Post-Game Quotes: Kansas State

MICHIGAN STATE

TOM IZZO: I give a lot of credit to Kansas State. They made some big plays down the stretch. They made some big plays early. Been part of a lot of big wins, and I've been part of a lot of tough losses. Never been prouder of a team because we didn't have our game tonight. We did not play like we were the first half. It was just kind of we were ham-and-egging it and just kind of fighting through it.

We just kept fighting. Those two shot clock threes they hit, one was a bank in from almost on the ground, and then we missed some free throws, some of our better guys. It just wasn't -- they made some plays, and we did some strange things.

We played our butt off. The bounce-back after what we were shooting and shoot almost 50 percent from the field. I guess it was 52 from the three, 82 from the line, out-rebounded them. The game was lost with these 16 points off turnovers they got compared to our twos. Turnovers was one thing we were concerned with.

Then those timely shots they hit.

But these guys battled back. Ty was struggling early. Joey was hot. A.J. was just in the middle of it. A.J. really came along late, then Ty did, then Joey did. I'm proud of them. I'm really proud of them. I don't say that about a lot of teams. But what they've done in the last couple weeks, how they've grown.

I give a lot of credit to Kansas State, but boy, it was their night with some of those shots that went in. That's it.

Q. Tyson, the final play there, could you describe what happened as you were going up and I guess Nowell's hand came in? Can you describe it?
TYSON WALKER: They knew we needed a three to tie the game up, and they just played it really well. They switched, and they just guarded the three-point line well. He made a good play, and none of us could get a clean look, and they got a stop.

Q. Joey, what was the conversation in the huddle before that last offensive possession? Were you guys expecting them to foul being up by three? Was the plan to get a shot early, later? What was the plan there?
JOEY HAUSER: We knew we needed a three. We executed the play pretty well, had a good look at it, passed it up, and then after that, it's tough to get a good look at it after that. Yeah, and just didn't get the shot off.

Q. For the players, can you put into words the disappointment of having come so close, losing in overtime here in the third round?
A.J. HOGGARD: You know, super disappointing. We wanted to win. We were so close to our goal. Just proud of my guys. We just couldn't figure out a way to close the game tonight. That's pretty much it.

JOEY HAUSER: Yeah, just sucks right now, but everybody played their butts off, so you can't hang your head.

TYSON WALKER: You know, I wish we'd be having practice tomorrow, but we don't. We played hard. We put some games together. You can't be mad about it.

Q. When they're making some of those shots that Tom referenced, whether it's the banked-in one or the deep contested threes, how tough is it to overcome those just as a team in general, not let that overtake and beat you guys down in those moments?
TYSON WALKER: The game is a game of runs. People make shots. Just got to respond. It wasn't the first time we seen people make shots. We came down and made shots. It wasn't like we didn't shoot it well today. We shot it really well.

We just didn't get stops. That's really it.

JOEY HAUSER: Yeah, both teams made plays. They just happened to make a couple more at the end of the game.

A.J. HOGGARD: This time of year it's about who's going to make the plays at the right time. We didn't get the stops when we needed them, and they capitalized off them.

Q. A.J. later portions of the game you started going to the rim. What did you see when you were able to finish some big shots downhill? What did you see that kind of ignited that?
A.J. HOGGARD: You know, they were just staying tight to my shooters and they were just being aggressive. Just doing what I could do to help us win the game, just trying to put my best foot forward. I made plays, but I didn't make enough for us to win.

Q. As upperclassmen, how hopeful and excited are you for the future of Michigan State basketball, and what can a run like this, one where you guys take down a No. 2 seed and a favorite in Marquette, what can a tournament run like this do for the program in the future and help build momentum towards something even greater?
A.J. HOGGARD: I mean, when you come to Michigan State, you're supposed to do things like this. I'm just so happy I could do it with this group of guys. It's definitely hope around the corner, but just right now just can't even think about the future.

TYSON WALKER: You know, Coach is coach; he makes runs. He's got a good group of guys coming in, good guys still here. I won't be surprised if he does it again and goes even further.

JOEY HAUSER: Yeah, same thing. Coach is coach. Like he knows how to win these games. I'm glad that we got a little bit of a taste of it. But these guys got an incredible team coming back next year, so definitely they'll try and make a run and get even farther.

