Was listening to the OSU post game press conference on WCTC and those guys on the podium couldn't even answer questions. Thompson was beside himself. Thad had to defend himself on vote of confidence from AD.
OSU players and staff devastated on loss
- Thread starter RocktheRac
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You sure? Because I just watched the on-site studio guys from BTN ask Nigel if he thought OSU didn't want to be there.
wtf were those questions, seriously
wtf were those questions, seriously
Nigel answered it well
What about the "it looked like both teams wanted to lose" statement at the end of the game? Did he see Rutgers play? Nobody plays harder than that. Jackass.
Agree, he did. He was well spoken throughout the interview. I was just really surprised by that question.
I think the players needed more cooling off time before they answered. Thad basically said the players weren't tough. Almost sounded like he was throwing them under the bus. Jackson said the team didn't have the right mindset and weren't ready.
Heard that also and thought it was an absurd statement. I hope he meant to say both teams wanted to win.
OSU is spineless. With that talent....guys didn't want to rebound.
On the flip side give credit to our guys. We really wanted to win. Badly! And often that makes it looks like your opponent doesn't want it.
On the flip side give credit to our guys. We really wanted to win. Badly! And often that makes it looks like your opponent doesn't want it.
Matta showed zero class in the press conference.... he not once gave credit to our coach nor our players for being the better team. Our coach always acknowledges the other coach and team when we lose. So happy with have Steve who represents RU with class and dignity.
they should not feel devastated, its not like they looked like they had any hunger to win this game. They were fragile and had no fight down the stretch, gutless. RU dominated the game for 35 minutes all around. If anything they are devestated of the realization that they just are not good and the players talent overhyped..not to mentioned Matta is doing a pretty poor job pushing this teams buttons. Their body language is awful
Pikiell completely changed the momentum of the game by switching to zone when we couldn't get stops. He got out of it at the right time too. He also applied pressure at a few key times that threw OSU off.
Matta should look in the mirror. He lost his battle.
Matta should look in the mirror. He lost his battle.
Good. For once, it feels good for some other team to go through that and not us.
I couldn't believe he said that. Was pure dick. I hope his bosses use that as a teaching moment so he gets better because that was idiotic.
The Ohio State team is extremely talented from an athleticism perspective. Their problem is they have no heart. That is the exact reason why I thought Rutgers would beat them today. Every single 50/50 ball you knew Rutgers would come up with it. If Rutgers could hit a jump shot once in a while, they probably would have won by 20 or more.
Yeah but you forget how great defense, with a great coach switching defenses neutralizes that better talent and makes it look ordinary. Have you heard about a team like Virginia , that plays some of the uglier games to watch, but neutralize UNC, Duke and Louisville talent every year . A great defensive team makes talent look ordinary. That is what we did. That was one of many relentless efforts by us all year and we had a lot of coaches scratching their ass trying to figure out what to do against it. Not many figured it out, Iowa at home, Maryland second half,and that is about the only time defense was not relentless . Give the credit to Coach Pikiell and do not for one second fall for that shit from Matta selling his kids down the river. We broke their spirit. That is what the better team does even if it has less talent.
Someone mentioned that SP said at the Court Club meeting that he liked how RU matched up with OSU and wanted another shot at them. We saw why today.
I havent been THIS happy about RUTGERS basketball in over a decade !!!!!!!
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That was me. Pikiell said he wanted another crack at OSU. Now we know why. :cool2:
Matta is on the ropes....a coach that is secure with his job, fanbase and players, gives credit to the opponent.....when you've been beaten up in the press, have an underachieving team and have 5 Top 150 kids recruited and signed 2 years ago and 4 of the 5 transfer before the end of their freshman season, you have the results of what took place today.
My only fear isn't that RU doesn't recruit better players....my biggest fear is when you increase the talent of the recruiting, the players that you land, with all that talent, don't buy in.....they don't get 9 rebounds like Mike Williams....they don't get putbacks by Freeman, CJ, Laurent and even Candido Sa, outworked for a put back.
Indiana, Ohio State and to a lesser extent Michigan State for this year, all have talented rosters, but they have entitled kids/players and it is impossible to win consistently, when you don't have buy-in....
Matta won't admit it, because he's on a standing 8 count, but his tenure at Ohio State isn't necessarily over, but it needs a reboot....Can he flush out the talented kids and get the kids that he used to land at Ohio State....that dove for loose balls....the Chris Jent's or Mike Conley Jr. types...the grinders that used to gobble up rebounds......the guard that no one could figure out in Aaron Craft, who symbolized the scrappy Buckeyes, was a four year starter and a pain in the neck to deal with......was followed up with the one and done DAngelo Russell.....and Russell is an NBA talent but they haven't looked or felt the same since Craft and Shawnell Scott left Ohio State....that backcourt wasn't DAngelo Russell talent, but there is no way Craft or Scott would allow the erosion of what Matta has allowed in the last 2-3 years....
