Marshall Strickland Quotations

We started making harder cuts and concentrated running our plays correctly. That's probably the key to ball movement and getting better shots.

We're going to give them different looks. We might double at times, or we might play them straight up, or we might deny them the ball sometimes. We'll keep changing it and try to mess up their rhythm a little bit.

We really have to execute on defense and get up and down the court. If we can do those things, we have a chance to get a win.

We really got up on him and kind of took him out of his rhythm early. We wanted him to have to dribble to his shot and get in the paint. He's a jump shooter. That's how he makes his living -- making threes.

We're just trying to play, execute our game plan and win games. We need a couple wins to get that feeling back.

We're just trying to get this thing figured out and there are no easy answers.

We're having fun with each other and we're having fun with the game. I think that's the key at this point.

Now we can move on. We still have our goals in mind.

I was shooting with confidence. I felt good. All the shots, even the ones I missed, I felt like they were going down. When I get like that, I just feel like it's flowing for me.

I was shooting with confidence. I felt good.

I have a lot of confidence in my team. I think we can win the Big Ten. We're playing really well right now, and we're getting better. That's the scary part -- we're improving every game.

I felt like I was in high school again -- just going through the lane, being athletic and finishing.

I feel like he really helped me grow up. I came here young, fresh out of high school and he really tested me.

We can exhale now. It feels like we got a little monkey off our back and we can gear up for Sunday.

With Marco out we really don't have a lot of options. We're small and we can shoot, so we might as well take advantage of it.

With Marco out, we didn't have a lot of options.

Guys played with their hearts and people forgot how tired they were.

There are so many reasons for us to win.

I think it's been really important. As a team, we feel closer. We have fun together and we have fun with the game, and I think that's a key at this point.

I think the key at this point of the season is to keep improving. Keep expanding your game.

I think with the wins that we had early in the season, if we can just prove that we're a team that hasn't given up and a team that is still fighting, with 17 wins, I think we get in.

I think we're getting better every day. That's our goal, to keep improving and to have fun the rest of the season.

I think we can win it. I think we have all the pieces.

I think it's pretty obvious that we opened some people's eyes the last few weeks. None of us expected a six seed, but I think it tells you a lot about how people view our conference. I just think this shows that we did earn some respect down the stretch.

Our team has grown close. We're having fun together, having fun with the game, and that's a key.

I thought Marco was going to make it because he got it into his left hand and I have seen him make that shot a thousand times.

I think this team has a different mentality after the two wins we just picked up at home. You can just feel the difference with the guys. Our confidence is returning and that's something that is going to be very important for us to get a couple of road victories this last week.

That would be a huge boost to get this one under our belt. It would really get us in the right direction of where we need to go. One step closer.

I would hope (we're in), but hey, you never know until Selection Sunday. Our goal is to win this tournament. We'll worry about the next one when it comes.

We have our goals in mind. We have five games left. We still have the NCAA Tournament in mind. That's what we're working toward.

We are beating good teams right now. The Big Ten has a lot of really good teams. We went up to Michigan State and lost, but we came back and got some things ironed out and played really well tonight.

We?re really mirror images of each other. Dials is physical, Marco is physical. . . . That?s our game.

We have the pieces to win. We just have to bring it every night.

We got off to a slow start but played hard on defense and tried to take the fight to them. They're a tough team. They have so many weapons, inside with Brunner and outside with their shooters. They stretched us out and got some open looks at the beginning of the game.

We opened up some eyes. We didn't expect to get a six. Now it's up to us to go out and win some games this weekend.

We're a team that needs to make open threes. When we make those, we open up everything for Marco and all the other guys.

We were actually trying to get Marco open on that last play. Dials was coming through the paint and it was my job to get Marco open so he could get the ball. In the process I got a good piece of Dials and he went right through me. Regardless of the situation we were going at Dials because he had four fouls.

We don't mind watching him. We have confidence in him.

We didn't expect that. We were as happy as they were that we won, but it wasn't like we were unranked beating the No. 1 team.

We need to build on this one. Despite the fact we're going on the road, I feel like we're moving in the right direction. We're playing with a lot of energy, and I think we can carry over to Purdue.

We will hear it from him first. Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll hear it from him first.

This team isn't afraid to make plays. We're not afraid to take chances and to play basketball. When we get aggressive, I think we're one of the best teams in the country.

We've really come together as a team, and that's what helped us get through the tough times. These last couple of weeks we've played good basketball, and it's paid off.

We just need to stay in the hunt. If we lose this one, we are kind of throwing ourselves back against the wall.

We have to do a better job defensively in all areas if you expect to beat a team like that on the road. It's all about recognition and not giving up easy baskets. I thought we had some breakdowns tonight.

