Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Northwestern vs. Michigan
2/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2012
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Northwestern vs. Michigan
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Feb. 21,2012
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Bill Carmody
Opening statement...
"We came out with some good energy, we had a nice stretch. Davide [Curletti] had a very good first half and he really helped us coming off the bench by energizing us. We outrebounded them pretty well, we had 8 offensive rebounds in the first half; we did a nice job. In the second half, it just seemed like we got worn down and we turned the ball over 14 times. It was not unlike the game in Ann Arbor where we turned it over the same amount. We only made three threes up there and we made three tonight. Those are possessions that you can't get back when you throw a ball out of bounds or you step out of bounds. The second half just looked sloppy to me. The first half looked good. If a team is picking you up at the top of the key and not pressing we can't win and it's unacceptable to have 14 turnovers."
On John Shurna...
"He just seemed reluctant to do anything the whole game. He kept getting good looks but we would pass them up and try to go for the next thing."
On deemphasizing the importance of this game...
"I was just trying to tell them how I felt. I wasn't trying to trick anybody. If we won this game tonight, it would have been a really good win for us because it was a ranked team but then you still have to play Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa. This game didn't assure you of anything and it didn't knock us out of the box either."
Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
Opening statement...
"I have so much respect for Northwestern, the way that they play the game, and the great season that they have had thus far. There was a lot on the line today because they [Northwestern] were playing for a NCAA tournament and we're trying to play for a Big Ten championship. I think the spirit of the game reflected that. Thank goodness we got off to a good start. When they [Northwestern] went zone, it took us awhile to adjust to it. It is a very good zone-it's even better than some of the teams I had at West Virginia. Once we ended up getting a better rhythm, we had to make shots...and we did, especially in overtime. "
On staying with it when the 3's aren't falling...
"We had to. Knowing the 1-3-1 zone, it's really tough to drive the ball in the basket. What you have to have is guys that are going to see the floor and be selfless in their game. I thought in the overtime, in particular, Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] made the big shot to tie it. We must have had four in a row. All of sudden it's 1-2-3 with all of our seniors in the two back ends. We had to shoot. "
On Michigan's defense against John Shurna...
"It was good, we had multiple guys guarding him. We had different things that we feel you have to do...You cannot do certain things, they're just too good - they'll knock it in. They have great depth so we really tried to do some things that would not allow him to feel comfort even in the NBA range."
On whether Northwestern is an NCAA tournament team...
"Absolutely. Let's really look at this: we beat them twice in overtime. This league is so good, that both of those times...I mean, Marcotullio missed a foul shot, and here the last shot could have gone in at their end. We were 0 and 2, and they were in the tournament - that's how close this thing is. You watch them play, and it's absolutely a thing of beauty. That guy's been coaching a long time, before the 3 -- before the shot clock -- still beautiful. We sit there and laugh at it, in a good way, and say 'the genius in this...' and it continues to change. That's what I see from Bill Carmody. Next time we have him, he'll have a bag of tricks that we'll have to figure out, hopefully we can, and if we don't, we'll shake their hands and tell them they did a great job."
