Feb. 28, 2012
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan
On whether the number of fouls made it hard to find a rhythm:
“We’ve been in games like this. This is Big Ten basketball. If they’re fouls, they’re going to get called, and there were several of them, obviously. You try your best; you try to get into position when you’re on defense. You try to do certain things, but it was difficult to stop the ball both ways.”
On if travel played a part in the team’s slow start:
“None, really. Minnesota played hard. They took certain things away and gave us certain things. They gave us some great 3-point looks, but that’s happened to us three or four times this year where we get those looks and just need to hit 33 percent of them. But when you shoot the percentage that we did and you’re not getting any putbacks, not getting much inside—they did a good job of taking that away, then you take what they give you. But you’ve got to hit some shots.”
On his belief Minnesota’s player was inside the restricted area on the charge turned basket:
“What else would I be pointing at? You’re allowed to do that [ask the officials to talk it over]. We got a video at the beginning of the year that said the official that made the call, if he’s not sure, he can go ask another official. It’s right in the video. The problem is the officials have to make it ‘bang-bang’.”
On what offensive improvements the Badgers made in the second half:
“Those 3s that we hit early certainly made a difference with the score. Once we got it to where it was tied, and they were playing physical, we got to the foul line. I think it was eight on them, two on us. Next thing I know, I look up and it’s 8-8, so we were getting a little too physical. So it ended up being a game that pretty much came down to free throws, aside from those 3s we hit.”
On whether the technical he received jump-started the team:
“Well they see me like that in practice once in a while. If that’s what it takes, coaches would do that all the time. Very simply, it was our ball out-of-bounds, we get to the ball to run our press break, how can you run your press break when the other team’s standing out-of-bounds with the basketball? I said, “Isn’t that a technical?” That was my question. If we don’t get it in, they bring all their guys down. Their guys were not ready to press at that time. I had an opinion, and evidently I was wrong.”
Senior G Jordan Taylor
On the team being tired due to playing on Sunday:
“I don’t think it was a big thing; they played Sunday. I think at this point in the season you just have to come out and play. We didn’t do a great job coming out with a lot of energy, but we did find a way in the second half to turn it around a little bit.”
On having a bye in the Big Ten Tournament:
“Anytime you can play, to win less games to get to your ultimate goal, it’s always a good thing. Playing three instead of four will definitely help. We play Illinois on Sunday. They have been struggling but they have a lot of talent over there. It is a game we have to go in and play with more energy.”
Junior F Mike Bruesewitz
On the team being tired due to playing on Sunday:
“At this point of the season I think everyone is at the same level. You can’t say you’re tired, because everybody is tired. We have played the same amount of games. Playoffs are just around the corner so we have to be excited about that. I don’t think it was an issue. Both teams just came out a little flat.”
On the charge call:
“I didn’t really see it, I thought I could have dunked the ball. I thought I got there and he was inside the circle, that’s why I went up. Coach [Bo] Ryan always tells us to attack in the circle. So I thought I got there and he called a charge. It kind of came together, and I waited for him to hopefully overturn it. That was my third foul; I thought I was going to be sitting on the bench.”
Junior F Ryan Evans
On the shot percentage in the second half:
“The first half, it was ugly. Coach [Ryan] gave us a good speech at halftime. We wanted to come back and bounce back. I am just glad we got the opportunity to go back out there and do it again.”
On the Badgers’ key to success:
“Basically don’t turn the ball over. And that’s saying it in a nice way. But yeah, getting to the free throw line was basically huge in this game. Jordan [Taylor] had 12 [free throw attempts], I had 6. So yeah, that was definitely big in the stretch. There were a lot of whistles in this game, so just knocking those down. I think [Minnesota] kind of struggled in the stretch, and their free throws kind of hurt them.”
On the shooting in the first half:
“I think it may have gotten a little stagnant there in the first half. We shot 19 percent. I don’t think the guys had a lot of confidence at that time. But we came back in the second half, and we were all looking to shoot, and created more movement in the offense, and we just started rolling that way.”
Minnesota Head Coach Tubby Smith
On how he would describe the game tonight:
“The way we played, from our standpoint, we couldn’t make a shot at all. I don’t know why we can’t finish around the basket. It was an ugly game as far as how we shot the ball, but I thought it was a very well-defended game. I thought the defense was outstanding on their part. I thought we did a good job defensively. They made some deep shots on us. I thought it was a great college basketball game in that regard.”
On if it was hard for either team to get in an offensive rhythm with all the fouls:
“Well, that’s the way it is, and both teams are being aggressive defensively and try and challenge everyone on the shot and at the basket. [The officials] call what they see, and I’m sure they probably feel like there’s a lot more calls they could have made."
On the explanation he got on the overturned charge call toward the end of the game:
“I mean, who knows? You don’t get one. You got to huddle like that and change a call? You kidding me? It’s a joke. It really is."
On if different distractions are affecting the play of Minnesota’s athletes?
“No, I think this is the body of the whole journey. It’s usually team, internal things that we have to address. I think there are distractions, whether it’s with your girlfriend, doing what you’re supposed to do or maybe it’s something at home.”
