Michigan State vs. Rutgers Postgame Quotes
1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement …
I'll be honest with you, I was very disappointed in a lot of that game. At the same time I was impressed by the way Rutgers played in the first half. They threw up some shots and made them. They didn't throw up any bad shots. I thought they ran their stuff really well. I thought we made two mistakes. One was our team not seeming ready to play. I'm confused by that because we practiced really well. These guys practiced well. Then we made some coaching mistakes. A couple coverages that we adjusted at halftime that I take some responsibility for. It goes both ways. But I was impressed with the week we had in practice, we just didn't bring it. I don't know if we didn't respect them the way we should have, and I don't know what we did early. We started terrible and we ended terrible that (first) half. I think we had six turnovers and I think they scored on five of them. I mean, layups. Then, I don't know what they ended up shooting - 40-some percent. But hell, they were shooting 50 (percent) at one time. That shouldn't happen. So, a lot of work we need done. We did get some positive things. We shot the ball better from three, we shot the ball better from the free throw line, and we didn't turn it over much. When we did turn it over, though, it was those casual, sloppy turnovers. It was nice to get (Eron) Harris going a little bit, it was nice to get (Matt) McQuaid going a little bit. When you do that, all of a sudden Nick Ward doesn't do as much, but welcome to the big time. Welcome to being the first page of the scouting report instead of the third. He has to adjust to that. I thought my point guards were okay, not exceptional. Yet we played pretty well in the second half. Take nothing away from the job they (Rutgers) did. I think Steve (Pikiell) is going to do a hell of a job there. I remember some of the guys that played there last year, they're a lot more disciplined and more structured. They're big - man, that's a big team. We need to get to work tomorrow, early.
On what his plan was for Miles Bridges today …
The reason that he is playing is that he was medically cleared, and then it totally went on his feel, then the last call was mine. So, medically cleared a week and a half ago. He felt good enough and I could have played him in the last game, but I said no. I did that with (Mateen) Cleaves and other guys. I felt like I had to, for him and me, I had to. He had no practice time and was still a little tired. We tried to keep him to two-and-a-half or three minute stretches, and I thought we did that for the most part. I thought he played pretty well considering. You're off five-and-a-half weeks, and the way he came back, and did what he did… Brought some energy. He was so excited these last three days. It was kind of funny to watch. Here is a very good player, and he's like a kid in a candy store. I thought he did some good things. A little sloppy on some screens and things like that but he's going to improve on that. Blocks, six rebounds, a couple great moves. I thought DJ (Dwayne Stephens) did a great job subbing him in and out. I think all in all it was a successful night. I said between 15 and 18 minutes, and he ended with 17. Why did I put him in at the end? I still do need to get him game ready, and as long as he was healthy, I thought I'd get him in there and see what he could do.
On how Bridges being back affects the rest of the lineup …
Well, like I said, it sounds stupid, but Batman and Robin, then the other guy and the other guy. All of a sudden guys have to move up. Miles (Bridges) is a Batman kind of guy. He doesn't care. He was happy with what he scored, he was happy with what he did. He's not afraid of anything and he's not nervous about things. Then everybody else can get back to maybe a little bit more of the norm. I thought that helped. We got Eron going a little bit, we got him some shots. They took away Nick pretty good, and I think Nick took away Nick a little bit. He should get a gold star for defense, himself, on himself. I don't want to make us feel bad or good, and this is no coach speak, but I didn't like the way we started in the first half, in many ways.
I think the players handled it pretty well. For the coaches, it was a little harder because, you know, I have to make a big decision. Once the doctors and the medical goes like it did with (Mateen) Cleaves, and I kept him out of the Wright State game and we lost, the difference is this year we got off to a bad start, and we lost. That was much leeway. But in no way on God's great earth was I going to put him back in any earlier than I thought, or play him any more minutes than I thought. He'll get a rest tomorrow, a little bit, but he really seems to have zero issues. No soreness, no nothing, which is the way I wanted it before I'd bring him back. The reason we waited an extra three or four days of workouts. We'll see how it goes tomorrow morning, but he played less in this than he practiced, I'm sure on a little different level. But that fool was dunking like that yesterday, I had to tie his feet down a little bit. You have to love that about the kid. All he wants to do is help the team and the program win, and he's a kid of love, I'll tell you that.
