A loss to anybody would really set us off track of winning the Big East and being the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. |
A lot of teams have played zone, been putting a lot of pressure on us, taking us out of our fast break. I think tomorrow will be a good game to get up and down the court. |
After the Marquette game, guys got tighter as a team. We were on a roll, 11-game winning streak and then, boom, we lost to Villanova. But we got even tighter. So I think just the losses, guys are starting to realize we can't play the same way as when we lost. |
After we lost, I did a lot of thinking about dominating this game, getting the team going. Coach said this was just like any other game, but we really had bull?s-eyes on this one, circled it, had all the arrows pointed to it. We made sure we were focused. |
Coach has been telling us we?re the deepest team in the country. It showed. |
Early on, we were just out of whack. It looked like we didn't know what to do in the first half. |
Everybody goes through that. I think it was up to his teammates to pick him up, because it?s us who need him out there to do what he does and do what he does so well. |
Everybody's got to pick it up. I can't put guys on my back like that. |
He hit that shot and it does a lot for the confidence. I think he was thinking about that shot. |
He sets standards for you, not to let you give up on yourself. He makes you stronger mentally, to be able to go through any situation once you leave Connecticut, in the real world or on the court. He gives you the a mindset just to say, '(The hell with) 'em, I'm going to do what I do.' That's coach. |
I don't think it was an emotional game. I think it was something we needed to fight for. They weren't going to play dead and just give us the championship. They knew what was at stake. |
I really put a lot of thinking into dominating this game, getting the team going and winning. I think the older guys put it on themselves to win this game. I think we're tougher than a lot of people give us credit for. They might say, ?You're talented, but you're not tough. You can't have both. You're going to be too good if you have both.' I think a lot of our guys are tough physical and mentally. |
I think it's basketball. These refs are trying to protect players from doing something they will regret for the rest of their college career and season. But at the same time, we are in the Big East. We are in an aggressive conference. You should allow guys to throw 'bows. I think that's what happened with Jeff. He shot an elbow. He was in the wrong, but I don't think he should have gotten ejected. |
I think today's game speaks for itself. We're just as tough as any team in the league. We just go out and play. We play hard. We play tough. We're a talented team. |
I think we?re tougher than a lot of people give us credit for. They think, ?You?re talented, but you?re not tough. You can?t have both. You?d be too good if you had both.? I think they read too much into that. |