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BIG TEN COFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2007Michael FlowersKammron TaylorAlando TuckerCHICAGO, ILLINOIS COACH BO RYAN: Well, I'm just proud of the way our guys played. We fought through some things. We didn't get off to a great start in the second half but fought through it and found ourselves on the offensive end and did a little bit better job defensively. But that one run Michigan State had, that's how they can play. They can cut into any lead, so it didn't feel safe until the final buzzer, to be honest with you. Q. Michael, what was the difference for you on Neitzel tonight? You seemed to block him better than you had the previous two games. MICHAEL FLOWERS: Well, there wasn't that much difference. Coach has been on me trying to tell me to play disciplined defense. That's what I did. And today some of the shots weren't falling and in the previous two games, those were the same shots he was taking, but they were falling. Q. Alando, can you talk about the help you got specifically from teammates kind of picking you up as you were struggling there a little bit in the first half, and also talk about how important that will be now until Sunday and then through the end of the NCAA Tournament in March, to get that kind of help from everybody else? ALANDO TUCKER: I wouldn't say I was struggling (laughter). My teammates, they were getting open, and that's one of the things that we've been making a conscious effort on doing the whole season. When I get the ball, no one stands around. Mike (Flowers) came out hot, and Kam (Taylor), and that's what we need. When my teammates are doing that, they stretch the defense out, and that's going to be big going down the stretch. Q. In the second half you guys started off slow offensively and Michigan State was starting to catch up. I think you had 11 of the first 15 points that the team scored. Was that a conscious effort, to try and keep the team afloat, try and keep your head above water out there? ALANDO TUCKER: I was taking what the defense was giving me, and I knew at that point in time that I had to step up. But it was one of those things that we made some good calls, some good reads, and that's the way the ball drops sometimes. So it was one of those things. I never tried to force the issue, but everything just seemed to fall in place. Q. Kam and Mike, can you talk about your team, particularly on defense to start the game and maybe the impact it had in the first half? KAMMRON TAYLOR: Well, we've just been trying to be more aggressive, especially on the perimeter. We were just trying to keep them from getting open looks. We didn't do a good job of that the first time we played them. But we just tried to make a conscious effort of just picking up our man and basically just harassing him and trying not to give him any good looks. Q. Kam, what was different for you today offensively than the other two times you played Michigan State? KAMMRON TAYLOR: My shots were going in (laughter). I mean, that's it. I was just being more aggressive on the defensive end as well. Q. Kam, what was the difference after halftime? It took you guys maybe about seven minutes to score your first field goal in the second half. Was the defense a little tougher coming out of half? KAMMRON TAYLOR: No, I don't think so. We just didn't do a good job with our shot selection. Once we calmed down and started taking better shots. That is when we caught ourselves. Q. This is for Alando. How conscious were you in the second half of how close you were getting to the all-time points record for the University? ALANDO TUCKER: I never -- that never crosses my mind. Seriously. COACH BO RYAN: What is the record? Q. You were one short. ALANDO TUCKER: I never think about that. I'm thinking about winning. Had I not done some things on the court, we'd have been going home. We'd be on a bus back to Madison. That was my whole mind frame on the court. I never try to think about records, and that's why I've been so successful, as well as the team. We never think about records. Q. There were about four or five plays today where somebody was able to slip underneath and get an easy layup. Was that just MSU falling asleep on defense or good execution on your part? ALANDO TUCKER: It was good movement. The way they were playing me, when I'd get the ball they were attacking me hard, and when our guys move they were losing sight. Michigan State's defenders were losing sight of our offensive players and I was able to find them. All of us, we always share the ball well. That's one thing, if we're moving, that's Wisconsin basketball. Q. Michael, you talked after the game at East Lansing about how the team had to do a good job of guarding the potential passers and Neitzel. Can you talk about how your teammates helped you out tonight and just limiting the passes to Neitzel? MICHAEL FLOWERS: Yeah, like Kam (Taylor) said, he was pressuring the ball handler so that throws off their timing and Michigan State's offense is primarily a timing, so Kam and (Alando) Tucker and Marcus (Landry), they were pressuring the ball harder, and when Drew (Neitzel) was open, they weren't able to connect, and I was able to catch up to them. Q. Alando, in the second half when you were getting hot you seemed to be kind of showing, playing to the crowd a little bit. Was that just the atmosphere or were you that excited to be making the shots? ALANDO TUCKER: It's emotion. You look at all my games, they're emotional. I'm an emotional player regardless. It's the same thing if one of my teammates make a play. I'm excited. It's just fun. This whole atmosphere, March Madness, it's either win or go home, so you have to bring it all. That's one of the things, when we're having fun, we're playing our best basketball. THE MODERATOR: We'll finish up with questions for Coach Ryan, please. Q. After the technical, they were called for offensive fouls on three of their next four possessions. Was that the point you were trying to get across? COACH BO RYAN: No, not at all. It was just something on the defensive end, on their defensive end, not on their offensive end. But it was just the way it was interpreted. Q. Can you talk a little bit about Greg's impact, especially on the defensive end? COACH BO RYAN: Yeah, Greg (Stiemsma) is getting a little more comfortable. I thought he moved his feet well, I thought his positioning was a lot better, and this is a good opportunity for him. You have to understand our guys are human, and there isn't a team in Division I that can't beat us, but to have played those 31 games the way we did, or 30 going into the Michigan State game at our place, and to say that because of an injury to one of our players we're not as good a team, I thought -- I thought you had to wait until you saw a team play a few times to look at it that way. Greg Steimsma, Marcus (Landry) and the other guys that have picked up for Brian Butch, we just beat a team that ended up being by 13 that beat us at their place by nine with Brian Butch. So Greg Steimsma is a big part of that. We miss Brian. Every team would miss a guy that gave consistent numbers. But to all of a sudden hear this conversation about Wisconsin with this injury is not as good a team -- I'm not saying not a very good team, but is not as good a team, wouldn't you want to just watch us play? So I thought our guys made a pretty good statement out there, the bigs that game in and helped. Kevin Gullikson also came in and gave us some nice minutes. And in all fairness to these young men, I say let them play. I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I thought they picked up for the absence of a pretty good player and carried the load. That's my reaction. Talking about Greg Steimsma, Greg is one of those guys that got some of those points in rebound, and the defense that he played. That's what he can bring. Q. Neitzel had eight assists today but didn't get his first field goal until about ten minutes left. Was that the goal today to turn him into a passer rather than a shooter? COACH BO RYAN: He's a smart player. He's going to do what's best for the team. If he's got shots, he's going to take them; if he sees open guys he's going to hit them. That's why he's a good player. End of FastScripts |
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