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March 27, 2015
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
MICHIGAN STATE - 62
OKLAHOMA - 58
COACH KRUGER: It's a really hard-fought game. One that was really tough to lose, but credit Michigan State for doing what they needed to do down the stretch. I thought defensively guys fought their tails off all night. Second half, Michigan State really did some terrific things defensively. Got key offensive rebounds late in the ballgame and converted at the line. But proud of our guys. It's disappointing in the short term, like can't imagine, but still this group worked hard. They enjoyed being in the gym. They've enjoyed battling for each other. They've taken some good steps. We've got a long way to go, but good fight tonight. Just credit Michigan State for doing things better down the stretch than we did.
Q. TaShawn, you guys got off to such a good start, but in the last 30 minutes of the game or so, you didn't get nearly as many easy shots and didn't make near the percentage. What happened the last 30 minutes of the game? What did Michigan State do defensively?
TASHAWN THOMAS: I'm guessing, just step up the defense. They played a great game. The defense definitely bothered us in the long run. So I'm just guessing that the coaches told them to pick up the intensity.
Q. Buddy, it looked like, when you guys were shooting going that way both halves. You were sort of on but when you were shooting the other way into the Dome, you were off with a couple of air balls. Seemed like it may have bothered Michigan State, too. Did you have trouble adjusting to playing in the Dome?
BUDDY HIELD: No, I didn't have any trouble adjusting. I just missed shots. It was fun playing inside here. Didn't worry about depth perception. You just have to come and make plays in gyms like this.
Q. Buddy, similar to TaShawn, what did you think they did on defense, and what changes did you see late in the game?
BUDDY HIELD: They definitely stepped it up a lot. They took away our flare; screen D was working for us a little bit. And they're pretty good as a group. They got tough stops when they needed to, and we didn't get stops when we needed to. They just did a better overall job than us.
Q. TaShawn, can you just talk about your interior play at times. It looked like Michigan State couldn't stop you near the rim.
TASHAWN THOMAS: It was just Coach trusting me to stay aggressive. I felt like I was missing a couple of shots that I normally make. Coach just kept telling me to go. So I was staying aggressive and trying to make plays for my teammates.
Q. TaShawn, Branden Dawson late in the second half really seemed to pick it up. He scored in the paint and then he had that block. Did you feel his energy and intensity picking up?
TASHAWN THOMAS: He's a great player. Towards the end of the second half, he started making little shots, building his confidence. I think he started calling the defense after he got that block against me. He just started picking it up when it counted and just came in the game to win it.
Q. I know your season didn't end the way you guys wanted to, but the exposure that you got this year, especially making this tournament run, what do you think that did for Bahamian basketball in general?
BUDDY HIELD: I think it did a lot. Coming from where I came from, it was tough coming to America and playing in a Division I school. You really get a slim chance coming in and playing. It's really a blessing, showing how hard I worked. I tell the guys back home, just keep on working hard, and believing you'll get a chance. Anything's possible.
Q. Buddy, you got a little extra time with 'Tum Tum'. Did you say anything to him special going through the handshake line?
BUDDY HIELD: I just told him, "Go win it all." I feel like since they beat us, we're not the only team they can beat. So go win it all.
Q. Lon, in the second half with Trice and Valentine and Dawson seemed to take their games to another level. Were those three -- they seem to be three really hot players rolling right now. Were those three players the difference down the stretch in the second half?
COACH KRUGER: They're really good players. They're playing with a lot of confidence, playing well. Obviously, they made shots in the second half that were critical to the ballgame. Dawson made a couple. Trice made a couple, and their big guys got some boards back that hurt us as well. Yeah, those guys are good players, and they were the key to the ballgame.
Q. Lon, a minute ago you mentioned that Michigan State did some things to bother you in that second half. What did they do to change and slow you down?
COACH KRUGER: I don't know if they changed anything. I thought they just were a little bit more aggressive. They did a good job on Buddy, battled TaShawn inside. We didn't get much easy -- they get you in transition. They're a really good defensive club. They're hard to score on.
Q. Just talking about the adjustments kind of following up on that, is that why Tom Izzo is so great this time of the year as a coach?
COACH KRUGER: I think Tom's great all year long. His clubs always play well. He's got his team playing well right now. Typically, his clubs get better throughout the year. When you do that, you're probably going to be playing your best in March, and his club does that a lot.
Q. Coach, could you just talk about, first half it looked like you had Michigan State's offense pretty uncomfortable in the half-court. Can you talk about what you guys were able to do to keep them so off balance.
COACH KRUGER: I think they did a good job of kind of taking away their first look, if you will, made them go to a second look oftentimes. But they're good enough to do that. I thought we broke up their rhythm a little bit in the first half, a little better than in we did second half. Even though second half they stepped up and made some big shots, defensively, we still battled well in the second half, just didn't quite get them out of rhythm.
Q. The game could have gone either way. Michigan State made a couple of more plays down the stretch, but does that show that you're not that far away? You talked about earlier last year you knew you weren't playing the kind of defense you needed to to go deep in the Tournament. Is this what you've done these last two weeks, show that you're where you need to be, just you've got to make a play or two when you get to this stage?
COACH KRUGER: This group does a good job, making progress as a program, progress as a team. Certainly, they've elevated our starting point going into next season without any question. When you play against good people, it's going to come down to making that play or two. Again, most of our guys are back. They'll learn a lot from this experience. It's been a great couple of weekends. At this point as it is right now, we'll still benefit from it, learn from it. This group will enjoy getting back to work in due time.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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