Michigan State vs. Nebraska Postgame Quotes
2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement…
Sorry guys. We had the privilege of having the Detroit Lions down there to talk to our team a little bit. Jim (Caldwell) was awesome. It was a strange game. I give our guys some credit, but I thought it was a sloppy game. When there's this many free throws, both teams shoot a lot of them. I don't know if it ever looked pretty. I thought we did some good things and I thought we made some poor decisions. We didn't turn it over as much, which is a plus for us, but we still have our moments when it's a bad shot. I should feel better about it than I do, but then again, maybe I shouldn't because we have a big game on Sunday with a lot on the line. Miles (Bridges) played pretty well, but he didn't rebound as well and he is upset about that; he probably should be. We didn't think that we guarded their ball screens as well as we should have, so our bigs get a little of the blame for that. I thought (Josh) Langford played better. I was scared to death because I didn't know how we would adjust defensively without Eron (Harris) in there as a leader and as a guy that did some things. We got hurt some, early, on foolish turnovers and then we settled down and played good against a team that has been playing good. Tim Miles has done a great job there. I know exactly what he's going through. He's won some big games and he too, like us, is having trouble being consistent. I don't know how that game got so out of hand. It was a close game. They were playing well and I think three three's in a row and all of a sudden it was out of hand. I felt fortunate to win it. I thought we played good enough at times and yet I like what he's done with his team. He's got some good young players and that's going to be a very, very good team. Hopefully in this future, but in the near future.
On Tum Tum Nairn Jr. and Cassius Winston playing together…
Well it depends on the size of the guards and it depends on how many guys we have to guard, because we're still struggling to guard in some of those cases. That is still a little frustrating, I think. There's some positives to it. Some of the switches and some of the attention to the scouting report on whether the guy goes right or left. Our freshmen have been through a lot this year. Sometimes I worry that they are a little worn out and maybe not as focused as they need to be, but Cassius did some real good things at times and there is no question that he is really good at assists and doing that and fighting. If I switch them up defensively every once and a while I think it could work some. But I'm a little disappointed we didn't get (Matt) McQuaid going a little bit. He got those two fouls early. He's been playing pretty well. Alvin Ellis was a little sloppy early and I was worried. I think he has been waiting for three and a half years to start and I was worried that he might try to over do it a little bit. But he settled down too and then our three freshmen all played pretty well, so I don't know if it worked. It might have worked, but that's going to depend on who we're playing and what we're playing. That's a case for a lot of what we do. Certain match-ups are just not going to be good for us.
On Josh Langford…
Well Josh definitely took a giant step. The last couple of days he has been sick. Early in the week he missed some of practice throwing up and everything. He was pretty sick and then bounced back and had a really good practice yesterday. I thought he had a pretty good day today, but the problem is that when we have those freshmen in there, especially those guards, we sometimes really struggle defensively. That's where they both have to improve if we are going to become a really good team. A team like Wisconsin is going to run their stuff, run their stuff. They are going to have bigger guards and so we are going to have our work cut out for us in that respect. We are just going to need those freshmen to become sophomores defensively more than offensively. Offensively, I think we did everything we said. Defensively, I think we still have some work to do.
On the last five minutes of the first half…
I thought we were running pretty good. I thought we rebounded pretty good in that stretch, so when you rebound pretty good you can get your running game going. We hit three three's, I believe, in that stretch, including that last one which was lucky to say the least. It did get out of hand. That's what I told Tim, it got out of hand kind of quick in that stretch. I've been on the other side of that a couple of times this year, but I thought we were fortunate. I didn't think we played as well as we got 19 in that stretch or whatever we were up.
On all four freshmen having a lot of playing time…
When McQuaid was out with foul trouble right away, we don't have many people left. We only have, I think, eight actual recruiting scholarship guys here. I think so. Kenny Goins got in a little foul trouble early too along with McQuiad so that left those four freshmen in there quite a bit. I do think they resposnded. I just think they have to learn how to play both ends of the court. For the last two games, we are fouling too much. We have to do a better job with that. Are the freshmen going to take over? I mean Nick (Ward) and Miles have been fairly consistent. I thought Miles played good as I told him; I didn't think he played great. He got one rebound second half and he was, as I said, disappointed about that. He didn't shoot as well from the free throw line as he has been shooting. I still need him to be more aggressive. I thought Nick missed some good shots early. Josh hit a couple of shots, but I mean 5-12, he's got some work to do yet. They definitely looked more aggressive; they looked more comfortable. That part of it was great.