Q. Tom, I don't know how many games you've been through like this where you guys are hitting shots and they're hitting shots and they're coming from everywhere. What were you thinking as that was unfolding, just get one stop or --
TOM IZZO: Yeah.

Q. What was in your mind?
TOM IZZO: Yeah, at the end, one stop. In that first half, those two shot clock ones were real killers, and whoever asked the question, it does break your back. You think you play pretty good D, a loose ball. He comes flying in and banks it. You say, well, it's just one shot, but I talked to my team at the hotel before we left, and you try to talk about the importance of one shot, one turnover, one free throw, and you can't harp on them because then guys get nervous and uptight.

But there's a difference in winning and losing. That's just the way it is. It's the sport we're in. The "my bad" has got to go away. We made some plays that weren't right, but the way those shots went in -- and we hit some shots, too. But they made a couple -- the Massoud kid made a couple of bombs, but those were at least good shots.

The fall-down end of the shot clock ones, you kind of start thinking it's not your night. Then when Joey goes to the line and misses the front end of a one-and-one, he's a 91 percent free-throw shooter. Those are tough things to overcome.

And yet it's sure as hell not their fault. I was proud of A.J. the way he stepped up. I thought Tyson felt a little pressure being home, and he just wasn't the same early, but he bounced back.
It was fun -- it must have been a hell of a game for TV, hell of a game for the fans.

I think for me, I played for the Big Ten, too. It was really important to me when you've been in a league 40 years that you love and cherish and you know how good it is, and we can't get another National Championship. Even that stuff is on my mind because I know how good my league is, and I know how good the teams are and the coaches are. Yet it never looks good when you don't have a team moving on through the Sweet 16.

Q. Jud always used to say more games are lost than won. Is it fair to say that this was a game that Kansas State won, not one that Michigan State lost?
TOM IZZO: Yeah, you know, when you have 16 to 2 points off turnovers, you've got to give us a little bit of blame and give them a little bit of credit. But I would agree with that. I sure as hell am proud of my team, even stuff like that.

But they just made some incredible shots. We made some good plays. I guess we couldn't stop them, and I'm sitting there looking at the stats, and I'm talking about how good they were. They shot 55 percent, but I think they had -- including the lay-up at the end, I think they had about six lay-ups off of turnovers. They shot 45 from the three, and we thought they made every shot. We shot 52.

They shot 68 from the line, we shot 82. We out-rebounded them by seven. We did enough things, too, that we played pretty damned good and should be proud of that. Whenever you lose, you're never proud of anything, and when you have some mistakes that were kind of effort related, not getting back and things, that's going to be hard to watch the film.

But I was just proud of this team. As many teams as I've had that have gone far and lost because the way this team, the way they grew the last couple of weeks, it was fun to see happen.

Q. You guys took a lot of lumps this year whether it be the injuries or the tough schedule at the beginning. And then throughout this game a lot of lumps, going down five heading out of the locker room. But just kept getting off the mat, maybe not this game at the very end. But when you think back about the season, is resiliency going to be one of the ways to describe this team?

TOM IZZO: Oh, for sure, and I don't know how many lumps -- we did have some injuries and went through some things during the year. But the lumps, no matter what anybody says, top to bottom, I have no problem standing up and saying we have the best league in the country. When you have that number of teams beating the hell out of each other every day, I don't think we're worn out from it. I just think you get a bad seed from it.

So we had all these teams with 7, 8, and 9 seeds. I'm not saying that was wrong, but that's what happens when -- I'd like to see some teams come in and survive this league and the places we play. I'm going to become a big Badger fan. I'm going to pull for them in the NIT.

I'm proud of my team, but I'm proud of the league, too. Disappointments is disappointments, but I think as a 7 seed, maybe we showed how good our league was instead of, like some people, the other way around.

Q. Tom, your team gave up some back-cuts. It's rare to see a Michigan State team beaten to the rim. What was going on with that?
TOM IZZO: Yeah, I think two things. We got caught mesmerized on Nowell. He's a special player. We actually did a pretty good job on him. When you look at -- he gets that last one or he would have been 6 for 18, has 18 points, but he was 2 for 6 from the three. It was the assists that really killed us and the back cuts. I think we were mesmerized on him. We did not do a very good job of that. That was one of the disappointments.

