Per iuhoosiers.com
On the defensive effort:
“It was the key to our week. It was the key to all of our games, but we had very good carryover from a very good week of practice. Our players understood that it began with what our defensive transition was going to be like because of how well they push the ball up the court and get it up the court. They did an excellent job with that. We were very, very solid in the half court. There were a couple of stretches where they got on some runs, but a lot of the things that we wanted to accomplish, things that we were keeping track of, our guys really bought into and they followed the gameplan. It was won on the defensive end. It was won on the rebounding end and we got really good shots on offense.”
On the importance of Jordan Hulls’ outside shots in the second half:
“They came at a great time. It’s just a tremendous stat line for him. He played the most minutes of anybody on the team. That’s the kind of Jordan Hulls, quick trigger, get it up, especially that one over in the corner. That was amazing. That’s exactly what we need. That’s what his teammates expect from him. That’s what we see in practice. I thought there were times early in the first half where he passed up shots, especially on the first offensive rebound of the game. Those are the best three’s to get, off of the offensive rebound, but he made up for it in the second half. He played an excellent game.”
On the play of Tom Pritchard:
“He’s been getting better all the time. It doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet so to speak. He’s a very smart defender. He moves his feet. He’s got a lot of pride. I think that’s come out in the way he wants to play. We had some different things that we wanted to do gameplan-wise depending on who was in the game because he’s a veteran. Because he’s as smart as he is with being able to understand and make changes like that from possession to possession potentially depending on who’s in the game. You really trust him in that situation and he played well. He moved his feet and he was a huge, huge component for this team tonight.”
On the performance of Verdell Jones III:
“It was great. He’s had an excellent week. He’s one of the best pull-up shooters around and there’s no question about it. They were having a hard time with him in the ball-screens and he knew it and he was able to find people, but at the same time make the baskets. He was very aggressive. It was a very tough-minded week for him and he had a lot to do with the success we played with because of the way he practiced all week and I wasn’t surprised that he played well.”
On the importance of the win:
“I think it was really important because they earned the victory. We were close in some other ones as of late, no question about it, especially up at Minnesota. We knew we squandered a tremendous opportunity at home with Penn State and still could’ve won the game. We knew we didn’t play well last Sunday against Northwestern and it’s a week to either sit in here and stew about it or it’s a week to get better and that’s exactly what we did. I think they were very confident going into the game, I know I was. We felt like, I said this to the coaches today, if we don’t come down and make defensive mistakes and we really get the ball where we think we can get it in this game, you know obviously you have to make shots, but we had to get it certain places, I didn’t feel we were going to lose the game. The players are the ones that carry that out and they did an excellent job.”
On players stepping up in key moments:
“That’s what you want your team to do and the team has got to do so many different things inside of it. It never goes according to script and it never goes according to how you practice. There always has to be adjustments and that’s what you want basketball players to make, but those things all come out of spacing, fearlessness, and the ball moving.”
On the rebounding:
“We needed to do a great job on the glass tonight and our players responded to that. It was all them. They were there and they carved out space. They had five guys in the paint when the shot went up. We were active on both ends. Guys came off the bench and continued to have that activity. If we’re going to be successful, if we’re going to win games, then you have to win the rebounding game. You’re not always going to win it like that, but when you can, it shows that you’re capable of it, which is exactly what they showed tonight.”