On play of Cassius Winston and the ball flying around…
Yeah, I told him I'd like to see Cassius flying around like that on the other end, because on the other end, they're kind of standing around. But, hey, you know what? Cassius can pass the ball as good as anybody. I've told you that in the beginning, middle and end. You know what I think of Miles and Nick, and Josh is coming. He's coming. It's taking him longer. He's a unique kid, but he's getting more comfortable and more confident and he's going to need to keep doing that. He can really guard, too. He starting, he went in there and got a couple of rebounds. He got as many as Miles did. He got two or three offensive rebounds early. I think he's going to do a better job of that, but we're going to have our work cut out. I didn't think Nebraska played as well as I've seen them play. I told Tim that after. Maybe some of it was us, but maybe some of it was them. So, I don't want to be fooled by everything but I did think we did some good things and at times, looked good. I just thought it was a sloppy game, and yet it wasn't a major turnover game for either team. It just kind of, I don't know. The ball was bouncing everywhere to me.
On how Alvin Ellis responded to starting instead of coming off of the bench…
I didn't like the way he responded in the beginning. He turned it over I think three times in the first couple of minutes. I told him before the game, I said, 'The first shot might go into the two, but don't be cool and casual because I know you're excited. You better be excited. You've waited a long time to start.' But I still think he was solid. He didn't shoot it as well. Shot pretty well from the line, didn't rebound the ball very well, defended better than decent, but I think he can… The turnovers he tried to feed Nick and the way he was doing it wasn't good, but I thought after the first three turnovers that he played pretty well. Now, if I can get McQuaid going a little bit and keep him out of foul trouble. I think we could make some heat here. McQuaid did have five rebounds and like I said, other than Josh and Alvin, that was where six of our turnovers came. So, I don't think it'll be an experiment. I plan on starting Alvin and I'm not going to change the lineup for the 58th time this year so I'm just going to keep it like this.
On Miles scoring nine points in two minutes during the first half…
Yeah, you know, he drove in the second half. He got a three-point play. He drove and got a foul in the first half. He has not been doing that. I think he can do that a lot more. Looking for threes. I thought he posted up pretty well. In my opinion, got fouled once or twice, but that's mine. The reason I say that is because we're really trying to get him to post up and go to the basket. So I thought he's starting to bring more parts to his game. The driving is really critical. I think, I don't know if we start playing to score in the second half but we really did a poor job on those ball screens. He was one of the guys that didn't do as well. We've been doing a pretty good job in practice. Him and Nick really struggle with staying up on those, so it has caused some problems, really got some driving layups. That's fixable, hopefully we can fix it in the next two days.
On substitution patterns due to Eron Harris not playing…
Well, I don't know. Sometimes you play better your first game without a guy because everyone gets up and sometimes you play worse your first game without a guy. How do I feel? I'm not going to feel good until the end because it's just going to be one of those years. It's not bad, there's just nothing to ever feel comfortable with in this team right now. I don't think I'm experimenting anymore, I think I'm just trying my hardest to keep those guys out of foul trouble, especially those two bigs. Even Nick, first half, we wanted to put him back in. Such a paranoia about that right now for me. I feel comfortable? Forget it. It ain't happening this year. Feel good about how we played, that we took some steps forward and we have some freshmen becoming a little better. We have enough to work on in those ball screen defenses for the next two days and that's just because I thought we were poor in those and we have to do a better job of that.
