Feb. 18, 2012
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Post-Game Quotes
UNM vs. UNLV
2/18/12
UNM Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening Statement…
“I couldn’t be more pleased with our basketball team. Our guys have been amazing. We still have a lot to do and a lot to prove; this race is far from over with. I don’t know if we are the best team in this league yet but there is no team in the last month that has guarded the way that we have guarded. To hold a team like this who is averaging 80 points a game, and you hold them to 4 field goals in one half is great. You have to take your hats off to our group of young men because they really defended tonight. It was a tough hard fought game in the first half, neither of the teams could get going and we just talked to our guys about it at halftime. We told them to be patient and not turn the ball over. Things will get going for you but keep guarding and that’s what happened tonight. I think we had one turnover in the second half. We did a lot of good things. I am very proud of them.”
On Drew Gordon…
“Drew is hands down player of the week in our league this week. What he did this week, 17-17 at San Diego State, and then he comes back and puts on a performance that hasn’t been seen in this place in a long time, if ever. He was 27-20, against not just a team but a top 15 team in the country. That’s pretty special. Our guys saw that and they kept going to him and I thought that was a big positive.”
On spreading the floor…
“We went to a lot of ball screening in the first half and as a credit to them they really guarded our pick and roll offense. I think if anything we wanted to spread the floor a little bit and we wanted to get the ball inside. We still thought we could do some things inside. They doubled us on game one and we felt like we could go one on one in the post. Hoping that Drew would get going, and he got going, then the doubles would come and we would get open shots and that is really what happened. We opened up our offense whenever we got the ball inside.”
On Tony Snell…
“We tried to encourage him during the week. He is a fierce competitor and he is young, he’s just a sophomore, on a very good college basketball team. He had a couple tough games and you have got to be able to deal with that and the coaches have just tried to tell him how much we believe in him and to not worry about it. He might have had 0 and 0 and we have won both games. He can do other things. In those other two games in guarded really well. He got going tonight. He made a couple shots; he dunked the ball and took the ball to the basket hard. I thought he had a really special game.”
On the atmosphere in The Pit…
“It might have been what was hard for us to get going in the first half. Our guys are use to The Pit but there was a different edge to it this afternoon because of the magnitude of it. We were playing for first place, playing to beat two ranked teams in the same week, playing to keep your streak alive and avenge a loss you had earlier about three and a half weeks ago. I think we were a little jacked up and I think they (UNLV) were a little jacked up too so it made for some intense basketball but not a lot of scoring. Our guys adjusted to it. I can’t thank our fans enough. I was telling the CBS guys and they were agreeing that this is second to none. I don’t know of an atmosphere better anywhere in the country. Our fans do a tremendous job and they really helped us coming out of the half. Our fans sense that in a game that when it was really tough on both teams I think they really helped us to get going in the second half.”
On that national television exposure and the performance of the team…
“Our fans are great and I saw a “we are New Mexico” banner being held and I hope that the message was sent. We are New Mexico and we are proud of that. We are proud of this program and obviously this community and our institution. This was 40 minutes of getting into the stands and guarding and making it difficult on a very good offense to score. That was a lot of fun. When you beat a team like this by 20 on national television it’s going to help you in a lot of different areas.”
On keeping the team focused for Colorado State…
“We meet them at 5 o’clock tomorrow and that’s our job to get them focused. I want them to enjoy this and obviously be smart about it. They have done a heck of a job and we have gone through every team in the league now. I think our win margin has been 20 or 30 points in that seven game stretch. No one has been within 10 points in that seven game stretch, that’s unbelievable in a league this competitive to do that. We have won and we have won convincingly. I want them to enjoy this but they know that tomorrow we have to get back to work. We have a very demanding road trip this week coming up. Colorado State and TCU are undefeated at home in league play so this is a very difficult road stretch in the next week. We have to get some rest and will travel in there Monday and give it our best shot on Tuesday.”
On the ranking of the team…
“Our fans started chanting overrated and I think that may have been their only mistake of the night. I don’t think UNLV is overrated, I think we are underrated. Maybe it will take games like this to get that kind of attention. Our guys have done an awful lot of work to get to this point. When I look around the country it’s hard for me to find 25 teams doing any more than what we are doing right now and that is a tribute to our players.”
On coming back from halftime…
“It took a while, I think the first three or four minutes of the second half almost mirrored the first half, neither team could score and were missing shots. We really challenged our guys from the standpoint of toughness and telling them that tough was not tough enough. We have to take them to another level. This is a good team and a ranked team and now it is 20 minutes of going at it to see who can separate themselves.”
On CSU…
“I haven’t seen them in a long time. They gave a good starting 5 that is experienced and they have good guards that can really shoot the basketball. They are a very good shooting team. We played really well in here and that can be a mirage. We played well in the last game but we guarded really well. They have struggled on the road but they have been good at home. We need to do a good job defensively and try to get off to a good start.”
UNLV Head Coach Dave Rice
Opening Statement…
“I think the first thing is to give Coach Alford, his staff and New Mexico’s team great credit for the job they did today, they were terrific. The game seemed eerily similar to the game at Thomas and Mack Center where it is a close game a competitive game and the home team gets some stops and makes some big baskets early in the second half. Drew Gordon proved why he is one of the best guys in the country, he was terrific. It is always difficult coming to The Pit and playing a New Mexico team because they are so balanced and we were extremely concerned about Kendall Williams’ ability at the three and Snell’s threes and McDonald coming off the bench. I think we did a good job at limiting them at the three point but Gordon has 27 and 20. It is hard to win a game on the road that way. We tried to battle and I thought that we got some good looks in the second half but we weren’t able to get them in.”
