BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2022

Chris Holtmann

Cedric Russell

E.J. Liddell

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Ohio State Buckeyes

Postgame Press Conference

Penn State - 71, Ohio State - 68

MODERATOR: So we are joined by Ohio State, we're going to start with an opening statement from Coach Holtmann about the game, then we'll take questions from the students, then we'll send them back to the locker room and continue with questions for coach.

So Coach, go ahead with opening comments.

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, hard fought game. They're really, really tough and physical game. Give Penn State credit, just made a few more plays down the stretch. Thought it was a really hard fought game. I don't fault our guys' effort at all.

Q. Cedric, what was the struggle kind of keeping their guards out of the paint there? I think they had 24 paint points and a lot of them came from Penn State's guards?

CEDRIC RUSSELL: Like Coach said, we fought. We had to be tough on the ball and those guys made some tough shots in audible. But like I say, we just had to be tough on the ball and defend better on that end and bring more energy on that end.

Q. E.J., a week ago you were in contention for a Big Ten championship and now you're sitting here having lost four of five. How do you think you guys got to this point?

E.J. LIDDELL: I wish I could tell you, I wish I could address it. If I knew, I would address it with the team and we'll try to fix it, but I don't know.

Q. Just kind of to follow up on that, E.J., Cedric, either can answer this. Obviously the season's still not over, but how do you guys kind of turn this around next week for the NCAA Tournament, turn the next page here?

CEDRIC RUSSELL: Just we've got a -- we've got to prepare and be ready, whoever we play. Next week is going to be a very tough and talented team, so just go back, you know, go back home and get ready. Like I said, we've got to adjust things that we need to adjust. We did some stuff very well tonight and like I say, one thing is you keep -- we were playing, just being tough on the ball. So just go back, be prepared for that and hang our hat on maybe the defensive side of the ball.

Q. E.J., seemed in the second half a lot of the possessions, you guys struggled maybe getting the ball to where you wanted to, maybe their physicality maybe shoved you out of your spots a couple times. In your mind, what was it that led to such an inconsistent, I guess, second half for you guys offensively?

E.J. LIDDELL: Credit to Penn State, they played really hard. We knew what type of game this was going to be, they're a gritty team in audible. They just played hard.

Q. E.J., following up on that, were there noticeable adjustments that Penn State made to attack you guys in the second half or was it just kind of the effort you just alluded to?

E.J. LIDDELL: Credit to Penn State, they played really hard on that side of the ball. They were getting to their spots, forcing off our spots.

Q. For both of you guys, do these issues defensively, does it feel like the same thing over and over again, the way the teams have been able to ball screen you and create issues in the middle of the court? Does it feel like the same problems you guys are banging your heads against?

CEDRIC RUSSELL: No. Like I say, it's just being a consistent effort on that end and being tougher. When we do that, it's a different outcome. It's just being able to be more consistent on that end. And we've showed it in games this year, so it's not like we can't do it. Just the approach, actually doing it and getting it done. Like I say, we'll go back to the drawing board and we'll figure it out and be ready for next week.

E.J. LIDDELL: Like Cedric said, we've got a week to figure something out. No excuses for it tonight. Honestly, I'm not going to make any excuses. We need to play harder. If we don't know that by now, something's wrong, but we've got a week to get better. This is our longest break in a while. Hopefully we can get healthy and come back out and play.

Q. Coach, I think it was like a six-minute stretch there when you guys didn't hit a field goal in the second half through the middle of the half there. How would you evaluate the offensive play there and the looks you guys got there in that stretch?

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I would have to look at it, I thought we got some good looks. Did we get to the foul line during that stretch? Excuse me? Yeah, I know field goals, if we're getting to the foul line we're usually scoring points, so I thought we had some good looks. I thought we played as hard tonight as we played in a couple weeks, I really do. I thought we played as physical tonight as we've really played in a couple weeks and I thought we were really a pretty connected group, which was really good to see, really good to see. I think we just in general have to -- we've got to be able to make a few tougher plays. Harrar got a couple offensive rebounds and then they were really physical getting us off our spots. I think that's the biggest thing. We knew they were going to back us down and the size of their guards bothered us a little bit, which we knew was going to be an issue.

Q. Chris, teams go on runs, it's going to happen at times, but there have been some games this year where late (indiscernible) teams go on runs and the way your team has responded hasn't always been positive. Do you see maybe a common thread?

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: No, no, I think we've went on runs, teams have went on runs. It's college basketball. I think we've went on runs. I don't think there's a consistent theme there at all, I think it's just -- I do think when your defense isn't as strong as it needs to be, you know, that really eliminates runs because your offense is going to be a little bit fluid. So I think our better defensive teams have been able to eliminate some runs from teams and we're just not where we need to be defensively.

Q. Chris, you say you felt like you guys were more connected than you've been in a while and played a little tougher, but I think they scored 22 on 30 possessions in the second half and those two things don't seem to line up. How do you I guess, explain their efficiency if you guys felt like you were as connected as you've been in a while?

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I thought we played really hard. I thought we wore down a little bit, Bill. I thought we were playing some guys -- I had to play Joey 30 minutes. That's a rough assignment for the amount of minutes that he needs to play going against a guy that physical. Probably played E.J. and even Malaki a few too many minutes. I thought we wore down a little bit. But no, I really felt like I could feel different watching the tape, and I felt like in terms of our toughness and our connectedness, it was as good as we've been in a few games, for sure.

Q. With Malaki Branham, he seemed to hurt his ankle early and obviously he played a lot, but did you see that impact him and what was the challenge of maybe getting him going in the second half?

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: No, as much as anything, their physicality, and that's the book on Malaki right now. You've got to keep in mind now, fellows, they're playing -- look at the roster. Look how old it is, okay? Our guy here, we're really reliant on a freshman to carry a big load for us and it's probably too much, honestly, to expect him against the -- the kind of physicality that he's facing to expect that of him. We're not going to change our age right now, but I thought at the end of the day, their physicality did wear us down a little bit. It wore him down a little bit, but that's been the case for everybody, right, the last eight games. You saw that at Maryland, you've seen that pretty much every game.

Q. You had some stretches of inconsistency on offense here in this last two, three weeks. Just as you look at this last 10 or 15 incidents of the game, I think Brunk made a hook and Jamari threw in a three at the end. Other than Malaki and E.J., I don't know, are you guys too easily defendable at times because you're relying so heavily on two guys?

COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I think it's something to think about. Now, we beat these guys two times earlier, and if you remember, Steve, Kyle Young played a major role in both those games. He made four threes in the first half, made four threes at their plays and then we played through him late at our place to beat them. So to your point, I do think, especially as loaded up as teams are, we do need another scorer or two. We tried to go to Joey some. I think we went to Cedric. Again, the field goals is one issue, but I think we got to the line a little bit there in the last eight to 10 minutes.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.