Overheard in Michigan State's locker room: He's not ready to play and he's just dead —

EAST LANSING — It was a win for Michigan State and not much else.

The No. 15 Spartans (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten) overcame a poor performance for a 66-60 victory over Ohio State (17-10, 9-7) on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

Here are some notable quotes from coach Tom Izzo and the players after the win:

Izzo on the win against Ohio State, which dropped to 0-9 against Quad 1 teams this season: "I'm very disappointed in our team, very disappointed. ... We didn't bring it today and they did."

Jeremy worries about the team's recent poor start: "It's happened over and over again. ... when does it click?"

"He wasn't ready to play," Izzo said of Fiers' turnover six seconds into the game."When you throw the ball in the first game, you're not ready to play."

Jackson Kohler on a flat, sloppy first half: "The first half felt dead. Off the field and on the bench, absolutely dead."

Izzo on Ohio State's leading guard Bruce Thornton, who scored 32 points in all 40 minutes.

Carson Cooper on scoring 14 of his career-high 20 points in the second half: "I was kind of mad at myself in the first half that I wasn't playing as well as coach was definitely on me about it, so I just wanted to try to make an impact out there. Get them thinking about me and not about Jeremy."

Michigan State's Kohler, who is 3-3 in its last six games: "When you're running and you see the finish line there, you don't slow down, you give it everything you've got and I feel like we all need to find that inner strength and that last burst of energy to keep going.

Izzo on the prospects at the end of the season: "There is a reality to this. This is the time of the year when you have to be better every game. We were not better today."

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