Baylor, Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Baylor Photos 
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14/16 BAYLOR 77 (23-8/11-7), TEXAS TECH 74 (13-18/3-15)
Friday, March 6, 2015
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 9,554
BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES
Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement:
"First, I want to say as a coach, you always want to win for the seniors on senior night. Second, you want them to play well. Both of those things happened. Third, if it wasn't for the crowd, we don't get this win tonight. (Texas) Tech was phenomenal and we really had to execute on the offensive end to give us a chance to win, because we couldn't stop anybody on the defensive end."
On the turning point of the game::
"Well, I think first of all, when we went man, that sped up the tempo. It's so tough playing Tech because they do such a great job grinding it and making you guard for 35 seconds. With that tempo, if you give up offensive rebounds, what happens is you're coming down on offense and trying to shoot quicker because you haven't had the ball in a while. Them getting the lead and playing so well early on is the worst thing that we could have happened."
On Royce O'Neale's threes::
"It was huge. Royce stepped up and made big plays all year long. It was real tough because everybody wanted to win for Royce and Kenny. We weren't playing well on the defensive end, with 22 assists and only 12 turnovers and 53 percent from both three and two, if you round up. The only thing I really have to credit is the perseverance to just stay in the game, because we could have gotten more frustrated, but we didn't. They stuck together and really executed well down the stretch."
Senior Forward Royce O'Neale
On making two three-point baskets back-to-back::
"I'm a good shooter, so I knew the next one was going to go in. That was huge, because we got a little spark for the team, which helped us out."
On whether he was worried when they were down by 12::
"They did a good job taking care of the ball and rebounding. We just had to stay together. We knew we were going to come back. We just had to make key stops and easy passes."
On the emotions of senior night::
"I knew I had to stay together and stay poised, and I knew they were going to take care of business, especially when I got into foul trouble. Everyone on this team can shoot and everybody can play."
Junior Forward Taurean Prince
On the comeback:
"We were just trying to get the win, so we knew we had to kick it into gear. Credit to the seniors for a lot of pep talks during the timeouts and the media timeouts. The guys were just delivering down the stretch."
On his turnaround during the game:
"Staying poised and knowing that if you rebound, you'll get the easy ones. Royce hit me on a couple post looks, Kenny hit me for a three, Lester hit me for a three. It was all about sharing the ball and knowing what each other is best at."
TEXAS TECH POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Tech Head Coach Tubby Smith
Opening Statement:
"I thought it was a well played game for the most part by both teams. Both teams shot the ball well, except for us when it came to free throws. I am impressed with Baylor. They did a good job. We had them in a situation in there, but they didn't panic and they made big shots to pull out the win."
On what was different about the team's road play tonight:
"We have had good practices. Guys made shots and when you make shots you are always going to play better. We just didn't make enough. We also shortened our bench some and I thought that helped us, and we took care of the basketball."
On if he ever expected Devaugntah Williams to have a shooting game like he did tonight:
"Oh yes. He is very capable of shooting like that. He was very focused tonight. Eight for nine, which is some pretty good shooting by anybody. He was getting some good looks and they were going in for him tonight. Our guys were finding him open and making the extra pass."
On how they build off of this game heading into the Big 12 Tournament:
"It is the best game we have played this year by far and the most complete game we have played. From a defensive standpoint we executed the game plan. Other than making the shots when we had to we did everything else. We battled on the boards and fought in the paint. We did a lot of good things. We shared the ball and played unselfishly. Just match-ups hurt us. I though the match-up against Taurean Prince just crushed us. We just had nobody inside that could guard him. That killed us."
Junior Guard Devaugntah Williams
On the confidence gained from hitting his opening three-point shots:
"It helped a lot. At shoot around and warm up I was working on extending my range and that was what I was looking for. It was repetition. I just kept my eyes on the rim when I shot the ball."
On what turned the game around for Baylor:
"They were just capitalizing on our little mistakes. The slight mistakes we made they made a play out of it."
Freshman Guard Keenan Evans
On how they felt they performed defensively for the first half of the game:
"I felt like we played pretty great. We were getting hands everywhere and were getting deflections out there."
On if this is the best game they have played on the road:
"This is by far the best game we have played on the road. I feel like we were more focused. Practice has been more intense and we have really been focusing in."
