Feb. 2, 2010
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Northwestern 67, Michigan 52
Feb. 2, 2010
Postgame quotes
Northwestern Head Coach Bill Carmody
Opening statement
"It's a win we needed to get back into things. We knew we had a pretty tough stretch in the first half. We lost our last couple of games. I didn't think we played poorly. I just thought we didn't win. Michigan State, they jumped on us in the second half. Minnesota, I thought that was a winnable game for us and we didn't win it. Tonight was really important. Jim Phillips, our athletic director, just said to me that it was sort of business-like. I thought that too. We just went about things and it wasn't perfect, but it just went along. It seemed like it was 37-30 forever. We couldn't score; they couldn't score. And then all of a sudden we knocked down some threes. I think Drew [Crawford] had a few in there and it just all ballooned open. And that's what you hope for. I thought our defense was very good in the second half. I also liked that there was balance. [John] Shurna had a big night the other night, which is great, but it is a team game. I know we had four or five guys that were really involved offensively and finished plays. That's important to me."
On holding DeShawn Sims to four points...
"We got the ball inside to Luka [Mirkovic] a lot in the first half. He's been working hard at doing that, getting good position so he's deep enough so he can be a threat. I think for a long time, he was getting the ball maybe 10 feet from the basket on the low post off the block. And it was my fault, not really emphasizing it. And now he's really been working hard. The other night against Michigan State, he got three offensive fouls, so he was working a little too hard. But when you get the ball down to him, it makes [DeShawn] Sims defend and think about something else because he's a very talented guy."
On the play of Luka Mirkovic and his early season struggles...
"It's hard. He's a little stubborn, which makes him good, but which makes it hard. He knows he's a good player. He's worked hard. He worked hard all summer. He's just got to believe in himself and keep working hard. He's accepted some accountability for how he's playing. It's not someone else's fault. That's a hard thing to do as a sophomore, so I'm proud of that guy."
On the impact of the Michigan State game on this game...
"I think that we played pretty well in the last ten minutes and that's what made me feel pretty positive. I thought we did ok at Minnesota. You want to win it. It's on the road and it's winnable, but we didn't. We've been playing ok. I was in a good frame and I think the team was too. I think we were pretty confident going into tonight."
Freshman forward Drew Crawford
On the impact of this win for the team's confidence...
"It's a big confidence booster for us. We've really got to get some big wins in the second half of this Big Ten season. A win like this is just one on the way. It's just a big confidence booster for us. Michigan's a tough team. They've got some real quality wins this year. So it was good to be able to shut them down tonight and it just shows that we're able to play with a lot of teams. We're able to play with anybody so we're going to be ready for the rest of the season."
On his three-pointer and reverse lay-up...
"The one that hit the rim and went in, that's the Welsh-Ryan arena rims that I love. I've grown to love these rims already. I thought I missed it, to be honest. Then when I saw it bounce up in the air, I thought 'Oh, that's going in.' And then the reverse, I just wanted to get to the basket because I had the angle for it. Juice [Thompson] gave me a great pass and I just finished."
Sophomore center Luka Mirkovic
On overcoming his early season struggles...
"I was struggling a little bit at the beginning of the season. To be honest, I don't know what was wrong, but I stayed with it. I didn't want to quit. That's not the way I do things. I didn't quit. I kept working, staying after practice, coming every day for workouts. My hard work is finally paying off, that's all."
On the team's mentality entering this game...
"We were really confident entering this game because we didn't really play well against Minnesota but we had a chance. We played pretty poorly most of the game against Michigan State, but then towards the end we had a little stretch. We knew that we're a good team. We knew that we could win this game. It's just that we had to focus a little more and finish games and that's what we did today."
Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
Opening Statement ...
"I though it was a great first half, both teams were trading baskets, and I think last year we were down two at half, five this time. Despite not really giving up some baskets in the second half we didn't want to give up in the second half. I think it was four points or something with sixteen to go, fourteen to go. We had missed some open shots to start the second half that I really thought could have got us into it, that I thought could have got us into it. And then once the gates opened, we couldn't bounce back. [Drew] Crawford continues to amaze me, just absolutely amaze me. A freshman, to play with the skill and the strength at the level he is playing at, he's a great player. In the Big Ten for four years, he's going to be a great, great player."
On the play of DeShawn Sims ...
"He had a rough night, he had a rough night. [Luka] Mirkovic has really improved, he really plays great post defense, and we had trouble scoring. He's not a great shot blocker. He plays great position defense in the post, and they always had another helper in there."
On the play of Northwestern ...
"The offense is very unique, but it's not about the offense. The offense is really good, don't get me wrong. But now they have four guys that can shoot, their center is a brilliant passer. Find another center with that good of an assist-to-turnover ratio. Point guard is outstanding, really runs this team. All they want to do is win; they've got a goal of getting to the NCAA Tournament. They really play together and they enjoy it. They are really, really good, and Bill [Carmody] has got to really enjoy coaching this group."
On the play of Michigan in the second half ...
"You know, we got out to the bad start to start the second half. We still hung with them, they missed some shots and we played some good defense. I'm better when I watch the film. But then once they hit a three, and hit another three and got a backdoor basket, all of a sudden it's a 12- or 13-point lead. It's very difficult for us to come back from that, and it's very hard to come back on Northwestern. That run, from the 13-, 14-minute mark to the eight-minute mark, when it got to an 18-point lead, that was not our best basketball and they were brilliant during that time."
On the three-point shooting of Northwestern ...
"We practiced that pretty hard the last few weeks, but they run their stuff so quick. We try to simulate that in practice, but we don't run it as quickly as they do. There are defensive things you have to do against that, we basically missed them four of those five times. And it's tough to do. And that's why they're good. But they've never had this amount of talent. We would die right now for someone who could shoot 38 percent from three; they've got four guys doing it. Everybody can pass; everybody has got length except Michael Thompson. They just really have a good team. They really have a good team. I hope they can stay healthy, because not only are they going to have a good season, but they are going to represent the Big Ten well."