Tom Izzo Team Quotations

I can't make any excuses up. As a coaching staff, we have not done a good enough job of adjusting to the things we need to adjust to, whether it be the schedule, whether it be an injury, whether it be end-of-the game situations with guys tired or not tired. We've got to find a way to do a better job, because we're a good enough team to get it done.

What we haven't been is a very consistent team in all those areas. At least we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Somewhere throughout the season, we've done those things. Now it's a matter of putting them together.

We looked like a team that came off a four-day break and weren't very sharp or efficient offensively. Hopefully, we'll get better in the next few days because we're not good enough right now.

He is a product of staying four years. He is having an incredible senior year. He's under control more. He deserves a ton of credit for changing his game. I hardly see him forcing his shot anymore. I think he's more of a team guy this year. I think that's one of the reasons they're better.

I still think this team is good enough to win some big games. This is a talented basketball team with good guys that has had a horrendous schedule and it's taken its toll.

Our biggest problem was there was no spacing between those tough games. We kept losing and having to play another great team right away. I still think good schedules make you better in the long run. I don't mind losing because that's how you figure out what's wrong, but you have to do it within reason.

I think I got kind of a worn-out team right now. I can come up with a lot of different reasons, excuses, but we were just flat-out beat. And I did not think we played with the energy we needed to play. We still hung in there, and then we had the knockout punch of that three-minute span, and Illinois deserves a lot of credit for that.

I think his team has definitely gotten better since the year started. I think that team could come into next year as the most improved team in the league.

It doesn't feel as good (playing the first day) as we were the only team left that had never played on Thursday. I'm disappointed that we didn't finish higher but I understand how good the league is and somebody had to finish sixth or seventh.

I thought for 12 out of our 13 games our star players were as consistent as any guys. Tonight, for some reason, we just weren't as consistent. We looked like a team that came off a four-day break.

I was proud of my team, staff and assistant coaches, it was a heck of a job. They were a good basketball team and put more pressure on us than Wisconsin. Our shooting and rebounding was very good, and it helps when we only turn the ball over three times in the second half.

We played Gonzaga, we played Arizona, we played all these overtime games, and I told (my team during a late-game huddle ) I thought we've earned the right to win this game. I felt, looking at them in the eye, that they were looking back at me saying, 'Damn right we do, and we're going to get it done.' And that was encouraging.

The really sad part is, I thought this team had enough talent to go a long way. We had three really good players, but we just didn't have enough depth and we were never as consistent or tough as we needed to be.

We're just a worn-out team right now ... We're flat-out beat.

I've never had a real good team have so little depth. Strategically I don't know what you can do.

I've never had a real good team have so little depth. There's nothing we can do to change it. We've just got to deal with it a little better.

They are a never-quit team. I told my team when we were up 16 that they could come back. They deserve more credit than we do blame.

I see this being a good enough basketball team to win a lot of games yet.

These are two of the top athletes in the country, and they are in the best shape of their lives. It's a lot to build a team around.

We've got a good enough team to win the next six games and we've got a good enough team to lose the next six games and I think a lot of teams are in that boat in this league.

I'm excited about the Big Ten. It's great to have our league being talked about. I think every team in the league is making some strides, and I still think there are eight teams in the league that could win the Big Ten championship.

The best news for me is we are playing the best defensive basketball we've played. I'm very optimistic because I do like what this team has to offer. ... (But) I think we're a mixed bag of nuts right now, to be honest with you.

Do I feel as confident as last year? Last year, I really was confident. I'd say it like this. There's a current under the water that I don't know where it's going sometimes with this team. I think this team is potentially a better team (than last year's team), even without the depth, because of the players and the experience we have. Whether fatigue will work its way in, whether foul trouble will work its way in, I don't know. But I like the chances for us to play for a while.

It's great to have our league being talked about. Every team in the league is making some strides. I still think eight teams can win the Big Ten championship and in the long run that's going to help our recruiting, our exposure and the respect for our league.

They are maybe the biggest team in size on that front line, but I think it gives us a chance to play more people. They're not as athletic up front. They're don't score as much up front as some of the teams we've played recently.

Sometimes you look like, 'Who's coaching that team?' because you're not doing anything on the post guy. But when you have four three-point shooters that are shooting 50 percent or better, it's hard to double down on them. They're a tough team to beat. They have so many weapons.

It's not the end of the world when you're 0-2, but who's kidding who? Everybody was down. It wasn't a monstrous step, but we beat a good team. That's the fifth Top Ten team we've played, and the third we've beaten.

I told my team I really appreciate it when you get what you deserve. Minnesota got what they deserved. Michigan State got what they deserved, and there's really not a lot of complaining to do either way.

There's enough in this rivalry. We're more worried about getting our team ready to play. That (incident) won't be an issue.

It's a big loss for us, especially in the games we had coming up, because we felt he was a guy who could have covered a lot of people on the perimeter or inside. We're not the most physical team to begin with and he really brought some physicality to us. But maybe more importantly, I think he's a versatile guy who can guard guards on the perimeter, and he can guard big guys inside. We just don't have many guys who are able to do that.

This team has been a good free throw-shooting team for years. It wins games for you, it really does.

We want to get back to running and wearing people down. This might be our most athletic team ever.

They're all guys who made significant improvements, and that means they're getting well-coached. I take my hat off to Matt. He was put in a tough situation, losing all those guys early, and that team has continued to improve, and that says it all.

They're playing for a Big Ten championship. They haven't done that for a few years now, and they're playing a team that beat them handily. The schedule is somewhat in their favor, somewhat in Ohio State's favor.

The disappointing thing is that they took it at us early, kicked our butts inside. We've never been handled like that inside . . . They were the tougher team tonight and that made the difference.