Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: vs. Penn State
2/3/2024 4:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Penn State
Feb. 3, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On defending three-point attempts…
WOODSON: Well, in the Big Ten Conference, we have been guarding the three pretty well. It's an indication that we've defended the three pretty well. I just thought tonight, second half, we were so flat coming out. I mean, something I hadn't seen. I mean, I look at their first possession to start the second half, and they got I think three, four cracks at it, but we couldn't come up with loose balls or rebound.
I mean, it was like we were a step slow, and it's kind of disappointing because you play a good game against Iowa, and then you come back and basically lay an egg.
Q. On Penn State's press…
WOODSON: Not really, I mean, I thought we handled the press early. Built the lead based on them doing the same thing. I mean, we didn't have – I think we had 13 turnovers. So, that's been in the ballpark in terms of where we want to be at 12 or less. So, I didn't believe the press really hurt us.
I thought, defensively, our switching and recognizing they run a lot of what we call ghost screens. We just didn't handle them correctly. I mean, we weren't up to touch tonight. I mean, (I) just thought we had good intentions when we started the game because we came out aggressive, and it just kind of wore away.
Q. On team's effort in the second half…
WOODSON: Well, sure, I want more fire. I mean, come on. Yes, I want more fire to my guys. They didn't fight tonight in the second half, and that's kind of disappointing.
So, we have to go back to work and see if we can work our back because, I mean, that's a game that I thought, if we played well, we had a legitimate chance to win. And I thought we did play well early on, and we just had too much slippage defensively the second half.
Q. On team's energy…
WOODSON: Again, I'm not going to throw my guys under the bus. They didn't just perform the second half. They didn't. They didn't. They were flat as hell.
Q. On different defensive setups…
WOODSON: Well, again, we were small at times. When they took their big guy out, we went with one big, and we had small guys around him. That wasn't the difference.
The difference was we didn't switch correctly. We didn't do a lot of things defensively that got us the lead early. I mean, they didn't do anything differently. We just have to do better over a 40-minute ballgame.
Q. On trends that have led to performances this season…
WOODSON: We've had our ups and our downs this year, no doubt about that. But I look at the points. You gave up 85 points. You're not beating anybody in the Big ten doing that. That's not us, you know what I mean? You have a chance when you're trying to hold teams to 65 under in the Big Ten. And when we've done that, we've been pretty successful.
Q. On turnovers…
WOODSON: Again, over the course of a game, you have break downs, and I thought tonight, the fact that we were flat, we just didn't have anything going the second half. I mean, they dictated everything from the very beginning, and once we fell behind, it was just tough to get back.
TREY GALLOWAY | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On team's effort…
GALLOWAY: For sure. I mean, we didn't really – I mean, we came out in the second half… I mean, we had a four-point lead going into the half, and we weren't playing well at all. I mean, and then we come out in the second half, and it's the same thing. We are just not playing hard enough and smart enough on the defensive end. We had a lot of unnecessary fouling and then just a bunch of miscues that (are) really just on us that we can't have this late in the season.
Q. On Penn State's success behind the arc…
GALLOWAY: I think they are shooting around 29, 30 percent for the year, and to shoot that well, obviously we're not making impact on them enough. They got a lot of open shots, and, like I said, that just goes back to our miscues and the things we weren't doing, talking enough, and there's all those little things that went into the preparation that we didn't do. So, we have to be better.
Q. On Penn State's second-half surge…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, they were just playing harder than us. I mean, it's hard to really get a flow on offense when you can't get stops.
I think our offense comes from being able to get stops and run and doing certain things. So, when we don't get stops, we are not going to be able to flow on offense, and it's going to be a spiral and an impact on our offense when we are bad on defense.
Q. On defensive miscues…
GALLOWAY: I think just being in the moment and being confident in what we are doing. Coach gives us a gameplan. We have to follow it and do it. So, I think the miscommunication, it's kind of us just being hesitant, but we have to kind of break out of that shell and talk to each other and find ways to get stops. And it's all of us. It's not just one guy. It was all five guys on the court tonight, and it showed.
