What Coach Mike Woodson Said After Indiana's Loss to Arizona

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Indiana dropped to 8-2 on the season with an 89-75 loss to No. 10 Arizona on Saturday.

Here's what coach Mike Woodson said after the game.

On Arizona's 17-0 run in the first half...

Woodson: When [Xavier Johnson] picks up fouls early, that hurts us. I mean right now we're shorthanded not having Jalen [Hood-Schifino], another ball-handler in the game, but I don't think that was the difference. We got down early, but I thought we fought. I can't fault effort. I thought we gave great effort, but you've got to give a lot of credit to this team. This Arizona team is a good team. They are. We were challenged tonight. I've got to do a better job of getting us in position, but I thought the game was won in the paint. They were the better team tonight in the paint."

On the challenge of defending Arizona...

Woodson: Well again, guys, our defense has been pretty good this year. This is the first game where a team has gotten away like that, in terms of shooting 3s and pounding it inside. They're playing well inside. We're not going to change a whole lot. At the end of the day, they made some shots. They're a good team. It's the first time we've given up this many points, and we just can't make that a habit. We've got to be better in that area. Our goal is to try to hold teams to 60 and under, and we've been pretty good in that area this season. But tonight we let this one get away.

On Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis...

Woodson: No, I mean, again, we knew their starting five occupied the minutes. They play pretty much all their minutes. They go six or seven guys, but the starting five pretty much plays the minutes, and their bigs are dominant bigs. They're good. There's a reason why they're averaging 19 and 20 a game between the two of them, so we had to battle that. I thought they got the better of our bigs tonight. I just do. We didn't have any answer for them. I don't want to get to where we have to beg for help or start doubling a lot. Go back and look at the tape, and maybe I'll think differently the next time if we get an opportunity to play them. But since I've been here, we haven't done a whole lot of doubling the post, but we haven't played a whole lot of teams with two bigs like that that were dominant.

On Indiana's runs to make it close...

Woodson: Well we've always fought, and I thought our fight tonight was pretty good. Plays here and there, and I'm not blaming the officials. I thought that was a goal tend that really when we started to get the momentum a little bit back, it looked like goaltending to me. It went from seven where it could have cut it to five, I think, five or three, to 12. Against a good team like this, that's a big enough cushion for them to kind of coast and bring it on home. They played well. I can't take anything away from them. Well-coached and played a great game."

On Arizona limiting Trayce Jackson-Davis...

Woodson: Well guys, we scored 75 points. That's plenty of points in college basketball, but you can't give up 80-something points and expect to win. I mean that's where the game is won, I think. I think we scored enough points. I think early on we missed a lot of good shots early, and then we finally started to find some offense and started making shots. When you make shots, it cures a lot of problems. But tonight we didn't make them early.

On making offensive adjustments...

Woodson: Well again, I mean the ball started to move. We started to run a little more pick and roll to try to open the floor up a little bit, where we were trying to post it early to kind of combat their bigs and play inside with them. Their bigs are unique, they are. They average the points they do because it's hard to double them when you've got guys on the perimeter that can make 3s, as well, and they still made 3s.

On Jordan Geronimo only playing eight minutes...

Woodson: That's coach Woodson's decision.