Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Michigan
Jan. 17, 2017
Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.
Head Coach Greg Gard
Opening Statement:
"A typical Big Ten game in terms of how physical it was. I was really proud of our guys of how when things weren't going well, they didn't flinch, they didn't give in to the physicality of it. I kept looking at the score sheet at one point in the second half, we were shooting 12 percent and we were able to get enough stops and eventually get the ball to go in. I thought getting to the free throw line or getting to the bonus quickly was important in terms of, not only from a scoring standpoint, but it was to break some of their rhythm and be able to rack up some personal fouls on some of their guys. There's going to be nights like this where I told our guys it's going to be – you just got to dig in and continue to scrap and fight and find a way. But I was proud of our guys with how they responded and didn't back down when things maybe weren't going well and were able to make some plays and claw back."
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On Nigel Hayes' play on the defensive side of the ball:
"He can guard multiple positions. I've had him on 1s through 5s throughout the year. His length bothers people and he has strength to be physical over screens. The biggest thing is his experience. He's been in a lot of situations and guarded a lot of different players."
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On Ethan Happ's play tonight on the offensive end:
"He got his first shot blocked. I thought he was a little tentative to start the half, but I thought he got better later in the second half. It's just a matter of taking his time around the basket. He's getting deep, but I think at times he rushed. After he settled in I thought he was effective on the glass and a presence in the paint. After he settled in I thought he got more consistent."
Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
Opening Statement:
"Great basketball game. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm really proud of how our kids competed. We don't have lazy kids, but the competition level has to grow in all phases of our game. We competed right to the final seconds. That's a good step for us and I'm proud. If you don't compete in this league, you're not going to win. This is as difficult of place to win in as it gets. Up six with six to play – I've seen that movie before. They did a great job down the stretch. We didn't make some shots, they made some of shots and that's the story."
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On Bronson Koenig's performance tonight:
"You just can't give him that type of room to get shots up. One of them was a great play. He hit a 25-footer falling away from the basket out of an elevator screen. The other one we allowed him a shot and we don't feel good about it, but it's not perfect."
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On playing the Badgers through the years:
"They're just a really good team. They have better teams than us and they have tremendous coaches."
Senior Nigel Hayes
On how to prepare for a Big Ten game:
"We just have to worry about the guys in our locker room and make sure that we take care of business on our end. We knew it was going to be a tough game and it was actually tougher in some aspects than we thought, but that's what we expect in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, grind-it-out is a term used in football games sometimes, but it's still good and we just got to make sure we take care of our end."Â
Bronson Koenig
On what sparked his 10-point run:
"Coach told us before the game that we needed to win the 50-50 balls and that it needed to be more 90-10. I think there were some broken plays where guys dove on the floor and that just got everyone else much more hyped up. In close games like that, I've learned that those are the kind of plays that you need to make down the stretch to pull your team to victory."
On Jordan Hill:
"I know that can be a pretty tough position, the one that he's in. I'm just really proud of him and I love to see him do well because I know how hard he works. To not get down on yourself can be tough at times but I think he's provided us a big spark the past couple of games."
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Ethan Happ
On his foul trouble in the second half:
"I was just waiting for an opportunity to get back out there. Really, what was going through my mind was 'when is Coach going to let me go back in?' if I'm going to be honest. He made the right call and let me play."Â