Q. On if team injuries and performances impact team's energy…
GALLOWAY: I mean, I don't think so. I mean, we prepared the right way. And we knew that they were going to come in here and try to play physical and do all the little things to throw off our game and kind of mix it up. Like I said, at the end of the day, it's about playing harder and smarter.
Q. On fostering more fight…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean, when teams go on runs, you have to really find ways to come together and get stops. They are hitting some tough shots, but, still, (if) you give them confidence early, they are going to kind of get in the flow, and that's what they did. I think us really kind of coming together and all five guys on the court coming together as one, that's the biggest thing we need to do. And we didn't to that tonight -- I mean today.
MIKE RHOADES | PENN STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement: First of all, just an awesome basketball game and environment. This is my first time here in Assembly Hall. I've watched many Indiana games growing up, and it's an honor to be on the court today coaching my team and being a part of this historic atmosphere and arena. I'm really proud of our guys, and we had a really good practice yesterday. Our game plan wasn't very complicated. It had to be simple so we could play really hard. I thought we shared the ball with each other on offense and helped each other on defense. We did a good enough job rebounding that we got our offense working. It was a great team effort, and I'm really proud of our guys.
Q. On the comeback after going down double digits...
RHOADES: It was all experience. We've been doing it all year long. We've been very inconsistent all this year. We've been down a lot, and we've come back. We've been through a lot this year. I thought we settled down a little bit and got better shots and made some shots.
Q. On Ace Baldwin, Jr.'s performance today and his leadership...
RHOADES: Well, he's just so competitive. The league doesn't know him like I do. His competitiveness is elite. Shooting drills, playing ping pong, whatever it may be, it's elite. He wants to win more than anything. Winning, to him, is the most important. He's very unselfish. I would say he's a selfish winner, but he's an unselfish player. He gives guys confidence because he's so tough. He had a great week. This week, he didn't let anything bother him. He had a clear mind.
Indiana vs. Penn State
Feb. 3, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On defending three-point attempts…
WOODSON: Well, in the Big Ten Conference, we have been guarding the three pretty well. It's an indication that we've defended the three pretty well. I just thought tonight, second half, we were so flat coming out. I mean, something I hadn't seen. I mean, I look at their first possession to start the second half, and they got I think three, four cracks at it, but we couldn't come up with loose balls or rebound.
I mean, it was like we were a step slow, and it's kind of disappointing because you play a good game against Iowa, and then you come back and basically lay an egg.
Q. On Penn State's press…
WOODSON: Not really, I mean, I thought we handled the press early. Built the lead based on them doing the same thing. I mean, we didn't have – I think we had 13 turnovers. So, that's been in the ballpark in terms of where we want to be at 12 or less. So, I didn't believe the press really hurt us.
I thought, defensively, our switching and recognizing they run a lot of what we call ghost screens. We just didn't handle them correctly. I mean, we weren't up to touch tonight. I mean, (I) just thought we had good intentions when we started the game because we came out aggressive, and it just kind of wore away.
Q. On team's effort in the second half…
WOODSON: Well, sure, I want more fire. I mean, come on. Yes, I want more fire to my guys. They didn't fight tonight in the second half, and that's kind of disappointing.
So, we have to go back to work and see if we can work our back because, I mean, that's a game that I thought, if we played well, we had a legitimate chance to win. And I thought we did play well early on, and we just had too much slippage defensively the second half.
Q. On team's energy…
WOODSON: Again, I'm not going to throw my guys under the bus. They didn't just perform the second half. They didn't. They didn't. They were flat as hell.
Q. On different defensive setups…
WOODSON: Well, again, we were small at times. When they took their big guy out, we went with one big, and we had small guys around him. That wasn't the difference.
The difference was we didn't switch correctly. We didn't do a lot of things defensively that got us the lead early. I mean, they didn't do anything differently. We just have to do better over a 40-minute ballgame.
