Post-Game Quotes vs. Wisconsin

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement…
I'm going to start out by saying that was a poor coaching job and the team wasn't ready to play. We got punked from the very beginning. Give Wisconsin a lot of credit. They came in here after losing a game and I thought they played hard as hell in the first half. I thought we were very, very soft and very, very stood around. Now all that being said, they had two shots at the end of the shot clock, right at the buzzer, two threes. In the second half, we played a little better but there were plays down the stretch where they got two offensive rebounds. One after a timeout, they hit a three and we had the ball right in front of us and didn't get it. Then the other one they hit a two and that's five points there, six points on the threes and then we had two critical turnovers when we were down one and didn't get a shot. We got what we deserved. You get credit for doing a good job sometimes, I should get blamed for doing a bad job. That to me was not a very well-coached team tonight, so I'm taking full responsibility. I'm not talking about any players, but I'll talk to you about any questions you have."

On losing back-to-back games and fixing the issues…
Yeah, if it bothers them enough, you can always do that. Right now, you know, we've got to get better leadership and we have to get better toughness. We rebounded them by one, but when we needed critical rebounds down the stretch, we just couldn't come up with them, and give them credit, they did when they needed to make critical shots. I mean, they hit two layups at the end. They probably shot 44% for the game, 33 from the three, not outstanding numbers. They had seven turnovers. We had twelve. That's not ridiculous for us, although those two late costed us a chance. We got to figure out how we're going to get a little tougher, and I haven't had many teams that I had to worry about that with, but I got to worry about that with this team because you saw it, you watched it. I thought every loose ball they got, I thought every loose ball at Rutgers they got. And is it fixable? Yeah, it's fixable. I mean, it's always fixable, but we got to do a much, much, much better job, so we'll go to work on it, I promise you that.

On what happened offensively that made it difficult…
Well, we didn't cut hard, we didn't screen hard, we didn't come off them hard. We talked a lot about throwing back because we know they shack ball screens and we just took it in there and tried to shoot it over a 6'11" guy. I mean, we took a lot of, to me, average shots and you can't do that against a good, solid defensive team. They're not an in-your-face defensive team. They're a very solid defensive team and Greg did a hell of a job with his team, I mean, getting them back after we busted them pretty good there and they came back. Whatever the score was, it doesn't matter, they got us pretty good here. The score, you know, I said the 20-point loss to Rutgers was not indicative of the game. Well, the eight-point loss here was not indicative of the game. I feel like I kept saying 'how are we six down?' .You know, we do not play with enough passion if you ask me and I don't know why, but that's my job. You know, the offense, every offense works. Defense, I wouldn't change any of the coverages. We were going to double some; they break through the double and get a layup. Some things we just didn't do, and I felt that was all physically involved, so I have to do something about that.

On Gabe Brown's performance and wanting him to shoot more…
They defended him well, but that was some of the reason we didn't get the throwbacks. We did not do a good job on that and that was in the game plan, and I felt bad for Gabe because Gabe was the one guy that I thought played from start to finish. He worked hard defensively. He did a lot of good things. They did a good job covering him. We did a good job letting them cover him, so we have to take some responsibility. Max didn't get many shots either, but we had to put him at the point because some problems we were having at the point and he hasn't played there much, so fairness to him. It was probably a desperation move on my part at that time and not saying it didn't work, but it didn't work great.

On a slow start being the players' fault…
No, no, no. Don't blame the players. It's the coach. The coach has got to get his team ready to play, so I'm not trying to take the blame, take it off the players. They'll get ripped enough on social media. They came out inept, in my humble opinion, and not physical enough. That is my job, so I mean that. Write it, say it. I'm not looking for any sympathy or anything like that, but I'll get calls from former players tonight because that was not how Michigan State plays. You know, Rutgers was a little bit of a different deal and we played pretty well in a lot of that game, but this game I didn't think when it was a two-point game we were playing very well, and I give them credit. I mean, they just grounded out and the right guys took the right shots when they needed them, and we did not have the patience to do that. Part of it was their defense. Part of it was we struggled with our lead guards to get us into stuff, so it was two way, but that's my job. If we would have played harder, got those rebounds at the end, I mean, we have one rebound and we got it right there, knocks it out of bounds, they hit a three on the out of bounds and then the next one we have the ball that goes on the floor, they get it, too, and you just can't do that against good teams and, don't kid yourself, Wisconsin is a 19-4 team for a reason, too. They're an awfully good team and I thought that the guy that you had to give credit to is (Chucky) Hepburn and we all know that those other guys, you know, while (they)did some good things, Johnny Davis only gets eleven shots and (Brad) Davidson goes 2-for-10. If you told me that was going to happen, I say we win, but I thought Hepburn made a couple of big shots. We didn't make any shots.

On the difference of Marcus Bingham Jr.'s play in the first and second half…
You know, we try to get Marcus [Bingham Jr.] the ball on the block, but as you saw, sometimes he was getting it at the three-point line and so I think the second half they took him away. I think he got tired. We didn't throw it in good enough. Again, another error on my part.

