Coach Collins:
Opening statement:
On the team's current mentality:
Our mantra has been this is an 18-round fight, to try not to get discouraged by losing a round. We can still get to the ninth seed in the tournament. For us to be able to get to that without one of our best players for the whole year (Vic Law) is big, there's a lot left on the table.
On why he went to the full-court press:
I think more than anything, watching film, we felt good about the matchup. I didn't want to start the game sluggish and sitting back in a zone. If it didn't work early I would have got out of it, but thought it was effective. It's something we have moving forward.
On the team's mental toughness:
At the end of games, lack of toughness has reared its head a little bit. Our younger guys, we're still evolving. The good programs, they win those close games. You could flip probably four of our games, we played well enough to win... The staff has been trying to be a little less tough on guys, a little looser.. these kids are kids. If you see the ball go in, your confidence will go up. It was great to see going into the final week of the season.
On the team's 45-25 edge in rebounding:
Total rebounding number can be skewed, because as well as we shot it they won't have many defensive rebounds. Loved our energy on offensive rebounding (18 total). To lose by nine (rebounds) to Michigan, that was a toughness thing in my opinion, I think we did a much better job on the glass today.
On the seniors' sense of urgency:
There's always a sense of urgency that the older guys have. You talk to the team about matching what they're feeling...There's a tendency for younger players to think you have a lot of time, but you don't. Wants to see them play with the same sense of urgency as the older players.
On McIntosh coming up one shy of Pat Baldwin's single-game record of 14 assists:
It shows how loyal I am to my coaching staff. coach Baldwin is my guy. It shows how selfless Pat is. I was going to take Bryant out. I'm a big believer in the basketball gods, they punish you when you don't handle things right. I learned from coach K, but coach Baldwin asked me to give him one minute, he asked to give him one or two possessions to try to tie him. I think Pat knows Bryant is going to break a lot of those assist records.
On the reserves getting playing time:
Charlie deserved a lot of time, he's been putting in work..but it's not about trying to get him a shot. Our goal when we play, we want to play the right way. I know the crowd wanted to see 100 points. Skelly should have made the two free throws (he missed two with 44 second left, then Northwestern ran the clock out rather than trying to score). I've been on the bench when Michigan State or Indiana is pounding us. We've all been on both sides. You handle things the right way.
Tre Demps:
On his sense of urgency:
There's a sense of urgency that comes naturally when you realize the games are winding down. You don't want any regrets, you want to leave it out on the court every day, every game, every practice.
On the team's Big Ten standing (the bottom four seeds have to play an extra game in the tournament. Northwestern plays both Nebraska and Penn State, who are also vying for the ninth and tenth seeds, later this week):
We definitely don't want to play on the first day. Right now there are three team competing for two spots. It's an incredible opportunity, we expect those games to be high-intensity. There's a lot left to play for.
On enjoying the reserves getting playing time:
I definitely enjoy that. I think overall, everyone's just happy to have a lead like that. It's not about individuals doing well... you work with them every day, you're just happy for them when you see them do well in games.
We're all a team. You always wanna see your teammates do well. It's not always scoring, it could be a hustle play, taking a charge. It's a team effort... we're just trying to build habits heading into this last stretch.
On McIntosh's play:
I think Bryant did an unbelievable job getting into the paint. When you get a paint touch to a kick-out 3, those are the easiest ones to shoot. We did a really good job sharing the ball, we were ready to play. (Northwestern assisted on 33 of its 37 field goals)
Bryant McIntosh:
When he started thinking about breaking Baldwin's record:
At halftime. We were talking about it in the locker room. Says Collins got on him for not taking open shots, but he had his eyes on the record. Pat told him he wanted to see him break it.
On the full-court press:
Thought it really took Rutgers out of what they wanted to do. It's tough to run a Princeton offense when you only have 18 seconds once the offense is set.
On what the team has to do moving forward:
Just becoming mentally tougher, especially when the games are close. We had key breakdowns at Michigan, to win games in this league you have to be mentally tough.
