Tommy Amaker Certainly Quotations

We brought our defense together where we were able to defend and not break down and not bail them out. They missed some shots and we were fortunate for that and certainly I thought we did a better job on the defensive glass.

We're pleased - we're pleased for our school, pleased for our fans and our alums. I'm really pleased for our players. Thinking anything beyond that, it's a game for us right now. ... We have a game coming up here on Saturday (against Wisconsin). We always know a follow-up of an emotional win or loss is always critical. We're happy about the win tonight, but we certainly know there's a lot of basketball to be played.

Obviously it was a disappointing ending and loss. You can certainly look at a lot of different stats and reasons but none more telling than 24 turnovers. That was our undoing and it was unfortunate for us. I thought our kids gave great effort, especially our seniors, and I'm very disappointed for them to end their career home game with something like this.

Obviously, one possession here or there was going to determine the outcome for either team. We certainly need more production from a few of our other guys.

On the floor, I thought we had a terrific defensive performance. I thought we were very active, I thought our team shared the basketball really well. We certainly tried to take care of it. Obviously, with 23 assists and 13 turnovers, for us, that was the difference.

He did struggle. We certainly needed all of our perimeter players to play well and I thought it hurt us when Dion (Harris) got the two fouls (early). ... That probably forced some other guys to step up their production on the perimeter and it wasn't there. I thought Ronnie was right in the middle of that.

He's a big-time post presence. His double-double and his ability to score around the rim was certainly hurtful for us.

He's a good basketball player, certainly he played very well this afternoon. I think that he was the catalyst that allowed them to get such a big lead early.

He certainly played at a high level. Down the stretch you want to give everything you have, and he certainly has performed very well.

I thought they had so much energy. (I'm) disappointed, obviously, in some of the ways that we felt like we helped them get that energy or those leads. But certainly you give them the credit that they deserve, and I thought they earned this victory and they deserved to win tonight.

I thought that was certainly the big difference when we played in Ann Arbor and it was a big key today here in East Lansing.

I thought our veterans really led the way with a lot of toughness and a lot of heart. And certainly our crowd this evening really pulled us through tonight.

Our guards have to handle the basketball better. I'm not sure what else I can talk about or say. We're going to have turnovers, that's a part of it the way we play and the pace we play. We certainly have to do a better job of valuing the ball.

You can certainly look at a lot of stats, but none are more telling than 24 turnovers. That was our undoing this afternoon.

We're thrilled. This certainly puts us in position (for an NCAA bid) with a signature win around the country. We recognize how good Illinois has been over the last few years.

We always know the follow-up of an emotional win or loss is critical. We certainly know there's a lot of basketball to be played, and the focus for us is to stay in the hunt for the conference title.

We certainly tried to turn it up. They missed some shots they would ordinarily make. I thought we brought our defense together where we'd be able to defend and not break down.

You need things to go your way when you're down like that. You have no margin for error. And certainly a missed shot or a missed lay-up ... things like that happened for us. And every one of those opportunities that we didn't take advantage of kind of let the air out of our opportunity to make a run at the lead.

You need seniors to on the road. And we certainly needed our senior leader ball handler out there on the court for us.

They have some explosive guys who are tough, experienced. They have shown they can win anywhere, anytime, especially with juniors and seniors playing prominent roles. ? They can play a couple different styles. We certainly feel they're capable of a lot of damage to a lot of different people, so we're very concerned with them.

It's one of those things you can't sit here and cry over. You move forward and do the best you can. It certainly does not help us with those key guys out like that.

Daniel Horton has been a catalyst for us all season in so many ways. But certainly one of the differences for us (four-game winning streak) is that we've been able to play 10 players.

Daniel has a way to will shots in and will us to victory. His courage and his will were certainly on display tonight.

It's certainly a situation I disagreed with and I got a technical for it and I deserved it.

I mentioned to our players, when they get a chance to interview, they should certainly mention the effort and the impact the crowd had.

I'm not trying to get into the specifics about the calls -- it was obviously a terrific crew -- but it certainly was a situation I disagreed with and I got a technical for it and I deserved it.

I think all of our games will be must-win situations at some point. I don't know if one win is going to make or break what we've done over the course of the season, but certainly it would help if we could have a win over a team like Illinois.

He's such a threat out there. Sometimes confidence can waver game to game and moment to moment, but certainly for us to have a chance on Saturday, he's got to play well for us.