Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Michigan
3/10/2022 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Michigan (Big Ten Tournament)
March 10, 2022
MIKE WOODSON: Well, it was a hell of a game. I mean, I have nothing but respect for Juwan and his staff and that organization in terms of how they pushed us to play. These two guys sitting next to me, along with the guys in the locker room, had a lot to do with this win, along with my staff. It was a total team effort and this team hadn't quit all year.
We've been so competitive over the course of this season. And a lot of games that we've lost, we just, we didn't get rewarded for it, you know. I've just, I've felt -- even at halftime, guys, that we still had a shot to win the game. And these guys came out and they just played and played and played themselves back into the game and was able to pull it out.
Q. On the second half…
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The biggest thing for me is that in the locker room, Coach Woody got on me. He told me I wasn't playing up to my capabilities, but then he said at the same time, basketball's two halves. So, I went out there, I think it started on the defensive end, I was up, kind of getting in the passing lanes, the ball lanes, and then coming back. And then on offense, having this guy right next to me coming off the screens, getting easy lobs, I think that got me going.
Q. On getting over the hump in close games…
JACKSON-DAVIS: So basically, the game that I think about is Wisconsin, the first time we played them, what they did to us. And how you watch a team and you start coming back and the one team believes and the other team gets defeated. So, we believed we were going to win and we kind of saw them deflating and deflating, and then we finally got back.
So hopefully we can carry that energy because I feel like that, we can beat anyone. But at the same time, just getting over that hump, especially to a team like Michigan that's beat us the last nine times, it's big.
Q. On getting through the struggle…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Basically, for me just struggling, even this game in the first half, not having it go my way, you can't get too down on yourself, you've got to keep playing. And then my guys were always picking me up. I think the fans were big, even in the first half they were still cheering for us, so that was huge for us. And then going into the halftime, having my teammates believe in me, that's big for us and that's way big for our team us. It's believing we can win and believing we have opportunities to succeed.
Q. On the defensive intensity down the stretch…
XAVIER JOHNSON: I just feel like we locked in. With the last 12 minutes, Coach said we've got to get a stop. It's all about getting stops. We're scoring, we just can't get a stop. And everybody looked -- everybody held each other accountable for that man, and we just dug in and got stops.
Q. On Trey Galloway and Jordan Geronimo…
JACKSON-DAVIS: JG, he's an energy guy. He's someone that's going to come in and get rebounds. I saw him when I was going up to get some of them, he was a whole head above me, so he's huge for us. He blocks shots, and then he's a positive influence on the floor.
And then, Trey coming off ball screens hard, making the right plays. He struggled a little bit, but got to keep his head up and just keep playing because he had to play through his mistakes. But I thought both their contributions really helped us and really got us the win, honestly.
Q. On the closing lineup…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think with that lineup, you had Trey coming off ball screens, X coming off ball screens, and we had space with shooters. And then JG can also stretch the floor. And me being able to be a lob threat was big.
But at the same time, it's not just going to always be those five. It's going to be a contribution of different guys every single night, and that's what Coach is big on, it's got to always be next man up.
Q. On the conversations down the stretch…
JOHNSON: I feel like we learned from our mistakes in the past. We've been watching a lot of film. Credits to the coaches, watching a lot of film, learning from it, and just working on it and now we have the chance to go prove it, prove what we working on.
Q. On the slow start…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think they came out with more intensity and energy, honestly. They punched us in the mouth and they just kept punching us in the mouth, honestly. And we carried that over, I think we had a little bit of life kind of going into the first half, and at the start of the second half it was kind of the same way, we really honed in on defense and got stops that we needed and we were putting the ball in the basket.
Q. On shutting down Hunter Dickinson in the second half…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I think Hunter's a great player and he had his way in Bloomington. And then he had his way in the first half, honestly. He was hitting shots. But the big thing with him was pushing him off the lane. And then I thought our guards really helped him crowd and they were pressuring the back so he couldn't get it.
Q. On advancing to the quarterfinals…
JACKSON-DAVIS: For me, it's just the next game on our schedule and we play a really good Illinois team, but I've never played on Friday, so it's a new experience for me. I hope I see a lot of fans in the stadium and we're going to go out and compete.
JOHNSON: To me it's just another game as well, just next step to what our goal is as a team. We want to win this whole thing and that's what we plan on doing.
Q. On Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: X has been pretty good here as of late. I mean, really playing solid for our ball club on both ends of the floor. I thought again tonight he led us, but it was a combination of Geronimo and Galloway, having him back, and Rob. You know, we had places to go and during that stretch I was searching as a coach trying to find the combination that could change the game in Geronimo and Galloway and X and then I came back with Miller along with Big Fella, changed the whole dynamics of that game.
Q. On seeing all the IU fans in the stands…
WOODSON: Well, it's always been that way as far as I can remember. But it's great to see them out, come out and show their support. I mean, we need it, man. This is probably the biggest win for our program in such a long, long time. I've got to give my staff and the guys in that locker room that wear that uniform a lot of credit, man, because this team, they just won't quit. And that's -- that's a good sign to me.
