It was obviously a tale of two halves. We played some really good basketball in the first half. In the second half, Mississippi did what a well-coached team will do — ignore the score and...

To do special things you need have special players and special performances. Obviously you saw one tonight from Chris Lofton. We did a pretty good job of getting him open and guys did a pretty...

He shoots 30 percent and goes 4-for-4? He stepped up in a big way. He was not a guy we were expecting to go 4-for-4.

He was extremely distraught after the game. I was worried about him.

We deserved victory. It wasn’t like we had to get hit in the mouth to start playing. We were ready to play, and we had to play well.

Dane Bradshaw, of course. Who else?

It wasn’t very good, but I guess it’s a pretty good sign that the guys know that after an SEC win I’m not real happy about how way we played.

LSU, Alabama and Arkansas are big, physical and athletic. Add Oklahoma State and Memphis — there are our five losses.

Of course it was Bradshaw. Who else? Who else would make the play to win the game?

We’ve been beat by two pretty good teams that are going to be in the NCAA tournament. We’ve got to play better to earn respect. We haven’t done nearly enough to do that.

They talk about the last 10 (games, but) in the last 10 we beat Kentucky at Kentucky, Florida at Florida, Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt. That’s how much we’ve struggled.

It is harder than most because of the crowd. But there’s Florida and other places, too.

They were extremely prepared and did a really nice job themselves defensively, but when you hold an opponent to 30 percent shooting and force them to turn it over 21 times, I think that says...

Sparks makes that team better because he’s so versatile. He’s a threat from three, he takes big shots and he does a great job of getting his teammates involved.

It was a great game for the fans and the players. We ran out of gas a little bit at the end, but Memphis executed down the stretch better than we did.

He’s better off the bounce. He’s also getting more offense from his defense. He’s a sophomore, so he’s a year older, a year stronger.

It’s difficult to play at the pace we like to play at and win against such high-level teams with just seven guys. After our games with Florida and Kentucky, I don’t think we could have...

Kentucky played terrific in the second half. ‘We had no answer for Rondo off the dribble and Morris finished everything under the basket.

I am disappointed in some of the decisions that Jemere has made. We have a set of expectations for our student-athletes, both on and off the court, and he has not met them.

To do special things you need to have special players and special performances. Obviously you saw one tonight from Chris Lofton.

I have learned that these guys want to win. They have been very willing to adapt and play unselfishly.

We understand there’s been a lot of discussion about whether we deserved a No. 2 seed. We had an unbelievable regular season. We’ve got to find the hunger once again to prove to people that...

That’s the next stage in the development of our program is to have our fans travel. When we started that run, South Carolina’s crowd got quiet. We had enough people in the building that you...

I could probably make an Armani suit look bad. It’s not a very pretty look. When I wear my orange coat, I look like an orange barrel on the highway.

Great players are going to have to step up if you’re going to beat the best team in the country. Certainly Chris carried us.

We’re not communicating. We’re capable of defending better. I call it having a sense of urgency. You need it this part of the season.

I don’t know if it is. Strike that. It was certainly one of the biggest victories in front of the most people.

We just made some choices that were out of character for us.

It’s something he’ll learn, and it will make him a better player. It will make us a better team as well.

I don’t think anybody is scared of our half-court defense. When you get ready to play Tennessee, you can say lots of different things about how they might beat you, but our half-court defense isn’t...

We set standards that we expect our student-athletes to adhere to both on and off the court. We will not tolerate anything less.

This is the biggest win of the year for us. The reason I say this is such a big win is Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are all competing for the Eastern Division title. When...

I thought every time Humphrey got an open look, that was the one that was going to go. He’s a great player and got pretty good looks. There were 25,000 people in this building that...

It’s not a pretty look. I work out the day of a game and the people who know me know that I try to defend and rebound from the coaching box like I’m out there...

I was dreading it because my wife was dreading it and it brought her to tears. It would have been very difficult for our families. I think the Milwaukee kids would have been licking their...

We had no answer for Rondo off the dribble. Something had to be done there.

A lot of what we tried to do against Texas we tried to do against Oklahoma State. But they (Cowboys) were better at (handling) it. I think our win at Texas really helped Oklahoma State...

Arkansas is one of the most talented teams in the country and playing really good basketball right now. It’s hard to imagine (Arkansas and Alabama) having to fight their ways in as well as they’re...

He plays so hard and plays with guts and passion, and he’s the kind of guy you’d like to have on your team, but hate to play against. I think it’s a combination of respect,...

There is very little margin for error. What has gotten us where we are is that we bring it every night, regardless of the opponent. And that’s what we’re going to have to do (today).

Half of those were very well defended and contested. Those are the ones that take your breath away and take the wind from an opponent’s sails.

I sweat sweet. It’s pretty. My son (Michael) sweats stinky, but I don’t.

I wanted them to learn to not take any possessions off, just trying to be as intense as we can. We try to play eight or nine people, keep people fresh so we can be...

It was a real gut check for both teams. Both teams were physically exhausted at the end of that game.

We’re tied with LSU. You just don’t know when you’ll get this close again, and you want to take advantage of it.

I’m very pleased that we will be playing all over the Volunteer State, in Memphis, Nashville and here in Knoxville,

If you asked me, I would have thought that would have been a motivator for Florida to wake up tomorrow as the No. 1 team in the country.

I would never run the score up on anybody, but I will coach for 40 minutes. I took the press off because I have too much respect for Auburn and (Lebo) to keep it going.

Half of them were very well-defended and contested. Those are the ones that just sort of take your breath away and take the wind out of the opponents’ sails. That’s what makes him so special.

It seems the more tired Chris Lofton got, the better he shot.