March 11, 2006
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Iowa Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening statement:
"It was a terrific game of two teams really trying to impose their will on one another. We have great respect for Michigan State. Tom (Izzo) does a terrific job. They have been on the top of this league for a long time and to get two wins against them in a given year is a feat in itself. We feel very fortunate.
"I thought both teams really battled. In those types of games it's hard for somebody to lose when the players go at it so hard. We were able to make a few more stops than they were. I'm really proud of our young men. In the second half we made the plays we had to make and made our free throws down the stretch. We did a lot of positive things tonight."
On the success Iowa has had in the Big Ten Tournament:
"I hope it's a result of our players continuing to get better. We've had a trend of getting better late in the year and that's always a good trend. We're playing as good of basketball at the end of the year as we are at the beginning of the year. We've always had unbelievable Novembers. Our nonconference record has been phenomenal. In the past, we've had some distractions in January and February, but we didn't have that this year.
"The seniors have done a phenomenal job. Our seniors are something special. Jeff Horner has imposed his will on this tournament. He's been tremendous. The job he did on Shannon Brown today was outstanding. What he did yesterday was no less than incredible.
"Guys are just doing what they do. Erek Hanson got in foul trouble but came back in for the last three minutes of the game, and during those last three minutes nobody got to the basket. Erek blocked two shots and just did a lot of good things. That's why he was voted the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
"Doug Thomas, the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, comes in during the first half when we needed some things done and he did a good job.
"We were struggling offensively and then Mike (Henderson) got a big steal. He's a guy who doesn't get talked about much but he probably made more big plays for us tonight than anybody did. We haven't been real pretty all year but when you play defense the way we have sometimes it's not very pretty."
On the play of the seniors:
"Obviously they are one of the reasons we're playing the way we're playing. The seniors have done a tremendous job with leadership and with performance. For the better part of two months we have been in first or a game out of first in this league, and it's the No. 1 league in the country. Our body of work has been very good. We just came up a game short. You have to give Ohio State a lot of credit. Now here we are going to be battling Ohio State or Indiana for another championship. We've been right there on the last day for both championships so that tells me our body of work and what we've done has been pretty special."
Adam Haluska
On winning the first two tournament games:
"Our first halves have been a little flat. We make a lot of good adjustments at halftime but we really come out and battled. This is a great team. We have a bunch of senior-led guys out there and we're not giving up. We're trying to get a (tournament) win here. We're trying to get some hardware. We're definitely having fun out there and we just keep battling."
On testing endurance with short rest between games:
"We were able to put ourselves in a good position by having Thursday off. Michigan State had to play that role. That's something that we had to do last year and it's tough. We did a good job of putting ourselves in that position (with a first-round bye) but it's one of those things when you're playing back-to-back games. We'd rather not have to play four (games) in four (days). We'll be ready to go tomorrow."
On the low-scoring game:
"It is one of those things where both teams really pride themselves on defense. Michigan State has been a league leader in defense for a number of years. That's something that we've really tried to emphasize on our team. The coaching staff has really done a great job of really getting us to commit to it. The players have bought into the system. It is one of those things where it was a defensive game. It is tough to get shots when both teams are playing as hard as (both teams) were."
Mike Henderson
On testing endurance with short rest between games:
"Michigan State is a great transition team and Coach (Steve Alford) really stressed that yesterday after our game. We have to get out on the wings because guys like Shannon Brown really like to run (their offense) out there. (Drew) Neitzel really likes to push the ball up in transition. (Playing Michigan State) involves a lot of endurance but in the end we just came together and ran with their wing (players). We were able to make a couple of plays."
On the low-scoring game:
"It was like a heavyweight fight. We were both throwing punches at each other. Both teams were trying to not let each other score. It just came down to who did the little things like offensive rebounds or made key stops, things like that. In the end, it just happened that we came up with a couple more plays."
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
On the team's fatigue:
"Fatigue had zero to do with the loss. We did not do a good job of handling our lead in that situation. We took more threes in this game than in the last two combined. I think you've got to give Iowa credit, they played pretty good defense. You hold them to 36 percent, 20 (percent) from the three and outrebound them by five, but then two things reared their ugly heads. We did not handle time and possession and turnovers very well. I think you have to give them credit, they hopped in there. It was an ugly game. I thought we had some looks in the first half, but they didn't fall. Our team prepared unbelievably well last night and this morning. We took away some of their specialty lobs and things. I did not think we showed any fatigue in the huddles. We just did not get the job done offensively."
On Iowa's defense:
"I think we did a poor, poor job of handling. We talk all the time about handling situations when you get down six or eight and when you get up six or eight. It's really a critical time."
"We missed three quick shots after getting it in and getting it out, and then we just started forcing shots, and that was disappointing. We had some open looks but there are just some things we have to do a better job of. I take nothing away from Iowa. They've been a good defensive team all year. They did a great job defensively, and then in the second half they really clamped down. But our execution offensively was as poor as I've seen it."
On their NCAA seed:
"I have no idea. I thought that you could make some significant jumps at this point. I've been listening and hearing people say things about the significant jumps you can make, and it reminds you of the NBA draft. If you play well at the end of the year one time, the other 30 games don't matter. There are times we could be a five, six, seven or an eight team. It just depends. There are a lot of teams that have struggled more than we have. Ohio State is good, Iowa is very good, and I still think Illinois is good and has a chance to make a run because of their defense and speed. I think we could play with anybody, but not if we play offensively like we did today."
Shannon Brown
On the game:
"We weren't aggressive enough. We executed badly with no offense. A lot of our shots were coming in at the end of the shot clock and we had to force them up without executing properly. They were short."
On the NCAA Tournament seed:
"It was a big missed opportunity. We had the chance to play for another championship and we didn't come out and give our best performance. It's very disappointing. I think that everything we had to give we gave this past year and now it has to do with pulling it all together. I don't think we discovered anything that hasn't been consistent with what we are already doing. We have to come out and play Spartan basketball and we haven't been doing that."
Maurice Ager
On the game:
"We couldn't get the ball to Paul (Davis) in the post. We really didn't do anything offensively."
On the NCAA Tournament seed:
"We missed a great opportunity to do some things for this team."
Paul Davis
On the game:
"There are a couple of games when we have done better, but it just seems at times we have had turnovers. They are the most critical and the other team capitalizes on them."
On preparation for today's game:
"When we got back to the hotel, everything set up and it was just like the NCAA Tournament. We came back and definitely were prepared. Like Coach (Tom Izzo) said, we executed our game defense and this morning we ran through it. We definitely were prepared for this game."
On Iowa's defense:
"I think in the posts they gave a couple of different looks when I got the ball. We've sort of been an offensive minor team and we've never had a game like this before. To their credit, (Iowa) played good defense, but a lot of it was that our passes were bad, they were late, or they were a step short and we take the responsibility for that."
On the NCAA Tournament seed:
"We missed an opportunity, but the good thing is that one more chance does present itself and the bad thing is that it is only one more (chance). In the past, regardless of where we are in the tournament, we have always been able to show that we can play well."
