'As a Coach, I've Always Put it on Myself,' Mike Woodson Said in a Post Game Press Conference Following Indiana's Loss to Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio. — Indiana head coach Mike Woodson headed to the podium following the Hoosiers' 80-69 loss in overtime to No. 22-ranked Ohio State.

Woodson said he still sees a team that won't give up and takes full blame for not getting his Hoosiers over the hump in close games.

Read Woodson's full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the press conference.

Q: On E.J. Liddell's dunk to take the game to overtime...

WOODSON: Well, I thought we started making catches tough. They just couldn't get good looks, and they missed a couple good looks at the rim, but I just thought our defense was solid to get us back where we were able to take the lead.

I don't know if fatigue set in coming down the stretch, but we couldn't really get the stops I thought we needed to get, and that 15 seconds doesn't get no bigger than that, man.

I thought we had played the play as well as you could play it. We just got lost on the backside, and I had two guys leaving the rim, and one of the guys that was left open was Liddell.

I looked at it before I came in. It was just something that shouldn't have happened, but you can blame it on fatigue or just not being used to being in this position.

That's the play you have to close out and make the young man make a tough shot over the top, not a dunk or a layup.

Q: On not quitting...

WOODSON: Four losses coming into tonight. This team is not quitting by any means. If you think that, I think you're watching the wrong game tonight. I mean these guys came, and they competed, and unfortunately I wasn't able to get them over the hump.

We go back now. We got Maryland, which we played them early on, and we got to go home and try to get our mojo back. That's what it's all about. We got to find a win somewhere so we're feeling good about ourselves.

We got two days to prepare and see where we are from there.

Q: On Woodson putting blame on himself...

WOODSON: They put us in the position where we could possibly win the game. Again, I'm not putting it on the players. As a coach, I've always put it on myself. I've got to learn and help these guys get over the hump.

I mean yeah I didn't play the last play where we gave up a layup. I didn't throw the ball away. We were up four, but I got to mentally somehow get these guys to understand time score situations and feeling comfortable making plays down the stretch. That's how you win basketball games.

Q: On Miller Kopp...

WOODSON: It's a part of it. I thought Miller at one time was playing well, but hey he got away. He made plays, and we had no answer for him.

I thought early on we played pretty good, but as the game wore on, I don't know if fatigue set in or what, but he was the guy that they went to, and we couldn't get the stops that we needed to get.

Q: On Xavier Johnson...

WOODSON: He played well. I can't fault Xavier. He was fighting pretty much the whole game. I mean he made some good plays, some bad plays. That's part of it. I'm not sitting here complaining about being shorthanded. I thought we competed well enough to win the game.

Q: On playing in close games...

WOODSON: We got to get them over the hump, man. I wish I had the magic pill to get them over the hump because again, we're right there. I can't fault effort. They played hard tonight and got back in and put ourselves in a great position, but again, in winning close games, you got to do everything right.

You can't come out of a timeout up four and throw it away. You've got to be solid. If they're going to make a shot to tie the ball game, it surely can't be a layup, and that's what happened.

Q: On the two biggest possessions of the night...

WOODSON: That had no bearing on it. You're reaching right there. We were up. They were up I think five or six at the time.

When X got the tech and took him out of the game, I thought... got a great look at a three and we ran full court coming up. From that point, we had to foul. They missed one of their free throws, but we had nothing else left after that.

In regulation, we were up four. We throw the ball away at the time out. That's the biggest possession of the night I think, and we got nothing out of it. We came down, and we fouled. When you're up two with 15 seconds, you got to get a stop, and we gave up a layup. Those were the two biggest possessions to me of the night.

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