Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, on discussions among the Power Five conferences to limit the time coaches can spend with student-athletes: "I think it's a joke, personally. I mean, are we going to limit time on Twitter? … Coaches are smarter than we used to be. We're not going to beat a kid to death, you know? … I don't see surgeons worrying about their time. I don't see musicians worrying about theirs. But for some reason, we want to give the guys more time."

Michigan coach John Beilein on the rehabilitation of star guard Caris LeVert, who missed most of last season because of a foot injury: "He's running faster, jumping higher, stronger than he's ever been. That's the good news is that he has spent so much time building up his body while he was rehabbing the foot, so it really is exciting to watch."

Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, on the new NCAA rule changes, which include shortening the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30 (a 30-second clock was tested in the NIT championship last year): "They tried it in the NIT and we saw what a difference it made — a point, two points, something …OK. So some genius came up with 5 seconds off the shot clock to get one more shot. I tell you, I don't know where they graduated from, but it's a heck of an idea. So, whatever it is. Just play good."

Ohio State's Thad Matta on his roster's youth this year: "With this team, we've really had to slow the process down. We've had to break down more in terms of getting the concepts down defensively as well as offensively. But the good thing is there aren't a lot of veteran players who know how it used to be, so they're going right in line."

Northwestern coach Chris Collins on big man Alex Olah: "He's always been an incredibly skilled big man who can step out on the floor. He can make a shot, he can pass. I think just the confidence of having success at this level has been big for him. You know, certainly, for us to be a good team this year, we're going to need for him to be a presence down low and to be a consistent guy in our league that can be a double-double guy."

Indiana coach Tom Crean on star freshman forward Thomas Bryant: "He's got a tremendous work ethic, and he knew he had to get better. And that energy that he brings his teammates is at another place. I think that's where he'll impact our team in a great way."