Q. On the poise down the stretch…
WOODSON: I thought that coming down the stretch, even when they made the run to cut it to two, I just -- in the time-outs, I just saw steadiness. Like we've been here and we've struck out so many times that we not going to let it happen tonight, and we came out of the time-out and we executed, we made plays that we needed to make to secure the win.
Q. On the NCAA Tournament bubble…
WOODSON: I don't know. The only thing I can say, Bob, is that if you look at our schedule and how we've competed this year, I would like to think that this game would put us over the top, but like I told the guys in the locker room, I don't know how it works. I'm new at this, but we got to get ready for Illinois and see if we can play like we did tonight the second half and see if we can get another win that might secure us for the big dance.
I don't know, I don't know how the selection committee works, but I've just got to tell our guys we're still playing and we've still got to play hard and try to win.
Q. On the conversation with Jackson-Davis at halftime…
WOODSON: Well, his play the first half wasn't really good, I'll tell you that, and I kind of keep locker room things inside, but it wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that. I thought he responded extremely well and we needed that. I mean, I think Trayce is a hell of a player, man. He's one of the best players in the Big Ten and I didn't think he played that way the first half. Second half he stepped it up and played like we thought he could play.
Q. On Jackson-Davis' strong second half…
WOODSON: No, it's huge. I mean, this game was huge for this program. I mean, we lose today and I don't know what the committee is going to do or say about Indiana University basketball. Our guys, not just Trayce, everybody that played tonight contributed in some way and we going to need that the rest of the way. Illinois is a good team and they kind of had their way in Bloomington as well. So, we've got to go back, break this team down tonight and learn from our mistakes in this game and get ready for Illinois.
Q. On Johnson's steady play…
WOODSON: Well, I like to think he's grown as a player. From the time we started to where he is today, he's put a lot of work, you know, on the court and off the court in terms of watching film and just learning. I'm not the easiest to deal with and him being the point guard is probably the toughest position for me as a coach. So, I think he's grown, man. I think the game is starting to slow down for him and he's seeing things. He's always been pretty good defensively, he gives you a lot of effort there, but point guards, there's a lot that comes in being a point guard, man, and it's just not me on him, his teammates are on him, that's just the nature of being a point guard, but I think he's grown so much since we've started this journey.
Q. On getting over the hump…
WOODSON: Well, I couldn't be prouder of a group of guys because we've been striking out. When you think about all the close games that we've had this season, this is really gratifying in terms of getting over the hump on a major stage, a big game that we had to win. But hey, I didn't play, those guys in the locker room played and they made it happen, so that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Indiana vs. Michigan (Big Ten Tournament)
March 10, 2022
MIKE WOODSON: Well, it was a hell of a game. I mean, I have nothing but respect for Juwan and his staff and that organization in terms of how they pushed us to play. These two guys sitting next to me, along with the guys in the locker room, had a lot to do with this win, along with my staff. It was a total team effort and this team hadn't quit all year.
We've been so competitive over the course of this season. And a lot of games that we've lost, we just, we didn't get rewarded for it, you know. I've just, I've felt -- even at halftime, guys, that we still had a shot to win the game. And these guys came out and they just played and played and played themselves back into the game and was able to pull it out.
Q. On the second half…
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The biggest thing for me is that in the locker room, Coach Woody got on me. He told me I wasn't playing up to my capabilities, but then he said at the same time, basketball's two halves. So, I went out there, I think it started on the defensive end, I was up, kind of getting in the passing lanes, the ball lanes, and then coming back. And then on offense, having this guy right next to me coming off the screens, getting easy lobs, I think that got me going.
Q. On getting over the hump in close games…
JACKSON-DAVIS: So basically, the game that I think about is Wisconsin, the first time we played them, what they did to us. And how you watch a team and you start coming back and the one team believes and the other team gets defeated. So, we believed we were going to win and we kind of saw them deflating and deflating, and then we finally got back.
So hopefully we can carry that energy because I feel like that, we can beat anyone. But at the same time, just getting over that hump, especially to a team like Michigan that's beat us the last nine times, it's big.
Q. On getting through the struggle…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Basically, for me just struggling, even this game in the first half, not having it go my way, you can't get too down on yourself, you've got to keep playing. And then my guys were always picking me up. I think the fans were big, even in the first half they were still cheering for us, so that was huge for us. And then going into the halftime, having my teammates believe in me, that's big for us and that's way big for our team us. It's believing we can win and believing we have opportunities to succeed.
Q. On the defensive intensity down the stretch…
XAVIER JOHNSON: I just feel like we locked in. With the last 12 minutes, Coach said we've got to get a stop. It's all about getting stops. We're scoring, we just can't get a stop. And everybody looked -- everybody held each other accountable for that man, and we just dug in and got stops.
Q. On Trey Galloway and Jordan Geronimo…
JACKSON-DAVIS: JG, he's an energy guy. He's someone that's going to come in and get rebounds. I saw him when I was going up to get some of them, he was a whole head above me, so he's huge for us. He blocks shots, and then he's a positive influence on the floor.