I'm glad RU was down 15-5 and rallied to win and closed the game out comfortably....Matta has lost his fire to coach and needs to get back to his roots of finding a Craft or someone that will not allow lax play........maybe it's the bad back of Matta....maybe it's too many wins and maybe it's the bad mix of players....
He looked and sounded like a coach that has been defeated, not just by RU, but by the process of college basketball and the expectations at Ohio State.....Pitino Jr. Collins, Pikiell and now others like Pat Chambers are just hungrier than Matta right now....their staffs are hungry....the have players looking for someone else to grab the rebound, we have three people going for the same rebound.
It's coaching and players not being hungry....Matta took a body blow and instead of manning up, he passed the Bucks....
My only fear isn't that RU doesn't recruit better players....my biggest fear is when you increase the talent of the recruiting, the players that you land, with all that talent, don't buy in.....they don't get 9 rebounds like Mike Williams....they don't get putbacks by Freeman, CJ, Laurent and even Candido Sa, outworked for a put back.
Indiana, Ohio State and to a lesser extent Michigan State for this year, all have talented rosters, but they have entitled kids/players and it is impossible to win consistently, when you don't have buy-in....
Matta won't admit it, because he's on a standing 8 count, but his tenure at Ohio State isn't necessarily over, but it needs a reboot....Can he flush out the talented kids and get the kids that he used to land at Ohio State....that dove for loose balls....the Chris Jent's or Mike Conley Jr. types...the grinders that used to gobble up rebounds......the guard that no one could figure out in Aaron Craft, who symbolized the scrappy Buckeyes, was a four year starter and a pain in the neck to deal with......was followed up with the one and done DAngelo Russell.....and Russell is an NBA talent but they haven't looked or felt the same since Craft and Shawnell Scott left Ohio State....that backcourt wasn't DAngelo Russell talent, but there is no way Craft or Scott would allow the erosion of what Matta has allowed in the last 2-3 years....
I'm glad RU was down 15-5 and rallied to win and closed the game out comfortably....Matta has lost his fire to coach and needs to get back to his roots of finding a Craft or someone that will not allow lax play........maybe it's the bad back of Matta....maybe it's too many wins and maybe it's the bad mix of players....
He looked and sounded like a coach that has been defeated, not just by RU, but by the process of college basketball and the expectations at Ohio State.....Pitino Jr. Collins, Pikiell and now others like Pat Chambers are just hungrier than Matta right now....their staffs are hungry....the have players looking for someone else to grab the rebound, we have three people going for the same rebound.
It's coaching and players not being hungry....Matta took a body blow and instead of manning up, he passed the Bucks....
Couldn't agree more. He looked like a beaten man after the game. The guy is only 49 years old but looked closer to 69.
wow cannot believe he is only 49? I never ever thought he was that young. He does look 60 plus...has he had any health issues
this is him in 2004 when he was hired at 36
here is him today
We read far too much into what people say. A lot. Almost every day, in fact. I could not care less if some other coach didn't give us "credit." The scoreboard is all the credit I need. How many times did you hear a coach give our team credit after his team beat us? Did that make the L go away? I'll take the other way around eight days a week,and four times in the Big Ten Tournament. Just relax and move on. Please.
We got out of the gate down 15-5 and won. In the conference tournament. Against, while not a good team, a name team. People will notice we won. As a 14th seed. And we get to play again. Against someone we should not be in any way in fear of playing.
Be happy, folks. Enjoy this win.
We got out of the gate down 15-5 and won. In the conference tournament. Against, while not a good team, a name team. People will notice we won. As a 14th seed. And we get to play again. Against someone we should not be in any way in fear of playing.
Be happy, folks. Enjoy this win.
You could tell Matta was showering Pike with praise at the postgame handshake. Some guys like to focus on their own team and own coaching performance in interviews, and in this case I think pointing out the obvious difference in the game (hustle/loose ball aggression) would be throwing himself under the bus.
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well, we heard both teams wanted to lose..... it would be difficult
to look at these stats from the game, and say RU wanted to lose.... sometimes
we are a poor shooting team, this is a given, and the poor shooting makes the game close
but these stats show the heart of the RU team:
A bit more of the same interview....
sometimes you can tell a coach "has it" and sometimes you can't....
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