Post-Game Quotes
1/8/2003 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2003
Toledo Head Coach Stan Joplin:
"I was concerned about this game after our Michigan State win. If we had played two or three days after that win it would have probably been a lot worse. It's obvious we can't handle success and I think we took a couple steps backward. The game against Michigan State really doesn't mean anything now. We have to learn how to handle success. I think we came out looking to take the path of least resistance and it caught up to us."
"I thought Northern outworked us. In the first half, our transition defense was bad and they were beating us on the boards. I thought our defense left a lot to be desired."
"We have to do a better job and not read our press clippings or listen to people who tell us how good we are. We're not that good that we can just show up and win. We have a lot of work to do."
Toledo guard Nick Moore:
"It's pretty embarassing to beat a team like Michigan State and then come home and lose to Northern Illinois who had been struggling so far this season. I'm very disappointed and upset."
On getting down early and having to fight back the whole game:
"It's a hole we should have never got ourselves into. If we would have come out and played like we should have, we wouldn't have to worry about a hole."
"Teams are going to look tonight and see how we struggled tonight against a zone and they're going to think they can do the same thing against us."
"Northern controlled the game and they had a strong control of it the whole time. We made our run but they still were up five. We didn't do a good job of defending their guards or big guys."
"I wish I knew why we came out like that so I can make sure we don't come out like that ever again. We just came out with the wrong mindset and they definitely took advantage of us."
Toledo guard Sammy Villegas:
"My shots weren't falling tonight. I kept shooting because I'm a shooter. I only made two shots tonight but I still need to keep shooting. Keith (Triplett) is the same. We just didn't have it tonight."
"We have to bounce back and put this game behind us and think about Marshall. It's not going to be easy for us."
