Mizzou head coach Kim Anderson

Opening Statement…
"Good win for us. I think Northern Illinois is a pretty good basketball team. Obviously, they were undefeated. I thought we got up. I thought our start was maybe a little too easy. They missed some shots. I'm not sure whether it was our defense or their offense. Then we got kind of stagnant. I thought Terrance was going to get a double-double, and I thought one of those numbers was going to be turnovers, okay? You know what, though? He calmed down and did a great job. Second half, we came out and made plays we needed to. We had a little run and everybody contributed. How about Jakeenan [Gant], who did a great job? Really, really happy for him, because he's worked hard and then made the plays in the end. Probably need him to make free throws a little better, but I thought our guys executed well down the stretch. That's really encouraging, especially with a young team."

On Jakeenan Gant's intensity level…
"He's practiced pretty well and we've really encouraged him to take the ball to the basket more. Sometimes, jump shots don't fall. He's got a good first step. He's gotten a lot better around the basket. He's got the little hook shot, you know? I'm just so happy for him because he's a guy who never complains and works hard every day. I'm just happy to see him have some success."

On whether Gant's rebounding made a difference for Mizzou…

"He's getting stronger. I think, as with a lot of these guys, getting a little more confidence. Sometimes when you're young, your shot doesn't fall and you let it affect other parts of your game, or you miss a shot, or whatever it is. He didn't tonight. He made plays. He made shots, too, but he made plays and I think that was critical for us. I thought he gave us a huge lift in the second half when we needed it."

On whether Mizzou's three-point defense improved towards the end of the game…
"I think we did a better job. They made some great shots. They did. I mean, [Marshawn] Wilson, he made some shots. [Travon] Baker made a couple. In the end, you hope the percentages work out. I thought we guarded them pretty well on some of them. Obviously they got some open looks, but I thought we did a pretty good job."

On whether his individual players are more reliable than last season…
"Definitely. I think there's more guys. I still think we need to continue to work on executing better and having consistency. I thought maybe tonight Kevin [Puryear] struggled for a while, and then he came in, he got fresh, and he really did a great job down the stretch. Got determined, made some shots. Namon [Wright] makes a big shot for us, Tramaine [Isabell] comes in and helps us out. Coming off the bench, Cullen [VanLeer] makes a big shot when we needed it. The refreshing thing, to be honest with you, is to see when a guy's open, like Cullen VanLeer, and the whole team is like 'Hey, throw him the ball!  Throw him the ball!' I can't really say I've had that experience since I took this job here. I think guys know who to get the ball to and they're not afraid to share it. You only hope that continues, but you can't turn it over 15 times.  That's not very good."

On the hiring of Barry Odom as Mizzou's next head football coach…
"One thing I do want to say, I meant to say this at the beginning, is how happy I am to have Barry Odom as our football coach. That's just an unbelievable hire by Mack [Rhoades], Wren [Baker], and everybody. It's great to have a fellow alum over there across Providence Road. I'm excited for him, I know he's excited. I have not even had a chance to talk to him. I texted with him yesterday after he got the job. I couldn't even get to him today, but I saw him. I think he was at the game for a while, so I appreciate him being here, and I'm really excited to have him as our head football coach."

Mizzou freshman guard Terrence Phillips

On teammate Jakeanan Gant's play…
"He was huge for us. He made a lot of plays for us down the stretch. It was just Jakeenan being Jakeenan. He was great tonight, and we need him to continue that for the rest of the season."

Mizzou senior forward Ryan Rosburg

On teammate Jakeenan Gant's outstanding performance off the bench...

"We see everyday at practice how capable he is of being a big spark for us. His athleticism and length allows him to do a lot of things on the court. It was great to see him have some success tonight."

On success of Mizzou's front court...
"We have been working on playing better as a front court unit, focusing on whoever is in trying to produce.  Of course, we would all like to have double-doubles, but if we can score 41 points between us we will be very happy with that. Lately, we have been trying to produce inside more. Our guards realize that when we get our bigs going, it opens things up for them on the outside."

Mizzou freshman forward Kevin Puryear

On improved play of Mizzou's front court...
"It was awesome. I'm extremely proud of Jakeenan (Gant) and Ryan (Rosburg). I think Jakeenan really did a great job. He changed the tone of the game for us tonight with his energy. It was a really big night for him, and I'm really glad we got to see him get it going."

On rebounding effort...
"We have to be very aggressive in that aspect. Ever since we got punished on the boards against Kansa State, we have been doing our best to rebound the ball. We are more than capable of being a good rebounding team, so we just have to focus on doing it to the best of our abilities."

On undefeated home record...
"We have to protect our home court. I am starting to see more and more people come to the games and that's a great feeling. Our culture is changing, and that's a great thing to experience." 

Northern Illinois head coach Mark Montgomery

Opening statement...
"This was a very competitive game. I liked the tempo more in the first half, when it was 26-27. We didn't get off to the best start, but credit Missouri's defense. I thought they came out and punched us right in the face. I give our guys credit. They responded and we were only down one at half time. I thought both teams played hard, but thought Missouri just made a few more plays, unfortunately for us. You look at the stats and we had four guys in double figures and we battled on both ends of the glass. Seventeen offensive rebounds, I think that's impressive because sometimes we were small out there. Missouri had the answer. They had different players that stepped up. Good ball club. Well coached."

On the Huskies' 7-0 start…
"I thought our schedule prepared us for a game like this. They just made a few more plays than us and that's kind of how it works."

On freshman guard Marshawn Wilson's impact…
"I think that gave us some confidence. Our players know that Marshawn Wilson can get it going. He came in averaging a point per minute, almost 11 points a game. He stepped up and gave us that energy. He had his career high in minutes with 28 minutes and he was perfect at the foul line. I'm very proud of him."  

On the Missouri front court's productivity
"Puryear. Good player. I thought we had him scouted pretty well, but he found a way to make clutch shots. I thought our size could bother them with Marin [Maric] with Rosburg. We got him in foul trouble, but other guys stepped up. Woods stepped up, Gant stepped up. Our big key was to keep those guys out of the lane and I thought we did a pretty good job. They just got to the free throw line, and we couldn't get a stop without fouling them late in the game. I thought that's what hurt. Credit their bigs. We know they're good players. They had answers and they ran their offense efficiently to get them the ball."   

Freshman guard Marshawn Wilson

On Contribution to Team…
"We have come back before, so I wasn't really trying to put the team on my back or anything. They needed me to score. Other nights, I don't need to score the ball and sometimes I do. This was one of those nights that I had to score."