Post Game Quotes

Video and analysis will be posted later but in the meantime, here are the coaches post game quotes from iuhoosiers.com.

Head Coach Tom Crean

Opening Statement

“There is no place in the country that would support a program that has gone through what we have been going through like Indiana is being supported. It was absolute bedlam in there, from the beginning. I can always gauge so many things by what I hear back in the lockerroom before I come out. It was really something and it just got better and better during the game. If there was ever a time where you wish you could give a game ball and thank every person that was not only here tonight but has been supporting this program for as long as they have, this was it. I am really proud of the way our fans have stayed behind us and the way they support us. I know our players are too.

“You finally saw what happens when our team brings their true practice game to the real game. And we got (Illinois’) `A’ game, in the sense of that they came to play. They were really good. And we were really good too. We had to be on top of every facet of the game. We had to be good offensively, we had to be good defensively, we had to be good at timeouts, we had to be good in transition. We got better at rebounding. I am really proud of our team, the guys that played and even the guys that didn’t. We had a really good week to bounce back from the loss on Sunday.”

On the being able to string together defensive stops in the second half:

“It was really impressive and important, especially in the second half. We need to be a better team in the second half.  And this gives us some confidence that we can build on and we can do it at a high level team. Obviously we have a lot of big games and we have a pretty big one coming up next.”

On Jeremiah Rivers’ defensive effort tonight:

“This is the epitome of what Jeremiah Rivers is all about. It is not about his statistics. His role has changed, obviously, but when you put his speed, his strength and toughness with that mindset, a lot of good things can happen. And Victor (Oladipo) came in and did some good things. Will Sheehey did some good things…we can go down the entire lineup. Daniel Moore played well. I had no doubts that he would play well in those last few seconds when I didn’t think we could keep Jeremiah in.”

On winning a close game:

“I hope they build on it. Because we have quite a few games left and we play a lot of really good teams. I hope they embrace it, but I hope they build on it. I think it is a great confidence booster.”

Coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement:

“We knew they would come with great energy. They had a tough defeat on Sunday to Iowa out there and I know he challenged them, whether it was tweets or the newspaper or whatever. They got out to a good start, obviously hitting a few threes got us in a hole. We responded and battled and had the lead at halftime and had plenty of chances. No one could score the first eight minutes of the second half and we just kept talking about grinding it out, staying together, finding a way and making a play. I thought when Brandon (Paul) hit the three, at least you got the lead, now you get a couple stops. We had some opportunities down the stretch, and we just didn’t get baskets down. So credit to them, they played their hearts out. We lost (Jordan) Hulls a couple times, he’s a gutsy little guy. And then (Christian) Watford, he creates a pretty tough matchup for anybody.”

On the type of defense Indiana played:

“I think they were in line and three, they played it last year a little bit. I don’t know, maybe you can ask him exactly, but they really didn’t guard Mike Davis, just kind of clogged it up. We thought we could get it into (Mike Tisdale), then when he would get doubled, space them and spread it. We had plenty of opportunities, you got to make some baskets and plays, especially down the stretch.”

On the play in the final minute when Tisdale threw the ball out of bounds:

“We went inside to him, I thought he could have drop stepped, he had the guy playing him to his shoulder…at least put the hook up and give it a chance. I think he saw Jereme (Richmond) slashing to the basket and he overthrew him on the baseline.”

On how tough this loss is with a tough schedule to end the year:

“Everyone has a tough path in the league, there is no doubt. We got a bye this week, I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but we’ll get out of there for a day and regroup on Saturday. We got a Tuesday game and then we got two road games. We have to get guys playing well again. I mean just look at the numbers, we are not playing good basketball. I got to do it, it’s my fault, it’s my program, and I got to get them going.”