Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Colorado
February 07, 2008 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
Postgame Quotes vs. Colorado
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
OSU Head Coach Sean Sutton
On the game
“I'm glad it didn't go another minute the way they were shooting that ball. The bottom line is that we needed a win. It doesn't matter if it was one point or seven points. Our team needed the win. I thought first half we did a great job defensively. They're hard to prepare for with their offense. They can make you look bad if you are not ready.
“I thought (Richard) Roby's shot at the half really gave them a boost and some momentum. The first five minutes of the second half we didn't come out with the same fire and intensity on the defensive end and we let them get back in it. Our inability to hit free throws late and their ability to hit some unbelievable shots allowed them to be right there in the end. At this point in the season we needed a win. I feel good about this and we'll come in tomorrow and get ready to play Kansas State.”
On the win affecting players' confidence
“Any win after what we've been through will help our mind set and help our confidence. I'm really proud of our players because through the streak of so many close, tough losses, they never put their head down or felt sorry for themselves. They kept their spirits up and continued to work hard on the practice court. Martavius (Adams) has practiced really well the last two days and it really showed tonight. I thought he and (Ibrahima) Thomas really played well. It was a solid performance for two young freshmen in a Big 12 game.”
On offense late in the second half
“We got some easy shots and we converted easy shots. I told them at the timeout we had to stay aggressive. We could not play tentative and try to sit on this lead. We had to make plays. I thought from that standpoint we did a good job. And it wasn't just one guy stepping forward. There were several guys stepping up and making plays. We did a lot better job in the second half of taking care of the basketball as well. That's one area we've gotten a lot better in.”
OSU Junior Guard Byron Eaton
On his team stopping their recent losing streak
“We’ve been needing a good win since the first loss (of the recent losing streak), then it was two losses, and then it started escalating. We needed to win so we could have confidence in ourselves and let ourselves know that we can still win. Going on the road after a loss is different than going on the road after a big-time win at home. It didn’t matter if it was by 50 or by half a point. As long as our score was higher than theirs and we got the win, that is all that matters.”
On Saturday’s game at Kansas State
“We just have to build on this win that we had tonight and build off the losses and just need to look at the things that we did wrong and put them together for some positive for us at Kansas State. We have to do a great job on defense. We have been doing a good job, but we need to do a great job defending Michael Beasley and the rest of their guys ... We need to get a road win so we can stop everybody saying that we can’t win on the road.”
OSU Freshman Center Ibrahima Thomas
On the post play of he and teammate Martavius Adams
“He did a really good job tonight. We just came out today knowing that we had to help the team. I think that we each understand that we need to rebound better and let the game just come to us. The whole team is understanding that and I think that is what got us the win tonight.”
Colorado Head Coach Bzdelik
On the game
“This game was lost in the first 20 minutes when we avoid contact going to the rim and double-clutch and so we don't finish lay-ups and we avoid contact on defense. We didn't take one charge with them flying to the rim giving them second-chance opportunities and missing free throws. You're not going to win with those types of things.”
“This offense is predicated on hard cuts from one another and their pressure took us right out of everything and that's a sign of not being mentally tough.”
On Richard Roby's play
“He did the best he could but we had some opportunities at the rim where we just came up short.”
“We are our own worst enemy.”
Colorado Senior Guard Richard Roby
On the game
“We didn’t make any shots when we had to. This is a sign of an immature team. We missed a lot of layups and opportunities at the rim. We need to get better and we can’t let this loss get us down. We have to get back positively and hopefully get a win against Oklahoma.”
On the first half compared to the second half
“I just wanted to come out and lead this team as a senior. My body language affected the rest of the team, so I just had to come out with more energy. We just had to continue being aggressive and getting good opportunities and knocking them down.”
