Feb. 2, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Iowa vs. Michigan State
Postgame Quotes
F, Eric May
On win over Michigan State:
“Michigan State is one of the best teams we’ve played all year. It was a big win for us. Against Ohio State we were right there. Against Minnesota we were right there. So it was a good game to get out and have the energy to last the whole game and show what our team can really do.”
On jumping out to a fast start:
“It was awesome. We were sharing the ball really well. Like you said, it seemed like everything was going in. Guys were having a lot of fun and it started with defense. I don’t know how many points we held them to in the first half, but it was exactly the effort the coaches wanted.”
F, Jarryd Cole
On defeating Michigan State:
“It feels great to get that confidence. To show that we can beat a team like Michigan State. Michigan State is a top tier team. Their record this year doesn’t show it because they took some tough losses early in the season against some highly ranked teams. It’s tough to get wins through that but they can battle and they’re still one of the top teams in the country.”
On building 20-point lead and leading from start to finish:
“We’ve had leads in the game before but we haven’t had that much of a lead. When you have that kind of lead you definitely feel like you have control. When you have control of the game you can run whatever you want to run. It felt great. It felt like we had it in our hand the whole time. We kept going and playing the whole time and defending and playing like we should.”
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement…
“Well I think that was the worst performance of a team that I’ve coached since I’ve been at Michigan State. I didn’t feel our best players played very well and then we tried to rely on other people. I thought Iowa played really well. We went in saying we weren’t going to give up any threes and I think we gave up the first three in a row. Then they missed six after that but I think they were 3-3 or 3-4 to start the game. It wasn’t the three’s that beat us, it was the two’s and maybe our lack of production. We just had nobody to lead our team and no one to take it over. We got off to such a poor start, allowed a couple lay-ups right off the bat and they hit shots. But, everybody is hitting shots against us right now and I don’t know why. That’s not the way our defense has been for the last 16 games and now it has been the way it’s been for four or five. As you can imagine, we are reeling and just very disappointed that our leadership and our upperclassmen are not taking the bull by the horns. But, I couldn’t have done a very good job of coaching them and getting them ready. I’m sick of telling you that we practiced well and shot well here and we looked like we were walking in quick sand here, it reminded me of the Penn State game and that’s twice in one year and it’s very disappointing. I’d be remised if I didn’t say, give Fran and Iowa a lot of credit. They played well, played hard. They moved the ball, hit a lot of shots, the play before the half–we just did some very fundamentally wrong things and got really out of control. But, I don’t want to take anything away from Iowa. They played hard and Fran did a nice job. They definitely kicked us from beginning to end except for a two minute stretch in the second half.”
On where to go from here…
“You know, I’m going to make some changes probably. There is going to be some guys that are going to have to grow up. I’m very disappointed with the leadership with this team. Draymond [Green] is trying to do it but you’ve got to have seniors that bring it and right now I’m struggling with that a little bit. Sometimes we get fooled with scoring, but scoring isn’t the only thing you do to win games. Shooting percentages–if you score a lot of points but you’re taking a lot of shots, that’s not going to do it either. I just don’t think were running our team like we need to. I thought Appling did a nice job in the second half, but the poor kid just didn’t make any shots. I’m struggling with that. I don’t have a good answer for you. I usually have answers, I don’t have an answer. I just think a like a lot of things in life, sometimes you get into territory that you’ve never been before. I’ve been close before and worked my way out of it and one way or another we will work our way out of it. As I told this team, they’re trying to set some records that have never been set before in a negative way and that’s what happens when -again I will keep going back to the lack of leadership and say it can’t be [Draymond Green] all the time. It’s got to be your guards and we’ve got to do a better job of it. I don’t really know. I’m going to go to practice tomorrow and get ready for Wisconsin, but this was the first time in quite a few years that I thought there was just a total let down and I did not see it coming. But, sometimes you get what you deserve and if we’re not doing the things we need to do then maybe I deserve it.”