Mizzou Basketball Postgame Quotes
Illinois 75, Mizzou 66
Mizzou Head Coach Kim Anderson
Opening Statement…
“I thought we played well in the second half. I think they came out in the first half and pressed us, but in the second half, we settled down. We changed our defenses up a little. It comes down to making shots. We had some looks, but couldn’t get them down. That has kind of been our story for the last few weeks. I think this is a good time for a break, to be honest with you. We didn’t get much of a break after getting back from Italy, so hopefully the guys will get a chance to go back home and spend some time with their families. We will come back and regroup.”
On what the game showed him…
“I think the game showed me some things about Jordan Geist. I think it showed me things about Reed Nikko. Reed can be a guy who can provide some solid contributions. I think Russell Woods played well today. I think he did a good job taking the ball to the basket. We need to build on that.
On Kevin Puryear’s second half performance…
“He was the guy that was making plays. I thought he did a good job of posting hard, guys did a good job of getting the ball to him. We have struggled getting the ball to the post, and thought we did a good job of that tonight. I thought Kevin played at another level, obviously he needs to play at that level every night.
Sophomore guard Jordan Geist
On his second half performance…
“I just tried to give our team a little spark and get us going. I know we are capable of playing with them and beating them, but when it comes down to it, we have to make our shots."
On carrying forward his performance from tonight…
“Every game is a little bit different, but when I get in there, I just try to give us a little something different, be a spark.”
Sophomore forward Kevin Puryear
On the message in the locker room at halftime…
“Mostly it was being more physical in the second half, which I thought we did a good job of doing. We understand we got really good looks, we just have to knock them down."
On the emotions of wanting to win…
“Anyone who knows me knows I am very competitive. I’m a Missouri kid, so I have been watching this game since I was a kid. Winning that game was something I wanted very badly."
