University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota - Indiana Postgame Quotes
1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith:
Opening Statement
“We had a defensive breakdown. Obviously we did some things well but we did some things poorly too. Things we did poorly in the first half we corrected. We didn't defend well in the first half, that's why we were behind. The free throw shooting is an area we obviously need to work on. But when you turn a team over 26 times and you only turn it over 11 times, we had our chances to pull away. But turnovers at bad times or a tough shot stopped us. Overall I thought the kids showed a lot of toughness but we did have some poor spots where we didn't play with the consistency we needed to play with. We did a good job on Eric Gordan, we got them in foul trouble. We had a situation where we had control of the game but the guy hits the three with a minute left and it takes the wind out of your sails.'
On what team can take from game
“We would have taken a lot more if we had won. I hope we learn that lesson. It was a tough loss, a tough task. You've got your home crowd here, you've got everything going your way, we were defending like we should. The gameplan was flowing for a while, except when they were hitting their open shots in the first half. What we can take from this we'll find out in the next day or two. And next game we'll see what we learn.'
On McKenzie's late turnover
“Everything at that time is magnified. It wasn't just that. We had some defensive breakdowns, rebound situations, there are a lot things we could have done. No one person can lose a game, we win and lose as a team. The effort was there. You have to make those plays. That was a tough mistake at that point in time. Again, those are the things we're still growing in. We're still learning how to win when the pressure's on. I thought we learned some of that.'
Minnesota's Spencer Tollackson:
“So far this year with the team we've kind of taken over at the end of the game. I'm crushed right now. Just completely heartbroken. I really thought we were going to win. I thought they played better than us but I thought we wanted it a little bit more, played a little bit harder. They did some things we didn't do.'
On free throw performance
“I couldn't buy a free throw. I have to figure this out pretty soon. Go 5-5 at
On what Coach Smith preached this week
“What Coach has tried to instill in me this year is to try to get to the rim. Making my moves in there, trying to draw contact, being more physical, and get to the free throw line. I've tried to get their big men in foul trouble and I think he's done a great job getting our big men the ball where they should get it running plays. It's kinda sickening that I cannot produce the way that he wants and wishes I could. It's really hard for me to say that but you cant come away empty.'
Minnesota's Lawrence
“We did some good things in creating turnovers. But at the end we didn't make them pay as much as we should have. We capitalized on some of them but didn't make the most of them.'
On what the team can take away from the game
“I think we have to stop being happy being in these kind of games that come down to the wire. We have to get one. Right now I don't believe in moral victories, they don't count in win charts. We've got to come out and we've got o work hard. We can't keep letting games like this slip away.'
On the crowd
“The crowd was great. The barn was rocking and it was so loud I think it helped create a lot of energy. I hope we get the same type of crowd on Sunday.'
Indiana head coach Kelvim Sampson:
“I thought both teams really played hard; I think Tubby has done a tremendous job with this group he has them playing the right way. Their pressure bothered us. That's the first team all year that has pressed us, especially with the kind of quickness they have in their backcourt with
“(We had) 26 turnovers when you take that away, we were good. This is not an easy place to play... Fans help your press.'
On
“26 turnovers... I kept telling D.J. (White) and Jordan (Crawford) during timeouts that we're wearing red.'
On
“Every time
On if
“Absolutely, especially with their guard play. I think Tubby would tell you their guards weren't that good tonight, but they have been. But you have two sets of guards out there that were really guarding each other they were guarding us and we were guarding them.
