Wisconsin Postgame QuotesWisconsin vs. MichiganFebruary 28, 2016Kohl Center– Madison, Wis.Â
Opening Statement:
"First of all, being the last home game I want to make sure I acknowledge three groups of people. One being our fans of how they were terrific through this whole transition and rough start to the season back in November and December. For them to be able to continue to show their support, their support for us obviously means a lot, and I thought they were terrific today. It was loud in there and I'm happy we were able to send them off in the last regular season game with a good taste in their mouth. The second group is our support staff and my assistant coaching staff for how they've done and they've helped through this whole transition as well. From everybody in our office to my assistant coaches, mangers, everybody has been terrific. My third group is our players. I'm extremely proud of what they've accomplished, how they've grown, how they've matured. As I told them before the game, you remember what it was like to walk back in here after Western Illinois, Milwaukee, and Marquette (losses) and we've readied the ship. Let's make sure we finish this homestand in our last regular season home game on the right note and go out of here with the right taste in our mouth. For them to respond and how they've played and worked, it hasn't always been a work of art, but they've always found a way since early January—I think the last time was when Maryland was in here—so that means a lot for them to rally and know that they want to protect the home court. You're sending out one senior (
Jordan Smith) on the right note. There's nothing worse than losing on Senior Day and nothing better than making sure you're winning on Senior Day."
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One how the team has matured defensively:
"We've matured I think from understanding the chemistry. Everybody talks about offensive chemistry or the ability to play together offensively and the synchronization, but I think they also have to mature defensively. I think we've gotten better in terms of when do we exchange screens, when not to. I think we've gotten better in terms of where to squeeze and in terms of minimizing driving lines away from the ball. We've gotten better at chasing and not making as many mistakes prior to any cut-taking plays. We've gotten better in a lot of areas, maybe all of them. We've gotten better at putting pressure on the ball to try to disrupt some timing of offenses, but I still see a lot of areas where we can get better at. By better I mean more consistent. We have some break down at times we'll need to continue to improve upon."
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"He's committed a lot to this program and any time you have somebody come in and walk on, pay their own way to go to school here and then decided to redshirt, to stay another year even though you come in with Frank (Kaminsky) and Trae Jackson, he gave up a chance to go out in his graduating class with those two. (When) You leave that group you came in with, that tells a lot about his commitment to this place and how important this program is to him. Everybody always wants more minutes and more playing time, but for him to commit and sacrifice like he has, he's made great contributions that will never get in a box score or in the headlines for this program. He's going to be extremely successful after college. He will graduate here in a few months and he's already got a job lined up ready to go. He's obviously always welcome back, but he's made a huge contribution to this program and has helped solidify this locker room with a little more experience, especially this year with going through the growing pains we have gone through."
Ethan Happ
On the difference in the second half getting the ball in the paint and finishing:"I thought we did a decent job in the first half. They were just really collapsing down and we had to kick out a lot more. Once we started hitting shots in the second half, they couldn't be as willing to dump down on us. We were then able to have our room to operate."
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On how much the team has improved since losing at home to Marquette, Green Bay, etc.:"Personally, I thought this was one of Coach (Greg) Gard's best pregame speeches. He did a great job of inspiring us. It was heartbreaking to lose those (early season) games, and I'll never forget how that felt. I know my teammates don't either. We're such a different team since then that it's nice to see how far we've come."
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Nigel Hayes
On how much improvement he's seen on the defensive end:"There's been a lot of improvement. I think we've played relatively good defense for the most part all year. Of course it's gotten better, but our struggles lie in offense and I think we've done a great job, clearly, of correcting that. Again, there are always improvements we can make. We're doing a much better job with rebounding. We've done a better job with our ball-screen defense. That was always something we needed to work on and keep working on. We'll just keep improving. Defense wins the game, so we pride ourselves on it."
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On what changed for him in the second half:"Just trying to play off of me personally. Whenever Bronson (Koenig) throws it in on my side, they have to double, so that gives him wide-open looks. Ethan (Happ) gets wide-open looks, [
Zak Showalter] gets wide-open looks, so I try to not force anything and let the double team come because I know that our guys are open and I know that they're going to score."
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Bronson Koenig
On what it was like to see senior Jordan Smith play tonight and receive recognition:"It was great to see him get out there and get to the free throw line. He's just a guy who comes up great in practice every single day and doesn't complain, does his job, and makes everybody else better."
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On what's happening for him offensively that wasn't happening earlier in the year:"I'm just trying to go more north and south. I think the court has opened up quite a bit since Western Illinois. I think earlier in the year the only shot I could get was a shot I could create for myself, like a step-back fade away. I think with the implementation of the swing offense, it spreads the floor and it gives guys places to be. Our spacing has improved 100 percent."
Michigan Head Coach John BeileinÂ
Opening Statement:"I said before we came here how well Wisconsin is playing. They're playing as good as anybody in the league and they certainly showed that today. They have great pieces behind a point guard who has been to two final fours (
Bronson Koenig) and a power forward who has been to two final fours (
Nigel Hayes). The other guys just fill in beautifully around them. It's like the same movie that I've seen many, many times, with a post man who does a lot of things like keep the ball active. They were a much better team in the second half today. We have a week off before we have another important game. This was an important game, but (there is) another important game with another opportunity to get another big win against Iowa on Saturday. I know we'll learn a lot from this game. (I'm) Really disappointed with some of our playing the second half, but as always, we'll find growth from it."
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On the big run by Wisconsin in the second half:"I think during that stretch Derrick (Walton Jr.) had an open 3 that went in and out. So we dialed up Zak (Irvin) and he missed one and I think Duncan (Robinson) had one as well. All those times it was like the defense didn't carry over to the other side. (Bronson) Koenig did exactly what we thought he would do. He hit us with a sleeper, which is a slow-to-quick, and drove right and laid it in. Our scouting report was straight on with that one and we just didn't get that done."
