March 9, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon

On the game:

"We didn't feel outgunned. We felt like we were scoring enough. We just felt like a tornado hit us a little bit with his [Leon Williams] play around the basket. We felt like we got some good looks. We didn't shoot the ball great, but we took good care of it and passed it well. I thought we competed hard enough that we didn't get outrebounded either. In the end, I think that they had great leadership on the floor and it showed.

On Leon Williams:
"Beyond the basketball, he's been always been known to really compete hard and be a first class young man who carries himself well. Our society doesn't have enough people like him. "

On playing in the Convo on Senior Day:

"It was a great opportunity for our young guys to come in here and compete. We want to see it at its best and see if we can learn from it. We didn't get off to a good start and we had times when we broke down, but we never had times where we stopped playing hard or where we got put away. We fought as hard as we could right until the end. [We] didn't defend well enough, didn't shoot well enough, but played hard enough. Hopefully we'll learn. "

Ohio head coach Tim O'Shea

Opening Statement:

We are just happy to get the bye. The teams with the bye in these types of tournaments have their chances go up significantly of possibly winning the tournament. In all likelihood, the probability in the group of four with the bye, one of those four teams will win the tournament. One of those teams will likely get to the final game and it's a huge advantage of having played your third versus fourth game on that final

day. It wasn't easy, but I'm happy that we got there.

On the seniors:

They really stepped up today. Look at Leon's numbers, Bubba's numbers. They stepped up huge.

On Jerome's performance:

He has practiced like that the last couple of days. It's been great to see and we saw it on the court today. Hopefully this is a sign of what we are going to see in Cleveland.

On Tommy Freeman's start:

We are looking for a little tweak late in the year to give us something extra going into the tournament. He's played so well in practice and played well in the limited opportunities that he has had. I just thought that our lineup needed something just to get it going.

On the game today:

We just needed to win today. Even if it had been a low scoring game, we

just needed to win. The fact that everybody came out shooting well was

great because it gave us some confidence going forward. The offense, the last two games, has been back on track. It really just comes down to making shots.

Ohio senior guard Bubba Walther

On getting the bye:

It was about time. It had been like a week and a half. All we've heard about and talked about was getting the bye. Today we came out on Senior Day and got it done. It was important.

On the emotions of Sunday's game:

It was an emotional day. I remember playing here as a freshman and beating Leon, and now I'm on Ohio and it's my last day. In those two minutes, I was standing at halfcourt it all flashed in front of me. It was pretty fun, the fans were out today and we got a win.

On the guard play:

We knew that they pressure the ball so much, and they lead the MAC in offensive rebounds. So we know that if we get the rebounds, and we push it ahead, that our bigs can beat their bigs down the floor.

Ohio junior forward Jerome Tillman

The difference of today's game vs. last few games:

I just think we can't be uptight going down the home stretch. We have to do what we've been doing at the beginning of the season that gave us success, which was playing loose and everybody just playing their game.

The attitude of the non-seniors:

We wanted to send these guys out on a high note. I know both these guys work hard everyday. You don't want to go out with a loss on Senior Day, because that's something you'll remember for the rest of your life.

Ohio senior forward Leon Williams

On Sunday possibly being his last game in the Convo:

I just wanted to leave on a high note and give the fans something to remember me by.

On nearly shooting the 3-pointer in the final minute:

I was really close, but I was hesitant because I didn't want to miss it and mess my percentage up.

On the emotions of Sunday's game:

It was emotional. Seeing all the fans, my family was here, and just getting the win all meant a lot. These past four years have meant a lot too. Playing for Ohio is a great place to be, so getting the win was really emotional and it felt good.