E.J. Liddell was “really hurting inside” after Sunday's loss to Villanova, and the Buckeye star says “I wish I could have done more” to extend Ohio State's postseason run further.
Eyes slightly swollen from postgame emotions, E.J. Liddell looked down and took a deep breath before issuing his first response in the interview session that followed Sunday’s loss to Villanova.
Liddell began his third season with the Buckeyes, not a guarantee after testing the draft process last offseason, by telling members of the media that he aimed to be remembered with the same endearment as fan-favorite Buckeye legend Aaron Craft by the end of his Ohio State career.
But given the Buckeyes’ string of four losses in five games before the tournament began, there was plenty of reason for onlookers to believe Ohio State would stumble again in the first round. Liddell and company caught wind of that criticism, and it only seemed to fuel the Illinois native even more. “I feel like we're a physical team as well. And we came out here, we have some seniors, they have the older group as well. And I didn't want our seniors to go home yet,” Liddell said after the win. “So I did the best I could, got on the floor a couple times, just giving extra-effort plays to go out there and win the game.”
“Credit to Villanova, they're a really good team. They've got a lot of older guys and they were composed,” Liddell said. “Gotta take care of the ball a lot more and credit to them. They played hard. I thought we went out there and played hard but we've got to take care of the ball a little bit more.”
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