[Sam Webb] “Phil, good morning. How are you?”

[Phil Martelli] “I’m doing well, Sam. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

[Sam Webb] “Hey, me too! (Laughter). I’m back in the saddle and (ready) to reflect upon last week. I know there were two losses, but I think that the games were two different games altogether. The Ohio State game, which we’ll talk about, was a “game” until you got into the second half, and they had a run. The Rutgers game felt unlike most this season. Most games this season you’ve come out in the first half, and it’s been a game in the first half between Michigan and whoever you were playing. But this was one where Rutgers came out of the gate early and seemed like you guys couldn’t throw it in the ocean. And that was essentially a hole that was never dug out of.”

[Phil Martelli] “A number of things (stand out) for me at Rutgers… The other games on the road when we got handed (our behinds), those teams were just better.

The Rutgers situation, they’re coming in having scored 46 points against Maryland. You come up with a plan, you’re going to try to minimize their drives to the basket, which hurt us in Ann Arbor, and they hit their first two threes. The noise was absolutely incredible, and then no rhythm offensively. If it wasn’t missed shots, we’re turning the ball (over) and we never really got in the game. Call it the way it is. It was not a game after the first media timeout, and that is unusual because we’ve been able to claw and stay and hang around. And obviously in a lot of these games the second half defense has gotten us. But in this game if you look at the numbers… and I’m not talking the analytics of it… but it was the made three-pointers early for them that kind of created the separation and never allowed us to really compete in that game.”

[Sam Webb] “And so, you go and you play Ohio State, a team who fired their coach in  Chris Holtman and they’ve been playing better basketball under Jake Diebler. They certainly seem to play at a faster pace under Diebler. And give them credit, I thought they seemed to be more locked in defensively, too. So, I want to credit them some for the early struggles for you defensively. But you fought back. I’m thinking of (a point in the game) where after they get out to a lead, I think it was Terrence who hit a three to cut it to one late in the in the first half. Then they go on another run, and Dug hits the layup at the buzzer. That’s a five-point game at halftime, Phil. And (from there) it feels a lot like most of the game’s you guys have played in the Big Ten this year where it’s a game at halftime and then there’s a run in the second half where they’re able to pull away.”

[Phil Martelli] “No question. No question. Yeah, it was certainly not pretty on either side. Credit to them for kind of establishing this big three and Thornton and Gale and Jamison battle. Look back on the last game. We did just a great job at the three-point line to win in Ann Arbor. And knowing that there’s corrections to be made if that makes sense. Like the Rutgers game, the Illinois game, and Nebraska game at halftime, you’re trying to pick spirits up so that it doesn’t impact you for another game and another half. You try to just lift spirits. And this game was more technical. Five (point halftime deficit), and we had nine turnovers at the half. But we were able to move some bench players in. George Washington played a little bit longer in the first half, obviously, than he had been. We were spreading around the responsibility. This wasn’t… and I don’t mean this in a negative way… but this wasn’t like, ‘ok Dug, go get us a basket’ every time we needed a basket. We were spreading that around.

We hadn’t gotten Tarris going. Will Tschetter had it got going. So, you’re like, OK, let’s again break this into four-minute increments. And then we really have to look hard at the opening of the second half. Again, we have to take a quick time out because (the deficit) went from five to 11. And then there was a moment in time where it’s kind of we thought we were taking on water and that had gotten calmer. And then again, an onslaught of turnovers that led to a ridiculous advantage. I don’t have the number in front of me, but I think fast break points 22-2. And that’s just it’s been a bugaboo all year, and it continued in that game in Columbus.”

[Sam Webb] “Yeah, I look at the second half struggles that we’ve seen really manifest in Big Ten play, and I found myself watching the Florida-Bama game and the Florida put it on Bama. They wound up winning. I think back to that game early in the season (versus Florida), Phil, where it’s a double overtime game against that same team. I look at you guys now… and I know Olivier is not here anymore… but it just it feels like mentally a different team. Is that fair to say?”

[Phil Martelli] “No, that’s absolutely fair. And Sam, it’s not just you, it’s not just fans… but I find myself in idle time… I’ve been on the road a couple of days here recruiting and I’m driving long distances and I’m thinking, ‘man, what was the ‘it’?

What was the ‘it’ in Madison Square Garden? What was the ‘it’ at Oregon? Again, like Oregon makes an unbelievable three to their credit to go to overtime. We traveled across the country and played a team until recently that was an NCAA team. Now Florida’s become everybody’s flavor of the month, right? They’re now going to go to the Sweet 16 and they have an outside shot (at making a run).

And a lot of it, if you look back, was shot making. And the mental part of that is if your confidence has waned, if your confidence in yourself has waned, if your confidence in your teammates has waned, then I think it shows up in help defense. Because you get broken down and you’re like, ‘well, do I have to be there? What if they throw it to my man?’ And you kind of get into that woe is me. And it’s about my man. No, it’s about them. We’re guarding them. You’re not guarding your man.

And then shots… I absolutely, positively agree with I think guys are squeezing shots. And the ball’s not coming out as freely. But every day, every day we as a staff are trying to instill as much confidence and courage in these guys and not allow them to be beaten down. But to say that they’re not in some way, shape or form on different days at different times in games, that would not be honest.”

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