Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Nebraska
2/22/2024 12:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Nebraska
Feb. 21, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the first half struggles…
WOODSON: When you give up 51 points in the Big10 in a half, you're not going to beat anybody.
Yeah, we played great the second half to get back in it to cut it to three, but we had no defensive effort I thought the first half. We just weren't up to touch. They made some tough threes, but you can't have to halves like that.
You have to have a half like you did the second half the first half and then see what happens. So I got to keep working with them and see if I can get them playing two halves.
Q. On why the season has gone off the rails…
WOODSON: We're young, missing our senior point guard, trying to play a freshman at point guard. It's tough. You know, Gallo struggled tonight trying to play the point with his six turnovers. It's a lot that comes in play with that.
We played well enough this year in spurts, but not well enough to complete ball games. That's what makes it frustrating.
Q. On what the players are experiencing with the adversity…
WOODSON: Well, they're down a little bit. You expect to be down. The only way you come out of a rut, come out of a situation that we're in, you got work your way through it.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for Indiana basketball. They're not. My locker room is down. As a coach I got to keep pumping them up and see if I can get them to overcome being down and get us back into winning ways.
Q. On how practice has been…
WOODSON: Practice has been pretty good. But, again, when you get smacked in the face like we did the first half, you're not going to beat anyone. We didn't compete. I thought the second half we competed.
Cut it to three and then we stopped competing. We missed free throws, didn't shoot the three ball. We were 4 for 21 from the three point line. We missed ten free throws. I mean, you cut the lead to three in a close game, those are plays you got complete.
I thought we didn't and they did during that 14 and 0 run they made.
Q. On the struggles at home…
WOODSON: Not putting full games together. That's what frustrating. You have to win at home in the Big10. I said that when I first walked through this door. It's always been that way. Figure the road out when you get out there, but you can't lose games at home.
Now we lost more games at home this year than we have in the last two years, and that's kind of frustrating.
Q. On the second half runs and what is missing to sustain the efforts…
WOODSON: You got to do everything right when you put yourself in a position. Ohio State game we did everything right coming down the stretch. Let's me know they're still ticking because they didn't quit. Came out second half and they made a game out of it for a while.
When we did cut it to three I thought we stopped executing, threw the ball away a few times, and took some bad shots, and defensively didn't get the stops we got prior to getting the lead to three. Almost you got to play a perfect came coming down the stretch especially after being down 20.
TREY GALLOWAY | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On what happened in the first half…
GALLOWAY: They just -- we weren't up to touch on a lot of things they were doing. They were comfortable and made a lot of shots, and it affected us and they got that lead.
Q. On dealing with the boos…
GALLOWAY: I mean, it's part it. I can't worry about that. I got worry about helping my team, and we got to be focused on each other and can't worry about the outside noise. Just be a unit and stick together.
Q. On being a leader through the tough times…
GALLOWAY: Like I said, we got to really stick together. We're right there and we show spurts where we can be really good. Like I said, just stick together.
Q. On confidence as a team shooting the ball…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I think just going up to the line or when we get the chance to make the shots we got to make them. It's us just talking to each other and giving each other confidence and pulling each other up.
Q. On the message for the guys left out of the shortened rotation…
GALLOWAY: Stay ready because there is -- we got five games left, so going to need those guys. Just got stick together.
MACKENZIE MGBAKO | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On his play coming together and scoring 22 points tonight…
MGBAKO: Just playing more through the offense and taking what the defense gives me and being aggressive so I can help out the team.
Q. On what is working in his recent success…
MGBAKO: I think driving the basketball and then creating and driving and getting to the cup.
FRED HOIBERG | NEBRASKA HEAD COACH
Q. On what was said during the timeout following the Indiana run…
HOIBERG: The thing that I reminded them at that timeout, I saw a little bit of deer in headlights at that under 12 timeout. I said, " fellas, here's the reality of this situation. Before the game, if you would have said that we had a lead at the under-12 media timeout in the second half, I think we probably would have taken it. so let's get it back, get our poise, get our composure." Sam (Hoiberg) made a big steal for us to get it going. Then Jamarques (Lawrence) jut made play after play after play for us down the stretch. Brice (Williams) made some big defensive plays. Josiah (Allick) I thought was active all over the place. Juwan (Gary) and Rienk (Mast) as a facilitator. I think that everyone that stepped onto the floor made a positive impact for us. The thing that I was most pleased with, (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall) was electric. It got rolling in there and we found a way (to win). We had not done that. At Minnesota we let one slip away. At Rutgers in the second half we let it slip away. To find a way to build (the lead) back up and respond to the 7-0 run to push it back to double figures was huge. The guys held on and made enough plays down the stretch.
