Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
12/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2009
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
|
Staff Gallery
Head Coach Mike Anderson Quotes
Opening Statement… “First of all, I'm shocked by the score. This is a good team. I just think we came out and took over. I thought we defended the rim really well. We had one of those spurts, when the game was going back and forth, but I thought our guys really came in and moved the basketball, knocked down shots. When you knock down shots it makes things a lot easier.” On what attributed to Missouri's high shooting percentage… “Well that's what we talked about coming into this game. We've got to defend the rim, we have to rebound better. I thought the ball movement was better, great ball movement. Guys were knocking shots and finishing off plays. Very up-tempo basketball team. How about our bench? I thought those guys came in and really triggered what took place today. Miguel Paul, Michael Dixon, Laurence Bowers. Hats off to our guys. I thought they paid attention to what we wanted to do.” On Missouri's bench… “Well that's good balance there and I thought that was something that was missing from our basketball team. We've got guys coming in, and our guys play hard, offensively and defensively. So you've got to get guys in there. Those guys that came in off the bench, when they come in you want them to maintain the level of play, but they took it to another level. I thought there were some good things happening out there.”
Missouri Player Quotes
Senior guard Zaire Taylor on if it got easier to play in the second half with large lead:
“Not at all, we were playing hard, just as hard as we were the first half. Oregon tried to make some good runs in the second half and tried to get back in the game, so we just wanted to play hard.”
Sophomore forward Lawrence Bowers on team defense:
“We played a good Oregon team well on the defensive end. They weren't making shots and I think that had a lot to do with our defensive intensity.”
Taylor on playing at home:
“You're always in your comfort zone when you go home, and we were hungry. There's guys on this team, myself included, that have never been on a two-game losing streak. So we had to wake up today. I felt this was a must-win, and I said that before.”
“We had guards on the glass, which is something I feel me and Marcus [Denmon] and JT [Tiller] do. It's what we're supposed to do. And I feel we strayed away from it a little bit in the past couple games, so I felt like it was something that we wanted to be a key to the game.”
Sophomore guard Marcus Denmon on all the three's Missouri hit:
“Coach always says take the good shots, and those were the shots that were available. The way they play their defense, they kind of pack it in, so we wanted to take advantage of it.”
Lawrence Bowers on responding to two losses:
“I think we responded really well. We fed off the crowd tonight.”
Senior guard Zaire Taylor on translating the success to the road:
“Personally, I always feel like I'm at home. I don't feel like I'm a road player, but through the history of me playing, I've played better on the road. The court's always 94 by 50 feet with ten foot rims.”
Oregon Head Coach Ernie Kent Quotes
Opening Statement:
“For a team that has struggled on the road, I thought they played a tremendous basketball game. They did a good job with pressure and were good defensively. Anytime you get 28 assists on 34 buckets, that's unbelievable. They shared the ball. They made shots when we were in rotation, they made shots when we were out of rotation—I just thought they did a wonderful job and played an excellent basketball game. They really rose to the occasion and played really, really well. As far as my guys, I think they started the game well and started the second half well. When you put yourself in a hole like that, it's hard to come back.”
On how they prepared for Missouri:
“It isn't so much simulating their pressure in practice. They've played that way for some time now, and we're trying to play that way. We're playing differently than we've played in the past. We are an up-tempo team and a pressing team, but their skills I thought were much better in this basketball game than ours were. It's hard to simulate being on the road on a team's home court. They play pretty good basketball here, and we both probably still need to figure out the road a little bit. The next thing for them is to go on the road and play this well, just like we need to figure out this road a little bit too.”
On losing their senior guard to injury:
“He's been banged up. I didn't think he was really OK to play in this game, so I sat him in the second half to try to get him healthy. He's had a lot of problems in the last week to ten days with his ankle. He's not practiced, and really not been able to go after it at all. It's really tough. I thought Malcom Armstead, for his first time on the road in a hostile environment like this, I thought he did a good job of leading this team. He kept his head in the game and tried to get our toughness back in the game, which really got away from us.”
On Missouri's rhythm and tempo:
“When you're an up-tempo basketball team, and you give the team confidence to run and make plays, you can get into a rhythm where you can make shots. You can do it at home and on the road. Kids aren't looking over their shoulders to see whether they should shoot the ball, and you can really get into a great offensive rhythm. I thought they hit a great rhythm. I just thought it was a team that was in a good place.”
