Oklahoma State University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes - Middle Tennessee
December 16, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
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Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford
On the win over Middle Tennessee
"It was just kind of business-like out there tonight. I thought that in the first half the defense was really, really good. This is a 20-point win, but it is really like a 30-point win with the way that they play. We got everybody in the game. I thought everybody played hard, and everybody did a good job. I'm glad we won. The first half was very good. We didn't play very well in the second half, but we got everybody in. I'm just glad we won against a team that is very high right now. Middle Tennessee came in here with a lot of confidence, playing very good basketball, and we took care of business from the beginning. I thought we started the game really well as far as our intensity was concerned."
On Michael Cobbins
"Michael (Cobbins) played a terrific game. His blocked shots really give us great energy and really fuel our team. They're basket-saving blocked shots. Guys are driving in there, and he's coming from the weak side and blocking shots. I told him in the locker room that he's put back-to-back games together and now we need a third one. He played a heck of a game today."
On how the bench stepped up tonight
"They all played well. In the locker room after the game, I gave the bench the credit to this game. I thought they were terrific. We gave them all a talking to the last couple of days, and I think they all got in there and tried to respond. (Jeff) Newberry played well. I thought Anthony Allen played well. I thought he did some good things. Mitchell Solomon played well. Tavarius Shine did some good things. Tyree Griffin and Leyton Hammonds (also played well). Leyton is a guy that is going to get a lot of minutes as time goes on. I liked what we did out there today, and I'm glad everybody got a chance to play."
On the Cowboys' upcoming game with Maryland
"(Maryland) is very talented. A lot of returners; I think they have almost all of their players back from last year's team. They're big and physical inside. They are a very good defensive team and are good at rebounding the basketball. They have some guards that are on the NBA Draft board already... They're very talented. Maryland is a team that everybody's talking about right now, as they should be. We're going to have to play a very special game, but we're going to need our loyal fans to come support and cheer these guys on."
Oklahoma State senior forward Michael Cobbins
On getting the ball inside
"It was an extreme focus. Coaches stress on that in practice, making sure we get the ball inside. It not only helped us in this game, but it will help us down the line as well."
On his dunk in the first half
"I got that from Anthony Allen."
On his assist to Phil Forte
"It feels great. I love feeding Phil on the back door on those type of plays. He always comes through for me."
On the defensive effort
"It's extremely important and as a team it was one of those glimpses that we can be a great defensive team. It's something that we have to continue to do consistently."
On upcoming matchup with Maryland
"It'll be a big game. They're a top 20 team coming in here. We've just got to come together as a team and rally up and play hard."
OSU junior guard Jeff Newberry
On Michael Cobbins' dunk ranking on the team
"He doesn't dunk in practice, but he's top five."
On his objective tonight
"It was pretty much what I try to do every game, just try to bring energy on the defensive end. Try to mess their offense up, deny passes and just get something going for my team."
On matchup with Maryland
"These are the kind of games that you want to be in when you come to college. We have to come in with the right mindset. They're a great team from what we've seen and what we hear so we've got to come in and play as a team like we did tonight."
Middle Tennessee State head coach Kermit Davis
On the game
"Give Oklahoma State a lot of credit, they're a very experienced team, very well coached, very physical. These guys have won a lot of games right here; there was a really good home court advantage. It's not that we've lost, it's how we lost. We completely lost our identity from Akron. I'm not saying our best was good enough to win here -- it probably wasn't -- but you have to have better play from your returning guys. Reggie Upshaw comes off his best performance and just played with no confidence. The very first play Marcus Tarrance would go over a scout, and he's within 8-feet of a staggered screen defending and we just had no resistance. I'm just disappointed in the way we played, not the loss. Give Oklahoma State credit, they're really, really good, physical, they start four seniors, they showed it tonight and just kind of took it to us."
On the speed of the game
"Jacquez (Rozier) getting into foul trouble just kills us in these games because he is just the anchor defensively. I know that sometimes he will not make some plays and finish some plays, but he can guard. He got two fouls trying to help others who got beat. We didn't guard the ball very well so with him out we had some matching problems."
On the team matchups and effort
"I thought Darnell (Harris) had some better moments. I thought it was a little bit too much for Jacob (Ivory) and JaQuel (Richmond). They really struggled, JaQuel is really struggling finishing balls. At the very end, in the last several minutes, we kind of took some quick shots, but we are just going to put this right behind us. We've got a really big game Friday night against Chattanooga and then Sunday against Tennessee State so we will turn our attention right there. It's been a long trip, it's been a tough trip, two really good teams. Like I said it wasn't so much the loss tonight as it was the way we played. We didn't progress as a team tonight."
On Phil Forte and LeBryan Nash
"It would be interesting to see if you could walk in (Phil) Forte's shoes for about a month straight. The time he puts in the gym, the things that he does. Nash is a fourth-year senior. These guys have won, they have been in high-level games. Every Big 12 team will come in here, Kansas, all of them and if they come in here and win by one they'll take it. This is a good team. We have to go back and regroup, and we'll put this right behind us and take some positives from the Akron game. That was such a good win for us and try to put that team into play on Friday night."
On Chattanooga and Tennessee State
"They're both talented, and it'll be good to be back in the Murphy Center after about a month and good to get off of this road. It has been the longest trip I think that we have had; we've been at it for about five days so it'll be good to get our guys back home and hopefully have a couple of good practices before we play on Friday."
