What Matt Painter Said After Purdue's Win Over Ohio State
CHICAGO — Purdue basketball advanced to its second straight Big Ten Tournament title game with an 80-66 win over Ohio State on Saturday at the United Center. Boilermakers coach Matt Painter met with the media after the game to discuss the game. Here is the transcript of his press conference:
MATT PAINTER: I thought obviously today was a tough game. This is Ohio State's fourth game. This is our second game in as many days. I think it kind of showed there. But you can kind of see the heart of Ohio State, and those guys really played well in this tournament.
We were fortunate to play them after they've already played three games and we've only played one. I think you can see the future of Ohio State with Okpara, Gayle, and Bruce Thornton. They've got a great class coming, and they've got a great coach. They lost a lot of close games this year, and some people got them. But I think you can see the future of Ohio State and how good they're going to be.
That was tough for us. That was really tough. Roddy Gayle had an unbelievable first half. Bruce Thornton's a tough cover. You can see he does a lot for those guys. You can see his legs, he didn't have the same pop he's had in this tournament. And then Sueing obviously shot the ball well in this tournament.
This was a great win for us. So to get into the Big Ten Championship where we were last year and Iowa beat us, just happy for our guys. Hanging in there. It's kind of new guys, right? Mason Gillis has a great game for us. David Jenkins has a great game. David Jenkins gave us a great lift at the end of the first half, to be able to finish them off and hit the big three, his second three of the half.
I thought Brandon Newman really stepped up and played well. He did a good job guarding Bruce Thornton, he didn't turn the basketball over and just made some key plays for us.
The storyline of the game is they only have one center. So we had that matchup the whole night. I felt bad for Trey Kaufman-Renn because he normally gives us about eight to 12 minutes right there and does a really good job, but since we just had that matchup all night, Zach was going to have an advantage and we were going to be able to get to the free-throw line. It just makes a lot of sense just to get him the basketball, get them in foul trouble, get to the free-throw line, and try to steal as many points as possible.
QUESTION: Matt, we talked a lot this year about what Zach Edey does on the court. There was a play where he saves a Braden Smith pass and gets an offensive rebound on the other side of the paint. What is he, other than just 7'4" big? Everything he adds.
PAINTER: Yeah, great mobility. He has a really good nose for the basketball, and he's different than most people his size in the fact that he can rebound out of his area. Then he can give multiple efforts. A lot of times guys that are that big, they can make the play, but then they can't make the next play. He just kind of stays with it. Not all the time, because he gets stuck sometimes, especially when he gets sandwiched down there.
Q: Matt, this season has been relatively wide open across the country in terms of there being no dominant team. Where does this league fit in terms of the hunt, which starts next week, if you will?
PAINTER: Say that last part again.
Q: It's been a kind of a wide-open season nationally in terms of no dominant team. Where does the Big Ten fit in that hunt that starts next week?
PAINTER: It's kind of hard for me because I don't watch all the other leagues as much as I watch our league, but I think from top to bottom we have a very good league. I think you just saw that. That was a 13 seed that we just beat, and you look at the talent that's out there on that court, and they don't have, you know, a really good player in Brice Sensabaugh and a really good player in Zed Key.
They just didn't have it all together the whole season, especially with so many young guys that they have. But I think from top to bottom, we're one of the best teams in the league -- I mean, in the country, if not the best team -- we've got to be able to push through, and we've got to do our part.
That's what I always talk about. Whether we're trying to win the Big Ten / ACC Challenge or trying to win in the NCAA Tournament, you can talk in theory or talk in whole all you want, but when you're involved in it like we are, we've got to do our job.
Everybody always talks about getting to a Final Four or getting to Elite Eight, winning a National Championship. You'd better win your first game. Then if you're fortunate enough to do that, better win your second game. So there are steps to everything, and anybody can beat you, but yet you can't fear anybody. You've just got to go out and compete.
Q: Do you believe that you guys have done enough to be a No. 1 seed tomorrow or that you could with the game tomorrow?
PAINTER: I think it could go either way. Obviously, the people that are involved have all had great seasons and done the same things that we have. If you look at it, obviously we have different conference schedules and different nonconference schedules. So then you've got to really chew on that and break that down, which I have not.
So like, it could go either way. I don't think you should look at it as a success if you get a 1 seed or it's a failure if you get a 2 seed. We're in great company, and we've earned the right to be in the discussion. Now the only thing that we're worried about is trying to win this next game. If you keep just doing your job, everything else takes care of itself.
If we win and we don't get it, so be it. Who cares? That's not the goal. That's not what you put on your resume. You put on your resume whether you go to a Sweet 16 or go to a Final Four. The play is what's important for us. We've got to play better tomorrow than we played today, and that's the goal.
Q: Do you feel like you guys are playing a little looser just from my observation since the Ohio State game? It feels that way. Is there any sense in that since you guys won the Big Ten Championship?
PAINTER: We've had stretches this year where we haven't shot the ball well. I think that's what comes off more than anything. We have guys that can shoot the basketball.
Today we didn't have high volume threes, but we were 7 for 15, but we were getting it in there a lot. He shot the ball 25 times. Some people aren't going to allow him to shoot the ball 25 times. When we do that, we're going to have more cracks at it from the perimeter.
I think that's where you see guys feeling a little bit better about themselves. The greatest shooter in the world goes through a slump. That happens. It's basketball. That's why they say defense and rebounding travels. Sometimes your jumper doesn't. Anybody who's shooting the ball on a regular basis for us, I'm confident they can make them, and that's just the attitude you have to have.
Q: Looking ahead to tomorrow, of course, none of this matters if Penn State wins, but if IU wins, as you look back, what were the differences in those two games, and what needs to be different should you meet IU in the final?
