There's obviously a work ethic that goes into it. (Brunner) is a very special big man who has played here. |
These are four important games. The teams you play one time, you don't get another chance to play them again if they beat you. If you win, you control your own destiny. If you don't, you have to hope somebody else beats that team. |
They played three games in three days. That's not easy. They don't have a real deep bench right now. We just wanted to wear on them. |
They were really good defensively. They're much better now defensively than they were a month ago, and that's a tribute to Tom and his staff. |
They're hard to prepare for because they are potent inside and out. They are pressure oriented defensively. So we've got to do a good job of getting open and handling the ball. |
They're probably the best defensive team in the league. They put a lot of pressure on you. We had some key stretches where we took ill-advised shots and that translated into bad defense (on the other end). |
They've been frustrated because they haven't been making shots. Today they made those shots. |
They've been on the top of our league for the last five years. They've been the team to beat for a long time and not a lot of people have been able to do it. |
They've earned it. They worked awfully hard. But there's a lot that can happen in February. |
They've got an incredible resume, this is a very good basketball team, and we know that. They aren't going to be intimidated or worry about playing a Big Ten opponent. |
They've really developed some toughness. The players get it done between the lines. |
This gives us a chance to get some rest. It's been a long grind for us. So we want to take complete advantage of the break. |
This is a great prep game for us going into the game at Wisconsin. |
This is a great start. They (players) have earned it. But there is a lot that can happen in February. We've got to make sure we stay healthy and keep getting better. |
This is a very difficult game to all of a sudden break in guard play, especially with the guards that they have. We just lost an outstanding player, and two days later we've got to deal with this. I thought we handled it as well as our guys are capable of handling it right now. |