Opening statement:
On the team's current mentality:
Our mantra has been this is an 18-round fight, to try not to get discouraged by losing a round. We can still get to the ninth seed in the tournament. For us to be able to get to that without one of our best players for the whole year (Vic Law) is big, there's a lot left on the table.
On why he went to the full-court press:
I think more than anything, watching film, we felt good about the matchup. I didn't want to start the game sluggish and sitting back in a zone. If it didn't work early I would have got out of it, but thought it was effective. It's something we have moving forward.
On the team's mental toughness:
At the end of games, lack of toughness has reared its head a little bit. Our younger guys, we're still evolving. The good programs, they win those close games. You could flip probably four of our games, we played well enough to win... The staff has been trying to be a little less tough on guys, a little looser.. these kids are kids. If you see the ball go in, your confidence will go up. It was great to see going into the final week of the season.
On the team's 45-25 edge in rebounding:
Total rebounding number can be skewed, because as well as we shot it they won't have many defensive rebounds. Loved our energy on offensive rebounding (18 total). To lose by nine (rebounds) to Michigan, that was a toughness thing in my opinion, I think we did a much better job on the glass today.
On the seniors' sense of urgency:
There's always a sense of urgency that the older guys have. You talk to the team about matching what they're feeling...There's a tendency for younger players to think you have a lot of time, but you don't. Wants to see them play with the same sense of urgency as the older players.
On McIntosh coming up one shy of Pat Baldwin's single-game record of 14 assists:
It shows how loyal I am to my coaching staff. coach Baldwin is my guy. It shows how selfless Pat is. I was going to take Bryant out. I'm a big believer in the basketball gods, they punish you when you don't handle things right. I learned from coach K, but coach Baldwin asked me to give him one minute, he asked to give him one or two possessions to try to tie him. I think Pat knows Bryant is going to break a lot of those assist records.
On the reserves getting playing time:
Charlie deserved a lot of time, he's been putting in work..but it's not about trying to get him a shot. Our goal when we play, we want to play the right way. I know the crowd wanted to see 100 points. Skelly should have made the two free throws (he missed two with 44 second left, then Northwestern ran the clock out rather than trying to score). I've been on the bench when Michigan State or Indiana is pounding us. We've all been on both sides. You handle things the right way.
Tre Demps:
On his sense of urgency:
There's a sense of urgency that comes naturally when you realize the games are winding down. You don't want any regrets, you want to leave it out on the court every day, every game, every practice.
On the team's Big Ten standing (the bottom four seeds have to play an extra game in the tournament. Northwestern plays both Nebraska and Penn State, who are also vying for the ninth and tenth seeds, later this week):
We definitely don't want to play on the first day. Right now there are three team competing for two spots. It's an incredible opportunity, we expect those games to be high-intensity. There's a lot left to play for.
On enjoying the reserves getting playing time:
I definitely enjoy that. I think overall, everyone's just happy to have a lead like that. It's not about individuals doing well... you work with them every day, you're just happy for them when you see them do well in games.
We're all a team. You always wanna see your teammates do well. It's not always scoring, it could be a hustle play, taking a charge. It's a team effort... we're just trying to build habits heading into this last stretch.
On McIntosh's play:
I think Bryant did an unbelievable job getting into the paint. When you get a paint touch to a kick-out 3, those are the easiest ones to shoot. We did a really good job sharing the ball, we were ready to play. (Northwestern assisted on 33 of its 37 field goals)
Bryant McIntosh:
When he started thinking about breaking Baldwin's record:
At halftime. We were talking about it in the locker room. Says Collins got on him for not taking open shots, but he had his eyes on the record. Pat told him he wanted to see him break it.
On the full-court press:
Thought it really took Rutgers out of what they wanted to do. It's tough to run a Princeton offense when you only have 18 seconds once the offense is set.
On what the team has to do moving forward:
Just becoming mentally tougher, especially when the games are close. We had key breakdowns at Michigan, to win games in this league you have to be mentally tough.