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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 1, 2018Brad DavisonGreg GardEthan HappKhalil IversonNew York, New York Wisconsin - 59, Maryland - 54 THE MODERATOR: We'll ask coach for an opening statement. COACH GARD: Obviously hard-fought game. Extremely happy for our guys the way they responded throughout the back half of the season here and they just continue to get better and better. And I think today's game was kind of a epitome or microcosm of how we've grown when you only shoot 30 percent for the game and you get to the line that many times and do the job defensively that we did, take care of the ball, rebound the ball the way we rebounded. It's a credit to these guys to my right and also the guys back in the locker room. How they've grown over the last month has been fun to watch and hopefully we've got a lot more basketball yet to play. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Speaking of that growth over the past month, seems like you guys have figured out how to win close games during that stretch, too. What's been the biggest difference there how are you doing it today. BRAD DAVISON: I think it's just buying into the little things that Coach has been preaching all year. I think, especially at the end of this game the possessions are magnified. When you do things right those final possessions you can really turn things around and kind of everyone sticks together and we can do it at the end. ETHAN HAPP: Brad said it well, but also we've got guys knocking down shots. Brevin has been clutch and at the end of games Brad hit a couple ones. That helps, too. KHALIL IVERSON: I think Brad said it well. I think we've been playing together for longer stretches. (Indiscernible). Q. You get Michigan State next. Obviously you just played them the other day. I think, Brad, you might have mentioned losing to them the other day doesn't really matter because this week is a bigger deal for that. I guess what is your mindset knowing that you just saw them, you played them tough? You feel like this is a game you guys can win going into tomorrow? KHALIL IVERSON: For sure we just played these guys and we went toe to toe with them, punch for punch. I personally figure we just have to string together an entire game for 40 minutes and just staying toe to toe with them like we did last game. I know we'll be ready for them. Q. How are you guys able to maintain things defensively when you're struggling offensively and shooting 36 percent from the field. ETHAN HAPP: We didn't do a great job of it, but try and keep the ball out of the paint and limit their open 3s is something that we always work on here at Wisconsin. But I think just being tough. You saw Brevin flying around, (indiscernible) on the ball and the same with Khalil. Q. Khalil, during that final possession were you surprised by what you saw? Seemed like Maryland was confused trying to get the ball in. I guess what did you see there? KHALIL IVERSON: Looked like they probably tried to get the ball to Huerter. When he came off like the down screen he just kind of stopped. Everybody was looking around. Guy throwing the ball in just threw the ball in (indiscernible). Q. Looking at the matchup with Miles Bridges, what did you do effectively against him last time and what do you want to do against him this time? KHALIL IVERSON: Just last game I think we kept him -- we contained him from the perimeter, really good outside shooter. And he got a dunk the first play of the game, but I think we also played defense as a whole and we kind of cut off those driving lanes and things like that that usually get him going. It wasn't just one guy playing a one-on-one, it was the whole team. That's how we stop a guy like that. Q. What were you expecting them to do in terms of players? Were you trying to just deny Huerter and Cowan on that last possession? COACH GARD: No, we had debated whether we were going to foul or not. Up three and we decided not to, or I decided not to. So we were going to play it out. Khalil made a heck of a play. Made a read on the pass that maybe got -- have to look at the film because I was watching obviously some stuff off the ball, too -- but we happened to get a hand on the ball, get a deflection, and go knock down two free throws. So that was a good play on his part. Q. What was your game plan against Maryland? Was it based on what you saw against them when they played Michigan last week, kind of like very similar first half with them where they could not score? COACH GARD: Well, we couldn't either. So I think obviously you watch other teams, but you still rely on your philosophy and your game plan. I thought it was very similar to how we played at Maryland. Thought we were a little better down the stretch today than what we were there. And we did -- even though Huerter and Cowan got loose on us a couple times, I thought we were better defensively keeping the ball out of the paint, made it a little bit harder for them. And we were more aggressive on the glass, did a better job rebounding. And obviously getting to the free-throw line was big, when you can get there 24 times. Those were things that -- and we turned the ball over less. When you get to the foul line and you're a little better defensively and you don't turn the ball over, your odds shoot back in your favor. Q. With the quick turnaround in a tournament setting like this, does it help you that you've just played Michigan State a few days ago so prep might not be -- COACH GARD: Obviously, yeah, it's the last game before we got to today that we had. So it's fresh in everybody's mind. Don't have to dig back through previous games. But that game was Sunday and tomorrow's will be a different game. They're a terrific team. They're two deep at every position. Very talented. Obviously been playing really well. So we know we'll have to play really, really well. Q. Going back to that game and what you did defensively against Miles Bridges, how critical is that to shut him down and make guys be -- do you have just to expect him to do something? COACH GARD: I don't know if we -- I mean, we got him to miss some shots. But they had -- Ward was doing a lot of good things inside. Jackson was a handful. Jackson really affected the game defensively I thought. And I think the one that nobody talks about as much is what the evolution and growth of Cassius Winston, how he's involved and that was him going 6-for-6 from 3 and hitting some tough shots. Some were wide open, but some were tougher. That was the difference. But you can't focus just on one guy with that team, just like hopefully you can't focus with one guy on our team. It takes a group effort like Khalil mentioned in terms of what we need to do. It won't be just about Miles Bridges. They've got a locker room full of really good players. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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