Postgame Quotes

Nov. 22, 2014

Postgame Quotes

Minnesota 69, UMBC 51
Williams Arena
Nov. 22, 2014

Head Coach Richard Pitino

"We knew, that team would come out and play hard which they did. We made some tough shots early. We needed to play a game where not everything was going our way. We played much better defensively in the second half obviously. DeAndre (Mathieu) was very good--eight assists, four steals. Overall it was good for us. Now the biggest key is getting off our feet tomorrow and getting back ready to go on Monday."

"(It) wasn't real enjoyable but every game is different. The Louisville game was a war. We played against a really tough team and came back and played Western. We still got a lot of guys like Carlos Morris who has only played four games, and off the bench we are still young so we need to see games like that and figure out a way to get it done."

"We didn't shoot a real good percentage. We obviously said we had to go inside and stop shooting jumpshots. We did a better job in the second half, but our defense is getting to be a calling card. Carlos Morris was so miserable during the game and was letting his shot bother him, but was playing a good game defensively getting steals and rebounds. Defense has to be what we concern ourselves with. Thirteen steals is good. Turning them over 23 times is good. We had a little too much fouling."

"Overarall it was good, wasn't great. Some of the fouls slowed us down a little bit but this was a hard driving team, where as Western Kentucky and Franklin Pierce weren't."

Nate Mason, Guard

How do you think specifically you were better this game?

"Defense. Pressure on the ball. Seeing the game a little differently, honestly."

Do you know anything about St. John's yet?

"No, not yet. We're gonna start that when practice starts tomorrow. We'll definitely start watching film, watching edits and stuff like that. "

What are your thoughts about being a freshman and going into Madison Square Garden, a place you have seen on TV?

"It's a dream come true but we are going in there for a business trip, strictly business to get this win."

Do you think you will be a little nervous to start with?

"No, not really. We are just going to go in there with the same mindset, ready to win and play hard."

Maurice Walker, Forward

Do you feel that you guys were a little sluggish tonight when you came out?

"I mean I can't speak for my teammates but I felt pretty good out there. It's tough playing three games with one day rest. It was tough but we fought through it and I think we all played well."

You guys have another really big stretch of games coming up. How do you feel that these three last games prepared you for that?

"I think it prepared me a lot. It prepared all of us a lot. [â€¦] It keeps us sharp, it keeps us mentally prepared and focused going into the game."

How important was forcing turnovers tonight?

"It's great. Our guards are doing a great job [â€¦] forcing turnovers. Myself, Elliott (Eliason), Joey (King), all stepping up early, taking charges, blocking shots down low. I think we're doing a great job and we're really being aggressive out there."

What do you think you guys need to work on most heading into this next stretch?

"Just staying consistent. Keeping it deep defensively. Keeping the ball moving offensively. I think the guys are doing a great job sharing the ball, you know, DeAndre had a bunch of assists out there today. I think we're all really looking for each other and playing unselfish."

DeAndre Mathieu, Guard

Did UMBC do anything in the first half that surprised you, caught you off guard?

No, our coaches do a really good job of scouting. They give us all the answer on the test, we just have to go out and execute.

Did something about your mentality or what you were doing change at halftime?

"No, we just knew we weren't pressuring the ball like we should have been, so we just decided to amp it up a little bit as players. The coaches really helped motivate us. We knew we weren't capitalizing on the turnovers and making them make mistakes, so we turned up the intensity and just decided to play harder."

Three games in five days, is it starting to catch up to you?

"No, we practice just like we play. It's pretty much like practice. We are just out there playing really, really hard and at least in the games you get a break."

Do you think that tonight was an example of a night that when the shots aren't falling team-wide, you can win with the scrappiness of the defense?

"Oh yeah, coach just touched on that--how our defense, even though things aren't going our way, our defense played a big part of the game and we can win a lot of games if we lock in defensively and decide to get stops."

On a night like tonight when you guys found trouble in the first half, how valuable is backcourt depth?

"Oh, it's going to valuable even when we don't have foul trouble. Nate coming off the bench giving guys good minutes, giving guys breathers and things like that, he's going to really help us. ( Daquein McNeil) is doing a good job."

What do you think that the team needs to work on the most heading into New York?

"I think we just can continue to improve on our defense. I know we force a lot of turnovers but we still have a lot of work to do and can get better every day."

What do you know about Saint John's?

"They are really athletic. They run. They like to attack the basket. That's pretty much all I know from watching them on TV from the past few years. They play the same style. They are really athletic. They really are going to get after us. So we have to be ready to step up to the plate."

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Players Mentioned

Nate Mason

DeAndre Mathieu

Daquein McNeil

Carlos Morris

Maurice Walker