The last time Thad Matta joined 97.1 The Fan for his weekly radio show appearance, his Ohio State men's basketball team stood stuck in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Matta's club rebounded on Sunday, however, and picked up its first Big Ten victory of the season by beating Michigan State 72-67 at Value City Arena. The Buckeyes desperately needed something positive to happen and scratched its way to the victory behind 22 points from JaQuan Lyle.
Matta was in Dayton at the annual Flyin' To The Hoop event recruiting, so he only took part in roughly 10 minutes of the radio show, doing so by telephone. Assistant Greg Paulus then sat down with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes on 97.1 The Fan on Monday to dissect the victory, preview Ohio State's Wednesday trip to Nebraska and more.
Notes:
- Matta said he was happy to see how his players finally answered the challenge that staff presented to them: "It had been a rough stretch for us. Thursday at Wisconsin is not what we considered Ohio State basketball so we went back to the drawing board."
- He added that the thing he was most proud of during the game was how Ohio State didn't stop playing defensively despite Michigan State making its first six shots from the field.
- Does Ohio State hang onto this win a little more considering it is the team's first Big Ten win? Matta: "You know, I was so tired. Been a long couple weeks. I needed rest. Our team needed rest. Last few weeks have been exhausting. I felt I played a game yesterday just in terms of the ups and downs and the emotion with it."
- Paulus told Matta before tipoff the video production team put together an emotion video that was 45 seconds long that the Buckeyes watched before they took the court. Matta: "Who knows how much it helped but I liked how guys stayed together."
- Matta called Nebraska a "tremendous challenge."
- Matta said because he took two charges in the game, Marc Loving was the game MVP.
- Matta on the message to his team Monday in practice: "If you're happy with one win, you're not a winner because winners are constantly trying to get better." Said he could tell some guys were content at the start of practice and "had to set them right."
- Ohio State rebounded much better against Michigan State than it had in recent games, Matta said. "That was something in the Wisconsin game we didn't do a good job of at all."
- Matta said he was pleased with how JaQuan Lyle played, in that he, for the most part, took high percentage shots.
- On Nebraska: "Extremely physical. Two guards that are scoring a lot. They set a ton of ball screens. It's another great road test."
- Matta wore a tie on Sunday for the first time in two seasons: "My phone blew up after the game saying 'keep the tie, try again, try again.' I didn't think other people paid that close of attention. I gotta broaden my horizon to pay better attention to what people wear, I guess."
- Keels then joked that people see everything, referencing the incident early in Matta's Ohio State career where he lost his gum during a game and the coach picked it up and put it back in his mouth. Matta joked, "I'm a lifetime member at Wrigley for that."
- Bill in Kenton, Ohio, asked how much the victory against Michigan State allows the Buckeyes to build on their confidence. Paulus: "We're hoping to build on it. We've had multiple games where we were right there and didn't finish. So we need to continue to build on playing Ohio State basketball."
- Paulus noted how Ohio State kept playing defensively against Michigan State despite the Spartans making their first five field goals. That didn't happen at Wisconsin last Thursday: "We stressed competing and the guys did that."
- On Michigan State star freshman Miles Bridges: "He's tremendous ... We tried to take him out of his comfort zone a little bit." He also noted Loving taking a charge on him being a turning point in the game.
- On Loving's leadership: "Everybody does it differently. But he made some plays on Sunday that were winning plays and helped get some teammates get to places they haven't been before."
- Paulus said Ohio State did a "much better job" in transition defense: "They got a couple throughout the game but we did a good job scrambling and finding our matchups ... that's an area that we worked on for a couple days and it's going to be important as we move forward in the Big Ten."
- Paulus: "I was tired too but Coach Matta told me he hired me young so I wasn't allowed to be tired."
- A caller asked Paulus if out of bounds plays both offensively and defensively are different this season. Paulus said some things are different scheme-wise, though Michigan State is a little unnatural with how they defend things on baseline out of bounds plays because it plays a man-up zone.
- Paulus said Ohio State moved the basketball offensively better than it had all season against Michigan State: "Making that extra pass, especially in the second half, helped us get over the hump down the stretch."
- On Jae'Sean Tate shooting 3-pointers, Paulus said the Buckeyes are fine with it but are stressing to him not to force it: "If a guy is right on you, just drive by them."
- Paulus on Tate: "He makes us a tougher basketball team so it is hard to take him out and get him a break."
- "We tell our guys, do not let your level of effort and play be dictated by whether or not the shot goes in." — Paulus noted that Kam Williams has been better about that lately.
- Paulus said Trevor Thompson has gotten better each season he's been at Ohio State: "For a guy like him to rebound the way he is, defense is much improved, he's finishing much tougher around the rim ... Having that low-post threat for us is a really good thing."
- Paulus said Keita Bates-Diop's role on the team now is No. 1 paying attention to the doctor's orders, then staying around the team: "To understand the big picture and his role and how important he is for our team, he's a guy that has an impact for us even if he can't play."
- Bob in Columbus asked about teams using analytics and how much it figures into Ohio State's formula. Paulus said the Buckeyes do use them from a statistical standpoint, specifically in points per possession and how to attack certain defenses. Thus, if teams score in the paint or from the outside for example: "We use it on both sides of the ball and in player development."
- Paulus said the first thing he looks at in the box score is field goal percentage defense. Michigan State shot 50 percent from the field: "We're not too happy with that but then you look at how they only shot 14 free throws and had seven offensive rebounds. That's pretty good."
- Paulus called the crowd on Sunday at the Schottenstein Center the best all season: "Hopefully we made a few plays to keep things rocking. Appreciate all the support and let's do it again on Sunday against Northwestern."
- Paulus is engaged and his fiancée is "spearheading" wedding planning: "She deserves all the credit with all the traveling and everything that I do."
- Paulus said something he stresses with the players the need to be organized "every single day" especially in-season with the road games and still needing to get schoolwork finished. The conversation is primarily centered toward the freshmen: "The important thing is for them to understand it is a process both on and off the court."
- Paulus said freshman Derek Funderburk is "developing." Added that getting to go against guys like Tate and Thompson every day in practice helps immensely. Funderburk has gained "about 20 pounds" during his redshirt season.
