Dusty May press conference after win at Ohio State

I mean, a lot of it is just our effort going. Number 1, we're taking better shots and we're getting better movement. Our spacing's improving. I've been frustrated at times this year with our spacing and our ball movement.

And it seems like now we're settling in to what we're looking for, and the guys are finding another level of connection playing with each other. And then when you do that, you're in the flow, you're cutting, you're, you know, you're in motion, so you're able to rebound the ball. And when you have the size, strength, and athleticism that we have, if those things are happening and taking place, you're going to be in position a lot.

And, yeah, just it's a testament to them. We look like we're getting in better shape. We look healthy, we look bouncy, and most importantly, our determination has been really, really great lately on the offensive glass. And for us to max out as a group, we need to be an elite offense rebounding team.

We did a nice job on Mobley tonight. We didn't in game 1. We thought Tilly would shoot some threes. Other than that, I think, you know, every game there's matchups.

Like Wisconsin wasn't a good matchup for us in that game, and they might not be again if we see them in the Big Ten tournament. I don't think we're a good matchup for Ohio State. They have these guys that are— I mean, Thornton's a running back, and Royal and Mobley causes so much stress on your defense. And so not many teams have a 6'9", 2-3 like Yaxel.

I know we played 5 and American Conference, the Conference USA, but he's a wing. Not many people have a 6'9", whatever he weighs, wing that can hold ground and play, make plays. So I do think that's a big part of our success against Ohio State is simply it's a good matchup for us because of the way we're built. And that's not always the case.

Well, number one, I grew up in the heyday of Ohio State basketball. I mean, I remember Dennis Hobson and Jay Burson and those guys, and then obviously the Jimmy Jackson group. And all that. So I have a lot of respect for this university, this program.

And obviously with the football component being the, you know, I don't know how many millions of people watched that game. And then you factor in how much the, it's just a healthy rivalry. And, you know, you're not supposed to like your rival. You know, we like those guys as people, but this is a, it's a fun game.

Whether we, you know, we lost by 1 tonight. This is a healthy game, especially now when there's, the leagues are so big. There's not much regional rivals. I love the fact of playing the traditional Big Ten teams as many times as we can, just because it's better for our fans.

It's— there's, there is still a little bit of nostalgia. I'm not a nostalgic guy, but there's still a little bit of nostalgia to playing Ohio State twice and Michigan twice, and whoever's the closest in proximity that we played for the most amount of years, I'm all for that. And obviously too, like, the— it's CBS, the networks want to pick this game up because it It's important. It's well watched. And so that's part of our job as well.