On Alvin Ellis and his senior night on Sunday…
Well, there's no question that Alvin Ellis has had his best year as a Spartan. What a better time than his senior year. Coming off the bench, he was averaging 20 minutes and he was really starting to play his best basketball. We're expecting different responsibilities. When you have no other… Tum and him are it for upperclassmen. Even McQuaid and Goins we know were all hurt this summer so they're almost freshmen again, too. So, that's a lot of responsibility and still trying to play well. That's what I'm throwing at him. No choice. It will be bittersweet. I think he hung in there. Hey, he could've transferred two years ago and he hung in there and I think put a lot more into basketball this last year and a half. I think basketball has given something back to him. How does it get any better than that? That's kind of what life's all about and Alvin Ellis now will help prepare him for the rest of his life because as he put more time in, he became a better player and a very valuable member of this team. He's definitely one of the six or seven guys the whole season and now he's going to be one of the top four guys. I'm anxious to see him grow from here.
Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles
Opening statement...
First of all, I think Tom Izzo and his team played terrific again. I thought they outplayed us in just about every facet of the game. When you look at points in the paint, fast break points, and second chance points, they just dominated in those areas. I think the devastating part of the game for us, when it came to winning or losing, was that last four minutes of the first half where they went on that 19-5 run and had three threes in the last 90 seconds. They only had four all night and they had three right there at the end. That's just a lot to overcome.
On what Michigan State did to dominate Nebraska twice this season…
That's what I just asked my assistant. Is it just a bad matchup suddenly? I thought that (Nick) Ward and Miles Bridges were game changers obviously. They are really dynamic players. We weren't up to the fight for whatever reason that was. Their numbers were 20 and 9, 20 and 5, and our starting four man gets 3 and 4. That really doesn't compare well. Their transition gets you on your heels. If you don't get the ball under control and Tum Tum (Nairn Jr.) stopped, then you're always behind. You're behind the next pass, and the next pass, and soon somebody is driving. Anytime you can't get the ball stopped, you give up the opportunity for offensive rebounds and paint points too. I thought we did a better job the second half picking them up and getting them stopped and getting them slowed down a little bit. We didn't stop them from scoring, but they got us other ways like the foul line.
On the last four minutes of the first half…
We just made some critical mistakes. I didn't see the last (shot) because I was yelling at one of my guys and the crowd went crazy. I didn't know what had just happened. I still don't know. I might skip that one on tape tonight. We were in 1-3-1 some and I thought they did a good job of getting us back to man and they got us in transition. They really got us every way you could. I just thought they were on the attack and we weren't.
On Ed Morrow Jr.'s status…
I'd say 80 (percent healed), somewhere in there. You could tell with his agility to finish. I know he was sore yesterday so we tried to limit his minutes a bit, but we still need him. Then Jordy (Tshimanga) was in some foul trouble there. Toward the last five minutes, you know we play Illinois in a day and half where they have an extra two days off, I tried to keep the minutes of those other guys down to 28 or 30 minutes because tonight wasn't our night.
On Nebraska's recent poor outcomes in Big Ten play…
I think the Big Ten is just like that. First of all, anybody can beat anybody any night. I think the Morrow injury did hurt us a little bit. We lost Anton Gill and Christmas Knight and then we lost Morrow after the Iowa game. So we tried to play him against Northwestern and we just couldn't. Then we went 1-5 without him. Those were just two athletic bodies in a row that we lost to injury, but everybody's got injuries. These guys have them. You have to be able to play through that. And we lost three one-point games. I mean, what do you do? We've competed well, we just haven't been able to get over the top sometimes.
On the ceiling of the Michigan State team…
I really like them. Coach Izzo played the two guards some tonight and I think Cassius Winston is a real difference maker. We know what Nick and Miles can do, but Winston brings another element. He probes so well, he delivers the ball, and when he does take a good shot, it's going in. He'll do some really good things that are hard to guard. He'll keep two defenders on him for a long period of time. Anytime you have that other athleticism around him, or guys that can make shots, certainly losing Eron Harris hurts, but anytime you have those role guys - what I consider role guys, I don't want to insult anybody, but those spot up shooters - this can be a really good team. They didn't make shots tonight. I thought we did a good job of taking those away tonight. I thought that would help us, but like I said, we totally got our butts kicked the last four minutes of the first half.
On Joshua Langford…
He was a kid I wasn't too sure about because he doesn't move as fluid as everyone else, but he's a strong kid. He has good athleticism. He was on the boards tonight. He had three offensive rebounds and he can make shots, so we tried to run him off the line. I think he was better at midrange and at the rim tonight because he got fouled too. Everybody got fouled tonight, apparently. If he can do those things, then I think that'll really help. If he's just one dimensional, then that's a problem for everybody, and that's what we're trying to teach our kids too.