Q. On the differences of the team from last season…
HOIBERG: Last year we played really good basketball in February, and I think that helped us get Brice Williams, Josiah Allick, Brienk Mast and some of the players that we have in here when we had the 5-1 record, best record in the Big Ten, in February. This si the time of year that you want to play your best. We are coming off of three really good performances right now. Two good home games and found a way to get a huge road win. The struggles are obviously well documented for our team. We got a great win against Kansas State in the preseason on the road, and then to get this one tonight was huge. It's big for confidence to know that we can do it. Now we have to find a way to get back. We're playing a hell of a team on Sunday. Minnesota is playing as good as anybody in our league right now. We are going to have our hands full with that game, but I know we are going to have a great crowd. It's going to be a sellout, and our guys are going to be excited to play
Q. On the three point shooting…
HOIBERG: In the first half, Keisei (Tominaga) just found a way to make ridiculously tough shots. He shot the one from a step or two inside the logo and you live with those with Keisei. Im really proud of Jamarques. He has been putting so much time and work into his shot. He's getting in the gym, he's always one of the first ones in there and he's always coming back for an extra session. To see that pay off in a 5-5 night from three, and big ones that really helped us keep that lead at double digits was huge. Keisei obviously had a heater going in the first half, Jamarques when we were walking off the court at halftime said "Coach, keep running that play for keisei." We were running one little action for him and when (Indiana) chased him we got it in the paint, and when they went under he got a shot. It was good recognition by the guy that was setting the table for us out there. That's one thing that I am really proud of, not only the 19 points, but the five assists and one turnover. It's fun to see when a guy is putting the work in, it pays off for him and that's what's going on with Jamarques right now. This is three really good games in a row for him.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Indiana vs. Nebraska
Feb. 21, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the first half struggles…
WOODSON: When you give up 51 points in the Big10 in a half, you're not going to beat anybody.
Yeah, we played great the second half to get back in it to cut it to three, but we had no defensive effort I thought the first half. We just weren't up to touch. They made some tough threes, but you can't have to halves like that.
You have to have a half like you did the second half the first half and then see what happens. So I got to keep working with them and see if I can get them playing two halves.
Q. On why the season has gone off the rails…
WOODSON: We're young, missing our senior point guard, trying to play a freshman at point guard. It's tough. You know, Gallo struggled tonight trying to play the point with his six turnovers. It's a lot that comes in play with that.
We played well enough this year in spurts, but not well enough to complete ball games. That's what makes it frustrating.
Q. On what the players are experiencing with the adversity…
WOODSON: Well, they're down a little bit. You expect to be down. The only way you come out of a rut, come out of a situation that we're in, you got work your way through it.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for Indiana basketball. They're not. My locker room is down. As a coach I got to keep pumping them up and see if I can get them to overcome being down and get us back into winning ways.
Q. On how practice has been…
WOODSON: Practice has been pretty good. But, again, when you get smacked in the face like we did the first half, you're not going to beat anyone. We didn't compete. I thought the second half we competed.
Cut it to three and then we stopped competing. We missed free throws, didn't shoot the three ball. We were 4 for 21 from the three point line. We missed ten free throws. I mean, you cut the lead to three in a close game, those are plays you got complete.
I thought we didn't and they did during that 14 and 0 run they made.
Q. On the struggles at home…
WOODSON: Not putting full games together. That's what frustrating. You have to win at home in the Big10. I said that when I first walked through this door. It's always been that way. Figure the road out when you get out there, but you can't lose games at home.
Now we lost more games at home this year than we have in the last two years, and that's kind of frustrating.
Q. On the second half runs and what is missing to sustain the efforts…
WOODSON: You got to do everything right when you put yourself in a position. Ohio State game we did everything right coming down the stretch. Let's me know they're still ticking because they didn't quit. Came out second half and they made a game out of it for a while.
