Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Mizzou Head Coach Kim Anderson

Opening Statement...
"I'm really proud of these guys. I mean, we played a great basketball team, and they had an opportunity to win. We've had several games like this. I don't know if we've ever had any quite like this, but several close calls. I thought in the first half, we did a good job of recovering it. They got off to a lead and were a little bit tentative, and didn't take great shots, and I thought our defense got a lot better. We did good job of keeping them off the boards, and that was not the case in the second half. In the second half, they got a lot of offensive rebounds - looking at your second chance points, 15-8. In a game like this, and this is something we're trying to learn as a group, we have some young guys, little things like this make a difference. One or two possessions, and we don't have that large margin of error. We can't give away possessions. I thought our effort was great. We made some plays when we needed to. We did a good job on Qualls, he's a great player. We had some guys step up. I was glad to see 'Teki' feel better. He had a sprained ankle yesterday, and I wasn't even sure if he was going to play. Wes Clark made some great plays down the stretch to get us back to where we were. As there have been several, it was a disappointing loss, but you just have to hopefully learn from it and build on it."

On Wes Clark's missed free throws…
"Wes Clark did not lose the game."

On keeping Arkansas' score lower than average…
"I thought we did a great job, with a couple of exceptions, against their press. We threw it away a couple of times, and I thought the tempo was about what we wanted. We wanted to run, and had the opportunity. We did a good job defensively. Wes did a good job on Qualls. They were 4-for-16 for threes. There were 12 threes that they missed, and a lot of those were long rebounds, and we just didn't do a good job of getting those guys off. I thought we did a good job defensively."

On the last possession that got Wes Clark to the line…
"Wes was hot, so we wanted him to have the basketball. And they did a good job, but he was able to sneak down the line and get fouled."

On Wes Clark wanting to have the ball in key situations...
"I really think he has improved. I think one area that we have improved we are now a team that is getting better at playing north and south. Playing vertically instead of just being as a sideways team. I thought we did a pretty good job of getting inside and kicking it out and making the extra pass, and those are things we didn't do three weeks ago very well, so Wes is a part of that and Keith is a part of that. I thought 'Teki' and Namon played with great patience. 'Teki' didn't try to force anything. He moved well. He knocked them down. I do think Wes has become a guy who is harder to guard. He's almost better without a screen. He's really improved this whole year."

On Wes Clark's ability to make plays for other guys…
"Guys are doing a good job guarding, and I think Arkansas did a good job on him. I think we as a team- and I know it hasn't always shown - we've lost some games and that's disappointing. I think that Wes and Keith have made some plays, and it's helped our outside shooting. We've gotten better shots. We haven't always made them, but we have the opportunities. I hope that will continue. Tramaine too—I thought he played pretty well tonight."

Sophomore Forward Johnathan Williams III
On his frustration with a close loss:
“It's frustrating but we just have to keep pushing, keep looking forward, and stay focused. We have to keep working every day and keep praying about it; it'll get turned around.”

Freshman Guard Montaque Gill-Caesar
On how they feel after the loss:
“It was a team effort. It's unfortunate that we missed those two free-throws, but it wasn't Clark's fault and after the game that's exactly what you tell him. We win together, we lose together. Today didn't go our way but it wasn't anyone's fault.”

On how the defense they played against Arkansas' Michael Qualls:
“We just played hard and matched his intensity. He's a very intense guy; he moves a lot. We communicated very well and focused on our defensive assignments and executed them well. Wes Clark is an elite defender: he's quick and he's smart. Putting him on Qualls was a smart move because it made his night very difficult.”

On how they handled Arkansas' defensive pressure:
“I think we handled the pressure really well. We've prepared really well the last few days. We went out there cool, calm and collected.”

Arkansas Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement...
“Well, if you wanted a competitive game, you got that no question about that, right down to the few seconds. If you wanted a pretty game it probably wasn't, but at the end of the day you had two teams that competed. I commend Kim Anderson; he has those kids playing hard. As a young basketball team, they're coming off some hard loses, and to play teams, such as us, who are a different kind of team than they usually play, they played unbelievable tonight, making shots. Gill-Caesar really kept them in there, and of course you have Clark who is making big plays for them. 'J III' you already know about him from the recruiting game, so they have a lot of young talent. We were fortunate as time ran out on them and we're happy for the win. Our kids competed. I thought they came in a lot better than we had in the previous games, and again when you get to the free throw line and it's going down the stretch you have to make your free throws. We miss some, and they miss some as well. We were fortunate on the game tonight."

On the time-out called before Wes Clark's free throws, was it to make Clark think oor was it to plan out coaching moves...
“It was both. We tried to ice him a little bit. Like I said, sitting there in that chair where I am sitting, watching a lot of free throws being shot going down the stretch in the games, it brought to mind a couple of those games where we played opponents where they made the shots. You know we were fortunate. I am sure if Wes made those shots nine other times he would make them. But this afternoon, it shined on the Razorbacks. “

On the feeling you had winning as a visiting coach:
“We had a race and that's the most important thing. We're in the SEC, racing for our kids to come in and battle against all kinds of odds. It was a great crowd. The energy was in the building that their kids fed off of. They led by four at halftime, and we've been in those situations where we hadn't played well and we panic. But I think the Alabama game is a sign of our kids really improving and growing. There are a lot of story lines, and everyone wants to read about it, but to me I'm a day-to-day guy, so to me it was the next game. Was it a big game? Yes, why, because it was the next game. And obviously because of my ties here. The thing I love about it is that people care about basketball. They have passion about it, and that means I did my job when I came here. But other than that we just happened to get the rebound.” 

Arkansas Sophomore Forward Bobby Portis
On his feelings while Wes Clark was at the free throw line at the end of the game:
“Hoping he misses both of them and if he makes it we must get the rebound.”

On what he thought was the key to Arkansas' win today:
“Defense. In the first half Wes (Clark) and the team were getting easy pull-ups and lay-ups, but in the second half, coach harped on us stopping them during half time.”

On how the team is able to win on the road this season:
“Our confidence, although we are a new team our chemistry has improved since last year and we are hanging out together outside the court.” 

On the defense Mizzou played on Michael Qualls today:
“All big scorers have those games. Last game I didn't really score that well, but it happens to you. You can't always score well every night.

Arkansas Senior Forward Alandise Harris

On having two good games at Mizzou Arena:
“I like to play well on the road. I know I need to play well on the road in order for us to win.”

On the defense played on Michael Qualls today:
“He's not the only person on our team. It requires others to have to step up because it could be anybody's best game.”