Q. On trends that have led to performances this season…
WOODSON: We've had our ups and our downs this year, no doubt about that. But I look at the points. You gave up 85 points. You're not beating anybody in the Big ten doing that. That's not us, you know what I mean? You have a chance when you're trying to hold teams to 65 under in the Big Ten. And when we've done that, we've been pretty successful.
Q. On turnovers…
WOODSON: Again, over the course of a game, you have break downs, and I thought tonight, the fact that we were flat, we just didn't have anything going the second half. I mean, they dictated everything from the very beginning, and once we fell behind, it was just tough to get back.
TREY GALLOWAY | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On team's effort…
GALLOWAY: For sure. I mean, we didn't really – I mean, we came out in the second half… I mean, we had a four-point lead going into the half, and we weren't playing well at all. I mean, and then we come out in the second half, and it's the same thing. We are just not playing hard enough and smart enough on the defensive end. We had a lot of unnecessary fouling and then just a bunch of miscues that (are) really just on us that we can't have this late in the season.
Q. On Penn State's success behind the arc…
GALLOWAY: I think they are shooting around 29, 30 percent for the year, and to shoot that well, obviously we're not making impact on them enough. They got a lot of open shots, and, like I said, that just goes back to our miscues and the things we weren't doing, talking enough, and there's all those little things that went into the preparation that we didn't do. So, we have to be better.
Q. On Penn State's second-half surge…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, they were just playing harder than us. I mean, it's hard to really get a flow on offense when you can't get stops.
I think our offense comes from being able to get stops and run and doing certain things. So, when we don't get stops, we are not going to be able to flow on offense, and it's going to be a spiral and an impact on our offense when we are bad on defense.
Q. On defensive miscues…
GALLOWAY: I think just being in the moment and being confident in what we are doing. Coach gives us a gameplan. We have to follow it and do it. So, I think the miscommunication, it's kind of us just being hesitant, but we have to kind of break out of that shell and talk to each other and find ways to get stops. And it's all of us. It's not just one guy. It was all five guys on the court tonight, and it showed.
Q. On if team injuries and performances impact team's energy…
GALLOWAY: I mean, I don't think so. I mean, we prepared the right way. And we knew that they were going to come in here and try to play physical and do all the little things to throw off our game and kind of mix it up. Like I said, at the end of the day, it's about playing harder and smarter.
Q. On fostering more fight…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean, when teams go on runs, you have to really find ways to come together and get stops. They are hitting some tough shots, but, still, (if) you give them confidence early, they are going to kind of get in the flow, and that's what they did. I think us really kind of coming together and all five guys on the court coming together as one, that's the biggest thing we need to do. And we didn't to that tonight -- I mean today.
MIKE RHOADES | PENN STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement: First of all, just an awesome basketball game and environment. This is my first time here in Assembly Hall. I've watched many Indiana games growing up, and it's an honor to be on the court today coaching my team and being a part of this historic atmosphere and arena. I'm really proud of our guys, and we had a really good practice yesterday. Our game plan wasn't very complicated. It had to be simple so we could play really hard. I thought we shared the ball with each other on offense and helped each other on defense. We did a good enough job rebounding that we got our offense working. It was a great team effort, and I'm really proud of our guys.
Q. On the comeback after going down double digits...
RHOADES: It was all experience. We've been doing it all year long. We've been very inconsistent all this year. We've been down a lot, and we've come back. We've been through a lot this year. I thought we settled down a little bit and got better shots and made some shots.
Q. On Ace Baldwin, Jr.'s performance today and his leadership...
RHOADES: Well, he's just so competitive. The league doesn't know him like I do. His competitiveness is elite. Shooting drills, playing ping pong, whatever it may be, it's elite. He wants to win more than anything. Winning, to him, is the most important. He's very unselfish. I would say he's a selfish winner, but he's an unselfish player. He gives guys confidence because he's so tough. He had a great week. This week, he didn't let anything bother him. He had a clear mind.
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