Rutgers Basketball head coach Steve Pikiell talks to the media following the team's 67-66 loss to Ohio State inside the Schottenstein Center out in Columbus, Ohio.
To hear what coach Pikiell had to say, check out the video below.
Pikiell’s Opening Statement:
“Hey guys appreciate you being here. Obviously, it was a tough road game and tough down the stretch. One play away and we got to give credit to (Chris) Holtmann. Ohio State's tough and physical. I thought we played well. I thought we made plays down the stretch. I thought that we executed when we needed to. Just you know, we didn't get that last stop. I thought he kind of went out of bounds. I'm not sure. But they hit a huge three and won the game.”
Pikiell on the last 6 second of the game, the game-winning shot and fouling up three points:
“I mean I haven't. I don't know anything about that, but I thought he was (out of bounds) because he was right in front of me. But I haven't. I just thought, you know, with our three-point lead right there, just get them to not be able to heave up with a three with that little time left on the clock. And, you know, we got what we wanted, we got to the free throw line, and we just didn't kind of finish the deal. It’s just disappointing, but I have not seen any photos of anything.”
Pikiell on how much more painful it is losing at the last second:
“My team, they fight, and I am proud of them. We've won games like this, but just a tough way to lose. But again, it's life here in the Big 10 (Conference). I have to give them credit. They made one more play, but I'm not sure about the sideline thing. I thought he was clearly out, but again, I didn't see anything.”
Pikiell on Clifford Omoruyi and the difference from Zed Key in the first half to the second half:
“We got on the ball; you stopped turning the ball over. He had four turnovers in the first half. That key is a problem. He's a really good player. He had a great first half and Cliff had a great second half. I like my team a lot. I think they adjust. We played our hearts out. Every guy came in and gave us something, but we were one possession short here. This is life on the road. This league is not fun.”
Pikiell on talking to the team in the locker room after a tough loss:
“It's tough right now. The game just finished five seconds ago. They played their hearts, it's on me. I got to do a better job and you know we have to this around and hopefully the ball will bounce our way one of these games.”
Pikiell on Cam Spenser’s play:
“He was really good at making plays. He's a good player. Paul (Mulcahy) having him back, changes a lot of things for us and moves Cam to another spot where he's able to do some more things. I really thought we executed down the stretch, and we made big baskets. Even the play Andre (Hyatt) teed it up from three. Paul threw him a great pass. Cam made plays. We are just disappointed for our guys. This is a tough place to play here and to have a chance to win it was just very difficult.”
Pikiell on Zed Key’s performance in each half:
“He's good and he's the leading offensive rebounder in our league and he really got on the glass. I thought our turnovers in the first half really hurt us and helped them. We just did a better job with our physicality. We did a better job of blocking out. We did a better job down the stretch of taking him off the glass and keeping them out of those comfortable positions that he likes on the court. He's good. He's good and you can only contain him for so long.”
Pikiell on Caleb McConnell
“Caleb's the best and we've been here before. These kids are tough and resilient. Caleb's a terrific player. To think six weeks ago, he wasn’t practicing, but these kids are tough. So we'll bounce back. We got a lot more season to go and hopefully we'll get one of these back.”
Pikiell on using film to get takeaways from the game:
“We have got a quick turnaround here for our next game. Our guys really do a good job learning from film, so we'll try to take what we can out of it and do a better job you know down the stretch.”
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