Postgame Quotes vs. No. 2/2 Purdue

Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. No. 2/2 Purdue
Jan. 16, 2024

MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On what he said in the locker room at halftime to spark a rally…
WOODSON: Well, we got smacked the first half, and you've got to give them credit. I thought they were tougher. Yeah, there were a lot of fouls called against us, but they set the tone. I thought we came out with good intentions back and forth there, eight, nine, ten points. And then we couldn't make shots. You know, that was a big difference in the first half, and they made shots and they got to the free throw line and Edey had a lot to do with that.

Q. On the defensive intention covering Edey…
WOODSON: I can't sit here and complain about the officiating. It's what it is. You know, we couldn't get to Edey quick enough. I thought the way they set him up versus how we played him last season.
You know, again, Trayce and Race, they are not here. I've got to get my two big guys a little tougher. That's got to help. I didn't think we played tough enough, and Edey kind of had his way. We've got to work on that. It's a work in progress.

Q. On navigating foul trouble with Mackenzie Mgbako and Kel'el Ware…
WOODSON: Well, again, you know, you just -- it's kind of like the Next Man Up. I probably should have played not Ware, but Mac a little more even with the two fouls, but I elected not to do that.
You know, that's hindsight. I hate coaching that way. Or thinking back to what I should have done. But at the end of the day, you know, they played extremely well the first half. I thought we came out with big-time energy the second half to cut it to nine, but when you dig a hole like that, you know, against a pretty good team, it's hard to dig your way out.

Q. On the thought process of when to bring Mgbako back…
WOODSON: Again, it's a long game, but we fell back so quickly, you know, I figured I brought him back I think around the two- or three-minute mark right around the half, and when I think back to it, I probably should have brought him back a lot sooner, but I didn't.

Q. On where Edey has improved the most over the years…
WOODSON: You know, I think the fact that his angles that from a defensive standpoint you can't give him, ` he's getting the angles. Really, the last four times we played him, I thought our pressure on the ball helped us. Whoever caught it, we had really intense pressure to the point where they just couldn't make pinpoint passes, and once it goes from the angle or top down to the big fella, it's tough to get help there quick enough.

I think Ware could have done a better job in battling but he didn't, and you know, it's something to learn from. The beauty about this, we've got to still go to Purdue and see him again, so maybe we can regroup and see what happens when we get there.

Q. On starting the second half strong…
WOODSON: Again, you'd like to think that -- I thought we came out ready to play. I think the fouls kind of slowed us down a little bit. But you know, again, I don't call the game. You've got to try to overcome it, but we didn't. We fell in the hole and it was tough digging out.

Q. On what happens when the offense goes stagnant…
WOODSON: I thought in the first half we got some good looks. I charted, there were eight or nine open shots that we just didn't make. Those empty possessions that you leave on the table, and you come down and either we fouled or they scored, I mean, it wasn't a good combination for us the way we were playing. You know, so we've got to move forward and get ready for Wisconsin now and see where we go from here.

TREY GALLOWAY | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On playing against the deficit throughout the majority of the game…
GALLOWAY: I mean, I think the first half, it's we get some dumb fouls and unnecessary fouling and stuff. That's the difference between playing hard and like not smart, and I think we had some fouls and we had foul trouble and it got away from us a little bit.

Q. On feeling a game getting away and working to get out of it…
GALLOWAY: Like I said, I mean, you just have to stick to your game plan, and I mean, obviously they are a physical team, and have a very big post presence down low. But I think just at the end of the day, just going out there, competing, and finding ways to get stops, that's the biggest thing. We didn't do that.

Q. On a lack of toughness…
GALLOWAY: For sure. I mean, especially when it's a big game like this. You've got to find ways to fight and be tough.

Q. On trying to get the guys to refocus amidst the foul trouble…
GALLOWAY: We didn't really handle it great. I mean, that's the reason there was I think 16 free throws to -- I'm not sure what we had in the first half.
But like I said, we've got to be more smart and know that they are going post a lot. But we can't have silly fouls. And just know that it's going to be a war, and it was. But we're competing.

Q. On cutting it to nine early in the second half…
GALLOWAY: I mean, it wasn't over, and that was our mindset going into the second half. I mean, like you said, we got it to under ten but we just didn't have that next gear to really keep going, keep cutting into the lead.

I had a bad turnover and some quick shots that we could have got a better shot on, so I take responsibility for that.

Q. On being aggressive but having to worry about foul trouble…
GALLOWAY: I think so. But the biggest thing is just playing physical all the time because I can't call every foul. So if we can be smart and not foul like we don't need to, but be physical, that's the biggest thing.

Obviously with Edey down there, it's going to be tough for anybody. But we get another chance to play them again at Mackey, and we'll be ready then. But we've got to focus on our next game against Wisconsin and try to get a real win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

MATT PAINTER | PURDUE HEAD COACH
Q. On the defense responding after the Indiana start to the second half…
PAINTER: We were getting pretty good shots and they weren't going down to start the second half. (Indiana's) were. They closed the gap at the media timeout by around 10 points. When we subbed there, I thought defensively Cam (Camden Heide) did some things, and I thought Ethan (Morton) did some good things, and they were able to push that lead back. That's what we talk about with those guys. What's the score when you come in versus what's the score when you sub back out. It takes everybody. Those guys have done a really good job defensively for us. We started Mason (Gillis) to start the second half form an offensive spacing purpose. He played really well in the first half. When Trey (Kaufman-Renn) came in, he played really well when he subbed back in for Mason. He did a lot of really good things. I'm proud of our guys. It was a total team effort.

Q. On what winning on the road says about the team…
PAINTER: We have had a lot of great wins, but also a lot of great neutral-court wins. That has really helped our resume. But we haven't really played that well on the road in true road games, outside of winning at Maryland. We needed a game like this. We needed to play better. We needed to shoot better. But we also needed to give ourselves a chance and not turn the ball over. You look at the box score, we gave ourselves a chance. But when you get into these rivalry games, anything can go. When they quickly cut our lead by 10 points, it's exactly what you are. thinking. I know you guys have never stood up there and coached a game, but you really think at that time when it's four possessions, five possessions, it could happen. But you have to keep your poise and your patience and keep doing what you did to get into that position.

Q. On Fletcher Loyer during the Indiana run…
PAINTER: The three he made in the second half was big when (Indiana)was making that run. I think he pushed it back to 14. He just had timely shots. He was very steady for us tonight going 5-6 (from the field) and 4-4 from three and getting 19 points. Fletch is a good player. He does a great job of playing off of Braden (Smith) and playing off of Zach (Edey).

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Mgbako

Kel'el Ware

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