That's what makes him a great player. It's not only the plays he makes but the position he puts people in that put you backpedaling. I really was disappointed in some of those back cuts because we had really talked about them. The lob at the end we had talked about out of a time-out.

I think we had played so many guys so long, I think we just sort of wore down. We got caught -- Mady struggled, we got caught with our bigs, so then we went with Malik and Joey. So then we went smaller, which was okay. We kept playing those guys. We hardly gave Tyson and A.J. much of a rest, and I think that hurt us, too.

Blame the coach, not the players on that. We lost a little vision, and that's what happens when you get fatigued.

Q. Coach, prior to the season, there was a lot of skepticism, whether that be with the center spot or the non-conference schedule. Despite the score of the game and the final result, all things considered, do you look back at the season and think, wow, they did pretty good, looking back at everything?
TOM IZZO: You know, for a guy who always thinks the glass is half empty, and I've said this many a times, for some reason I believed in this team all year long. It wasn't just the teams we played, it's when we played them. The crazy road trip to Portland and be there and come back on a Monday morning at 7:30 and leave for Notre Dame the next day. I did some stupid things, too, in scheduling.
You know, when you look back on everything, you're going to see some players tonight that didn't do their job, and you're going to see a coach that -- that led to some of the things. The injuries -- everybody has injuries, but to have two main guys out when we didn't go fishing, it was probably -- it'll go down as one of the great years for me, not a good year.

It'll go down as one of the great years, because we had our issues during the year and watching guys grow at the end and just kind of buy in. That's what happens. When you buy in and you trust the coach and Coach trusts the players, some cool things can happen.

We'll see if we can take this thing and build on it and get back to normal. COVID is over, been a lot of stuff these classes have been through in all schools, and I feel better about my job. I feel better about getting through to kids. I feel better about maybe coaching them and not managing them, and that's a good thing.

Q. Tom, you mentioned coaching and not managing and all the things that these guys have been through. You think of players like Joey and Malik with COVID and last season and Tyson, a lot of these guys aren't going to be here next year. Obviously that's still all up in the air. But with all that in mind and what a year it's been, what did you say to some of those guys in the locker room right after? How do you deal with the emotions that they're going through in that time?
TOM IZZO: I told them I was proud as hell of them and I love every one of them. That's what I told them. We can look at the -- I can look at a million things that we did wrong. I can look at some things that I did wrong. Ball screen coverage, strung us out, then we went with some lineups that wasn't the normal when we had those two smalls in there. I mean, that Massoud kid really hurt us and maybe we didn't prepare for him enough.

There's always blame that can go for everybody, but to fight back like we did over and over, as you say, get off the mat as many times as we did, go through the things we went through, you feel good about them. I just wish -- I really believed when we were three up that we were going to win that game and this team was destined. That's what I believed all year.

Yet credit goes to Kansas State, so I don't want to take any credit away from them. They made bigger shots, tougher shots, big plays, and I don't know how many turnovers they had, but that was the difference.

They've been turning it over 15 times and had five, we've been turning it over 10 times and had 13. But it's those points off turnovers. I call them turnovers for touchdowns and we had too many of those, and that's why their shooting percentage was so high. So we've got to live with it. You've got to own it.

The key is now can you learn from it, and that'll be the challenge because our league is not getting any worse. Too many damn good coaches. And so next year will be another challenging year. And as you know, after we play musical chairs here and let all the people figure out who's going where and what's going to happen, we'll sit down and see who we got, who we get to coach, and see if we can make a magical run only a little farther than we did this year.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

KANSAS STATE

JEROME TANG: Hey, first of all, I just want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I'm just telling you, I would not be where I'm at right now if it wasn't for his faithfulness in my life and guidance. And every one of these guys up here, their faith is important to them. It doesn't matter what their faith is, but it's important to them and guides their life.

And I see it in their work ethic, I see it in how they treat people off the court, and I hope y'all saw the love that they have for each other, the joy with which they play and the freedom that they're allowed to be out there and play. I'm just really, really thankful I get to yell at them in practice one more day. We just get to spend another day and dap each other up, all little things that really matter. I'm just so thankful for that.

Q. Markquis, could you put into words what tonight was like for you, a New York City guy to play that way in your hometown?
MARKQUIS NOWELL: Man, I just want to give all the honor and glory to the man himself for giving me this platform to showcase my talents and my gifts. But today was a special one, man. I've got to give a lot to credit to my teammates for battling, for fighting through adversity when we was down.