On the talent of the Lobos…
“We have played a very challenging schedule and they are one of the best teams that we have played. It seems to me like they have certainly learned how to play without Dairese Gary early in the year. They are fabulous. They are a team that can certainly win games in the NCAA tournament and they are going to be a difficult team for whoever gets them in the tournament. They are playing at a high level and then your throw in the atmosphere here, their confidence and their ability to guard, they are terrific on the defensive end. They challenge you and make shots from the perimeter and we were not able to do that today. They are doing a great job.”
On the second half…
“We were having a hard time getting anything going and yet we got looks. We threw the ball at the post and New Mexico is very good at guarding the post and on defensive. We were able to kick it out and get a couple of open shots and I don’t think we settled. They were not going to let us establish ourselves in terms of scoring at the post and we weren’t able to get shots in.”
UNM Players Drew Gordon and Tony Snell
Sophomore Guard Tony Snell
You hadn’t been playing very well the past two games, what did today’s atmosphere do for you and the team?
“The atmosphere today was great. I felt I had a lot of energy that came from both my team and the crowd.”
Talk a little bit about what the coaches have been telling you to keep your confidence up…
“The coaches have just been telling me to stay aggressive at all times and keep playing hard.”
How important was it for the Lobos to win this game?
“It was very important for us. We gave them more competition this time around. After they blew us out over there, we had to come ready to play.”
Was the three that you sent in at the 11 minute mark a set play?
“Yeah that was a set play that the coaches drew up in order to get me going.”
Talk about the game you guys have coming up against Colorado State…
“We have a big road game coming up ahead and we have to stay focused. We can be happy about this win now because it was a big one, but we all realize we have a lot of work to do and prepare.”
What’s it like to be out there on the floor when someone like Drew Gordon is on fire like he was tonight?
“It is great. Having a player like Drew is good for us especially with his performance tonight, he was great. He is one of our x factors on the team and someone like him really helps us out.”
On the crowd giving the team energy throughout the game…
“It was a great feeling. Having the chance to play here is once in a lifetime. You really can’t put it into word how incredible the energy that the fans give us is.
On Tony feeling the love from the crowd after his first three…
“I felt everything. It was such a great feeling. I have to do as best I can to face the challenge the team gives me, and stay aggressive.”
On holding UNLV to 45 points…
“We were able to do that because we focused on defense. Coach Alford always tell us that we have 10 four minute games and it’s my job to stop my man and play defense every four minute game. The crowd made it a little tough because it was so loud, but we still stayed focused.”
On what the Lobos really want at end of season…
“To win a championship, I know that we are good enough to do it and talented enough as well. We have to go in there and do the best we can for the rest of the season.”
On how much fun the game was for Drew and the team…
It was a lot of fun, especially since we lost the first time. The SDSU game really helped up with our confidence. It was nice to get solely in first last game.
On Drew having the game of his life…
That was probably my best game, and things were just falling for me. The basketball gods were good to me today.
On UNLV not doubling Drew…
I think it was because when they start doubling, we have such dangerous shooters on the outside that I think it really influenced them on how they were guarding. They did double team a few times, and I think we are a really hard team to double.
After playing in Vegas, did this game motivate you to make a statement against UNLV…
Definitely, Vegas was a tough loss for us losing by 17. If we lose, it should be a dog fight, and with that game we gave up a little. Coming in to the Pit, it is a different environment and our fans were amazing today. It helped us a lot at the end of the game when we got tired.
On playing Colorado State next week…
They are unbeaten at home so getting a win over there would be nice. I am happy with any wins and putting are winning streak to eight would be great.
On not having a problem with fouling this game…
I think are guards did a good job digging down at the post which helps out the bigs. That helps a lot with fouling, and I just want to stay in the game. And even though I have had a few problems with fouls, it is something I have to practice on and try not to foul.
On Drew’s mid range game…
I really worked on it at the beginning of the season. It didn’t really show at the beginning of the season and that blew my confidence level completely. I then just got in the gym and practiced jumpers, and that is why they have gotten better. The more I practiced the better they’ve become. I know a lot of our guards have been staying after practice to work on some things.
On UNLV struggling the second half to make shots…
We are playing at The Pit, and when you are not making baskets it gets frustrating. We could see them dying a bit, and I think they took us a little lightly. Last time they beat us by 17, and I don’t think they came here as ready as they should have. They tensed up at the end of the game and that benefited us.
On UNM’s fitness…
Coach wants us to get better every four minute game we have. He wants us to keep working. When you break it down like that, it helps break it down mentally for everyone. I believe we have a new fire and determination to work hard and rise.
On UNM’s national recognition…
We have been overlooked this whole year. The hype has been about UNLV and SDSU being the big teams, and now we should be ranked this Monday. It won’t change our attitude, and we know how we are going to act. Our team is hungry, and we want a ring. We are striving to keep getting better.
On being a different team than earlier in the season…
We are better than we were. Losing two quick ones was very humbling and it made us want it more and work harder. We are here to today with a great win over a great team.
On beating UNLV so badly…
When we play together, we can beat pretty much anyone. If we put our minds to it, we are a tough team to beat. We felt we had an advantage on UNLV especially playing in the Pit. That was a huge factor.