to work and trying to get better."
John Groce (Illinois)
A bit more than 12 hours after his team fell in Columbus Sunday evening, Groce was encouraged with the effort from his younger players even though Illinois has lost its first two Big Ten games.
"I think we have a little bit right now of a culture in place, whether you call it fortunate or unfortunate it, where our guys are kind of used to being next man up," Groce said. "That's what our guys expect and they've bought into it."
Groce said he isn't optimistic of either of his injured big men — graduate senior Mike Thorne Jr. and sophomore Leron Black — returning to the lineup anytime soon.
The Illinois head coach also said he had a chance to view the game film from Sunday's loss to Ohio State briefly and noticed "We had our hands on guys too much." The Buckeyes shot 39 free throws.
Chris Collins (Northwestern)
Collins, who leads the Wildcats against Ohio State Wednesday, said he noticed the Buckeyes are playing "very confidently" ever since beating then-No. 4 Kentucky.
"The thing that makes them unique is they've gone to a big lineup where they have a lot of versatile guys that interchangeable," Collins said. "That makes them tough to defend.
"They're making winning plays and that makes a difference. We're going to have our hands full."
On Ohio State leading scorer Marc Loving: "The fact that he's getting to the line more just puts a lot of pressure on your defense. Because he's 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9, it makes for a really tough matchup. What kind of guy do you put on him? He's certainly become a real factor for them night in and night out and his consistency has been something you've gotta respect."
Mark Turgeon (Maryland)
Turgeon called his team's 72-59 victory against Northwestern Saturday night, "a step in the right direction." The Terrapins are currently ranked No. 4 in the country.
Turgeon said he thinks the Big Ten is getting better right as conference play begins: "I think the league is good, I think we can get seven or eight teams in (the NCAA Tournament) again. The next two months, we're going to beat up on each other."
Matt Painter (Purdue)
Painter said his team "had a tough weekend," after dropping a 70-63 decision at home to Iowa Saturday.
Painter ripped his team's lack of offensive efficiency due to how much it turned the ball over against the Hawkeyes and in a victory over Wisconsin: "Taking care of the ball helps us out defensively." Purdue turned the ball over 14 times against Iowa and 16 times at Wisconsin.
Richard Pitino (Minnesota)
"We're ready to bounce back," Pitino said. The Gophers lost their first two Big Ten contests and have dropped six out of their last eight.
Asked about Ohio State, which beat Minnesota, 78-63, in the Big Ten opener Wednesday, Pitino said its youth was very evident when it hosted the Gophers. However, the talent is there and will "grow up" when conference play grows older.
"You want it to happen right away, but sometimes the process takes a little bit longer when you have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores," Pitino said. "But those guys are continuing to grow up and I think that's a team that's going to keep growing up."
Tom Izzo (Michigan State)
"We're hopefully getting our star back within the next week, but not sure yet," Izzo said of do-everything guard Denzel Valentine, who underwent minor knee surgery Dec. 21.
"Role players have had to step up, and that's a good thing," Izzo said. The Spartans were ranked No. 1 in the country, but lost their first game of the season Tuesday at Iowa and fell to No. 5 Monday.
"We're not complaining, because everyone has injuries," Izzo said. "But I haven't had a player in my 21 years that has meant as much to the team (than Valentine)."
Eddie Jordan (Rutgers)
Jordan spoke about injuries to his team, but wasn't oblivious to the uphill battle Rutgers faces in conference play, starting Wednesday at Maryland.
"It's tough for us, but we're look forward to the challenge," Jordan said.
Greg Gard (Wisconsin)
Gard said he is proud of the way he team has handled the transition from retired coach Bo Ryan's tenure to Gard's interim stretch.
"We played as complete as we have played all season Saturday," Gard said. The Badgers downed Rutgers 79-57 in Madison for their first conference victory.
John Beilein (Michigan)
Beilein opened with a statement about star Caris LeVert's injured lower left leg.
"Can't tell anything more about Caris," Beilein said. "He's still day-to-day going forward ... Have three days to practice for Purdue, we'll see." He added that LeVert is in some slight pain.
Pat Chambers (Penn State)
The Nittany Lions haven't played a game in their home building since Dec. 12 and dropped their first two Big Ten contests to Maryland and Michigan last week.
"This is the Big Ten, you're going to get taken to the woodshed every once in a while," Chambers said.
Tim Miles (Nebraska)
Miles began his portion of the teleconference asking the moderator for a rundown of what each coach before him had said, "to know what I'm dealing with."
Miles said he's unsure of his starting lineup considering his team's 8-7 start, but if he tweaks anything it'll be out of halftime because he's unhappy with how his team has been starting the second half of its games this season.
"I'm just staying awake at 3 a.m. thinking about it," Miles said.
