Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Marquette
December 9, 2017
Kohl Center  |  Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard
 
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, (that was) a Marquette team that we knew was going to challenge us in some areas, specifically out on the perimeter with their ability to get out and transition and shoot 3s. Too many opportunities early in the game where we either had live ball turnovers or missed shots, which allowed them to get out and run and get some confidence going. Obviously, they did a very good job of capitalizing that on the other end. I like the way our guys battled back. We need to get back and have it to six twice there in the second half…Missing a couple of guys didn't help in terms of perimeter defense. Guys that have had experience with starting with them out in the perimeter have had to adjust in terms of having different people out there, without any repetition puts a little more stress on it. It is what it is, it's part of the game, and we've got to continue to improve and regroup and adjust as we take tomorrow off and get prepared on Monday and Tuesday for a very good Western Kentucky team."
 
On missing Kobe King and D'Mitrik Trice due to injury and offensive consistency:
"Nate (Reuvers) has come a long way and I think Khalil (Iverson) has a ways to go in terms of consistency. I think Trice and King being absent hurt us more on the defensive end because they've had so many reps. Especially when you have to play small against Marquette, I knew we'd have to play smaller because of all the perimeter action, all the transitions. We have two guys who have been playing about thirty minutes per game recently and have become better at those types of exchanges and handling that."
 
On keeping morale high coming off of losses and missing players:
"I think they're upset…They're very competitive and they want to have success now. It's an adjustment. I think they probably found out around when I did when we told the team yesterday afternoon about D'mitrik (being out with injury), and then King (also out with injury) not until today. It's part of it. We have to rally. Everyone needs to step up and we need to fill into those positions and have the next man step forward. Everyone needs to do a little bit more. They'll bounce back, they're a resilient group. We've had an unbelievable stretch here with high level games and it's been competitive. In time this will help as they continue to improve, and hopefully in the long run we'll be better because of it."

Wisconsin Freshman Guard Brad Davison

On his ability to play through Injury:
"I just try to not use it as an excuse, it's still basketball. I try to do as much as I can with it. When I start playing, I just try and forget about it. I know it's not ideal, but it is something I got to deal with. I just want to keep playing basketball."

On the indefinite loss of D'Mitrik Trice and Kobe King to injury:
"It's tough because you want to play with your brothers and you wish they were out there on the floor, but we've got to have that next-man-up mentality. All teams go through adversity, so that's just something we've got to deal with. We have extreme confidence in everyone else that comes off the bench. It'll help us a lot to get some practice with them, but going forward we will learn a lot from this experience."

Wisconsin Junior Forward Ethan Happ

On the team's morale going forward after their recent struggles:
"Stay together, that's the biggest thing. We've had struggles in both my first two years of playing here, and that's what we did, we stuck together and kept fighting."

Marquette Head Coach Steve Wojciechowski
 
Opening statement:
"I'm very proud of our basketball team. To come in here, the Kohl Center, which is an extraordinarily tough place to play, great fan base, great energy in the building and to beat a team like Wisconsin that is so well coached with a player like Ethan Happ, who's as good of a big guy as we'll face all year. I thought our guys showed great poise from the very beginning and maintained that throughout the 40 minutes. It was as good of a 40-minute effort as we've had all season and we knew it would take one of those to walk out of here with a win. I'm very proud of our guys and we feel good about the win."
 
On splitting time between Howard and Rowsey:
"The fact of the matter is we need one of those two kids on the court at all times for our offense to run, for our team to run, not just our offense."
 
On limiting Happ's touches:
"Certainly he's the center piece of what they do and he presents so many problems, not just because of his ability to score, but for a big guy he's an outstanding driver and an outstanding passer. Obviously, we had a team awareness for him. They did have other guys step up. I thought the kid, (Brevin) Pritzl, had an outstanding game and I think the young man, Brad Davison, is going to be a star for Wisconsin. I love his competitive spirit, for a freshman to get to the line 16 times shows a lot. Certainly I feel for Greg (Gard). They didn't have Kobe King, who's a terrific player, or (D'Mitrik) Trice, who's a terrific player. I hope both those kids (have) a quick recovery."
 
On getting to the free throw line in the second half:
"I thought we drove the ball more in the second half. I thought in the first half we became impatient on the offensive end. Because of the way Wisconsin plays defense, if you are impatient they force you into contested two-point shots. We felt like with more ball movement some driving lanes would be open and we were able to take advantage of that later in the game."
 
On his team's effort:
"I think sometimes when you walk into road environments it can be one of two things: your team can splinter or it can galvanize your team. I thought it galvanized our team. I thought our guys embraced the challenge. I thought they loved playing in the energy of this building. I thought that brought our team together and that was really positive to see."
 
Marquette senior guard Andrew Rowsey
 
On creating looks with Sam Hauser:
"Sam's a great player and I love playing with him because he opens up a lot of stuff for me and opens up a lot of stuff for our team. When he is able to knock down shots and be as efficient as he is on offense, like he was today, the syk's the limit for him."
 
On winning on the road:
"It means a lot for me being my last year. Last year we lost to Wisconsin at home, so I had a bitter taste in my mouth. Coming here there was no other option than leaving here with a win."