TULSA POSTGAME QUOTES VS. CINCINNATI
3/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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TULSA HEAD COACH Frank Haith
Opening Statement
"Obviously it was a hard fought and physical game. Give Cincinnati credit. They were really aggressive and physical. When you play a team that has physical guys, particularly a post-up game, our goal was to try to take something away. They did a good job of throwing it out of the post and Cobb had one of those nights. He shot the ball really well. We left a lot of points out there. When you play a team that's really good defensively, as they are, you can't leave points out there. I think we left a lot of bunnies around the basket that I thought we missed. Give them credit. I thought their length bothered us. Also on the free throw line we missed opportunities. When you have opportunities like that to score against a good defensive team you need to score."
How did the Cincinnati's length bother you?
"I think in the first half it really bothered us. I think in the second half we got really good clean looks and we just didn't finish. In the first half I thought we were a little tentative. We weren't as assertive offensively in the first half, as we were in the second half. We were way more assertive in the second half we just didn't finish around the rim. Against a team that plays like that, your post moves have to be physical, you can't avoid contact because that's when they affect your shot. You have to go right at them. To their credit, they were a good defensive team. When you play a team like that you can't leave points out there. When you have an opportunity to score you have to score."
Is it difficult to get in a rhythm when you only get to the free throw line 13 times?
"Yeah if you look at it, I think we lead the league in free throws. That's one of our strengths. We just didn't get there tonight. I guess we weren't aggressive enough to draw fouls and get to the free throw line."
On going to Dallas with a conference title on the line
"First of all, if you told me we would be 14-3 right now with one game left, we would all be ecstatic, right? Our guys are really disappointed, and they should be, we lost a game. But, man, we've put ourselves in a great position from where we were back in December. I have nothing but great pride of these guys and how hard they've worked. It feels like the world had come to an end right now. We still have another game to play against a great team. So you got a great opportunity. When you are playing good teams at the end of the year, that's a positive."
What kind of adjustments do you have to make against another team with length?
"We have to get better. We have to make shots around the basket. Adjustments are, continue to work. Continue to practice. I thought we had some good looks. They blocked a couple of our shots, but I thought we had some shots around the basket, but we weren't able to put them in the hole. I think we still have to go play, we can't not show up. So we have to get our guys and get in there. The adjustments are, just continue to work. Our guys worked all year. You heard Ray talking about shot fakes, being able to draw contact. We were unable to draw contact tonight to get to the free throw line. Thirteen attempts I would imagine, probably one of our lowest free throw attempts all year. So in a physical game like that, we weren't able to be aggressive enough to get to the free throw line. We have to be more aggressive."
Does it help you at all that you've already played SMU in terms of preparation?
"I think one point in time we tied it up, 43-43, then there was a six-point swing right after that and the game got away from us a little bit. Their length is just as long as [Cincinnati]. So we've got to do a better job of attacking. Even our guards are attacking in there, we can't avoid - when you're playing guys with the length that these teams have, you can't avoid contact, you have to go right at them. When you try to avoid contact, first of all, the degree of difficulty makes the shot a low percentage play. So we cant have those plays that are out of control and we just throw that thing up there, those are plays we are just giving away. We can't do that."
TULSA JUNIOR GUARD Rashad Ray
On Tulsa's difficulties scoring against Cincinnati's length
"We practice the shot fake every day in practice. Getting the big men up and trying to get fouls, then getting to the line and making our free throws. We do that every day in practice. Credit to Cincinnati. They were tough down there tonight."
On Tulsa's execution
"We just have to take our time and make the layups. Just go up strong and play tough basketball. This was a tough and physical game tonight for us."
CINCINNATI ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH LARRY DAVIS
On the Bearcat's defense tonight
"We stuck to the game plan. They only had 18 points in the paint and that was the mantra for tonight. We had to load the box up, keep them out of the paint, and not let them drive. Until the end when they got really aggressive and went to the hole, but even when they went in they were out of control to get by us. Octavius Ellis did a great job protecting the rim. I thought if we could protect the paint, we could win the game, and we did that."
On Tulsa's offensive rebounding early in the game
"In a timeout we talked about it and I said, "This game wouldn't even be close right now if we rebounded." And the guards need to rebound. Troy Caupain and the other guards got in there and went to work, started battling. That stemmed the tide a little bit. In the second half they only had two offensive rebounds. When you limit a team to only two offensive rebounds in a half, you are going to have a pretty good shot to win."
How big is this win for Cincinnati
"This was a big win. Tulsa is a good team, obviously, they are in a first-place tie in the league. They've won 16 out of 18 of the last games. So coming on the road and beating them is huge, because they're a good team with good players. The coaches do a great job with them. But this is a big win for us. We had to have this win if we wanted to have a real, real shot at playing in the tournament. But now we have got to focus on beating Memphis. I think if we do that it will be hard for them to keep us out."
On Farad Cobb's game tonight
"He was big tonight. He had great shot selection and he used his three-point shot to get two-point pull-up shots too. He did a great job of not taking a half guarded shot. If he continues playing like that, he is going to have a great finish to his season and a great year next year. Kevin Johnson also played well and Troy had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers. Our three guards played very, very well."
