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BAYLOR POSTGAME NOTES

Baylor coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement:
I thought it was another typical Big 12 game - great teams, great players, great atmosphere. I was proud that our team competed. We did a good enough job on the glass and defensively to win the game. We didn't take care of the ball well enough to win the game, and you've got to credit (West Virginia) for making big plays. Obviously, (West Virginia senior guard Jevon) Carter hits a big 3, but I'm proud of our effort. I'm proud that we competed and gave ourselves a chance to win on the road. We're getting better; we're finally getting healthy and hopefully we can keep getting better from here on out.

On West Virginia's defensive pressure:
You have no choice when you play West Virginia. You come to compete or you get embarrassed. We came, we competed, left it all out on the court. We came up short, and we needed to take care of the ball better.

On Baylor's tempo:
It's better than 29 turnovers. We're trending in the right direction. On if West Virginia senior guard Jevon Carter's late-game performance was surprising No, we knew in the huddle. We said, 'It's Carter's time.' Big players make big plays. That's why they're good players. I'll be really happy to see him walk across that stage and graduate.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins
On senior guard Jevon Carter's go-ahead 3-pointer:
Just like I drew it up. No, we were trying to run that three-man stuff, and we weren't doing a very good job. Our young guys have a tendency to get a little out of sorts. He just took it upon himself to make a play.

On the defensive play senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. made coming out of the timeout:
The one in the paint? J.C. (Senior guard Jevon Carter) got a hand on it. J.C. got a hand on it and Dax picked up the loose ball, but J.C. made the play. We tell them every day that if you stick by your principles and do what you're supposed to do, we're going to make plays. The whole thing is designed to make plays defensively. When you don't stick to your principles, then everyone gets frustrated because if you have one guy out there not doing what he's supposed to do, it affects everyone else.

On sophomore guard Chase Harler stepping up and what he does to stay ready:
He comes to practice and practices hard. I just learned - I knew already but it really hit me that when we lost to Stephen F. Austin - we weren't ready to play, we had terrible practices. Guys were not doing the basic things that we teach and which we've taught them, some of them for three years. When we go in there and lose that game and we just said, 'You know what, if we're going to lose one, let's make sure they understand.' I left Elijah (Macon) home last year. You have to come in and practice. You have to come in and fulfill your responsibility to your teammates. And when you don't do that, you shouldn't play. The reward is playing time. It's like I told you guys whenever it was, last game, I don't dictate playing time, they do. I don't dictate it. They dictate it by their practice habits. Chase has practiced well, and quite honestly, we are hoping he can make a shot. We were struggling to make a shot.

On adjustments made due to the slower pace:
Well, quite frankly neither team shot the ball very well. And when that happens, it's kind of an ugly game. I think both teams are capable of scoring the ball. Both of us just had bad games. You have to grind it out. I felt pretty good at the end. I thought our seniors were going to keep the ball in our seniors' hands and go make free throws. Unfortunately, they didn't make them they way they had made them in the past. Sags (Sophomore forward Sagaba Konate) makes a huge play. Huge play. You have to contribute, you know? That's what it is. Somebody has to make a play when it counts, and it doesn't have to be the same guy all of the time.

On how hard the game becomes due to stoppages in play:
It's hard. You want them to get it right, but I mean, we stand around so much. All that is not their fault. This whole deal that we have going on, with whoever is doing it, whether it's the rules committee, or someone working in conjunction with the rules committee, it has made the game so much harder, and it has made it impossible to officiate. It's impossible. It's impossible to do what they ask you to do.

On Baylor's last play:
We were going to try to make them catch it in front of us. We didn't do a very good job, obviously, but I thought we got to them and put some pressure on them. I'd rather do that then foul them and take the chance that they are going to make two free throws, and then we have to go to the free throw line again, and what are you gaining, we are up three - the worst we can do is tie. If it was two, I don't know, it might be a different story. I've got a lot of confidence in our defense. So, I kind of let it roll with our defense. We were talking about going zone, you know, and couple of the assistants wanted to go zone and I just got the guys over and asked them what they wanted to do. They said, 'No Coach, let's guard them.' I asked if they wanted to go zone and they said, 'No, no, let's guard them.' Beetle (Sophomore guard James Bolden) made a big play and took a big charge.

On junior forward Esa Ahmad returning Saturday at Texas Tech:
He's played well in practice is all I know. I would assume he would, he made an impact a year ago, I would assume he would again. I worry about his conditioning. He's practiced with us, you know, and he really hasn't practiced with the guys who played the most, he's played against those guys. The thing I like the most about Esa is he knows how to play. He may not be at the top of his game come Saturday, but it won't be long after that he will be. He's the best rebounding small forward in our league, not even close.