When we did cut it to three I thought we stopped executing, threw the ball away a few times, and took some bad shots, and defensively didn't get the stops we got prior to getting the lead to three. Almost you got to play a perfect came coming down the stretch especially after being down 20.
TREY GALLOWAY | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On what happened in the first half…
GALLOWAY: They just -- we weren't up to touch on a lot of things they were doing. They were comfortable and made a lot of shots, and it affected us and they got that lead.
Q. On dealing with the boos…
GALLOWAY: I mean, it's part it. I can't worry about that. I got worry about helping my team, and we got to be focused on each other and can't worry about the outside noise. Just be a unit and stick together.
Q. On being a leader through the tough times…
GALLOWAY: Like I said, we got to really stick together. We're right there and we show spurts where we can be really good. Like I said, just stick together.
Q. On confidence as a team shooting the ball…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I think just going up to the line or when we get the chance to make the shots we got to make them. It's us just talking to each other and giving each other confidence and pulling each other up.
Q. On the message for the guys left out of the shortened rotation…
GALLOWAY: Stay ready because there is -- we got five games left, so going to need those guys. Just got stick together.
MACKENZIE MGBAKO | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On his play coming together and scoring 22 points tonight…
MGBAKO: Just playing more through the offense and taking what the defense gives me and being aggressive so I can help out the team.
Q. On what is working in his recent success…
MGBAKO: I think driving the basketball and then creating and driving and getting to the cup.
FRED HOIBERG | NEBRASKA HEAD COACH
Q. On what was said during the timeout following the Indiana run…
HOIBERG: The thing that I reminded them at that timeout, I saw a little bit of deer in headlights at that under 12 timeout. I said, " fellas, here's the reality of this situation. Before the game, if you would have said that we had a lead at the under-12 media timeout in the second half, I think we probably would have taken it. so let's get it back, get our poise, get our composure." Sam (Hoiberg) made a big steal for us to get it going. Then Jamarques (Lawrence) jut made play after play after play for us down the stretch. Brice (Williams) made some big defensive plays. Josiah (Allick) I thought was active all over the place. Juwan (Gary) and Rienk (Mast) as a facilitator. I think that everyone that stepped onto the floor made a positive impact for us. The thing that I was most pleased with, (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall) was electric. It got rolling in there and we found a way (to win). We had not done that. At Minnesota we let one slip away. At Rutgers in the second half we let it slip away. To find a way to build (the lead) back up and respond to the 7-0 run to push it back to double figures was huge. The guys held on and made enough plays down the stretch.
Q. On the differences of the team from last season…
HOIBERG: Last year we played really good basketball in February, and I think that helped us get Brice Williams, Josiah Allick, Brienk Mast and some of the players that we have in here when we had the 5-1 record, best record in the Big Ten, in February. This si the time of year that you want to play your best. We are coming off of three really good performances right now. Two good home games and found a way to get a huge road win. The struggles are obviously well documented for our team. We got a great win against Kansas State in the preseason on the road, and then to get this one tonight was huge. It's big for confidence to know that we can do it. Now we have to find a way to get back. We're playing a hell of a team on Sunday. Minnesota is playing as good as anybody in our league right now. We are going to have our hands full with that game, but I know we are going to have a great crowd. It's going to be a sellout, and our guys are going to be excited to play
Q. On the three point shooting…
HOIBERG: In the first half, Keisei (Tominaga) just found a way to make ridiculously tough shots. He shot the one from a step or two inside the logo and you live with those with Keisei. Im really proud of Jamarques. He has been putting so much time and work into his shot. He's getting in the gym, he's always one of the first ones in there and he's always coming back for an extra session. To see that pay off in a 5-5 night from three, and big ones that really helped us keep that lead at double digits was huge. Keisei obviously had a heater going in the first half, Jamarques when we were walking off the court at halftime said "Coach, keep running that play for keisei." We were running one little action for him and when (Indiana) chased him we got it in the paint, and when they went under he got a shot. It was good recognition by the guy that was setting the table for us out there. That's one thing that I am really proud of, not only the 19 points, but the five assists and one turnover. It's fun to see when a guy is putting the work in, it pays off for him and that's what's going on with Jamarques right now. This is three really good games in a row for him.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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