Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
3/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2011
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Staff Gallery 
|
AP Photo Gallery
MIZZOU BASKETBALL POST GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement...
"In the first half, we didn't shoot the ball very well, but our defense was good. We had a turnover early in the second half, and that got us going in the wrong direction. I give a lot of credit to Kansas, though. I think they did a good job in the second half of making the adjustments they needed to make. They only shot five free throws in the first half, and by the end of the game, they had shot 28. They played more aggressively in the second half, and it paid off for them."
On the teams' shooting...
"I think (Thomas) Robinson did a good job of making plays. They hit shots when they had open looks, and our players struggled when they had chances to score on uncontested shots."
On Mizzou's late second-half run...
"We were down by 13 late in the game, and then we scored nine straight points to cut it to four. We gave a great effort tonight, and one of the things I love about our team is that our players don't give up. Laurence Bowers and Ricardo Ratliffe in particular played hard inside, along with Steve Moore."
On Laurence Bowers...
"It was great to see him disrupting their offense with steals and blocked shots. Laurence helped us to get our offense going with some key rebounds. He also set the tone for us down low, and everyone played aggressively to get to the free-throw line."
Missouri Players
Lawrence Bowers
On turning the losing streak around...
"We can't let it be a carryover. We played with super energy tonight. We did some goods things but we also couldn't make a shot. We didn't capitalize on their turnovers. We have to go into Kansas City with the mind set that this could be our last game (against a Big 12 opponent)."
On the poor end to the season...
"We came up short these last three games and that's rare. I don't think I've ever lost three games in a row. "
Michael Dixon
On getting out-rebounded...
"It's tough. They have size and those guys can jump. But there is a technique and an art to getting defensive rebounds. You have to box out and not let your man get the rebound. Your job is to not let your man get the rebound. "
Marcus Denmon
On the poor end to the season...
"In our league you've got to come out and play hard because every game there is a possibility you can loose. I feel that tonight Kansas really did a good job, so credit to them. They limited us to one shot and kept us off the boards."
On Kansas slowing down Missouri's offense...
"They didn't do anything different (than last time). I feel that we got good ball movement and (got) the shots that we wanted. We just didn't knock the shots down."
Kansas Coach Bill Self Quotes
On winning the Big XII Conference seven years straight...
"I think this is a great league and ranks out as one of the best three leagues, two leagues, every year, it seems like. And it seems like on an off year, we're fourth. A lot of good players have come through here. With all of the turnover we've had here, it's pretty special to have won it seven years in a row. I don't think we should ever take that for granted. But hopefully, it'll springboard us into a good post-season. I'm really proud of our guys because three weeks ago we didn't have a chance. We were two games behind and needed a lot of help, and we had to take care of our business. To do what these guys have done is pretty remarkable."
On the amount of turnovers in the game...
"They did a good job. I bet you 15 of them were unforced; they played well. The only chance you have while having that many turnovers against Missouri would have to be to rebound well. We did a god job on the offensive glass to steal some points away that we gave away in the transition. Well, unfortunately, they missed shots. They normally have a much higher percentage, I think we kind of had the same thing going ourselves. But we did score, and we did rebound, and I think that that's why we had a chance to win. When you turnover and foul every possession, that's usually not a good combination on the road."
On strategy used in the game...
"I think that their ball movement, from our standpoint, is good at getting the ball quick from side to side. So all we tried to do was, hopefully, eliminate shots off the catch, as much as we could. And we had to just keep them out of the paint. First half we did a great job. They didn't' make shots and they didn't get to the paint as much. Second half they broke us down off the bounce. That's usually what happens when teams are behind, they do the same thing with us, and they're trying to catch up."
Kansas Players Quotes
Tyrel Reed
On the final few plays of the game...
"We didn't panic, and guys took care of the ball better and made some free throws, made some shots. We were in the huddle, and it's not really one of our plays, it's just one of our sets. So we ran our set, and someone set a good fade screen for me in the corner. I told Coach [Self] I was going to knock it down, and he said, `Make the shot.' So I did, and I'm happy about that."
On the style of play...
"I think in spurts we showed a good toughness, and that was definitely a toughness win. Missouri is a great team and they hadn't lost at home yet this year, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. Give credit to their pressure, they forced us to make some dumb turnovers, but I thought for the most part it was a pretty tough game."
On their defense...
"They had a lot of misses, and I don't know if you could contribute that to our defense or not, but at the [Allen] Fieldhouse we couldn't stop them. They had 86 points on our home court, and I think this time we just did a better job of keeping the ball in front of us. They're a tough team, and they're a good team, so give credit to them ."
Marcus Morris
On Thomas Robinson's play...
"He's just another big to bring a lot of energy with me and [Markieff Morris]. T-Rob played like a man today, he got 15 [points] and 13 [rebounds] in 17 minutes, so that's unheard of. If we can get that play out of him for the rest of the year, we will be tough to beat."
On the play of the bigs...
"It was pretty evenly matched. I think we were just a little bit quicker, but it was pretty evenly matched. I think [Laurence] Bowers did a real good job of continuing to move and get rebounds."
On what they did defensively...
"We guarded the three well. I don't think they had too many threes, I looked up at one point in the second half and they were 1-17 on threes so I think we guarded that pretty well. Towards the end, I think we had a couple of key stops that we really needed."
