Ohio State Head Coach Chris Holtmann Previews Indiana

The Ohio State men’s basketball team is coming off a victory at Northwestern, with Indiana coming to Columbus for a noon tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Head coach Chris Holtmann spoke to members of the media two days away from the rematch with the Hoosiers.

• Really good Indiana team. We’ve got a lot of respect for how they’re playing and the way they play.
• I was disappointed with our second half against Indiana last time. Give them credit, too, they dictated things. We’ve been more efficient offensively. We have not been consistent enough defensively.
• We have to do a better job taking care of the ball. We’ve shared it pretty well. At times, we’ve done a good job of getting to the free-throw line. We’ve had more of a variety offensively.
• Indiana is a terrific offensive rebounding team with their size and how well they pursue the ball. We felt their physicality.
• Indiana guards played well against us last time. Devonte Green has always played well against us. Rob Phinisee played well against us too.
• Sophomore wing Justin Ahrens’ attitude has been great. The biggest challenge for him has been defense, but he’s been playing better.
• Ahrens has been improving defensively. Some of the issues were with his health, some was being in the right spots. We’ve seen signs of improvement, though.
• Freshman guard DJ Carton: The game is slowing down for him in a lot of ways. He’s understanding more and more what you can and can’t do at this level. We’re not making him initiate the offense every time, so that’s helped it slow the game down for him.
• Our only focus has to be in the moment and getting better. It’s not about what’s happened or standings or anything like that.
• Our lineups are still a work in progress. We’ve had more injuries and illnesses than we’ve ever had.
• I probably would have liked to play right away after the win at Northwestern to carry on the good things from the victory.
• There is a clear distinction on turnovers. They know which ones we will take an issue with and which ones are more excusable.
• We need to get healthy these next couple days. No specifics, but we have some guys dealing with some things.
• I admire Kobe Bryant’s support of women’s basketball. When you watch women’s basketball, you really see impressive athleticism.
• Musa Jallow and Justice Sueing both had successful surgeries.
• Junior big man Kaleb Wesson’s weight loss was not a selfish decision despite what some might say. I think 90 percent of our fans have a good understanding of what’s going on, but every fan base is going to have a segment that can be off-base.
• Living off post ups for 40 minutes is generally inefficient. Kaleb needs to get better at finishing two-point field goals. He’s a willing passer and he has the ability to make 3-4 three-pointers in a game.
• Indiana has a diverse attack. They get to the line well and they have good size and physicality.

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