Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
Jan. 12, 2017
Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.

Head Coach Greg Gard
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, I love the way our guys responded tonight from a standpoint not only that coming off Sunday of that game and how we performed inconsistently there, but also knowing that we were going to face a team tonight in Ohio State that was trying to get back on the right track. They had made runs in the games that they've played back at teams and it was important for us to jump out right away and make sure we had our foot down and not let them try to get some confidence going. So, not only the guys that start for me, but obviously with (Zak) Showalter getting in foul trouble early, having to go to the bench a little bit sooner or deeper, (I'm) happy for our guys that came off the bench and really helped us and we were able to—obviously, with the score and how the game played out allowed us to get them some more experience—but they've also been working on it in practice. (I'm) happy to see what they've been working on, how they've stayed with it, haven't whined or complained or done anything like that. (They've) Just kept working every day and knowing that every day is an opportunity for them to get better and take advantage of that and happy for them to get in there and have some of that success tonight."
 
On Bronson Koenig's aggressiveness:
"Well, he's one of the better players in the country when he does do that. I think that's obviously him being more aggressive, but I also think his teammates' spacing and movement away from the ball, there wasn't help readily available. I think we moved pretty well without the ball and it allowed him, not only him, we were able to get to the rim with others at times. The nice thing about our guys is that whether they're a freshman or a senior, or anywhere in between, they want to get better. Bronson has constantly talked about things and looked at things and how he can get better and how he can improve. He's never quite satisfied with where he is and being more aggressive is one of the things that he talked about and ok, it's one thing to say you're going to be more aggressive and how are we going to do it? How can we adjust some things? Is it coming off of screens better? Is it playing more downhill? Is it being stronger with the ball? Finishing stronger at the rim? He's always looking to improve so it's a mark of a very good player."

Senior Bronson Koenig
On playing more aggressive tonight:
"That's something I've been trying to find a balance with all year, my whole career actually. When to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive. Like you said, I went to the basket my first attempt and missed it. I missed my first three shots actually and got down on myself a little bit, but I just tried not to fall in that trap of deferring. That's what I did. I stayed on the exact same rhythm."
 
On bouncing back as a team, especially from deep:
"Yeah I feel like honestly over my three and a half, four years or whatever, after a shooting performance like that it's always nice to come home. I feel we always shoot really well. I'm pretty sure we shot really well against them last year and it was good to finally see the ball going in for everybody."
 
Senior Nigel Hayes
On having his parents in the crowd:
"It's really good. I love my mother. I'm a momma's boy, so it's always great to see her cheering. I've got the best mom. She not only cheers for me, but she cheers for everyone. Sometimes she cheers for guys on the other team if they're doing well or she likes them, so it's always good to have her be the loudest one in the gym."
 
Senior Vitto Brown
On the bench's performance and taking advantage of their opportunities:
"Coach (Greg) Gard does a great job everyday of telling guys to be ready for situations like these where they have to go in and make sure that there's not a big drop off in production because you'll never know when we'll be in foul trouble like we were against Purdue. We have to count on those guys to come in and make plays for us so that was good."

Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta 
On why Ohio State wasn't able to answer Wisconsin in the first half:
"I don't know. This has been a common theme against us this year, two or three 3s at the end of the shot clock in the first half. We just caved in. We've gotta fight. Give them credit, they made big shots. I thought we had some really good looks in the first half and they just wouldn't go down for us. Rebounding the basketball, we just couldn't get a rebound. They had 40 shots to our 25 in the first half. It's going to be hard to win against a team like Wisconsin when that happens."
 
On if OSU played hard enough tonight:
"No, obviously not. Wisconsin's a great rebounding team. We just could not come up with the basketball and we got shoved underneath the basket. We just didn't have it from that perspective."
 
On Bronson Koenig:
"He's a terrific player. For whatever reason, and I said it a couple years ago, when Traevon (Jackson) went down I thought it was good, not for Traevon, but [Bronson] got some big time minutes. I remember saying I thought he was one of the best guards in the Big Ten back then and obviously tonight he played like that."