PAINTER: In the first game we played them, it was the turnovers in the first half. Their pressure bothered us. In the second game, it was Jalen Hood-Schifino.
Q: Coach, your opponent Sunday will either be a former colleague and a friend, or it will be Indiana. It's a program that you've been familiar with since you were a younger man. What emotions come to mind when it comes to facing either one of these opponents tomorrow? What's at stake?
PAINTER: Well, obviously I think Zach said it best, we root for Micah. Obviously, we don't root for him when they play Purdue, but he's meant a lot to our program in two different stints as an assistant. He's grown our program. He's been a part of it, making us better, and we learned a lot from him.
He has some experiences that our staff hasn't had, being with Brad Stevens at Butler, and being with Brad with the Celtics. Those experiences and just the overall success they've had with the Celtics organization and with Butler, I have a lot of respect for Butler and how they do things and the coaches that they've had through the years. So always constantly trying to learn from that.
Obviously, I grew up an Indiana fan. A lot of my family went to Indiana. Went to the '87 Final Four to follow them and things of that nature. So obviously I go to Purdue, so my allegiance changed at that time. I've got a lot of respect for them. I'm not somebody that demonizes my opponent. I'm not that guy. It doesn't mean I'm not competitive. It doesn't mean I don't go after it. But if that's the case, we haven't played very well against them, simple as that, but you've also got to give them credit for that.
We had the upper hand on them for a while there. I think we won 9 out of 10, 10 out of 11, 11 out of 12, or something like that, but the last two years, that hasn't been the case. Mike's done a great job. If you said two years ago we're going to hire somebody and he's going to get us into the NCAA Tournament twice, I think you'd be pretty happy with that.
Obviously, they've got a great team that can go a long way in the NCAA Tournament. So he's done a really good job. They've got great players. We've just got to get ready to play them if they win.
Q: Matt, obviously beating a team three times in a season is difficult, but each time you've played Ohio State, it seems like a new team just personnel-wise. How much more difficult is that when it's a new look each time?
PAINTER: This time wasn't their best lineup, but it was their best version. You get to a certain point in the season where people understand about sacrificing and doing things that affect winning. I think with their youth and their injuries, it took them a little bit longer.
Then when you lose closer games, it affects you differently. Then obviously the way they've played here in this tournament just shows you how good of a coach he is, first of all, and the pieces that they have, even when they're shorthanded. Like how does this look with Zed Key out there and Brice Sensabaugh? That's a tough cover.
We were struggling to guard them today. You add those two pieces, and you're really going to struggle. So, the first time they were ranked 24th in the country and had the second-best offense in the country at the time. We smoked them by one. Then the next time, you know, we're just fortunate to win.
We just lost at home to Rutgers. Fletcher makes a huge shot. We have a good defensive possession at the end of the game, and we're fortunate to get out of there with the win. Then when they come back there at the end, you're playing at home and building on things, but still, it was a game for a while until we separated midway through the second half.
Like I said earlier, their future is bright. If you know basketball, you definitely understand that Ohio State -- some people got their licks on them this year, but that's going to come to a screeching halt. They have a very, very good young nucleus.
Q: Obviously no one else has a Zach Edey, but a lot of teams don't play through the center like you guys do. What is it like to prepare, to scheme, to practice, to rep? What is that like as the coach?
PAINTER: It's different. We're all copycats. Like I said earlier, a lot of people always talk about some of the things that we do and the things that we run. We learn from our losing, and we steal from others. Those are the two things we do.
You watch a lot of basketball, you don't have to be original. You can just steal from other people that are successful if it fits your personnel. So we talk a lot to other people that have bigs and watch a lot. You know, watch Gonzaga, watch North Carolina, watch Wisconsin, watch the people who are traditional, or any big in the country that's dominant. Just watch and see how people double them, see how they attack, see what they do, just trying to pick up on things.
We've had a lot of guys, so we've made a lot of mistakes through the years. I always say quit making the same mistake and eventually, you run out of them. But it is different. I think being different is good. 30 years ago everybody ran the Kansas break, and so 80 percent of the people that you would play ran the Kansas break because Kansas was so good, or the North Carolina break, however you want to look at it.
Now it's a lot of ball screen motions. It's a lot of driving. The NBA influences us to a degree, not whole because we're not as skilled as those guys. But now things open up. There are not as many post-ups. There's more driving. There are more ball screens. And that's just the way it is. And we've all become better defensively against that.
But yet when you're a little bit different -- some people don't believe in the post. There are legendary Hall of Fame coaches that don't believe in doubling the post because they don't want to be in rotations and they don't like the rebound balance.
But you've got to mess with him in some capacity. If you stay one-on-one, you've got a really good post defender and you got the right refs on the game who aren't going to call it. You can go watch this tape, the last night's game, or the next game. If they call it by the letter of the law, nobody would play. They've got knees, they've got two hands, they've got stuff. The other coaches, I understand totally how they are. You can get a game against us where it doesn't get called, then you'll get a game where it does.
That's where the NCAA Tournament, we really got those calls in the first round, then I thought St. Peters was just tougher than us. I don't think St. Peters was fouling us, I think St. Peters did the best job against us and fought us tooth and nail every single possession. That's what you've got to do. You've got to give everything and anything to deal with his big ass.
Sorry, that was kind of locker room. I shouldn't have said that. But it's true. And that's how they feel, and they don't feel it's fair, and it's not. That's like playing with Glenn Robinson in college. There are nights when he's got it rolling, you're at his mercy. So if they're going to call the fouls the way they should, he's going to put himself in a really, really good position.
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