At the start of the second half, defensively, we were able to adjust to some of the things they did in the first half but I knew they would never go away and just tried...

I don’t want to go there. I can’t look at that. They’re good enough just by getting in passing lanes. We have a good basketball team, and we’ll play another day.

I did feel like the game was there for the taking from the beginning.

Everybody in the program is very excited about the schedule. It is a credit to our program that we have had a tough time scheduling games, but this year with the team that we have...

I think our kids were a little rushed. It’s playoffs and we played that way. We played really fast.

I think our feet have touched the ground, but just barely.

I don’t know if you can step out of character. This is a group of kids that’s level-headed, they realize how big things are and how important things are, but they have fun. They’ve taught...

I thought we were a little flat in the beginning (against Army). I was thinking about taking a time-out and getting on them a bit (after Army started with a 19-9 lead), but I have...

I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half of taking them out of their offense and that really set the tone for the game. We kept our intensity in the second...

I thought we had to go out there early and make them respect us. I thought we did a great job of that.

This time, we know the task that is in front of us. We came here to play two games. Believe me, we’re enjoying it, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.

I think the kids were really focused on yesterday’s walk and practice. There was an edge to everybody, because Friday night nobody was very happy and that really carried over today.

I thought the tone was set at 1:19 when Knight drove the ball and they called a foul on Abe. The clock stopped, and they’re scoring points. That’s the worst thing.

It’d be a lot easier if they took away the 35-second clock. Our team fits our personality and the type of kids we have. We play defense, take care of the basketball and we’re going...

Our place is filled every night and buses come with us on the road. This has created such excitement and as long as we take it in stride, we have some size and some handlers,...

This is so neat for the school and everything like that. I won’t play it down because it’s wonderful for people to have that kind of respect for our program. At the same time, we...

We just wanted to enjoy it for so long.

I don’t mean to be a tyrant. A couple threes here and there, and you want to go and slop it up. That’s not these kids. They haven’t been like that all year. I wanted...

Our inside effort really took it in the second half.

I haven?t had any questions about the kids and where they?re taking shots. I get excited when we?re aggressive coming off screens and taking shots, even when (defenders) are trailing. But I can?t force them....

The biggest thing for me has been enjoying my kids and enjoying the game. It has been a lot of fun this season.

Those kids know what to do and to not play to the crowd. He knows the rules. He needs to be smart enough not to do something like that.

I think going to Pitt and winning and Saint Joe’s got the ball rolling and as we went along we got confidence.

They have about 14 guys we can talk about. Washington runs the engines so quick. He does a great job getting them into their tempo. They’re very impressive. It starts with him.

It is a big game in a sense of being a TV game that’s big for our conferences, but first we have a league game that’s huge. Then we’ll be on a national scale and...

I think the kids were really focused. There was an edge to everybody. As we went out there, we knew we were going to get American’s best shot. We always played good defense.

They’re everything they are built up to be. The biggest compliment that I can pay is they play so hard. They’re the No. 1 team in the country and they play hard every day. The...

I think a lot of things happen that we play the way we do.

This is the way it?s going to be every game. I told the guys to embrace it, not fight it, then go out and have fun playing the game.

I think going to Pitt and winning and St. Joe’s got the ball rolling and as we went along we got confidence.

You have to keep going and realize it’s part of life. In that, we want everyone to share in the things that have happened to us.

You knew they were going to hit some deep shots, and we just had to keep grinding and grinding. I thought Donald Brown on the boards in the second half really mixed it up. I...

I’m not a guy that goes anywhere, but tonight I am.

We just had to keep grinding and grinding.

Three-pointers are part of the game. Obviously we have some guys that can shoot the basketball, that’s why it ended up being along the perimeter because they were so strong physically inside.

(The players) may not be giddy. But I?m still giddy.

It was a great game. The kids left it all out there. It was the kind of game where you thought you had it, and it got away.

When we get back, we’ll have some beers.

We found a combination there that was moving the basketball, and I thought we were pretty fresh with it. We got the spurt. I thought we were getting better and better shots.

That?s pretty impressive, nationally, that they think of us as a ninth seed. I think it?s recognition of who we played and who we beat.

The last two games, Charles has been our rock. He was a big key.

I think we have to take care of the ball in order to get some quick shots against them. They are obviously great athletes, great players. They get the ball up and down very quickly....

We haven?t even mentioned that. It was fit into our season, but it?s in the middle of our league schedule. Right now, the league is most important.

We know we’re a good basketball team. Even with rankings and all that sort of stuff, if you really knew our program you’d know these kids play for each other.

Charles used to drag Donald (Brown) to the gym every day. (Lee) worked with (Brown), helped him with his confidence.

Because of the financial situation, we used to get to the end of the steak dinner, and then you ask them to pay 42,000 dollars, and that was usually a deal-breaker. Now you can sit...

To be honest, we don’t know a whole lot yet about Arkansas, other than that they played very good basketball down the stretch.

We could have a 10th spot, if we find the right kid. But that?s still to be determined.

More than anything, it has been trusting and having confidence in our kids. It has been a lot of fun this year. Every time we have played, we have made a pact early to let...

I don?t see him playing this year. He?s really not getting a whole lot better. There?s been nothing official yet. We?re just going to wait until (classes) get back, talk to the doctor and go...