Post-Game Quotes

Dec. 18, 2004

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New Mexico Head Coach Ritchie McKay:

“I thought that was a very big step for our guys. We did a nice job defensively for the entire game. Tennessee has got some explosive weapons both on the perimeter and on the post. First let me applaud David Chiotti and Danny Granger for their post defense. Brandon Crump came in here scoring 20-plus points his two previous games. David did a phenomenal job on him. I think this was a good win for our team. It helped us build some confidence going into Wake Forest. And I was especially satisfied at how well we defended. We have been going into our bench, but the guys who came in did a great job. And again when you can hang your hat on defense, it can make for a very successful season.”

“I think we were a bit nervous in the beginning, but I think that’s natural. Our guys are excited to play and when there’s that many fans in the stands. Our defense did carry us throughout the entire game. When Tennessee cut it to four, we made a couple of buckets in a row to finish the game strong. They didn’t get any easy looks.”

Tennessee Head Coach Buzz Peterson:

“I thought our frontcourt was outplayed pretty bad. Our starting two forwards (Brandon Crump, Jemere Hendrix) only had two points. I thought that was a big factor in the ballgame. Their frontcourt really put it to us. They have a good ballclub and good athletes.

“Our gameplan was to play totally off of (Kris) Collins, and then have C.J. Watson to help double some of the time on (Danny) Granger, and play off (David) Chiotti. It worked, we just missed some open shots that could have really helped us.”