On [Wisconsin] leaning on Johnny Davis for some clutch shots…
That's what he is, and that's why he's a Player of the Year candidate. He made that clutch one on the free-throw line. I mean, he's a go-to guy and they went to him, but he can get it off the dribble. He can get it in the post. I mean, he actually posts better. You know, he did hit two threes, but he hasn't been shooting that well from the three. I thought he did a good job having the patience to know where he can get his shot and how he was going to get it. He did a good job.

On if there is a guy that can emerge as a team leader?
Yeah, we thought when Tyson [Walker] came down one on 15, we thought that we were going to get the ball. We were going to call time-out right there and we were going to go to Malik [Hall] a little bit in the post like we did Aaron Henry, where we hopefully can get fouled and get both. We didn't do a good job of that, but that's not one of our strengths, you know, we don't ... one of our strengths is, a lot of guys that can do something but are not necessarily a go-to guy. I thought our point guards just didn't handle that ball screen. You know, they [Wisconsin] stepped back in to guard A.J. [Hoggard] and that created some problems and we knew that was going to happen, but we didn't do the things that we needed to do to make up for that.

On what changed in A.J. Hoggard's game between the first and second half…
I'm trying to look at the stats, I apologize. A leading man made it three in a two [point-game]. You know, I guess I didn't see that, I'll have to look at it on film, but our point guards struggled tonight and we got to do a better job getting them prepared for, you know, when a guy is going to really get into one of them because he's smaller and really get off one of them. We got to do a better job of that.

On showing the team what they are capable of doing…
Yeah, I thought Joey [Hauser] passed up a couple of shots and I thought Malik [Hall] passed up a couple, so we got other guys taking shots that we don't need taking shots as much. We want to get the ball in to Marcus [Bingham], which is sometimes hard to do. We want to get the ball to Gabe [Brown] and Max [Christie]. I think our guards kind of realize that they're in there to do other things, and that's how you run a team, and I thought [Chucky] Hepburn did a pretty good job of that. You know, we missed two of those bunnies just two feet in front of the rim, and you can't do that and win big games, you know, you can't do that. Don't kid yourself, the game wasn't lost in the end, the game has been lost when you start out like we started out, and I don't mean missing shots, I mean, the way they physically manhandled us was disturbing, and we're going to have to figure out how we change that.

On Tyson Walker being an adjustment process…
I think Tyson's been playing pretty well. You know, it just wasn't his night tonight and I'm going to reserve all that until I look at the film. Sometimes I shoot my mouth off and then I eat my words, so I don't know. At the next press conference I'll fill you in on how I felt after watching the film.

On getting the toughness of the team where it should be…
I can't do most of those things anymore. You hurt somebody feelings. I'd say that is going to be the task at this coaching staff has in the next three days. You know, but it's not like it hasn't been there all year. It's a little bit of a lack of leadership and a little bit of as coaches, we got to do a better job. I mean, that's the bottom line, we have to do a better job. So, I am putting it all on me. I really am. I'm going to figure out a way. I've had coaches call 'don't ever blame yourself, but check this out, I have to do a better job. The team doesn't play with the toughness and the tenacity, that falls on my shoulders. I'm going to take every bit of it and figure out a way that we do differently, hopefully on Saturday. It's not like this has been all year. It's not like we haven't played with any pizzazz, because we have. Our fast break hasn't been being run very well lately. You know, I just think that we're out of sync a little bit and we have to figure out what we're going to do at our point guard and then we'll all get after a little bit, but it's going to fall on me. It could be a good week. Find new ways to fix problems and I'll keep saying it. I just don't know how we were in the game because I think [Greg] Gard, I don't know what he said in here, but he told me after the game he thought that, we played really well. I think they [Wisconsin] did play really well. I don't know, I kept looking up, I kept sitting down saying 'we're five down , we're three down, we're four down, we're one down.' I didn't feel like it, I don't know what it felt to you guys, but didn't feel like it, so I'm going to do a better job. I'm going to work at it starting tonight. See if we can change it by Saturday.

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard
Opening statement …
Obviously, extremely proud of my group in that locker room, just the grit and perseverance and togetherness that they showed. Obviously [Michigan State] a really good team coached by a terrific Coach, and I knew we were going to have to play really well, to come in here and be able to accomplish this. Defensively, we really good did a good job on the glass, for the most part, we took care of the ball and obviously made plays when we needed to. So I'm just proud of the guys wearing the uniform and it's been a fun group to work with and watch grow.

On getting more player contributions deeper into the lineup …
Yeah. And I think that was gonna have to have to happen … but we are going to have to have contributions from [others] and we've started to get more and more, even though maybe it's not eye-popping on the stat sheet that other guys have continued to grow and do some good things. I thought Johnny [Davis] was really efficient tonight and think he forced things and let the game come to him and when it was time to make plays down the stretch, he made a lot of plays.