I can't even explain how I'm feeling right now. I just know that I'm blessed and I'm grateful.

Q. Markquis and Jerome, on the reverse alley-oop play, was that a fake call you guys were doing? What was going on there?
MARKQUIS NOWELL: I mean, it was just a basketball play between me and Keyontae. We knew how Michigan State plays defense. They play high up, and Keyontae just told me, we got eye contact, and he was like, lob, lob. I just threw it up, and he made a great play.

Q. Have you ever made that many assists?
MARKQUIS NOWELL: No, this is probably my career high in assists ever. I had a couple games with 14, a couple games with 17 back in high school. But this one was special, in front of my hometown, in front of the city that loves me. I can't even put into words how blessed and grateful I am.

Q. Running down the court it looked like you yelled, "this is my city" a time or two.
ISMAEL MASSOUD: Yeah, it is.

Q. I wonder if you could describe the pain you were in and what it took to get back into the game at that moment and if you could speak to what it meant when he came back in.
KEYONTAE JOHNSON: I mean, it means a lot. He's our starting point guard. His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back, I felt like it just -- everybody seen how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him.

MARKQUIS NOWELL: I just wanted to do it for my teammates. I love being out there with these guys, and I wasn't going to let a little injury like this that happens on the basketball court all the time to stop me from playing in the Sweet 16 and advancing to the Elite 8.

But man, got to give credit to my teammates for holding it down when I was out and for battling.

Q. Ish, have you ever played in the Garden before and what's it like to have your biggest game of the season in your home city?
ISMAEL MASSOUD: This is my first time playing in the Garden, and it's surreal. I first want to say Happy Ramadan to all the Muslims out there that are fasting, and I wish for nothing but blessings the rest of the month. It's really credit to God, credit to my teammates. They got the belief in me to find me and get me shots and all I had to do was knock it down. It's surreal. I don't think it's hit me yet, but it's praise to God, praise to my teammates, praise to my coaching staff. I'm just blessed.

Q. Keyontae and Markquis, you guys had a tremendous amount of success getting into the lane and getting them on the baseline, not just the lob to Keyontae, but you hit a three in the first half and you also got a lot of back doors. Was that a goal of yours, something you saw during the game you saw you could take advantage of?
KEYONTAE JOHNSON: Michigan State, they do a lot of ball watching. Key has always told when he drives, just keep cutting. He's going to look for me. And the IQ, the feel that we have for each other, it just showed today.

MARKQUIS NOWELL: To piggy-back off what Keyontae said, give credit to Michigan State. They played a tremendous game on the offensive end and defensive end. It was like a Rocky fight tonight. We was going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And some guys made some big-time plays, so I want to give credit to Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

Q. A couple people said before the alley-oop to Keyontae, you looked at the crowd and said, "watch this." Can you confirm or deny that?
MARKQUIS NOWELL: Dang, I've got to watch what I say. Yeah, I was talking to Isiah Thomas because I think he had a friend over there, and he was rooting for them. And I'm like, y'all not going to win today, and I just kept looking at him for some added motivation. But it was nothing but cool vibes with them over there.

Q. What did you see today? 19 assists, you had 14 against Montana State in the first round. What are you seeing in this tournament with your teammates coming to the basket, things like that?
MARKQUIS NOWELL: I mean, I'm just trying to get my teammates involved because a lot of guys on the team could do different things. And we're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category.

Credit to my teammates. I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots. So credit to Ish, Keyontae, David, Nae'Qwan, everybody that played today for allowing me to have this career high in assists.

Q. Ish, you've come through in big moments like this all season. Can you explain what gives you the confidence and why you're able to make these clutch shots throughout the season?
ISMAEL MASSOUD: For one, I just try and take every shot one at a time, one shot at a time. I try and think of what's important, I try and take everything play-by-play and just be ready whenever the moment comes, because of the work I put in and the work -- the faith and trust my teammates have in me to come to me in those moments. So it's really just a combination of all those things.

Q. Keyontae, your comeback story has been told throughout the season, and there's been some emphasis on the money you left on the table in order to be here and to bet on yourself. I'm curious what tonight is like, playing on this stage, in this arena, winning this game in this fashion. What is it like for you to be here like this?
KEYONTAE JOHNSON: It's a blessing, just I always say that, God gave me a second chance. I'm just out here taking advantage of it, just having fun. I wanted to get the win with my guys, all my teammates from New York. So that was a big part of my goal today, and just keep it going. I've never been to Houston, so my motto is try to get to Houston and just keep this going really.

