![]() I thought we got some points off fast breaks. They turned the ball over, not a ton, but we only turned it over seven times, which is seriously for one of my teams a North American record if maybe not a world record.Īnd I thought that that made some difference. Wondering how you got 32 points in the paint and why you were so successful in that area.ĬOACH IZZO: Some of it was off turnovers. Obviously the conversation leading up to this game was partially how tall and long USC is and how good they are at defending 2s. So if you're looking to win some games instead of a game, you better bring your defense. I think they understand that in this tournament hard to make a bunch of 3s and win on a consistent basis. It was rewarding in the huddles at the end to hear them talking about the defense. We were really good for a lot of the first. And it was rewarding to hear the guys at halftime talking about we've got to get back our defense. We just made that our focus, and I feel like we carried that out well.ĬOACH IZZO: You know, like I said, we all gotta look in the mirror and say, are we doing the things that we need to do to really compete at this level and compete during this time of year. ![]() We know that's a big staple for us - if we get stops we have a good chance to win. We just knew we didn't want to go home today. We had a couple of losses late in the season. JADEN AKINS: I mean, we know defense wins games. And we know we had to finish the game out and we just kept guarding. TYSON WALKER: Yes, especially in the second half, just getting stops and the crowd getting into it. Do you think it was that energy today that allowed you to propel yourselves forward against USC? Coach had said that lack of energy was what really pulled you guys back on the defensive end. And we felt if we kind of limited his play we had a good chance to win. ![]() JADEN AKINS: Coming in we knew he was the engine that made the team go. We were up high enough that we could get it. TYSON WALKER: That was just making people pick up their dribble and being in the pass lane. Just trying to lock in and just play solid defense. Keep your hand up, no fouling, no reaching because he's really crafty with the ball. Just tried to make every shot he took tough. TYSON WALKER: Just we knew coming into the game he can really score the ball. Talk about focus on (Boogie) Ellis and Tyson steals and you and A.J. Now, free-throw shooting - go ahead, you comment on it. And I'm happy we're moving on the right way. Other than that, I'm just happy we're moving on. Hits a big shot and hurt his knee a little bit, but it's not twisted, just banged.Īnd I thought that Carson Cooper did a good job. So everybody helped, whether it be Jaxon getting a - Kohler getting a bucket. getting in foul trouble I thought he did a good job defensively and running our team. He hit big shots.īut Malik Hall played a lot better defensively and offensively. We gave up a few other things, and - so our guards did the job there. Keeps his mouth shut, does his job.Īnd (Drew) Peterson too is a very good player. We haven't played against as many guards as good as (Boogie) Ellis. And I think we got a little tired with our bigs there for a stretch.īut these guys, especially these two guards, the job they did was incredible. Big guy, (Joshua) Morgan, hit a shot that we didn't think he could hit. We had a little stretch there when we were 10 up. And I'd say 32 or 33 minutes I thought it was exceptional. But no secret that I haven't been pleased with our defense. ![]() We talked about it for two or three weeks. HEAD COACH TOM IZZO: We got our mojo back.
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