The biggest change is they freelance more than last year. They're more open offensively. |
The last 18 minutes, our kids played the way that Iowa State teams are supposed to play. When you're on the road, down 19 points, your point guard isn't playing, and you have a chance to win it at the end -- that says a lot about your players. |
The last 7 or 8 minutes, the players willed themselves to play with an amazing amount of energy. We made some huge shots and we guarded them at some critical times. |
The main thing is, it can't be a first-round knockout. I don't know that there's a more focused, motivated team in the country right now. They're 0-2 in the league and they've lost three in a row. They've played a brutal schedule. I'm sure they're not happy with where they are. |
The only person in the program that is allowed to think about or talk about Oklahoma is (assistant head) coach (Jack) Easley because he's scouting them. We've got to get to 9-2 and win this tournament. |
The players did it; they just willed themselves to some things. They played with an amazing amount of energy. We've come from behind a lot, and we just kept plugging away. |
The way we guarded her was the way we had to with our team. At our place, we doubled her and held her to 15 points but they lit us up for 13 3s. |
The way we guarded her was the way we had to with our team. At our place, we doubled her and held her to 15 points, but they lit us up for 13 3's. |
The way we've approached it is we're playing the No. 9 team in the country this year. It's a great team, a team that has some new faces, but it's the same approach - very athletic, they defend great. |
There's no question we've played better when we've played man. Right now it's easier to chase a person than to rotate the way we expect them to rotate in our zone. |
There's no way to guard her. There isn't. If there is, I don't know anyone that's found it. |
They have a tremendous amount of weapons. We don't match up with them physically, but they're a tough team for a lot of people to defend, not just us. |
They were switching on the perimeter, so we knew we'd have a tough time getting a 3-point shot off. We still had enough time to get a basket and free throw. |
They're a team that understands how to win. We needed to make one more play to get the game closer. We just didn't have enough of the extra plays that we have to make to have a chance to win. |
They're doing the same thing we're doing. They're looking at their schedule going, 'Who can we beat?' They've got this game circled and so do we. |