Post-Game Quotes
2/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2008
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement ...
You've got to admit, it's always an adventure - even as well as we played the first 10 or 12 minutes. I was really pleased by that. I told my staff before the game if I looked at the practices we've had the past two days and the meetings we've had, I really felt good. I told my team just now that I slept well for one night because I really felt they were ready to play. They came out and played awfully well early. We went in with the fact that we wanted to bring some energy and we did; we wanted to put some pressure on them and we did; we wanted to be good defensively and we were great. We wanted to keep them off the free-throw line because of what happened (at Iowa) and we did a decent job of that. We wanted to stop the three-point shot and we wanted to take care of the ball. Well, they were 3-for-12 from three, they shot 14 free throws and we had 13, and we had five turnovers, so we accomplished most of the things we wanted to accomplish. The disappointing part about the second half was that (Iowa forward Cyrus) Tate ate our guys up inside, and I don't know why that happened, but that was the only part that was disappointing. We had 17 offensive boards. I made a couple substitutions when we were up 20-1 and probably broke a little momentum, but we accomplished what we wanted to. We still played a lot of guys, and we still did the things we needed to do. I thought we got a little complacent in the second half, but we took another step in the right direction - nowhere near where we have to end up - but I'm at least feeling good that we're going to go into Wisconsin with our guns loaded and see what we can do.
On the team's intensity to open the game ...
Well, I thought everyone played well. Raymar (Morgan) and Drew Neitzel played well, and by the way, if he hits any of those threes - I thought he was too open, because he missed some shots that I know he's going to make. He looked a little tired to me, which I was worried about this week, so we're going to have to really take care of him this week. The intensity was great, our bigs were stepping up and they were doing a good job. I thought Travis Walton came in and really turned it up another notch, and even our freshmen I thought did a pretty good job - Durrell (Summers) and Chris (Allen) I think made some major strides. Then in the second half, our step-ups weren't as good, our bigs - that was the only concern of the day - our bigs didn't do as much as I think they can and should do. This was one of those games that was an important game. That loss down there hurt us in a lot of ways.
On Raymar Morgan's improved shooting ...
He's worked a lot harder on both, and the funny thing about Raymar is that we couldn't keep him in the game because of the foul trouble, but he still has 16 points. It was really nice seeing him make all of his free throws, and he rebounded pretty well - a lot better than some other guys did - and I thought Marquise Gray gave us some good minutes again, and he probably should have played more minutes. We're getting a few more guys involved, which I think will be important down the stretch, but it was a little concerning why we can't maintain that intensity playing that many guys.
On collecting his 300th win ...
I wanted to tell the audience that if I could live to 100, I only have 600 more to catch (former Texas Tech head coach) Bobby (Knight), so I'm not really worried about that. He'll be safe from Tom Izzo, I can promise you that. I think what I'm proudest of is not the 300 wins - I was tickled to death that all those guys came back, they're all going to come over to the house, and a lot of the parents from the last 10 years are going to come over and it's going to be a great, great night for me - but I think I'm proudest of the fact that I don't care where you look, we never backed down on our schedule. No matter what people say, when you look around the country over the past 12 or 13 years, it's been one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country.
Iowa Head Coach Todd Lickliter
Opening comments ...
It's a tough team to spot 19 (points). I thought we got some decent looks early but it didn't go. We only got one; they made sure of that. They were very efficient offensively. There is a reason why they are rated where they're at, and they are as good as they are. They play very well together. They complement one another. We just had too many miscues, but give them credit. They went out and put the pressure on. I was impressed with that. They rebound well. They just made it very difficult, but to give our guys credit, we hung in there. It looked really bad. I thought we weren't going to get to double digits before halftime. That was scary, but our guys hung in. It was nine with us at the line late in the first half. I don't think we can say it was a total disaster, but it sure was not good enough to win here against this team.
On pressing early ...
I think they were a little anxious. They have a lot of respect for the team, Michigan State, but maybe a little anxious though. But when it's won and done, I think Cyrus (Tate) did a great job on the blocks throughout. I don't know but I think you have to give your opponent credit when they come out and make a statement like that.
On Cyrus Tate's improvement ...
The thing that I respect so much about Cyrus is that very seldom does he go away from his (game). He is more than content and tends to do exactly what he needs to do to help the team win. He works hard down low. He works hard at the glass. He draws fouls. He defends well. He does not try to do things that make it difficult for him. He can be efficient. He can be successful because of his willingness to play the game to his strength.
On Michigan State getting separation ...
I think that there are a couple parts to it. I think that they execute well. They are well coached and they run some good things. They are physically a strong team that has good speed. So you are chasing off staggers and down screens. I thought we actually did a pretty good job at times at shrinking the floor. They have good speed and good team strength, so they probably are going to get some separation.
