Feb. 15, 2003
Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes
Missouri 71, Kansas State 63 15 February 2003 Columbia, Mo.
Missouri head coach Quin Snyder
On today's offensive performance:
"Our effort offensively has gotten better at playing with each other. AJ was just terrific. For us to be able to play through him like that, and for our guys to understand that and to have him as unselfish as he was makes us hard to guard."
On the play of Missouri junior forward Travon Bryant:
"I was pleased with his effort. I challenged him this week just to play hard, which sounds like such a simple thing, but it's the most critical thing for Travon is to play every play and not have any excuses or reason why you're not. ... I thought he had his best game."
On rebounding from Wednesday's loss at Texas A&M:
"We were tired. We had three games in a week, and we have another one Tuesday, so I'm conscious of the minutes some of our guys are playing. ... I think they recognized that there was a missed opportunity down at A&M and wanted to account for it today."
On starting Kevin Young instead of Travon Bryant:
"The lineup to me isn't a juggling act. I think (Young) has earned his opportunity. He's been playing hard and playing defense and rebounding. That's what this team needs from that position. That's what (Justin) Gage gave us so much of last year. If we can get that from this position, and Travon making some plays offensively, that's a bonus, like he did tonight."
On Tuesday's game against Nebraska: "Losing Jake Muhleisen, that's a devastating loss of a player of that caliber and the type of kid he is, the leadership he gives to that team. They've steadily gotten better since they've had to absorb that. Nate Johnson is a terrific scorer at the point. When we played them, I thought they were really physical with us at the beginning of the game. They really took it at us."
Missouri Player Quotes
Missouri junior center Arthur Johnson
On leading team in assist:
"I was just being more assertive with my passes and making the right reads. I wasn't rushing anything."
Missouri junior forward/guard Rickey Paulding
On opening scoring effort of second half:
"I just wanted to attack. I hit a couple of jump shots the in first half and felt like they were going to take it away, so I knew my drive was going to be open. Then the first couple of pays I just wanted to drive the ball, and I got a couple of lay-ups."
Missouri freshman guard Jimmy McKinney
On opening second half play:
"I think we played the best start of a second have that we've played. We came out very emotional. I try to keep the team on their toes and emotional, and I think that was the first time we've had a good second start."
On this win being a "must win":
"I really thought this win was a must. I've been saying from the start that we need to make a run, and right now we need to make a big run. It's time to stop saying we need to do it and do it."
Missouri junior forward Travon Bryant
On putting teams away:
"It's good for us to learn not to continue to get knocked back when a team does come back on us. We've just got to continue to execute the plays and play good defense, and the other team will break down eventually."
Missouri freshman forward Kevin Young
On focusing for his first career start:
"It's harder, it is because you don't know what they're[opponent] going to do some of the time. You don't know if they're going to double in the post, or where the double's going to come from, or how they're going to play the screen and rolls, and a lot of other stuff. Down there when you sit on the bench, you can watch and learn. So when you get in the game, you won't make those same mistakes. You've got to be really sharp from the start.'
Kansas State Coach Jim Wooldridge
On his team's performance:
We got into a one-point game and had several looks at the basket, but we didn't make the plays and they held on to win the game.
On playing teams close:
We haven't gotten over the hump yet. We have to find ways to do that.
On his team's inconsistency:
We've talked all season about shooting balance. One guy scores 20, but you still have sub par shooting nights somewhere else. It's still hard to win.
On Missouri's rebounding:
This (Missouri) is one of the better rebounding teams in this league. Arthur Johnson, Travon Bryant, Paulding are all effective rebounders.
Kansas State Junior Guard Frank Richards
On playing on the road:
Most teams feel like we do when we're at home. We want to protect.
On Missouri's fast start at the beginning of the game:
We weren't expecting them like that. They came out full blast and caught us on our heels, and that hurt us early.