Mizzou 82, Stephen F. Austin 81
Postgame Quotes
Mizzou Head Coach Cuonzo Martin
Opening statement…
“It wasn’t a good win in my opinion, it was a great win. They (Stephen F. Austin) are a team that you don’t want to play. They are one of the few teams we’ve played all season that can score on the perimeter, as well as in the post. They can shoot the ball, attack the lane and defend you. I think they are one of the better teams in the country and I don’t really care if they’re ranked or not. I think they are one of the best teams from top to bottom. One thing I always say to our players is don’t look at the name of the team on the jersey. That’s a different level team. I hope our fans appreciate the team that came here and played tonight. That’s a talented, tough and physical team.”
On battling Stephen F. Austin’s defensive efforts…
“We felt as a staff that we’d give them 13 (turnovers created). Just the way they play. It’s one of those games where you see on film the way they trap the ball. What that meant for us was our big guys got the ball on the post and had to make a play. In most cases, we wanted Jontay (Porter) and Kevin (Puryear) being that guy. It doesn’t always work like that though in scramble situations and they’re switching and doing different things. You got to be able to make plays and make shots. I thought our guys did that enough.’
On Jordan Geist stepping up late for the Tigers…
“He’s a guy I’d take to the back alley with me. I don’t care what the stat sheet said, I knew what was going to happen down the stretch. You ride with that guy because you know what’s in his tank and what’s in his chest.”
Mizzou senior forward Jordan Barnett
On finding open looks from three in the first half…
“Usually when I get open threes it’s because of our guards. They’re penetrating, kicking it out to me and finding the open spot. I got to give it all to my guards. They’re good at getting into the paint and looking for me when they’re in there. That’s why I was able to get some tonight.”
Mizzou senior guard Kassius Robertson
On his approach in the Tigers’ final defensive possession…
“I had to do something. I was so shocked that I missed those free throws before that. I had to forget about it. I had to make sure we didn’t lose this game, because it would’ve been a lot worse in missing those free throws. After their guy came off the ball screen, Jontay (Porter) and I went with him. I knew the man behind us was wide open and he was going to try and throw it back. I got a hand on it and I had to dive on it. The ref gave me a timeout and it worked out.”
On Stephen F. Austin’s defensive scheme...
“That blitz ball screen. That’s the first time as a player that I’ve really seen it. They would jump out right away. That surprised us a little bit. We watched it in film, but it’s totally different thing actually playing against it. They didn’t really press at all, but they did a really good job of taking passes away. Turnovers for us is a talking point every game. We didn’t get it done tonight and that’s what kept them in the game. That was a big reason for a lot of our turnovers that blitz ball screen.”
Stephen F. Austin Head Coach Kyle Keller
Opening statement…
“What Coach Martin has done here, I think he’s done an unbelievable job. With his edge, they’re going to win a lot of games. They just keep getting better. They’re tough. I wish our guys were as tough as they were and we might have won this game tonight. I give them all the credit. We couldn’t guard (Jordan) Barnett. It was a horse game out there. Coach Martin did a great job of game planning. We just didn’t make plays down the stretch.”
