Mizzou Head Coach Kim Anderson

Opening Statement:
"I thought the first half was, obviously, very good. We did a great job. We shot the ball well. We got the ball to the basket. We rebounded well. We got the ball to the paint. I thought we played extremely well. We played loose. We played hard and we got to loose balls. The second half was a little different. I knew Arkansas State had the ability to come back. They had been down 24 to Baylor and got it back to six or seven. I knew they had the capability to get back into it if they shot the ball well. I think our biggest problem was we didn't do a good job defensively. There were times where you could drive a truck through the lane on both ends of the floor. That is something we have to work on. I thought we did a good job in the first half. The second half, our perimeter defense and our help defense was not good. It was not just the guy guarding the ball, it was the whole team. But that's something we can work on. Namon [Wright] made a big shot when we were struggling, and I thought it got us back going again. So, good win. Arkansas State is a team of juniors and seniors, I think they had 11 juniors and seniors somewhere on their roster. I was proud of our guys and the way they hung in there."

On Namon Wright's late surge…
"We weren't doing anything offensively before Namon made the shot. You know what, I have confidence in him. Just like he said, he has spent his time working and shooting extra to improve his shot. So, he has a little bit of freedom as long as it's a good shot. He took one in the first half that got blocked, I didn't think it was particularly a good shot and we had a discussion about it. But, that's a shot right there he shoots in practices all the time, and it certainly came at an opportune time, because we were struggling."

On the play of Cullen VanLeer…
"Cullen is a basketball player. Everyone knows Cullen can shoot, but he might be the smartest guy on the floor. He might be the smartest guy in the gym. He's way smarter than his coaches. He knows the game. He struggled a little bit defensively at times, but he knows where to be. Obviously he can shoot the basketball. But, at the end, I had him helping bring the ball up against the press, because I felt like he is a guy who knows how to play."

On Northern Illinois…
"I talked to Rob (Fulford) a little bit after the game and he mentioned, 'get ready for another game just like this one.' I'm sure they have guys who can shoot the ball and take it to the hole. And, I think they have a real good inside guy, a big guy. So, I don't know much about them right now. I'll know all about them by midnight."
 

Mizzou junior guard Wes Clark:

On teammate Cullen VanLeer...
"I have one word for Cullen, confidence. He plays with absolute confidence and that never fades. He brings confidence to the team, which is huge."

On Mizzou's success in the paint…
"We had good ball movement this game, unlike the last game in Kansas City, and it opened up some gaps for us to penetrate."

On calming down the team in the second half…
"We needed to slow the pace down. We got sped up from the traps on defense, but eventually we were able to slow the pace down."

On the fast start in the first half…
"I was happy with the start, it was a big change in the way we needed to be headed."
 

Mizzou sophomore guard Namon Wright

On converting a four-point play…
"It felt good to hit that three and it kicked me into gear. As a player, all you need is to see the ball go in once or twice to get more comfortable."

On Terrence Phillips' steal…
"Terrence's steal helped us turn the tide and gave us the momentum we needed."

On Cullen VanLeer's play…
"Cullen eats, sleeps and breathes everything basketball. He is an overall complete player and his game has progressed immensely. He is one of the smartest players on the team and that is big for us."

Arkansas State Head Coach John Brady

Opening Statement…
"Our team had a 12 or 13-minute stretch where we defended as well as we could do.  We turned them over, and finally made some shots I think we can make. In the second half, we got the lead down to four from 25.  We were the better team for that stretch.  I don't know where our energy came from, but the first half we didn't play very good defensively.  We let them drive to the goal and lay it in and our resistance wasn't there.  I tell everyone, we're going to score 70 to 75 points.  We throw it around enough and figure that out, but our problem is defensively.  My assistants said 'Let's play zone.' I'm not bailing my guys out to play any zone.  We don't have to beat Missouri or Oregon or any of those teams to win our league, but we have got to play man-to-man defense better, and I'm not going to go to zone and allow it to be an out for them.  But I was proud of our team, the way we came back and the way we guarded.  We turned them over and made some baskets in transition. 

"Sean Gardner, one of our better shooters, hadn't made a basket all year, yet he was 6-for-20 tonight.  He hit 2-of-3 there late. Frederic (Dure), who for the last five or six games last year averaged 16 a game, he finally hit a basket.  We need to make a few baskets out there around the goal.  We missed some around the goal early, but I was really proud of our team, particularly defensively, how we tried to guard, how we got back in the game, and made it a game.  We need to build on that.  If we can do that in our league, I think we have a chance to be okay."