Senior Guard Tum Tum Nairn Jr.
On how they were able to seize momentum…
I think we just got a lot of stops on defense. We made them take a lot of tough shots.
On being patient in the offense…
We've been a lot more patient in practice. Moving the ball. Instead of attacking on the first pass, just continuing to move the ball to get great shots.
On prioritizing low-post offense…
We had to keep great spacing in order to get the ball down inside to Nick (Ward) and Kenny (Goins). And if we do our job then they'll score, and they did.
On the crowd's importance…
The Izzone is really important to us when we're at home. We can't win without them. We need them to continue to be there to support us.
On everyone playing so well in the second half …
That three (by Winston before halftime) definitely got us rolling. In the locker-room we just said 'Okay, it's 0-0 now, and we have to come out and attack.' We needed to keep working in order to get great shots, and we have to keep stopping them. We're going to take that into Sunday night, and send our guys out the right way.
Sophomore guard Kyle Ahrens
On how they were able to dictate the pace of the game…
Up tempo game. We were running the court really well. Rebounds and just pushing the ball ahead. Tum and "Cash" did a great job pushing the ball ahead. Josh (Langford) did a great job sweeping baseline, Miles (Bridges) did a great job.
On starting off slow…
We didn't play well from the beginning. We have to pick it up. We need to make some changes, and just play harder. That's how it is every game. Just have to critique some things, and we'll be ready to go.
On hitting a big three…
I give Cash all the credit. He was able to find me coming down in transition. Happy I could hit the shot, it's a shot I've been working on for a while, and I'm glad that it finally went in. But I give credit to Cassius for the pass.
On trying to get the ball down low…
Lately, that's what we've been talking about - getting the ball to Nick. He's been doing a great job watching for double teams and passing it back out. Nick is doing a really great job down there. So is Miles.
On how they can sustain this momentum…
Just take it one game at a time. Enjoy tonight - tomorrow morning focusing on the Badgers. Go get another "W".
Freshman guard Joshua Langford
On finding their flow in the second half…
I feel like everyone understood the magnitude of this game coming in. We knew we needed this win, and also the win on Sunday - we needed these two wins at home. When our back is against the wall, at Michigan State we fight. We have a team that believes in toughness, and always fighting through adversity. So today, we really just wanted to come out and try to give everything we had, and leave it all on the court. We still had some mistakes, but we gave it our all. We also played for "E" (Eron Harris) tonight.
On everyone playing "MSU brand" basketball tonight…
We just wanted to leave it all on the court. As long as we can look in the mirror and say that we gave it our all, that's all we can do.
On emphasizing getting the ball to Ward…
Nick and Miles, they're forces down there - especially Nick. Nobody can really check him in the whole world, I feel like. We just want to get it into him. He did an unbelievable job with him having been in and out of the game with the fouls and stuff, he did a great job of staying in it mentally, and giving us a push when we needed it.
On different players stepping up when they're needed…
Typically what we do here is play through our seniors. But with Eron being out, and with two other seniors Ben (Carter) and Gavin (Schilling) also out, we want to up our intensity even more. We thought we were giving 100%, we need to give 120%. Because we actually need it with Eron being out, everyone needs to pick up the slack. I feel like everyone did a great job of that tonight.
On looking much more comfortable in the offense tonight…
I just wanted to come out aggressive. Like I said, I tried to get myself going with the offensive boards, and every time I get myself going with the offensive boards and getting out in transition, I always get myself going. I feel like my teammates were just finding me.
Freshman guard/forward Miles Bridges
On everyone giving maximum effort tonight…
Nebraska is a very physical team, we just wanted to come out aggressive, and get on the 50/50 balls.
On not turning the ball over much tonight…
We had a quick four turnovers, so we just told ourselves no more, no more. Our guards really concentrated on not turning the ball over, so that was good for us.
On emphasizing getting the ball down low…
We wanted to attack the bigs, because they have really good bigs and we wanted to get them out of the game. That was our game plan.