We feel we're a top-five team. We're beating real good teams. We can play with anybody.

This one would be a big boost for us. To get this game under our belts would really get us going in the right direction and where we need to go. It would put us one step closer to the (NCAA) Tournament.

We are going to go out with a bang.

There was a lot of emotion. It was my last home game, coach Davis' and let alone the game that we need for our NCAA Tournament hopes.

I've been with coach four years and he's helped me grow up. I came here, I'm fresh out of high school, he tested me and brought great things in me.

It would have been easy for us to not even be here, to not even make it to the tournament. We showed a lot of courage. Tonight we just got beat, but I think overall we showed a lot of guts.

The road's been challenging for us all Big Ten season, and we need to fix it quickly.

The month leading up to coach resigning, it just seemed like we were walking into every game down 15 points. Ever since then, guys have come together and we just feel like we can win. It's just a completely different attitude, but it's something that all of the guys are feeling.

Coach Marsh has really been on us a lot the last couple of weeks. That's carried over to the games.

As a team we've grown closer. We're having fun together. We're having fun within the game. That's important at this point.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. We have fun in meals, on the bus. We're just enjoying each other, enjoying the time, enjoying our season and enjoying winning games.

You never know what's going to happen on Selection Sunday. But our goal is to win this tournament and worry about the next one when it comes.

This gives us a lot of confidence going into Michigan. Losing on the road was weighing on us early. Lately we've flushed everything out. It's been a great experience.

They are a real physical team, more than most people probably realize or give them credit for. Batista is the main guy but they have others who also crash the boards. We're small. We can shoot. But when Marco is out, we don't have a lot of options.

They are a really physical team. A lot more physical than a lot of people give them credit for.

There was no acting. I'm feeling it now. I felt all 260 pounds running over me out there.

They're a real physical team. Probably more physical than people give them credit for.

They really need this win -- it's desperation time. We're playing at their house, so they're going to come out on all cylinders. If we can take care of the first few minutes and slow them down a bit, I think we have a good shot.

It's embarrassing to lose by 20 points. We have to learn from these experiences.

It was becoming a distraction. We were aware of it, but it was still just a nuisance with all the buzz around here.

It was becoming a distraction. We were aware of it, but all the nuisance of the buzz. ... Now it's out there and we can go out and play these last five games.

It was difficult trying to get use to their defense, especially with Northwestern's zone trap. The trap was really tough and it took us out of our rhythm. It was my job to try to throw that trap off.

It will be a nice accomplishment to have when I reach 1,000 career points. I am not sure where I am at right now, but I am just going to keep playing hard and try to help this team win.

It's been a while. That's one thing I told the freshmen. I went to the NCAA my freshman year and I thought it would happen every year. I thought it would be a given. It's not. Now I get my second chance. I want to make the most of it.

Suhr gave us a lot of second chance opportunities tonight and he was able to hit some big shots for us too.

It seemed like we picked up our defense a lot when Marco went out. We started scrambling more and our rotation was quicker if we can do that, we're a really dangerous team.

It's nice to see your name come up. We're really excited right now. We have a good draw, a good seed and it's right there for us.

The intensity has stepped up another notch. It is what we need to keep growing at this point in the season and to try to get things back on the right track.

Their guards were kind of passive and really wanted Tucker to take over the game.

I'm going to be in the gym (today) shooting a thousand (free throws). That's the one thing I'm really mad about, the free throw that I missed.

I hurt my shoulder pretty good. I'm still questionable right now. I got a couple more hours of rest, so we'll so how it goes.

I'm not a big trash talker. He feeds off that, so we'll still play our game and try to stay away from that.

I know they're not going to leave me, because if they do I'll make them pay. Hopefully I'll be able to free up some of the other guys on the court.

I had set a screen on him earlier and he plowed right over me. So I felt if he did it again, I was going down. I knew he'd try and body me down.

I think our execution really stepped up in the second half. We started making harder cuts and really concentrating on running our plays correctly. That was probably the key to the ball movement and better shots.

He's a guy who just needs to get in his rhythm. He's a rhythm player, and once he gets in his rhythm he starts making really great plays.

I figured I was going to keep going at them, keep being aggressive. They beat us up underneath the basket ... and we were just trying to fight them. I think we won the battle tonight.

He really hit his rhythm. He started getting to the basket. He's tough to stop once he gets in a zone like that.

It's difficult. You tell yourself that, but you don't believe it. You always feel like there's another game. You know, the reality is, it's do or die. And I think I'm going to play like that.

The guys on this team, really love the game and when it comes down to it, that's all that matters. We play with passion.

All of the fans were excited, but we expected to win. We are No. 11 in the country (in the USA Today/ESPN poll as opposed to No. 13 in The Associated Press poll) and we feel like we are a top five team.