Postgame Quotes: Oklahoma State at Texas Tech

Oklahoma State Head Coach, Mike Boynton

Opening Statement…
"Texas Tech played really well. I thought T.J. was terrific from the beginning. Our guys certainly didn't respond the way we hoped that they would. Credit to Texas Tech, they are a tremendous team. What Chris Beard has done here in three years now is beyond phenomenal. A lot of credit goes to him and his staff. With the vision and the work ethic that they have put in, they have created a culture in their program with their players that everybody knows what they are expected to do, and they do it to the best of their abilities. Avery Benson ran into me, not anything bad, when they were up 30 at the end of the game. I mean that is Chris Beard's DNA in that kid. So, credit to him and they are going to be a tough out."

On the biggest difference from the 1st to 2nd half…
"We didn't play with enough maturity to deal with not making shots consistently. We made our lack of making shot effect other areas of the game. We don't usually turn the ball over at a super high rate, but we did today. I don't want to take any credit away from Texas Tech, they forced a lot of those turnovers because of their aggressive defensive style."

What about the Texas Tech defense causes an offense out of rhythm…
"I just think it is buy-in. Everybody is committed to what they are supposed to do to help their team have success. Even when they do make mistakes, they own it and they fix it the next time. It's a credit to the kid's buying in, but it's also a matter of time and time and time again never giving in to the guys, because I'm sure the guys don't just walk into college wanting to be great defensive players. When they want to win, and they obviously have chosen a place where they want to win, they will figure out a way to help their team have success."

On fixing a stagnant offense…
"I thought we had some good looks, especially in the first half. I think we were 5-13 from three and we were 4-15 from two. Against them, if you don't make the good ones that you get, you are certainly not going to make the contested ones. So, we just have to figure out how play more fluid offensively. Making sure the right guys are getting shots. Lindy struggled to get going early, Cam struggled to get going early. So, when you don't have your best guys making shots it makes it hard on you. It's not like we have seven or eight guys who are great scorers. We got a couple and Isaac wasn't great today, but he will be better, I'm sure, the next time."

On the way OSU has been losing games by large margins…
"Yeah, I mean if they were all by one point it would be, why can't we close games. It is always concerning when you lose. What is really important for me is that we play Monday night and I cannot let what happened today, affect how we play the next game."
Oklahoma State Guard, Cameron McGriff

On what changed after their fast start…
"I make a lot of my plays on the glass offensively and defensively. We had some killer turnovers early. So, if you can't get a shot up there is no chance to get a rebound. We just came out flat in the second half as a collective group. Especially me, and they need me to be better and a senior and a leader.

On the large loss margin for each loss…
"I really have to go back and look at it on film. They put us away today, so I give them credit. They played well, every single guy on their roster. I think that is what stretched out the lead."

Oklahoma State Guard, Lindy Waters III

On what Texas Tech did so well defensively…
"They just made us take tough shots. They didn't allow us to get into the paint easily. It really just started on our defensive end, we turned the ball over 14 times and only had six assists, which isn't good at all. It's extremely hard to win if we do that. Offensively, I think we lost focus in the second half. The first half I thought we did enough to keep us in it. The second half wasn't good enough."

On what to take away from this game…
"Just have to put this game behind us. It's over watch film and learn from it, but we have West Virginia on Monday and they are just as good. So, we have to be our best."

On the difficulty of guarding Texas Tech's offense…
"With their motion offense, it's tough to guard. Especially if they have five guards and they have Chris Clark bringing the ball up. They are tough, they have people who can stretch the floor, they have good shooters. They have guys who can penetrate and kick. They are fundamentally sound. When they play together and they have 17 assists and nine turnovers, they are really tough to beat."

Texas Tech Head Coach, Chris Beard

Opening Statement…
"I said it all week, and I really meant it, I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma State's team. Those 5 returning starters, just a good team. A couple of those guys have been in our league a long time, they've endured two coaching changes and I confidently predict they're going to have a great season I think they're going to be a part of the championship fight and be a real factor in the league so we're fortunate. These games are so hard to win, I was trying to explain to these young guys in the locker room a few minutes ago that winning never gets old, you don't ever take it for granted and sometimes when thing go your way and you have a big margin victory you kind of forget how hard it was to win this game so I want to wish OSU a lot of good fortune this season and we'll certainly see those guys down the road in Stillwater, but a lot of respect for their team. I've been on both sides of games like this, sometimes it steamrolls but certainly, tonight was our night we were fortunate Oklahoma State missed some shots they normally make and we had some guys plays outstanding, and I certainly want to recognize the crowd again, we're building something special and I hope everybody that comes to the games or has come to the games takes a lot of pride in what we've built here and what we're trying to sustain. Not only did people come full force, but they were also a factor in the game, I thought the crowd helped us get some stops and helped our guys have a little bit of extra punch there when both teams were fatigued, so very appreciative of everybody that came to the game today and very fortunate and feel happy that we were able to win our first Big-12 game."

On the game against OSU…
"We weren't letting them get the rebounds, those are really good players. When you're in a league like this you pull for guys. I don't like to play against coaches that I like and respect but it's part of the business but with (Cameron) McGriff, who to me is an all-conference type player, he damn near had a double-double at halftime, so it's not that we're letting them get it, you have to tip your hat to the other guys sometimes. Then (Yor) Anei, is one of the most improved players in all of college basketball. We needed to rebound better, but more so was just stay the course."

"In college basketball, you don't want to give the other teams best shooters great looks. It's impossible to keep a guy from making any shots because of the players on the floor and again, they're coaching staff knows what they're doing so we were pleased that we were competing and we were contesting shots. (Lindy) Waters, just like McGriff, my respect level for him is off the charts and he's just a guy that's going to get his, he scores in a variety of ways. We definitely had an urgency to guard the three's, it wasn't perfect, but I thought we were dialed in"

"We try to explain to our guys this isn't a democracy out here, you don't just shoot if you're open, you shoot it when the team wants you to shoot it."

Texas Tech Forward, T.J. Holyfield

On the game against OSU:
"Just preparation. The coaches got us ready to play, all of us as a team, and I had a game plan going in and I just tried to follow it the best I could."

On staying locked in;
"You just have to trust the process, through the good and the bad. The outcome is, you should be getting what you want if you put in the time off the court, on the court, behind all these doors. It doesn't really matter about the outcome, the process should stay the same. We came in with a game plan, not wanting to foul and trying to put pressure on certain players and that resulted in helping us out throughout the game."

On first Big-12 win;
"It's a good team win, it was great for me and Chris, it was great for all the other freshman. Just like them, this is my first Big-12 conference win. We did it all as a team, not really as individuals, but it was a good start for all of us"

Texas Tech Guard, Jahmi'us Ramsey

On the game against OSU:
"Staying locked in, making sure we stick to the game plan and like TJ said, making stops."

On continuing first-half run:
"It was really big, keep the crowd engaged, our teammates found us and put us in scoring position. I feel like we all just fed off the crowd's energy, it was there all night, we kept it going"

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cameron McGriff

Lindy Waters III

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