Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening Statement:
"Obviously really proud of my team. It's a great win. We beat a really good team. We still did the same things down the stretch that we've been doing all year - we turned it over, we fouled, but in the end, we were good enough to overcome it. Great execution against them,1-3-1 late, it's a really good zone, really long zone, showed a play we hadn't shown, and Stix (Jalen Smith) made a big-time play. I'm really happy for our guys. We've lost some games like that and to get one was great. They ran a hell of a play with 3.8 but my guys did everything right. Last year at Michigan we did everything wrong. This year we did everything right, so that's a good sign for me as a coach."
 
On Ricky Lindo during the last play of the game:
"Thank God we had a timeout. It really helped us. I almost kept Stix in the game, then at the end I subbed Ricky in. I just felt like he could. I felt there wasn't going to be a three-type deal and at the start he guarded a little bit better on the perimeter there. It was a big time play by Ricky. Ricky is really coming, and Stix had a better second half. I thought Serrel gave us great minutes in the second half, but we need that for a confidence builder. We weren't terrific down the stretch, but we were good enough to win by two."
 
On beating a ranked team at home:
"We have the fifth youngest team in the country, so our guys are doing great. I'm really proud of them and we are getting better and I'm just glad we won. We still made the same mistakes, three turnovers, a little bit of a panic. We have a young team, unbelievably young team, and we are doing some really good things and this will give us confidence moving forward. We beat a really old team, a really good team, a really well coached team."
 
On the progression of Jalen Smith throughout the game:
"Yeah, he wasn't very good early, was he? He came out and Ricky was playing really well, and I was going to keep him over there and I was chewing on him, the assistants were chewing on him and then he responded. He got the dunk to start the second half. We ran a play for him, hit the three in the corner then got the three-point play and the point at the end. He learned from the first time when he charged. We need Stix to play like that. When he plays like that we're a much better team. We're getting deeper. I thought Serrel had great minutes in the second half. Serrel was terrific, he missed a dunk, but his defense was great and so we are growing up right before your eyes."
 
On Bruno Fernando and his ability to take charge on the court:
"He's growing up. I'm really proud of him. They guard us a little bit different than everybody else has been guarding us. They dug hard, we got better against that, then in the second they started doubling so it's just recognizing the situations, but he's been a great leader in practice and this was a great win. We played well, really well at times and did some things, but we're getting better every day in practice and Bruno is a big part of that and Anthony is a big part of that. The young guys, it normally takes a couple weeks until it starts coming out on the floor so I'm excited about what lies ahead for us because we just continue to do better. Bruno, they're going to double him, they're going to dig hard to get on the boards and get rebounds so our box out. He wants to win and he wants to win badly, and it shows."
 
On not calling a timeout before Jalen Smith's floater:
"Because it's hard enough to go against that 1-3-1. They were going to do it either way and I just think it's easier sometimes to save the timeout in case we needed it so it's kind of a philosophy I have. We had drawn something up in a timeout a couple plays before so everybody knew exactly where to go and then Stix just made a big time play."
 
On Anthony Cowan Jr. shooting the ball and the importance of his play:
"Anthony hit some big shots for us and he really played well. You know what, one thing we've really gotten better at is screening. We had some really good screens out there tonight its really been helping us, but Anthony made some really big shots out of bounds and then made a big three away from our bench. I'm happy for Anthony. Anthony has really grown up because it's all about winning and his body language was better and it's all about winning. It's great to see this. I keep telling you it's a great team to coach. We have to enjoy this one. It's hard to win but just don't forget how young this team is and what they're doing."
 
On the stretch at the beginning of the second half when they were down eight:
"We've been able to dig back then we lose, then we dig back, then we lose and that's kind of who we are right now, but we were down eight and they missed four free throws thankfully. It could have been worse. We were 1-11. We felt really good to be 1-11 and it only be like five or six down at that point, so we kept telling the guys we're in great shape and we're going to start making shots and executing and get our defense going. We did that, so we felt fortunate to only be down by eight at that point then I saw Serrel was good, Aaron Wiggins was good. I had some funny lineups in there and the guys played great."

Junior Point Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.
On how important it is to have a close game and a win for the mindset of the team:
"I think it was a huge win, we prepared really well for this game. I think coach had us ready to the best of his ability. I think it was a big win, especially for us to be such a young team and to be able to handle such a big game. I think they said that was the first time we beat a ranked team since 2016."  

On what it means to him to beat a ranked team:
"I wasn't really looking at the ranking I was just wanted to win a close game. Those games really slipped away from us previously so it was good to have one back today."

On the focus down the stretch:
"Get stops, control the pace, and just don't turn the ball over. That's basically what we had to do. Coach put us in a position to be successful today and it showed."
 
Sophomore Forward Bruno Fernando
On how Jalen responded between the first and second half:
"It was big time for us, we need a lot more of that from him. I knew he was going to respond because he was focused on the game plan. For him not playing last game and coming in focused the way he did and making sure he stays within us on our end of the game plan and everything we did on the court it means a lot. Like that big time shot that he made at the end we need more of that and to see him doing that it was good for us."

On having flashbacks to the Michigan game last year:
"I am not even trying to think about that, I was just trying to get a stop and that's what we did."

On how important this win is to the confidence of the team:
"It was extremely important, but I think we all believed that we could win a game like this. In the locker room…we knew we were able to win this game. We knew it was going to be a close game that comes down to the end. We just had to stay focused, and I think we did during the second half at the very end. I think the last 10 minutes we played was the best defensive game we played. We were connected on defense, talking to each other and we did everything right. I think that's all the help that is really important."
 
On the team giving the coach a shower after the game:
"Oh yeah, we needed to get that one for him. He works extremely hard for us."
 
Freshman Forward Jalen Smith
On the difference in his performance on the first half to the second:
"Pretty much just a confidence boost. The coaches told me don't take a backseat to anybody, I can play with anybody on the court and just to keep shooting my shot and let the game come to me. So it just pretty much boosted my confidence."

On what being able to produce points in different ways does to his confidence:
"It helps a lot because now teams have to scout my versatility and see if they want to play me inside or play me outside and pretty much how they are going to base their whole defense."

On making a mental note on the charge he had in the first quarter:
"Yeah, Coach Bino told me that I should have lobbed it up and floated in the rim, I just remembered that when the guy stepped up again."

On how significant it was for the team to come back:
"It means a lot. It shows that we buckle down when the time comes and we focused on everything Coach Turgeon told us to do. Just remain focused and make sure we still play as a team and play the way we usually play."

On his performance during the first half:
"I think it was the nerves of  Big Ten play, not to say that the other games didn't count but now these games really really count. That was pretty much a nerve thing. And pretty much getting back on the floor and getting used to the pace again."