March 10, 2006

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Indiana Head Coach Mike Davis
Opening statement:
"We came in at half and talked about our defense. We held them to 25 percent from the field in the first half. We only had 15 points and they had 19 points but we turned the ball over nine times so they had 10 more opportunities than us from the field. We felt good going back out for the second half because of those stats. In the second half we did a better job of screening, cutting and moving the basketball. In the first half we just stood around and didn't move the basketball. I am really proud of these guys for coming out in the second half and making a run."

On defending Alando Tucker:
"Our defensive strategy was to make sure when (Alando) Tucker had the basketball, the closest defensive player to him would stand in the gaps. (Earl Calloway) really spent a lot of energy pushing the ball up the court for us and I thought he just needed a break. When I put A.J. (Ratliff) and Rob (Robert Vaden) in the game, Tucker didn't score as much. Earl didn't do anything wrong, I just kept him out because of that. We wanted to make sure we had two spies on Tucker at all times."

On the difference between the first half and the second:
"In the first half we didn't cut and play offensively the way we practiced. We settled for jump shots. Marco (Killingsworth) scored two layups early in the game and then didn't touch the ball any more in the first half. We talked at half about moving the ball and driving and I thought Marshall (Strickland) did a great job of that."

On Strickland and Vaden playing extended minutes:
"Those two guys lead us in minutes played. Marshall (Strickland) is definitely our best conditioned athlete and (Robert) Vaden is a guy I love having on the floor because of the things he can do. Every game those two guys get more minutes than everyone else unless they're in foul trouble."

On what sparked the team in the second half:
"We just talked about what we didn't do in the first half. In the first game of the tournament there was some nervousness at the beginning. We got a great start but then once we got settled in we just started settling for jump shots. It was just a matter of us executing on both ends of the court. In the first half, to hold them to 25 percent shooting was pretty good but offensively we didn't make plays the way we wanted. It was all because of us, it had nothing to do with them."

Marshall Strickland:
On second-half offensive improvement:
"I think our execution really stepped up in the second half. We started making harder cuts and really concentrating on running our plays correctly. That was probably the key to ball movement and better shots."

On perimeter defense:
"I think we defended (Wisconsin) well. We knew their actions pretty well. We ran through it in practice. Their guards were kind of passive and wanted (Alando) Tucker to take over the game."

On rallying around head coach Mike Davis:
"I think it's been really important. As a team, we felt closer. We have fun together and we have fun with the game, and I think that's a key at this point."

Marco Killingsworth
On the team playing an entire game:
"We have been executing more. Coach (Mike Davis) comes in and tells us what we have been doing wrong in the first half. We just came out in the second half and tried to better ourselves, that's all."

On passing up second-half three-point attempt:
"I know the three-point shot I took in the first half I missed bad, so I was like `I'm not going to do that anymore.' So I just swung the ball."

Robert Wilmont
On taking advantage of second-half opportunities:
"Coach (Mike Davis) just told me to go out there and be aggressive and take open shots. Marco (Killingsworth) did a good job of looking for me when he got double-teamed. We moved the ball well and when I had the (open) shot, I took it."

Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan
On Wisconsin's game:
"It was a hard-fought game. Our guys got some pretty good looks. We won the battle over the grabs and we won the turnover battle. We didn't get it done where it mattered and that is the score. I really like how hard our guys fought. It was another tough game situation for them. Hopefully we can come away from this and learn something."

On having players come back in after a long sit on the bench:
"The guys try to do too much too soon after sitting because of foul trouble. You get a little out-of-sync. The guys on the bench need to come off and contribute. (Indiana) had what we needed.
 
On only having two assists in the game:
"That's an area where we've struggled all year. Some places on the court are a lot tougher for assists than others. A lot of our opportunities in the first half were on put-backs. Assists are not given for put-backs."

Alando Tucker
On the game:
"Overall I think we did a fairly decent job. Indiana got a couple of easy baskets and they were able to make a run. When it comes down to it, statistically we were winning in a lot of categories. Offensively we could not get shots down. They (Indiana) started off with some three's and started feeding off of the crowd. They had a lot of fan support. Their confidence shot up, they made a couple of spurts and started clicking on the court. We had a couple of drives to the basket but we weren't finishing. We definitely wanted to stick with our game plan and not change anything. Coach (Bo Ryan) expects everyone to be ready to play on the court and when I got into foul trouble, Kevin Gullikson was just doing his job. It's not a game of two or three people, we have eleven on the roster and all of them have to be ready to play. You can't put your head down just because things aren't going your way. I think they did a great job."

Brian Butch
On the game:
"It just comes down to loosing a couple of shots and defensively I felt like we did alright. There are always areas to improve on and looking back at the game, a couple of times I let Marco (Killingsworth) score some easy shots and get a little too close to the basket. Those are the things we need to cut down on."

On the battle with Marco Killingsworth:
"That's the game of basketball and you just have to keep on battling each other. I knew what he wanted and my goal was to try to stop him and I didn't do a good job."

On the NCAA tournament:
"We've played in tough places in the past three games and that just gets us ready for any atmosphere we go into. If we continue to play well, we're not far from it. We just need to make some shots, that's the big thing. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn't, that's the game of basketball. We have to find ways to make the ball work."