It’s a calculated risk. We are confident we’ll be able to do that, but it’s still a risk. Until you get it back, it’s never in the bag.

I’d rather just give Penn credit.

That was a big play.

I think they are probably the best defensive team in the tournament, … They are very well-coached, especially on the defensive end.

He?s good, but we knew that already because we recruited him. He?s a four or five for a Connecticut team, so he?s going to be a guy who pounds you, who?s very physical. He?s not...

You’re hit with that, and you say to yourself, ‘Wow. This is going to be something to deal with at the end of the year’.

This feels like a conference game. It feels like it’s the middle of January and we’ve got BC next. I don’t know if that’s going to be positive or negative for us.

This is a new experience for us, being No. 1. For us, there is pressure. You don’t want to be the first No. 1 seed to lose.

He’s so good at rebounding. Normally, we always have him going for the offensive glass. He loves it, and so much of rebounding is passion.

It did take longer, but, given the circumstances, I understand why it took longer. I don’t think given all of our circumstances, it could have happened any quicker.

What we’ll take from that is to regain a little bit of hunger and an understanding that we can get beat anytime by anybody.

I’m happy that Curtis is making an intelligent long-term decision. He has been focusing on helping his classmates. I feel he is confident in them and can now concentrate on what is best for his...

I think we are a little bit more experienced, probably a little bit. We are very similar, but they are a lot different.

That was a little scary,

I hope we’re that good. I’d love to be that good. That team had toughness and had great guards. But they were undefeated until the [conference] tournament.

We had about nine days to really get fresh. We had some great practices and it turned into good playing.

I don’t think I’ve ever used the word grind, but I’ve found myself using that word a lot to describe this season. There was just never a time to relax this season. There was not...

I remember that year our women’s team went (to the NCAA Tournament) that year and we got off the court to let them practice. It wasn’t any punishment. I wanted our guys to understand that...

That is definitely the impression. I’m not surprised, because I always thought that should be the perception all year.

I think we are going to find out [today] if that would be good for us, or would they be able to match us real well. Like in the Big East, we are so unorthodox...

They came at us in the second half like they were going to show us that they’re the No. 1 team in the nation, and we weren’t ready for that. But then we responded.

He’s shooting the hell out of it, too.

I actually feel a little guilty. We had home court tonight. I’d like to thank the fans coming out. They were great.

It’s his choice. He looks great. His vision is a lot better.

It’s basketball, man. We live and die with that. When the tough shots are going in, I’m not complaining.

It is an honor being picked by coaches in a league like this. Now we have to go out and earn it.

Every time we’ve been tested, they’ve answered the question.

He’s a unique player. I don’t remember anybody like him that good defensively and offensively on the perimeter and in the post.

I know that wasn’t a pretty game, but it was a great basketball game. That was two teams playing with a lot of heart.

I thought it would be a good challenge for us at this point. Obviously, I wouldn’t choose to do that, but it gave us a chance to play big a little bit. … That was...

I know how many shots Noah blocked. I’m not sure how many shots he altered. He is outstanding.

That was a lot of heart. He said he felt good, but I knew he’d tell me that.

They could both, individually, put up better numbers if they were by themselves. But could they be 27-4? No. They couldn’t accomplish these things without each other, and they know that.

It means I won’t have to answer questions from recruits.

That just tells you how great everybody in this league is.

They handled our press better. They rebounded better. … A lot of those rebounds that turned into ‘and-ones’ for them [Sunday] were our rebounds and we were going the other way [last time]. I think...

Last year was so bizarre. Now we’ve been through this before. Everybody’s comfortable with what we’re doing. I don’t think anyone’s in awe of what we’re doing.

You hate playing against them because they kill you. They beat you up.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive responses about teams that would take him in the first round. When a team says, ‘We’ll take you in the first round,’ that doesn’t mean they’re going to. That...

That’s a Big Five game, and as long as we play in the Big Five, I’m never going to have one of these games let me make decisions about my team. These games are crazy....

You feel like they take coaching out of your hands. You feel like they’re coaches on the court. They’re going to make the right decisions and if they get fouled, they’re going to make their...

We will monitor Curtis’ recovery over the next few months. We plan to be very cautious as we move ahead. This is an incredibly gifted young man and he will be given as much time...

I just told him I loved him and there’s been nobody like them. They’ve set the tone for what we want great players to be.

They just don’t fear failure. They’ve been through so much. They’re going to play you for 40 minutes and whatever happens, happens.

I wanted him to shoot more. I said, ‘I’m not going to start you unless you shoot.’ Believe it or not, he’s unselfish.

I definitely see the comparison. Both teams had key senior leadership and I can see the parallel between Rudy Gay and Marvin Williams and the impact that each has. I had never really thought about...

What if that had been it? All we’ve got is every day. Let’s just take every day and realize how lucky we are.

It has amazed me how confident he has become in his intellect. The first day on the basketball court here, he was not intimidated. But that summer going to class, he was. It was very...

He’s been as patient as any player I’ve ever had.

You have to be careful about that because you don’t want to give the guys too much information and lose our aggressiveness.