Tom Izzo Quotes on Games (19 Quotes)

I'm not a record guy. I don't need to win 700 games, I don't need to have 20 straight 20-win seasons ... and I don't need to get in the NCAA tournament every year if we're not worthy of being in it. If we're not playing good enough or we can't win a game, it just doesn't turn me on.

Sometimes I see things he can do, and I do shake my head. He's very, very athletic for a big kid and he's a very intelligent player. But when you start your career, you can get labeled, whether you're labeled soft or whatever. I've been hard on him, but in the big games, he has shined.

It's a big loss for us in games coming up. It's disappointing because he was playing better. We're not the most physical team, and he brings a little physicality to us. He's a versatile guy who can guard on the perimeter and guard big guys inside.

Shannon Brown does have a knack for rising to the occasion in big games. He kind of thrives on the pressure. When I told him he had to take over a little bit, he did it in such a controlled way - even with that dunk he had, one of the best I've ever seen here.

Our biggest problem was there was no spacing between those tough games. We kept losing and having to play another great team right away. I still think good schedules make you better in the long run. I don't mind losing because that's how you figure out what's wrong, but you have to do it within reason.

I still think we've got a lot to play for. The problem is the games aren't going to get any easier.

Well, I'm happiest for Maurice (Ager). To his credit he had some tough games. He came up and talked to me after the Iowa game and said he was working hard and getting his rest, and he really needed to have a good game. I thought he was excellent.

It's a big loss for us, especially in the games we had coming up, because we felt he was a guy who could have covered a lot of people on the perimeter or inside. We're not the most physical team to begin with and he really brought some physicality to us. But maybe more importantly, I think he's a versatile guy who can guard guards on the perimeter, and he can guard big guys inside. We just don't have many guys who are able to do that.

Paul, Mo, Shannon were just not the same players tonight. For 12 of 13 games, I thought that our three star players were as consistent as any group I've coached over the years, and tonight for whatever reason, we weren't as consistent.

We played Gonzaga, we played Arizona, we played all these overtime games, and I told (my team during a late-game huddle ) I thought we've earned the right to win this game. I felt, looking at them in the eye, that they were looking back at me saying, 'Damn right we do, and we're going to get it done.' And that was encouraging.

It reminds you of the NBA draft. If you play well at the end of the year one time, the other 30 games don't matter. There are times we could be a five, six, seven or an eight team. It just depends.

As far as my confidence in the team, as crazy as it sounds, I still think we have a chance to win our last two games. If we do that, I think we go into the Big Ten Tournament on a high and have every bit a chance to win as anybody else.

Whenever you lose a few games, especially when you have a pretty good team, you're concerned about how fast things can slide.

It's going to be sad to see some seniors go that have done a lot of things for us, won a lot of games.

I still think this team is good enough to win some big games. This is a talented basketball team with good guys that has had a horrendous schedule and it's taken its toll.

We didn't get beat by some chopped-liver team. I mean, don't kid yourself They're going to win a lot of games -- a lot of games.

It's great to have our league being talked about and see that we're making some strides. It's an exciting time, yet it's a tough time because so many good teams are coming up. You can get on a heck of a run in a negative way pretty quick if you lose a few games.

I see this being a good enough basketball team to win a lot of games yet.

I think that will be one of the keys to the season, will we survive if we lose two games, three games, maybe even five ... The problem nowadays with the Internet and talk radio -- all of a sudden everyone's getting down on you, and your confidence can go down.