University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes: NIU
12/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino
Opening Statement...
NIU Head Coach Mark Montgomery
On Reggie Lynch...
"I thought that Lynch, he came out and it seemed like he wouldn't miss a shot in the first half. We tried to slow him down in the second half, but it just wasn't enough."
On controlling the tempo...
"I thought we were controlling and we didn't get out of hand in the first half. When Minnesota speeds you up, that can put a lot of pressure on your defense."
Redshirt Junior Reggie Lynch
On feeling after a good game...
"To me, it just felt great to have a good offensive performance and to get a lot of rebounds, and get the win. Everyone really played great. I played pretty well, but everyone all around did very well, and we executed in the second half, so it was a good feeling."
On improvement of offensive game...
"I'm definitely feeling more comfortable going against more physical guys. Obviously, coming from a mid-major conference, there's not too many teams that have a ton of physicality. Just right off the bat, playing teams like Arkansas, St. Johns, this team, tonight, they're all really physical teams. Going against tougher players is really how I'm evolving."
On unique shot...
"Basically, ever since I was born, I've been trying to adjust that, but it doesn't really change. I have good touch, so me having a little bit of a lower release, it helps me because I know how to use it. It also can hurt if I'm going against a team like Florida State, where the guys are really tall and they can block it. It's really just being able to recognize when to let go and use it or when to kick it out. It's really just recognizing what team's are good at."
On the struggle to focus on non-conference games...
"It's not hard at all. Really, everyone's whole life on a basketball team, knows you can't just look ahead to the exciting games. Every game you play is exciting. The next one we have to focus on is the one we'll be honing in on the most."
Sophomore Jordan Murphy
On enjoying the wins...
"I think it's awesome. I'm enjoying it a lot. Obviously, going from last year and a season like that, it's a really big turnaround. Obviously you can see with our team and our guys, everything is just way different. It really makes me happy."
On team camaraderie...
"It's a lot better than you would think. Last year, no one really played around; it's cool that guys have fun with each other. We just joke around and it brings a lot of humor to the team, so it's really enjoyable."
On Reggie and Eric taking some of the pressure of him in the front court...
"They take a lot of pressure off me. I don't really have to carry a lot of the load, like I used to.
On effect of losing to Florida State...
"To me, it kind of changed the attitude of our team. We just really started to focus more on being more physical, and just being tougher, both mentally and physically. After that game, it just shows that we picked it up physicality-wise, and we really honed in on being physical, being tough, and obviously it's shown."