And then, Trey coming off ball screens hard, making the right plays. He struggled a little bit, but got to keep his head up and just keep playing because he had to play through his mistakes. But I thought both their contributions really helped us and really got us the win, honestly.
Q. On the closing lineup…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think with that lineup, you had Trey coming off ball screens, X coming off ball screens, and we had space with shooters. And then JG can also stretch the floor. And me being able to be a lob threat was big.
But at the same time, it's not just going to always be those five. It's going to be a contribution of different guys every single night, and that's what Coach is big on, it's got to always be next man up.
Q. On the conversations down the stretch…
JOHNSON: I feel like we learned from our mistakes in the past. We've been watching a lot of film. Credits to the coaches, watching a lot of film, learning from it, and just working on it and now we have the chance to go prove it, prove what we working on.
Q. On the slow start…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think they came out with more intensity and energy, honestly. They punched us in the mouth and they just kept punching us in the mouth, honestly. And we carried that over, I think we had a little bit of life kind of going into the first half, and at the start of the second half it was kind of the same way, we really honed in on defense and got stops that we needed and we were putting the ball in the basket.
Q. On shutting down Hunter Dickinson in the second half…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I think Hunter's a great player and he had his way in Bloomington. And then he had his way in the first half, honestly. He was hitting shots. But the big thing with him was pushing him off the lane. And then I thought our guards really helped him crowd and they were pressuring the back so he couldn't get it.
Q. On advancing to the quarterfinals…
JACKSON-DAVIS: For me, it's just the next game on our schedule and we play a really good Illinois team, but I've never played on Friday, so it's a new experience for me. I hope I see a lot of fans in the stadium and we're going to go out and compete.
JOHNSON: To me it's just another game as well, just next step to what our goal is as a team. We want to win this whole thing and that's what we plan on doing.
Q. On Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: X has been pretty good here as of late. I mean, really playing solid for our ball club on both ends of the floor. I thought again tonight he led us, but it was a combination of Geronimo and Galloway, having him back, and Rob. You know, we had places to go and during that stretch I was searching as a coach trying to find the combination that could change the game in Geronimo and Galloway and X and then I came back with Miller along with Big Fella, changed the whole dynamics of that game.
Q. On seeing all the IU fans in the stands…
WOODSON: Well, it's always been that way as far as I can remember. But it's great to see them out, come out and show their support. I mean, we need it, man. This is probably the biggest win for our program in such a long, long time. I've got to give my staff and the guys in that locker room that wear that uniform a lot of credit, man, because this team, they just won't quit. And that's -- that's a good sign to me.
Q. On the poise down the stretch…
WOODSON: I thought that coming down the stretch, even when they made the run to cut it to two, I just -- in the time-outs, I just saw steadiness. Like we've been here and we've struck out so many times that we not going to let it happen tonight, and we came out of the time-out and we executed, we made plays that we needed to make to secure the win.
Q. On the NCAA Tournament bubble…
WOODSON: I don't know. The only thing I can say, Bob, is that if you look at our schedule and how we've competed this year, I would like to think that this game would put us over the top, but like I told the guys in the locker room, I don't know how it works. I'm new at this, but we got to get ready for Illinois and see if we can play like we did tonight the second half and see if we can get another win that might secure us for the big dance.
I don't know, I don't know how the selection committee works, but I've just got to tell our guys we're still playing and we've still got to play hard and try to win.
Q. On the conversation with Jackson-Davis at halftime…
WOODSON: Well, his play the first half wasn't really good, I'll tell you that, and I kind of keep locker room things inside, but it wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that. I thought he responded extremely well and we needed that. I mean, I think Trayce is a hell of a player, man. He's one of the best players in the Big Ten and I didn't think he played that way the first half. Second half he stepped it up and played like we thought he could play.
Q. On Jackson-Davis' strong second half…
WOODSON: No, it's huge. I mean, this game was huge for this program. I mean, we lose today and I don't know what the committee is going to do or say about Indiana University basketball. Our guys, not just Trayce, everybody that played tonight contributed in some way and we going to need that the rest of the way. Illinois is a good team and they kind of had their way in Bloomington as well. So, we've got to go back, break this team down tonight and learn from our mistakes in this game and get ready for Illinois.
Q. On Johnson's steady play…
WOODSON: Well, I like to think he's grown as a player. From the time we started to where he is today, he's put a lot of work, you know, on the court and off the court in terms of watching film and just learning. I'm not the easiest to deal with and him being the point guard is probably the toughest position for me as a coach. So, I think he's grown, man. I think the game is starting to slow down for him and he's seeing things. He's always been pretty good defensively, he gives you a lot of effort there, but point guards, there's a lot that comes in being a point guard, man, and it's just not me on him, his teammates are on him, that's just the nature of being a point guard, but I think he's grown so much since we've started this journey.
Q. On getting over the hump…
WOODSON: Well, I couldn't be prouder of a group of guys because we've been striking out. When you think about all the close games that we've had this season, this is really gratifying in terms of getting over the hump on a major stage, a big game that we had to win. But hey, I didn't play, those guys in the locker room played and they made it happen, so that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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