Oklahoma State University Athletics
Quotes: Oklahoma State vs Baylor
January 18, 2020 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton
On the effort of the team:
"I don't want to ignore the obvious. Losing is not fun. It's hard, it's uncomfortable and nobody wants to lose. I don't want to be unfair to our fans and tell them that they should accept losing, but I am as proud of my team today as I have been at any point in the season because of the way we played. We're close."
On executing the game plan:
"Our kids did exactly what we asked them to do for 40 minutes today and put ourselves in a position to get a win over, again, the team I think is playing the best in the country. The team I picked to win the Big 12. They answered, which is what good teams do, and they made some key plays late to give themselves an opportunity to get another road win. Where two weeks ago, when we started league play, we weren't playing very good basketball. Two weeks later we're on the verge of getting this thing right where we need it to be, so we can build on the progression that has been made so far."Â
 On Yor Anei's turnover at the end of the game and not getting caught in the emotion of the conference play record:
"Yeah, that's the difficult part of it. A, for our seniors because I want them to win so bad. For our freshmen I want them to understand what it takes to win. Today is what it takes to win, and sometimes, I've said this time and time again, this is one of the few leagues you can play well in and still lose. We played well today. They made more plays late and we didn't get the job done. I told Yor [Anei] it was one of a hundred mistakes that was made in that game. Obviously, it was highlighted because it was the moment people want to look at, but there is no guarantee we go and make a three at the next possession and don't have to foul again. That kid has responded to the challenge of having to come off the bench today. He gave us unbelievable effort on the glass, he battled his tail off against some strong guys in there and he was a part of the reason we were right where we were to have a chance to win today. So, I need that kid to know that I love him and that he is going to be a part of our success moving forward."
Baylor head coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement:
"It was a typical Big 12 game, usually within one or two possessions. Credit Oklahoma State early on; they were on fire and we did a bad job contesting some shots that we needed to. We had some decent looks, but credit them for stymieing us in the first half. I thought, in the second half, we really did a good job taking care of the basketball with only two turnovers. We really shared the ball well. It's always a team game. You're going to have different guys step up on different nights. I'm so pleased to see Flo Thamba hit two critical free throws after not playing. He's a guy after just about every one of our home games, he's in the gym shooting free throws with his uniform on. I'm really proud he was able to do that. Matthew Mayer really came up big today, especially defensively for us. I thought Devonte Bandoo's second half really got going.
On team's mentality while down 12 points with 14 minutes left:
"I think first and foremost, we stayed together. When you get down like that, you get finger pointing and you get people blaming each other. That's never the way to solve the issue. Everybody stayed supported each other; really stayed together. Then, when we made some changes in what we were going to do defensively, everybody was locked in and reinforcing things. You knew their minds were in the right spot. That's what you want from a team with some veterans on it, you want that leadership from them.
On playing the zone:
"They played zone, just not that much. I thought it was a great move. Coach Boynton did a great job of mixing up defenses and staying in it. It definitely affected us.
On the team's response to playing against the zone:
"If you're going to have a successful year, you're not always going to shoot it well. You've got to go and do other things well. I thought defensively, we got much better in the second half. Again, we took care of the basketball. I thought Oklahoma State did a better job on the glass than us, we've got to do a better job next time we face them. I'm really pleased we didn't rattled, we were able to stay the course. There's no guarantee you're going to win every game, but as long as you stay together and keep competing, you've got a chance to win every game. So far, our guys have done that.
Â
On the effort of the team:
"I don't want to ignore the obvious. Losing is not fun. It's hard, it's uncomfortable and nobody wants to lose. I don't want to be unfair to our fans and tell them that they should accept losing, but I am as proud of my team today as I have been at any point in the season because of the way we played. We're close."
On executing the game plan:
"Our kids did exactly what we asked them to do for 40 minutes today and put ourselves in a position to get a win over, again, the team I think is playing the best in the country. The team I picked to win the Big 12. They answered, which is what good teams do, and they made some key plays late to give themselves an opportunity to get another road win. Where two weeks ago, when we started league play, we weren't playing very good basketball. Two weeks later we're on the verge of getting this thing right where we need it to be, so we can build on the progression that has been made so far."Â
 On Yor Anei's turnover at the end of the game and not getting caught in the emotion of the conference play record:
"Yeah, that's the difficult part of it. A, for our seniors because I want them to win so bad. For our freshmen I want them to understand what it takes to win. Today is what it takes to win, and sometimes, I've said this time and time again, this is one of the few leagues you can play well in and still lose. We played well today. They made more plays late and we didn't get the job done. I told Yor [Anei] it was one of a hundred mistakes that was made in that game. Obviously, it was highlighted because it was the moment people want to look at, but there is no guarantee we go and make a three at the next possession and don't have to foul again. That kid has responded to the challenge of having to come off the bench today. He gave us unbelievable effort on the glass, he battled his tail off against some strong guys in there and he was a part of the reason we were right where we were to have a chance to win today. So, I need that kid to know that I love him and that he is going to be a part of our success moving forward."
Baylor head coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement:
"It was a typical Big 12 game, usually within one or two possessions. Credit Oklahoma State early on; they were on fire and we did a bad job contesting some shots that we needed to. We had some decent looks, but credit them for stymieing us in the first half. I thought, in the second half, we really did a good job taking care of the basketball with only two turnovers. We really shared the ball well. It's always a team game. You're going to have different guys step up on different nights. I'm so pleased to see Flo Thamba hit two critical free throws after not playing. He's a guy after just about every one of our home games, he's in the gym shooting free throws with his uniform on. I'm really proud he was able to do that. Matthew Mayer really came up big today, especially defensively for us. I thought Devonte Bandoo's second half really got going.
On team's mentality while down 12 points with 14 minutes left:
"I think first and foremost, we stayed together. When you get down like that, you get finger pointing and you get people blaming each other. That's never the way to solve the issue. Everybody stayed supported each other; really stayed together. Then, when we made some changes in what we were going to do defensively, everybody was locked in and reinforcing things. You knew their minds were in the right spot. That's what you want from a team with some veterans on it, you want that leadership from them.
On playing the zone:
"They played zone, just not that much. I thought it was a great move. Coach Boynton did a great job of mixing up defenses and staying in it. It definitely affected us.
On the team's response to playing against the zone:
"If you're going to have a successful year, you're not always going to shoot it well. You've got to go and do other things well. I thought defensively, we got much better in the second half. Again, we took care of the basketball. I thought Oklahoma State did a better job on the glass than us, we've got to do a better job next time we face them. I'm really pleased we didn't rattled, we were able to stay the course. There's no guarantee you're going to win every game, but as long as you stay together and keep competing, you've got a chance to win every game. So far, our guys have done that.
Â
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