#19 Syracuse 82, Missouri 68
1/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2004
Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder
"Syracuse is a good team and when you can't stop them it's hard to win. Defensively we just had breakdown after breakdown. They were all mental breakdowns, and when the ball's up you have to go get it. They beat us to loose balls and one-handed rebounds. If we're not tougher in those positions, thought Rickey (Paulding), we've got guys that are competing at various times, but collectively we have breakdowns. Good teams will expose them whether it is forgetting to block a guy out, and that's where we are right now."
On Mizzou's Tough Schedule...
"We've got no choice, we've got to come together as a team. I saw it in the Iowa game that we can defend. When we felt urgency in game pressure, we performed. It's not so much about our physical effort, but our mental effort. It's our mental focus-it's what we're doing on the court, we have to play with a purpose defensively. The schedule has shown our weaknesses and what we have to do is work on them."
On Randy Pulley...
"I think Randy is working hard, and he's in the same boat as the rest of us - his concentration has to be stronger. We were back in a 2-3 zone, and we leave (Jerry) McNamara, and how we were playing guys on the post, just mentally. I think we were a step late and it showed. It looks like we will step late in defending.
Missouri sophomore guard Jimmy McKinney
On the teams confidence level:
"I wouldn't say we were less confident, but I think we feel, I wouldn't say down on ourselves, but we feel we need to make a change and a run right now or our season will be down the drain."
On getting boo-ed:
"No, it's something that I don't really let get to me. I ignore it. Tonight I really didn't hear it, but you said it happened so they did. It doesn't bother us, but we should have got boo-ed. We got beat in our backyard.
Missouri senior guard/forward Rickey Paulding
On defense:
"At times we're a team that can guard everything. We shut people down and get stops and make runs. And at times, everything goes wrong on the defensive end because we're not talking and guys miss assignments and things like that. When things go bad, it's everything. We just play in spurts, and that's all there is to it."
Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim
On Craig Forth:
"Craig was good he didn't let the get the ball, he worked hard. Jeremy just let him get the ball that's why he had foul trouble. Craig was working hard for position and wouldn't let them get in there and I thought he had a tremendous game. Every time they went to double Craig moved toward the ball, he found them. Jerry found them, Hakim found them. Louie made a huge three when it was right in the game, it was a big play for him. Our defense was good and that was a key."
On the defense:
"I thought Louie looked good on defense but that shot was big, I was hoping he'd hit one and that was a big shot to hit. It was still obviously close and that gave us a little bit of a margin there. He did a nice job."
On Missouri:
"They had to score more points, they couldn't keep going inside, the clock was against them, we had enough of an edge they couldn't keep throwing inside they had to try for some 3's and they weren't making them."
On Syracuse opportunities:
"We had to get the rebounds, we finally got a couple rebounds, though we missed some opportunities. We had some open looks when we had the good lead, we got to keep scoring; we're not going to shut anybody out. We got some real good looks. Billy didn't finish like he normally does around the basket he was not himself tonight but everybody else picked it up."
