Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Missouri
February 18, 2007 | Cowboy Basketball
Postgame Quotes vs. Missouri
Saturday, February 17, 2006
Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton
On the game
“This was a tough loss and I feel for our fans to have to sit through that. I told our guys that this was one of the least-inspired performances that I have ever seen one of our teams play in this arena in 17 years. I did not think that we played with much toughness in the second half. We were casual with the basketball. We had some guys get tired and we just let them take the ball away from us. At the offensive end, we did not shoot the ball well in the second half.
“They hit some big shots. That is what happens sometimes when you have a team down early. We were up 14-3 and we had them on the ropes. I thought we had a chance to really extend the lead out and we missed some easy shots during that time. We were slow getting back in transition and they got back in the game. You could look at their team and the expressions on their faces totally changed from a team that was unsure to a team that was very confident. Our guys went the other way. We did not defend well enough in the second half or take care of the ball well enough to win this game today.”
On losing the early lead
“We played with a lot of energy early and forced them to turn it over quite a few times. But just to give you an idea, we chart deflections, or when you get your hand on the ball. We would like to get 25 deflections a half and early, in the first four minutes, we had 11 deflections. From that point on, for the last 15 or 16 minutes, we only had two. Our defense really let down and we probably played about as poor a defense as we have played all season long in this building. It’s a demoralizing loss from the standpoint that we had won 17 games in a row here. This is a game that we really needed to win. Unfortunately, that did not happen today. Now we have to come back and figure some things out and come back and play better Wednesday night.”
On the level of play stepping up the next couple of weeks
“(Mike) Anderson does a great job with their style. They stay after you. One thing that you have to do against them is read the defense and be strong with the basketball. It is hard to run things on the offensive end, because they are always trying to trap you. The teams that really execute against them are the teams that pass the ball well, look for where the help is coming from, and are strong with the basketball. When we attacked them, we got some easy shots in transition. We certainly got a lot of easy shots early. I thought we went through a period where we got passive at the offensive end and quit attacking them. That allowed their pressure to speed it up and also allowed their pressure to intimidate us a little bit.”
Oklahoma State senior forward Mario Boggan
On trying to get back into the NCAA Tournament
“We have been hearing from coach that are not a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Right now, we are struggling. We need some wins because right now we are looking at it like we are not a lock for the tournament. Of course it is a question after losing two games in a row and four of our last six.”
On the loss
“We made a lot of mistakes today as committed too many turnovers. There were times when we turned the ball over when we should not have. I feel that we did not play with the effort and energy that we should play with.”
On Oklahoma State’s 14-3 run to start the game
“During the 14-3 run to start the game, we played as a team. We broke the press and worked the ball inside and out. We were playing like how coach wanted us to play. We executed on the defensive and offensive end by scoring off of turnovers on fast breaks. Then all of the sudden we went away from doing those things and lost the game.”
On the play of Oklahoma State
“I do not think it is the short bench and the seven minute rotation that is effecting our play. I feel that when we are playing bad it is because of the lack of toughness. We are a tough team, but sometimes we have our times. Right now we are in a slump and we have to get out of it. We need to come back the next game and play hard so we can pick another win and get another streak going. We have to play our way out and capitalize on our opponents mistakes. I feel that if we did not turn the ball over so much that we would have been in all of the games we lost. I think when we commit 20 turnovers a game that it effects the outcome. If we come out and play smarter from here on out, we will be successful.”
Oklahoma State sophomore center Kenny Cooper
On having a 17 home game winning steak snapped
“It is really tough having the home winning streak come to an end because one of our goals this year was not to lose at home. Now, it seems that we are down to one goal, which is to make it to the NCAA Tournament. We have to play our best to do that. It is also hard to lose because we wanted to go undefeated at home for (Mario) Boggan and (David) Monds, who are seniors this year. It was a tough loss.”
Missouri head coach Mike Anderson
On the game
“First of all, being a former player that played in Gallagher-Iba Arena, I know how tough it is to win a ball game here. I take my hat off to our guys and to Oklahoma State. It was a gutsy performance by our guys. When you go on the road in this league, all you want to do is be in position. I thought in the second half our guys really stepped up and made plays. Marshall Brown made some big plays going down the stretch. I thought we mixed and matched our defense and kind of kept them off balance. It was one of our better performances on the road this year and in a very tough environment.”
On recovering from an early 11-point deficit
“I told our guys there was going to be a lot of emotion built up, (because) they just lost to Texas. Going down the stretch, this is the time of the year where wins are very, very important. I told our guys emotions are going to be sky high, that they (OSU) were going to try to do some things. I thought our inability to take care of the basketball was the reason they were up. I thought once we settled down and made some shots, I thought our pressure defense dictated the tempo and kind of set the tone for the game.”
On his team starting to pull out close games
“Experience is going to be the greatest factor (down the stretch) and hopefully our guys can build on it. You get to this part of the season and there are going to be a lot of close games. It’s going to be a possession here, a rebound there, a loose ball there. As you saw, we got a lot of loose balls today.”
On containing Mario Boggan
“I thought we did a good job at times (on Boggan), but there were times when he parked it down there, he’s a beast down there. I thought going down the stretch we did a real good job and that was probably the difference in the game because he is their go-to-guy.”
Missouri junior forward Marshall Brown
On experience factor in close games
“I think it helps a lot. We’ve had the opportunity in film and practice to really learn from our mistakes and I think (in the past) we were getting a little too happy or out of control or shooting shots that we don’t normally shoot. I think today we were extremely poised and we were getting the shots that we wanted.”
On offensive success
“Our offense tries to take what you can get, taking what the defense gives you. We did a great job of finding people, we really shared the ball today and it showed. The scoring was really balanced and we played great defense.”
Improvement over last two games
“I think our defense really stepped up, especially in the second half. Coach really challenged us at halftime to really step up our defense up and I think we did a great job of rebounding by committee.”
