Tom Izzo Time Quotations

We're going to hone in 95 percent of our time on George Mason. If you don't win the first one, you don't get to the second one. But if you get to the second one and you're not prepared and you don't get out of the weekend, I don't feel like that's where Michigan State is right now.

I did not like the way it was called. Every time we touched a guy there was a foul.

I felt bad for him missing those free throws because he's been shooting so well from the line. And yet, it goes to show that you can't take a lot of time off and feel like you're still the same player.

I always preach to my kids that outside issues create inside problems. Pressure that you get at this time of year - you're a senior, you've got to play well to hopefully play at the next level. You just have to deal with it. I look at those guys right now, and they're not handling it as well as they did earlier.

I think we were too aggressive. Every time we touched a guy, there was a foul.

I think for the most part, winning is always more of an advantage. If you play (in the NCAA Tournament) on Thursday or Friday, and you don't have to travel through too many time zones, I don't think there's any plus in us losing. I didn't feel any better about it (last year). I can guarantee you that.

We're all resigned to the fact that anybody in this league can beat anybody. There's never an off night. There's never a night where you can just relax. And every time you think you can, as we learned, somebody smacks you.

We asked Paul one time if he was doing that to pad his own rebounding stats or if he was doing it for real.

When you play that many (ranked teams) in a row, it becomes a mental strain as far as keeping your guys up. I think it helps that it's the Michigan game. I think our guys will be up for that. If there was going to be a time when they mentally let down a little bit, I don't see it being this week. Emotionally, it's Michigan-Michigan State and that carries more than anybody we play, let's be honest.

What are they best at? They seem to be a very, very good defensive team, which concerns me because that's usually what wins at this time of the year.

What are they best at? They seem to be a good defensive team, which concerns me because that's usually what wins at this time of year. Not a lot of pressing, but just solid, get-after-you-a-little-bit defense. Maybe a poor man's Illinois in that respect.

This is a fragile time for a team.

This is the greatest time of the year. For nine, 10 years, we've gotten better over Christmas.

It was good for him to get a little confidence, get some shots up, get a little playing time in.

I told Shannon as he was walking out there, maybe it was time for a different Brown to be the hero.

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.

It's time for a different Brown to be the hero.

I'm tired of being close this year. It's time we got a few more things done.

I'm not a big believer in that. The one time it really hurt was when Ohio State won the thing (in 2002) and got shipped west. That was awful. In that respect it would be an advantage losing, but for the most part winning is more of an advantage.

I know how to move my body. He made a little bit of a mistake, and I took advantage of it. He gave me a little time to take it, and I took it.

He's an incredibly gifted student and still has sacrificed his time away with little in reward. And you always have special feelings for guys like that.

And has the ball in his hands all the time and has to guard the other point guard. That's even more draining.