Everything Michigan State's Joey Hauser said after win over Michigan

The Spartan redshirt senior had 14 points, two rebounds and two assists against the Wolverines

Following Michigan State’s 83-67 win over rival Michigan, redshirt senior Joey Hauser spoke to the media about the game against the Wolverines. Here’s what he had to say:

On defending Hunter Dickinson:

“I don’t know that I’ve ever guarded someone his height, his size as well. But, you’ve just got to fight him as much as you can because he’s a load down there. So, I had to work hard and it was a tough job.”

“I was just going to try to get physical with him, try to front him a little bit, but there’s only so much you can do with the guy who’s a really good player, who’s that big. You just got to get physical with him as much as you can, make things tough for him. Because you know they’re going to look to go inside and get him some post looks. But, I was just trying to outwork him. I guess that’s really all you can say.”

On crowd chanting his name:

“It’s awesome that they keep supporting me, but my job is to just stay focused on the game during that time. So, to be honest with you, I didn’t really notice it a ton. I know my teammates were really jacked up for me. It was just an awesome game, an awesome moment for my team and myself.”

On playing in rivalry game, at home, with crowd:

“It’s a rival game. Last year, it felt a little bit different, just because we didn’t have those fans. Even when you go on the road, you don’t have the hostile environments. So, this year’s a lot different. It felt good to get back to that environment of that rival game. So, that really helped us out today.”

On halftime message:

“We didn’t think we played our best half. Michigan did some good things. We thought we got a little bit loose with the ball there. Offensive rebounding was kind of a problem for the whole game, and I think they out-rebounded us. So, we just needed to be tougher coming out in the second half. We needed to be tougher, and get out and run a little bit and go from there.”

On offensive production from Malik Hall, himself:

“I think it’s really important. Malik’s been shooting the crap out of the ball all year. I’ve struggled a little bit there, but I’m picking it up here and there. So, whenever one of us it out, we’ve got to pick up the slack and produce from that position. I think we’re doing a really good job of that, and I don’t know a lot of teams that have the talent and skill that we have at the four position – where they can play two guys in and out like that. So, it’s a really good thing for our team.”

On AJ Hoggard:

“AJ did a really good job. He does a really good job of getting downhill, and he’s big for his position. So, there’s times when he really helps us out. There’s times when Tyson [Walker] really helps us out. And, today was one of those days where AJ just did an unbelievable job. I think he had a double-double, so this was an AJ Hoggard game.”

On joining the rivalry after being at Marquette:

“You hear about it, because it’s one of the best rivalries in college sports. So, I got to see it for a year, and we split games that first year that I sat out. But, you’ve just got to see the extra ‘get up’ that there is for this game. And today, we had that edge. We played like it was a rival game. So, you just hope those guys can take on the same kind of mentality that this is a game where you’ve got to win. This is a game where you’ve got to be tough.”

On Tyson Walker’s three-pointer at the end of the first half:

“It was a big momentum swing. Buckets at the ends of halves are always big momentum swings. I almost let them get a bucket as well. But, going into halftime, that was big. I think we had a four-point lead going into the half, and we really felt like we could have played a lot better and tougher.”

On Tom Izzo’s emotions concerning rivalry:

“We already know how much it means to him from practice. But, he likes getting the crowd jacked up and he shows his emotions, and it’s awesome to play for a coach like that. At first, you kind of adjust to it, because not every coach is like that and not every person's like that. But this is a game that, when coach shows how much he cares about this rivalry, you want to win for him. It’s his birthday tomorrow too, so we wanted to win for him as well, because of that.”

On momentum baskets:

“There were a couple of buckets where people were just going crazy. I think Gabe had one on the lob, fastbreak lob. Gabe hit a three where the crowd went pretty crazy. So, those are just huge momentum swings and you’ve got to feed off of those. It’s more important to get a stop after them as well, so you can hopefully get back down and get another bucket.”