NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - USC VS MICHIGAN STATE

March 16, 2023

Joey Hauser

Malik Hall

Tyson Walker

A.J. Hoggard

Nationwide Arena

Michigan State Spartans

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Michigan State.

Q. We know Coach Izzo has a hard exterior. Is he really a softy underneath, or what's your experience dealing with him?

MALIK HALL: Yeah, it depends the setting and the time. At the end of the day, he's probably one of the most genuine people that I've run into in my life. He cares for not only everybody that's up here but everybody that's on his staff and on his team. So I definitely say he is for sure.

JOEY HAUSER: Same thing, he's genuine as it gets. He's hard-nosed on the outside, but he's going to do anything for you. He's going to have your back. So he expects a lot and demands a lot, but he always fights for his guys.

Q. Tyson, one of the things that Coach has been preaching about for quite a while is trying to get the break going. What needs to be done for this team in this game to get the break going?

TYSON WALKER: We've got to first get stops and rebound. You can't really run if you don't do that. So if you do that, we can get up and down with them and get some points in transition.

Q. (Off microphone)?

TYSON WALKER: That's something we always want to do no matter who it is.

Q. Give a sense of how it feels to be here, if there's a reset in your mind from last week in Chicago and what you think will be the biggest key for you guys winning. And you can't agree with each other.

A.J. HOGGARD: Definitely a new approach, just looking at it as a new season, putting the past behind us and moving forward, taking it a game at a time. So just gotta new mindset rolling around. Its tournament time, so we just want to go out there and get it done. Just be Michigan State and execute and get stops.

MALIK HALL: I'd say it's definitely a reset. Coach has been saying it all week, it's like a new tournament, new approach, start off 0-0. It's win or go home. Just having that mentality. If you're not doing what you're supposed to then we're going home.

JOEY HAUSER: It's a new season. It's different, throw away the game plans, it's not conference play anymore. We don't know our opponents like some of our conference opponents. It's a rebirth, it's make a name for yourself now.

Q. (Off Microphone)?

JOEY HAUSER: Just getting back to Michigan State basketball. Defensively that's one spot we have to get back to for sure.

Q. A.J., same thing I asked Tyson about trying to push the pace, but how much has limiting turnovers helped this team and been kind of part of that slower pace that you guys have played at this year?

A.J. HOGGARD: It's been good. It gets me good, we're getting more shots, our shooters been getting more shots in the half court. We're just trying to get back to getting stops, get running and get more shots. Limited turnovers always leads to more opportunity.

Q. Been in a couple of tournaments now. Do you feel when you get into the tournaments that the games get officiated maybe a little differently, or do things open up a little more when you don't know the opponents and they don't know you?

A.J. HOGGARD: Definitely. It's not someone that we've played against. It's not a team you played against continuously twice -- two or three times a year in the conference. It's definitely going to be a new look for both sides. We don't know them as well, they don't know us as well so different things are going to work.

Q. I imagine when you decided to play at Michigan State or when you were getting recruited, the expectation was for you guys to be in the tournament. You don't get here 25 seasons in a row without that expectation. But how much now is it, like, it's not just enough to make the tournament? How much are you pulling for a run here?

TYSON WALKER: I feel like you come here to get to a Final Four. That's kind of like the staple. Just making it out the first weekend is good but we're trying to make a run. Coach has done it. We've just got to follow his lead.

Q. Joey, you said last week or the week before that when you missed a shot, you're not afraid to take that next shot. And you are playing with a certain level of confidence, the most confidence and maybe the most free you've ever played. I'm curious, when you started to feel that and why?

JOEY HAUSER: I'd say probably beginning of the summer. These guys put a lot of confidence in me to shoot the ball. I was going to have to shoot the ball more than I was used to if we were going to be good. I put the work in so they've seen it. So really it was just my teammates and my coaches telling me to be confident and just keep shooting.

Q. We talked about touchy-feely Tom Izzo. What about the other side. Does he peel the paint off walls? What's that like when you are in direct line of fire? And when you arrived here was it what you expected from that end?

JOEY HAUSER: Makes for a lot of good locker room conversations, that's all I know.

Q. Has Coach Izzo or any of the coaching staff had any mantras or anything they've been saying to you that's specific to the postseason that maybe hasn't been said earlier on, any goals for the end here or anything that's been said?

MALIK HALL: Just talk about winning the weekend, take a couple of days at a time. Just making sure things like win the weekend is probably one of the most known ones that he says probably every day, couple times a day. But other than that, not really, not like any slogans or anything like that.

A.J. HOGGARD: Also getting rid of the my-bads and my-faults. It's tournament time, so it's win or go home, so you've gotta be on top of the everything, the whole 40 minutes, so gotta give it your all.

Q. For you guys, it's a lot of preparation in getting ready for USC. But do you ever get a chance to really just enjoy this process and enjoy being in the tournament in this moment?

TYSON WALKER: Yeah, but you've got to know about the bigger picture. We're here to win games, and you have fun after you win. You win, we'll enjoy it.

A.J. HOGGARD: Definitely get to enjoy it. It's something you watch as a kid growing up to be a part of it. It's your dream, especially being a college player. Just being here, being in front of you guys right now, just talking to you guys is definitely a moment I'm soaking up.

Q. A.J., a lot of times the narrative seems to be as A.J. Hoggard goes so too go the Spartans. Have you heard that? Do you embrace it? How do you carry that this time of year and do so without perhaps putting too much pressure on yourself?

A.J. HOGGARD: Just being myself and my teammates just lifting me up, holding me to a higher standard. It's coming out and playing my game the whole game, not letting up and just being there for my guys. Just playing my part to a "T".

And around this time of year you've got to raise your game up to a higher level, so just raising that bar a little bit for myself. Not too much pressure. We take pressure as a privilege as well. Just coming out here, trying to win games.

Q. A.J., you've got a couple of great shooters up here, Joey and Tyson. Last week they only got 14 shots. You have to come out and make sure they get into the game early. How do you do that?

A.J. HOGGARD: Make sure they get open looks. Call the play for them. Just put them in position to make shots. We need them guys shooting the ball. We need Malik shooting the ball. He shoots 40 as well. Just getting these three guys shots is something that I'm looking forward to early in the game and get them guys going so it makes my job a lot easier.

Q. Joey, this is specifically, I guess, for you and Tyson. Tom has been talking about defense and upping the defense, improving the defense, working on the defense since before you guys went to the Big Ten Tournament. What specifically in the mindset of this team do you guys need to do defensively to get the stops, the critical stops, especially down the stretch?

JOEY HAUSER: I think finishing off possessions, getting defensive rebounds would be probably one of the things we definitely gotta do. Limit their shots. So that's the really important part of the game. Gets us on our break as well.

TYSON WALKER: We just can't relax the whole time. Can't give them open shots because they can shoot the ball well. And just keep the pressure up.