Tommy Amaker Win Quotations

Obviously, for us to win one or two more games wouldn't hurt. But we're the No. 1-ranked conference in America and we've been able to finish .500 along with Michigan State. We're both 8-8 and we split with one another. No one's talking about Michigan State not being in.

I don't think one win or one loss puts you in or takes you out. I really don't believe it works that way. I think the thing that is helpful for us and healthy for us is to focus on what's in front of us. If we can somehow put together a terrific effort and win that first game, then I can say it doesn't hurt our chances for making the NCAA tournament field.

If it ended tonight, I think we'd be in. There's a lot of basketball left to play but it doesn't hurt to have this win on our resume.

Because we had the nucleus of our team win that tournament two years ago -- the juniors and seniors right now were freshmen and sophomores -- I worry about that being more of a negative than a positive. These kids have recognized that they've already done that.

To get a road win is a significant achievement. Road wins are treasured in our league. The way our guards played, especially Daniel Horton and Dion Harris, was the difference. They played with a swagger.

I said Tuesday that if the season ended then, I thought we'd be in. I feel that same way tonight. This was a good win to put on our resume.

I thought Chris Hunter's play for us coming off the bench was a big difference for our production and our ability to win this basketball game this evening.

I thought they had so much energy. (I'm) disappointed, obviously, in some of the ways that we felt like we helped them get that energy or those leads. But certainly you give them the credit that they deserve, and I thought they earned this victory and they deserved to win tonight.

We really did a horrendous job of taking care of the basketball. I thought the difference was us not getting to the foul line, and turning the basketball over. We were very sloppy with the basketball. There's no excuse. There's no other way of describing it or analyzing it. It's something that has to be corrected for us to win on the road.

We're pleased - we're pleased for our school, pleased for our fans and our alums. I'm really pleased for our players. Thinking anything beyond that, it's a game for us right now. ... We have a game coming up here on Saturday (against Wisconsin). We always know a follow-up of an emotional win or loss is always critical. We're happy about the win tonight, but we certainly know there's a lot of basketball to be played.

We always know the follow-up of an emotional win or loss is critical. We certainly know there's a lot of basketball to be played, and the focus for us is to stay in the hunt for the conference title.

We're thrilled. This certainly puts us in position (for an NCAA bid) with a signature win around the country. We recognize how good Illinois has been over the last few years.

The way our league has been all year it would be a daunting challenge for anyone (to win four games in four days). It's a daunting challenge to win three in a row in this conference the way things have gone this season.

Any time you can win a championship and hang a banner, those are very positive moments. And obviously, you feel better about yourself going into the next season.

Any time you can win a championship and put a banner up, it's exciting.

I think all of our games will be must-win situations at some point. I don't know if one win is going to make or break what we've done over the course of the season, but certainly it would help if we could have a win over a team like Illinois.

The follow-up of an emotional win or loss is always critical.

It is tough to win with some many turnovers. Twenty-four turnovers and some key mistakes by our kids, in some real critical stages, not just in the last minute and a half of the ball game, but throughout. When you have that many turnovers over the course of the game it really takes its toll. They turn it over 20 times, we turn it over 24. It wasn't a pretty game from that stand point. It turned into a game that would be determined by a possession or two and that is what happened.

They have an opportunity to add to it if we're fortunate to come out on top. To have a chance to raise another banner and for them to win their last game, with two NIT championships, would be a phenomenal achievement. We talked about how we didn't finish strong in the regular season but we wanted to finish right. I can't think of a way, based on where we are now, that we aren't finishing right this season.

It's a signature win for us because we recognize how good Illinois has been. It was also important for us to stay in the thick of the Big Ten race.

We're very fortunate. We're very happy to win this game and walk out of here with a win in double-overtime.

They're a team that's already played in a different venue. They've gone on the road to win a couple games in this tournament, which shows toughness on their part. ? What the Colonial conference has done this season, certainly, this is a team that needs to be reckoned with.

They have some explosive guys who are tough, experienced. They have shown they can win anywhere, anytime, especially with juniors and seniors playing prominent roles. ? They can play a couple different styles. We certainly feel they're capable of a lot of damage to a lot of different people, so we're very concerned with them.