Opening Statement

Very fortunate to get out of here with a win tonight, in a very pivotal game. We played well in spurts, we just were having trouble putting a really solid performance together for closer to 40 minutes. But it's February, if you can find a way to win and learn some lessons, that's usually the objective. And, but I do think we made enough plays when the game's still, these one and two possession games, our guys, they've been able to get some big stops, they've made big free throws, and came up with some extra possessions.

On getting the sense of of the energy that Will Tschetter would be

Yes, and I had spoken to Coach Howard, I'd spoken to several people, so I already had, I don't want to say an opinion of each of these guys, but I'd heard some really great things about him. I was excited to coach the human Will Tschetter, more than the basketball player from what I'd heard from the previous staff and the people here at Michigan. So, yeah, it's very, very happy for him to have the type of efficient game that he had tonight. He's helped us win so many games this year. And I don't know if I've ever been around a better teammate, maybe some that are as good, but it's nice to see him rewarded for the work he puts in, his consistency, and his approach are impressive.

On taking lessons from the game

That, well, some of them are internal as we talk about lineup combinations and minutes and things like that, but we get loose when we have a lead. And it's been that way all year. And it just, the runs, it causes the other team to go on runs. And I thought Oregon made some uncharacteristic mistakes tonight, to be honest. So maybe it was a result of two teams competing at a high level. I thought they played desperate. Obviously, they've traveled far and been on a tough stretch. But I thought they played to win. I thought our guys played with great intensity and effort. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't anywhere where it's gonna need to be to win. The championships we're trying to win, but I do think we competed and fought at a championship level tonight.

On Nirmari Burnett breaking out of his slump

I thought Nimari made the biggest play of the game. We had the ball up two with 48 seconds, maybe an 18-second difference. And we get it, I think it was a Danny three, and he tips it out to give us the extra possession, which ultimately led to the two free throws. So I thought that play was very symbolic of him just staying the course and trying to find ways to win. He banged in a couple shots. I thought he had a really nice power finish on the other end of the court. It was nice. We haven't finished well at the rim. There were a few drives and finishes today, which gives us hope going forward because they have seven footers, they have good athletes, they have good strength down low. So we're always looking with one eye towards the future of what we need to be able to do better and predict what is gonna ultimately help or hurt us. And so seeing that, but yeah, there was no doubt. I mean, he's the same guy every single day. His approach, his discipline, his work ethic. So he's gonna have some good games, some bad games, but I'm gonna ride with him.

On limiting Oregon's chances down the stretch

I thought we contested well. They made some very tough individual plays. I mean, Shelstad, that was a performance. I mean, he had 18, it felt like 30, cuz they were loud ones. And I thought his ball pressure was a factor for them. But they change defenses, and if you don't move the ball, they're in man, they're in zone, they go with the cutter. So if the ball gets sticky, and we knew if it did, then you're gonna go in some offensive funks. And so we tried to get out in transition before they could get their zone set. And then when we did that, we were pretty effective. But we gotta find a way to get Big Vlad some more touches around the rim and the paint when we do that. I mean, his efficiency is something that we're gonna lean on going forward.

On the floor game offensively when the shots weren't falling

I thought the first half, when we had 41 points, and I thought we played better than our 41 points. We had three or four layups in the first four minutes that just didn't drop. And if you're just evaluating whether the ball goes in or not, then you're resulting. And we love the shots we got. We would take them every day, twice every day of the week, twice on Sunday. They just didn't go down. And so we're just trying to find the high value shots every single possession. And usually if you do that, you're on offensive glass. But yeah, credit to Oregon. I thought Oregon did a nice job down the stretch of bogging us down with their changing defense.

On improvement at the free throw line and winning down the stretch

Well, the free throws are encouraging. I mean, it's not easy to step up in the situation that these guys are and knocking them down. And I think, did Roddy go four for four down the stretch? Roddy went four for four down the stretch, made big, big free throws. We were sound with the ball. We called a timeout in press break. I thought we had an open guy, but I would rather err on calling that timeout and using it versus taking a chance and not being on the same page with the cutter. But I thought our late game execution defensively was very sound. Offensively, it was the changing defenses. We had the center switch on to our guards late clock, and we didn't get what we wanted. But like I said, we manufactured enough points to win. But I do think we played extremely hard and active.

On handling tickets for the Indiana game

To be honest, my wife handles, Anna, I think she handles all the tickets. And I've gotten 20 texts from friends saying, hey, I'd love to grab dinner. And I agree, it's which shelves, they have no idea of it. So I just haven't responded to a lot of people that I'm close friends with. But just, yeah, I have a very, very, I guess, closed mindset during the season where all I can think about is how do we play better, how do we practice better tomorrow, what's our plan, is it clean, is it concise? I think we're gonna go shoot Friday night, whatever it is, when we land. And I'm sure it'd be cool to walk in Assembly Hall where you've spent a lot of time, but I'm not thinking about anything. My mom lives in Bloomington, it is what it is. But I'm going there to try to win a freaking basketball game, and that's it.

On Danny Wolf getting back into form

I mean, his power around the rim, he didn't finish one. I thought he made a really strong move, and it was something that he's been working on. So that's going to translate in time. I thought he made some really nice passes, the four-five with him and Will was effective. With Will Diven, he made a couple of really nice passes out of that. And then his ability to rebound in traffic, we don't take it for granted. He's down the stretch, he came up with a couple of loose basketballs that are in traffic, and he could've had a couple more. There were a couple that went through his hands where he could've walked out of here pretty easily with 14 or 15 rebounds, and he's a talented player. I mean, his ability to pass, dribble, shoot, he made some big threes. And I think once his finishing around the room starts to, once he gets confidence in it, I think it's just gonna add another dimension to his game. But I thought he had a couple of, and one finish sticks out as a strong, aggressive drive to the rim.

On the added pressure in the Big Ten

I didn't feel any pressure within our team. I think it's probably more incentive than anything else. It's, we're in February, a lot of years, a lot of teams aren't playing, they're playing for, to make the conference tournament, for seeding, to stay off the bubble. I mean, there's a lot of things to play for this time of year. And to be in position to chase a championship, I haven't felt like our guys are tight or feel any pressure on that. I almost think it's invigorating to be in this position that they've earned. And I do think we all have confidence that there's gonna be that moment when it just starts to click. And when it does, then we're really gonna gel and come together as a team. Until then, we're just gonna keep fighting like crazy to get better and try to anticipate what our issues are gonna be. And try to camouflage or attack those issues.

On capitalizing on Oregon's turnovers

Well, it's something we haven't done this year. And so that's what we've emphasized in practice, being more disruptive, being more handsy, and adjusting to the way the game's being called. And so if we're gonna turn it over like we have, and it's getting better, I think tonight we had some mental lapses, mental lapse turnovers. And then we had a couple travels, and whatever the case. And so we still have to clean that up. But if we can force the other team to turn it over and convert those, then you're at least able to offset what your biggest weakness is.

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