Feb. 1, 2016 Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Gallery
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15/13 BAYLOR 59 (17-5, 6-3), rv/rv TEXAS 67 (15-7, 6-3)
Monday, Feb. 1, 2016
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 6,064 BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement...
"I thought that they really defended well. Our points off turnovers was the difference, they had 18 to our seven. We battled and fought and second-chance points kept us in it. Normally we have been strong with bench playing but tonight we never really got in a rhythm and did not get it to flow where we could get that spurt off the bench, points-wise. You had the two hottest teams in the conference playing, in my opinion, outside of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, not a good ending for us."
On Texas' seniors...
"They have a lot of veteran seniors. Lammert, Prince, Taylor, Yancy, Felix -- those guys have been around the block, and when you have seniors who have gone through the wars in the Big 12. It is not like they are young pups who have not played minutes; it is not like they are not highly-touted recruits. Coach Smart has done a great job after the adjustment of Cameron Ridley going out. I think they are playing much better now than the beginning of the conference and you can credit their staff for that."
On Texas' play...
"Well, offensively, they do not turn it over. They only had 10 turnovers and we only had seven points off turnovers. They have great guard play and their bigs do not turn it over. That helps them, too -- 21 assists and 10 turnovers. You will win a lot of games with that offense."
On the team's defense...
"We have not been very good defensively the last few games. The last 6 games I think we gave up 46 and our defensive efficiency is down to the 90s in the country last I saw. We have been able to overcome it by rebounding and taking care of the ball and doing well, offensively. We will have to figure out how to get better defensively."
On preparing for West Virginia...
"The good thing is we have data to compare to the press. I thought our guys, like Lester Medford -- 8 assists, 2 turnovers --Taurean Prince and Ish Wainright handled the press. We only had 11 turnovers, which is not the end of the day, it is just they got 18 points on the ones we did have. I thought they did well executing for the short preparation and it will be easier now because we can practice the press. The good thing about the Big 12 is that you are playing different styles so it prepares you for the postseason, and that makes it fun as a player because one game you go against a team that packs it in and then you play a team that presses."
Senior Taurean Prince
On the second half play...
"It was frustrating. As a player, you cannot get too down. We have to try to stay level-headed. I think we did the best to our abilities, as far as leading, but we could not defensively, like knowing where to be. We take away a couple of the mess-ups, I think we are in the game. Bad shot by me at the end. That is just a bad play by me. I know it was time to score so I take fault."
On Texas' outside shooting...
"It was a matter of our wings being too low. They kept throwing those oops and kept getting inside. They did what they were supposed to do and once our wings got too attracted down, they started they started hitting them."
Senior Lester Medford
On Isaiah Taylor...
"He is a very good guard to play with. Any time you get the opportunity to play against another good guard, it is very good and he did a good job of getting the team involved."
On if this one hurts more because it is at home...
"Yeah, it hurts a lot. We cannot look back on it and have to get ready for West Virginia."
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Shaka Smart
Opening Statement...
"I think our guys hung in there really well. Baylor is a really good team. I think we were forced into coming here to win. Things went our way tonight, but it could have easily gone the other way. Our guys had a lot to do with that. When that happened, we dusted up. We got two teams who really wanted to win, who are competitive. Rico Gathers is as tough and as mean as they come. Our guys did a good job and they responded."
On UT's offense...
"We are fortunate that we have older guys, who have played against Baylor before and that played against this zone before, because we only had one day to practice. We spent ninety minutes yesterday at practice, and two-thirds were on how we were going to deal with their zone. It is a very good, aggressive zone, but our guys did a good job to carry over the game plan. More importantly, making some plays, like lengthening the clock when they needed to and Isaiah created some shots for some guys."
On Demarcus Holland's defense...
"We don't have a great match up for Taurean Prince, probably a lot of teams don't. I thought Demarcus Holland did an unbelievable job in the second half. Even though, Prince got 18 points, I do think there were some possessions where we did make him work. Demarcus fought the best he could."
On Connor Lammert's shots...
"This is the second straight road game against a big-time ranked team, and Connor Lammert has had 16 points. Connor earlier in the year was hesitant at times shooting the basketball, particularly against TCU. Connor is such a conscientious kid, he does not want let anybody down. He does not want to do the wrong thing. Sometimes when you are senior, it is about realizing `this is my time.' I think Connor is learning that more and more. He is taking the bull by the horns."
Senior Prince Ibeh
On his matchup with Rico Gathers...
"It's just too intense, (we) both want to win. Sometimes emotions can flare and you can lose your head for a couple of seconds. That was all it was."
On not giving into provocations...
"We have a mature team. We have a lot of senior leaders, so we just stay on the young ones' ears and tell them remember what we are here to do."
Senior Connor Lammert
On having a fourth win against a top team...
"We are playing with a lot of confidence right now. Earlier in the season we were not winning and we tried to figure out what was the problem. We came together as a team and we set our identity in defense and rebounding. We've still got a long way to go, but that is what is exciting about this group. You (can) see everybody contributing tonight. We are a deep team and we've got to play like it. We didn't really press as much as we wanted to tonight, but I think that can wear people down."
Junior Isaiah Taylor
On their offensive game...
"We just wanted to be aggressive tonight. Seeing the zone they were playing with some of our people, it made it a little bit easier for us to get into the lane. We felt comfortable. It was all these guys, (Connor) Lammert making big shots, Prince finishing out in the rim, Kerwin (Roach) hit two threes, Javan (Felix) stayed in place down the stretch. It was all of my teammates."
On a rivalry with Baylor...
"It was just two aggressive teams coming to compete. Sometimes emotions flare, I think that is what happened in today's game. Few technicals were called and both teams stayed poised."