Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Northwestern
February 1, 2018
Kohl Center  |  Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard
 
Opening statement:
"If we can erase the 18-1 start, some of the things we did there early on both ends of the floor, the way we battled back to do that defensively in the second half, to have a chance at to cut it down to 5, there were a lot of good things that came out of that. I thought that Khalil (Iverson) through the first couple plays is a guy that is really growing and maturing and improving in front of us, so I'm really happy with that. Obviously, not happy with the outcome, but as I told the team, don't dig yourself in a 18-1 hole, it's a lot easier to come back and make a run. I knew we'd have to make shots and knock in some 3s with how they compress the paint and what they do within the zone and how they were matching up. You're going to get some looks, you're going to have to knock them down and we were not obviously able to do enough of that and did not have a good enough start in the first four minutes."

Wisconsin Junior Forward Ethan Happ
 
On what needs to change:
"I'm not really sure if there's just one thing. It's just tough. We've got to play a full 40 minutes. We haven't found that in the last few games, playing a full 40 minutes solidly on both ends. Shots might not go in, but we need to be there mentally and on the defensive end every game."

Wisconsin Junior Forward Khalil Iverson
 
On what the older players need to do to propel a turnaround:
"I think we just have to come together and start playing as one. That's the most important thing. We can't have guys going off on their own or doing anything like that. I just think it starts with everyone playing hard and playing hard as one, just getting things done."

Wisconsin Freshman Guard Brad Davison
 
On if the team feels discouraged after tonight's game:
"It's definitely frustrating. No one here is used to losing. That's not what Wisconsin Basketball is about, and that's not what it's going to be about. It's definitely frustrating, but that's the mindset you have to have: each game you try to improve, and each practice you try to improve. We can't get discouraged. We have to keep the faith, we have to have confidence. When you lose the faith and get discouraged, that's when it gets tough. So, we're not going to do that. We're going to keep working, we're going to keep pushing, keep trying to improve. We've still got a lot of opportunities in front of us in the Big Ten Tournament, so we've just got to keep working."

Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins
 
Opening statement:
"We're obviously feeling great about getting the win tonight. We had a stretch of three-straight road games (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin) and to be able to win two of three is a big week for us. We feel we got off to a great start tonight that set the tone. I was really proud of how we were really sharp to start the game on both ends. Offensively and our defense for the most part of the entire game held them there. It's not easy when you're dealing with a kid like (Ethan) Happ. He's such a unique player and they move him all over the court. He can pass, score and make plays, so I was proud of our communication tonight against him. The last couple games our defense has been dialed in, and obviously that's a big reason why we won tonight."