On Johnny Davis's performance …
Yeah, I mean, he's been so good that when he has an off night or two, he thinks the sky is falling, but really he's just returning to being a normal human, so to expect what he's produced every night … and the team's done a good job on [making up for] it. I made it hard for him and I think he got better tonight at finding teammates too, and moving the ball after he did draw a crowd. So like I said, he's just much more efficient with this game and patient with it.

On improving field-goal percentage in the second half …
We got better looks. Got the ball around the rim. How did we shoot the three the second half … three-for-seven, that's a little better. So that means we took more two's, got to the free throw line more. So, yeah, I mean, just get the ball on high percentage areas, and then we made some shots; Johnny [Davis], Brad [Davison] had some, Chucky [Hepburn] hit a couple that were tougher pull-ups, and they were able to make plays on them.

The team's main game strategy for containing the Spartans …
It has been [to corral them] for twenty-some years. They do a good job of putting a lot of pressure on you in transition and test you in a lot of ways. Part of it's being more efficient offensively, you know, and doing a good job there. Free throws help that because it helps you set your defense. And then it's just an effort, it's an effort thing. And we obviously dissected the film from however many days ago it was, and we had to get better than that, regardless of who we were going to play next and going forward. So that was an area we have emphasized and hopefully we've been proved.

The team's defensive mindset when the game got tight in the second half …
Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's just probably normal help defense, of being in gaps and trying to squeeze the floor as much as possible. Obviously Malik [Hall]'s a really good player, and he got going. We had to go a little smaller too, when they went with [Joey] Hauser and Hall together. So it was just trying to, you know, without giving up threes, trying to squeeze the floor and make it harder for him to get to the paint.

Tyler Wahl's game impact …
Yeah, I mean, it's big. I mean, he's only got three years of experience but he has the versatility and 6- 8 6-9 to guard everybody. Quite frankly, arguably he's our best defensive player or our most versatile defensive player, and then what he does offensively in the post in the passing and the comfort in there, the ability to finish those type of things … He calms us down a little bit when we can touch him in the paint, too.

The importance of rest and preparation for tonight's game …
Well, I mean, it wasn't so much who that extra opponent [on Saturday] was, it was just what I saw in our guys, and I've always been very open in asking them how they're feeling, and they're honest with me. And I could tell even before Saturday against Penn State that we had a long stretch like this- 16 straight days. So it was important, but we're also in mid-February now so I'm not going to work that much magic in practice. We have to be healthy and we have to be fresh.

Senior Forward Joey Hauser
On getting within one [point] and missing some offensive rebounds…
Yeah, that was a big moment. I don't know what the score was when we went with me at the five position, but we came back a little bit, made a run there. But yeah, offensive rebounds are something that we've been focusing on every game, so those are important and game-changers.

On Izzo putting the blame on himself…
I mean, the coaches stay up all night preparing. At the end of the day, they don't go on the court, so they can only do so much. At some point it's got to be ourselves. It's got to be the players that get each other motivated and bring that toughness and that physical part of the game that, you know, we've been missing in some games here. So this is just as much on us as it is the coaches.

Turning it around before the next game…
Well, I mean, tonight we didn't make a lot of shots, and I think we only got seven offensive rebounds. I want to say we missed I think it was like, 30 shots or something. But that's got to be our backbone right now; offensive rebounds, being tough and physical, getting extra possessions. I think that's where a lot of toughness is in basketball games is rebounding the ball, so we've got to get back to that.

On struggling offensively in the first half…
Well, I give Wisconsin credit. They defended well. I think on offense we got a little bit stagnant. We weren't moving the ball as well, a little bit robotic on offense. So we've just gotta get things moving a little bit, get guys shots and don't pass up shots when you're open. But you know, we couldn't make a shot either. We had some good looks, but give them credit. They defended well.

Senior Guard Gabe Brown
On if it was frustrating not getting a lot of shots tonight after being red-hot at Rutgers…
No, I was more focused on defense. I really don't care about my shots or anything like that. I'm focused on winning games. I mean, that's all I really want to do. At the end of the day, shots are going to come just for me being the offense, getting to certain spots and my teammates looking for me. But I just want to focus on defense and winning games at this point.

On what he saw from the offense in the first half…
I say it was stagnant. Guys weren't moving, we were rushing shots. There's a lot of things that went on, but we didn't do the things that we were supposed to do on offense. We didn't swing the ball, we didn't do the things. I take blame for that too, because I am a captain, I got to get guys going a certain way. So we just didn't do a good job of that tonight.

On Tom Izzo blaming coaching for the loss, but Joey Hauser taking the blame for the players…
I take full blame for all of that. I mean, the coaches always take blame, but I take full blame for all that because I am a captain and that's one of my jobs. I got to bring energy and today I was trying my best to do it but we didn't. We just got to keep moving forward from this point on.

Being surprised there was not more energy from the team coming out of Rutgers loss…
Yeah, for sure. But that's what I talked about, We got to finish, we got to do things in that manner and bringing energy is something we all have to bring to the table. Every single player has to bring energy in order for us to go forward. That's my job as a captain. I got to bring energy, I got to bring more and more energy, and guys start following along.

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Joey Hauser

Aaron Henry

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

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