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Opening Statement...
Michigan State is really good, our first time in a great environment. I actually thought we defended them until I looked at the numbers; they shot the ball extremely well. Obviously they're well-coached and I have a ton of admiration for Coach (Tom) Izzo and his program. His program's so good; it's been so good for a long time. I thought we had a decent game plan coming in. Obviously it's a great win by them and now we're on the road again, going to Iowa.
On facing Miles Bridges on his return, and Eron Harris and Matt McQuaid (who had been struggling) …
They played great and made some terrific shots. I'll have to watch the tape; I thought we guarded them, too. Obviously they have a lot of weapons. (Nick) Ward is playing great and (Miles) Bridges comes back and gives them another terrific player. They're young and extremely talented, and when veteran guys chip in like that it makes it really difficult to take away anything. They play at such a good pace; (they are) the fastest paced team we've played this year. It causes problems for you.
On the game slipping away from Rutgers in the second half …
We left so many points on the board from the free throw line. In a game like this when you come on the road and play in this environment against this kind of team and miss three one-and-ones, to go with 15 free throw points (missed), I think we could have hung around a little bit. To their credit, they hit some big shots and just when we felt like we could make a little run, they answered, so a lot of credit to Michigan State. I think we played hard, I think they played extremely hard, too. They just have a lot more bullets.
Every time we got to the foul line, it never felt like we could answer. I wanted to substitute and kind of slow the pace down. Our game plan going in was to chop this thing up and have that horn blowing. We left so many free throws on the table and some timely turnovers down the stretch. They're relentless in their transition game and eventually they got us a few times.
Freshman forward Miles Bridges
On getting in the flow of the game coming off the bench…
My teammates kept me engaged and everything they kept saying to me just helped me stay engaged into the game. The coaches were on me, so I was getting used to that and I wasn't forcing anything. That is what got me going.
On the slow start against Rutgers…
They started with a run, but Eron Harris helped us get back into the game with all of his 3-pointers. I don't think he missed a shot today. Nick (Ward) with his defense and Kenny (Goins) gave us some energy. It was just a full-team effort.
On the full-team effort and everyone having a role…
Yeah, everyone. Cassius (Winston) with his assists, Tum (Tum Nairn Jr.) attacking the basket. We need Tum to do that every time. Every time he attacks the basket he gets our shooters open. Matt McQuaid was starting to hit shots again. Once we get rolling, I feel like we are the best offensive team.
Redshirt senior guard Eron Harris
On the slow start against Rutgers…
We came out with a slow start and that is not something we want to do. We were focused enough to get it together and end the game the way we wanted to end it. Definitely not satisfied. We are on to the next. Looking forward to moving on to the next game.
On his offensive improvement tonight…
My pregame and having conversations with my family and conversations with Coach, and just getting my head right and putting everything else in the past. Moving on and becoming a better teammate and a better person. As a man, you just have to move forward.
On the team effort in the win against Rutgers…
It was a crazy team effort. Like at the end of the game for example, Tum Tum (Nairn Jr.) coming to me and trying to set me up for something, or people trying to get other people involved. We all try to get each other involved tonight and we're not going to do this unless we got our teammates.
On the improved free throw shooting…
It was great. That is what we have to do if we are going to win big games. It has to start with the older guys, the leaders making free throws. Off the court, we have to encourage each other and just keep getting better at the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Matt McQuaid
On finding the team's offensive stride midway through the game…
Yeah, we did a great job moving the ball and sharing the ball. We were penetrating and got out in transition and got some good shots. We got a lot of inside-out shots, which gets those 3's going. It really helped us to get going.
On the fast start for Rutgers…
They are a good team. They run their stuff hard, and it took us a little while to get into the flow of things and get a feel for how they were playing. Once we did though, we kind of got rolling and got a couple stops, a couple of rebounds and turned it into transition and turned it into offensive points.
On improved free throw shooting tonight as a team…
Tonight we proved all of the work we have been doing over the last few weeks. What we have been emphasizing is free throws, so it is good to see the success we had from tonight.
On moving forward into conference play…
We are just taking it as a step. We are definitely not satisfied, and we know we have a lot of work to do and a lot of work to put in. We are ready to do it.
