Dec. 24, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
Thoughts on the game
"Our focus coming into the game was defense. Keith Benson is a great player for them. I mean a really great player. We told our guards that our defense had to start with them. They are our best post defense we have in that situation. Give our guys credit, they delivered. The thing I'm most glad about is our 21 to 5 assist-to-turnover ratio. It was a very good win for us."
On the thing he was most proud of against Oakland
"We put some heat on them. Our defense got a couple easy buckets for us. As we move forward, we will tell our team that there will be different dynamics throughout the game. Deshaun [Thomas] did well in some pick-and-pop situations. Those are the things we can hopefully build upon as a team."
David Lighty, senior guard
On the difficulty tonight with Sullinger in foul trouble
"I don't think it changes too much. We just weren't making shots today. We were getting a lot of good looks and they just weren't falling for us. When that happens you have to find a way to get shots. I don't think our offense changes that much when he's not in the game. Obviously it helps when he's in though."
On the change in the second half play
"We were playing hard. They were just making tough shots, getting rebounds and putting it back up and getting loose balls here and there. They were shooting 30 percent at half time which shows we were playing hard we just needed the little push. That edge to making shots which we got after halftime made the difference."
Jon Diebler, senior guard
On having nine players score tonight
"It's nice to see. On a night like this I think we played pretty good defense. I think it's nice to see and it's really hard to defend us when you have six guys in double figures."
On beating teams by large margins
"A lot of it has to do with our defense. We are playing against very good teams. Oakland is a very good basketball team and they've played a lot of Big Ten teams very close. Their coach was going to have them prepared coming in here, playing against the number two team in the country. I think a lot of it was our defense. When we come out with energy on defense it makes us a tough team to beat."
Aaron Craft, freshman guard
On the turning point of the game
"In transition we're hard to stop because we spread people out like we do. We did a great job sitting down and getting stops. Our shots started falling and it just snowballed from there."
On getting many shots tonight
"They were doing a great job staying on our shooters like Jon and Dave especially since he did a great job the other night. When it came down to it we started setting ball screens and it allowed me to make decisions and luckily I made the right ones."
Greg Kampe, Oakland head coach
On Ohio State
"They are a very good team. I like the way Sullinger plays and Aaron Craft really makes that team go and went by us tonight. I like the way they defend and are sound on principles. They scouted very well and that's compliment to Thad and the rest of the team."
On non-conference schedule
"I think you learn a lot with a non-conference schedule like we've had. We will never face a Sullinger in our league and if we can defend him, we can defend anyone. It's great teaching for our kids and will really help us the rest of the season."