Q. Everybody is talking about the offense, the 19 assists and the all-time record, but I've got to talk about the defense. How many times did they pick the pockets of these great guards or your guards outplayed -- is that possible to say, outplayed their guards, and they have some very good guards. Defensively what was the mindset coming in? What kind of freedom and confidence do you provide for them?
JEROME TANG: We've caused a lot of turnovers all year long. And Michigan State is a low-turnover team, and we really just wanted to turn it into a one-on-one game because Coach Izzo runs such great actions. Our guys happened to make some plays.

All that reaching and stuff, we put them at the free-throw line a lot, too.

They have really good guards, and we have really good guards, and it showed tonight.

Q. Jerome, Markquis Nowell obviously had 19 assists, but as a coach when you're game planning for your offense, how much does having a guard like Markquis and knowing that he can see so much of the court help?
JEROME TANG: Well, what really helps is that all 10 eyes on the defense have to pay attention to him, and that's what allows everybody else to get open.

It's not just that he sees it, but they all have to pay attention to him when he has the ball in his hands.

Q. What does it mean to get to the regional final?
JEROME TANG: I mean, it means I get to spend a few more days with our guys. It's a huge accomplishment. This thing is hard. It's hard to do.

Man, when it happens, you just have to really embrace it and enjoy it and not -- like take a moment. We've got to take a moment and just really soak this thing in before we move on to the next thing.

Now, the next thing is really huge, whoever we have to play, but we're kind of just taking everything 1-0 every day and every aspect of the day. I'm really thankful for the opportunity.

Q. Coach, what were you thinking when Markquis hobbled off the court and you saw Michigan State with that 9-2 run while he was out? Is that the fastest you've ever put a player back in the game?
JEROME TANG: (Laughing) No, we've probably had a couple others where we got guys back in pretty quick. But when I saw Markquis go down and hobble off, I knew he wasn't staying off. That dude didn't come here to be injured on his last college game, so I knew he was coming back in. We get guys hurt at practice all the time, but we have to move on to the next thing. And every guy in the huddle said, next man up, let's go. And then everybody responded.

Q. Coach, I was wondering how you foster such a team in a room full of creativity and fun. This team looks like they play with a lot of fun between the no-look passes, Markquis was taking threes from the logo at two minutes left in the game. How do you foster that creativity and fun and the passion these guys play with?
JEROME TANG: You know, they've all played this game for a really long time, and they all see the game a certain way. My job is not to make them see it the way I want it played. My job is to figure out how they play best and then put them in an environment where they can do that.

So they know I have confidence in them. I know they want to win.

Any shot or play that's made is never made that they're trying to do something to hurt the team. They're trying to help the team. We only had eight turnovers today, so I'd rather them shoot from the logo than turn the ball over.

Q. In a world of football, the Big 12 has been trying to brand itself also as a basketball conference. Would you agree that it's a basketball conference?
JEROME TANG: Yeah, I think we've been a basketball conference. The last four years we've had the No. 1 rating, and this year I thought we had 10 teams in our league that could play in the NCAA Tournament. This is not new. The last two national champions have been from our conference.

If it wasn't for COVID, I think it would have been the last three. And even if you back up one, Texas Tech losing in overtime, it could have been four in a row. We're the best basketball conference in the country, and the coaches in our league are Hall-of-Famers, and I'm just thankful to be even associated with any of them.

Q. You touched on it before, your players in the huddle when Markquis went down, their message to each other was next man up. My question is what was your message for them and who do you think stepped up during that period where Markquis was rehabbing and getting back into the rhythm on the back?
JEROME TANG: Yeah, my message was next man up, we've been here before. This happened, we move on. I feel like collectively they came together and tried to figure it out.

Q. What did you tell your team before that last defensive play in the overtime?
JEROME TANG: Get a stop. You know, we tried to align the match-ups so that when they set screens and we switched, we had more size on their guards. Because they did a good job of getting downhill and then shooting over the top of our smaller guards. But Cam did a great job of getting the deflection and then somebody else got one. And when that ball was bouncing around and not in their hands, it played in our favor.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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