Feb. 9, 2012

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins

On what happened at the end of the game
Obliviously, what happened was that they were 2 for 18 from three and they made three in a row. They made shots and we didn’t make shots. They had Deniz (Kilicli) isolated and we didn’t get him the ball and they stole it. They make a hard three to tie the game, and we don’t get Deniz the ball on an iso and he was scoring it pretty good. They come down and make another three and now we are down three. Then we have to back cut and we miss the lay-up. I am not blaming Truck (Bryant). Truck really tried to win. He didn’t force things and he tried to win. He didn’t make a lay-up and they come down and hit another three. That’s what happened. They made plays and we didn’t.

On Truck Bryant’s shooting
He can’t force shots. He has never made shots forcing them. Honestly, we were up three getting the ball to other people. He was really the one who got the ball inside for us.

On Notre Dame’s defense
He (Mike Brey) shortened the game. Anybody can hold people to low numbers when you shorten the game. That has been Mike’s (Brey) strategy. It is a good strategy for him. They got to run the clock down and ball screen, and they surround you with shooters, and it is hard to get help and (Jack) Cooley does a great job of keeping the ball alive for them. He had 21 points and 12 rebounds. He dominated us inside. You can have a pretty good defensive team if you hold the ball on offense numbers wise. I am not saying they are not good. Mike does a great job. He does an absolutely great job but when you shorten the game that much, you are not going to score a lot of points.

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey

Opening statement
Hard fought road win against a heck of a basketball team. I’m really proud of our group because we weathered a storm. We knew they were going to make a run, and we were down three and came back and stole the road win. It was really good for our group. I thought our poise was really good when we went down three, and I thought we defended and rebounded the whole night. We kept them from hurting us, beating us from the outside. They got a couple but not enough to win. I can’t believe we have to play them in two weeks. The way this thing goes, they are a really good team.

On Jack Cooley guarding Kilicli (Deniz)
I think he really took it as a challenge. We talked about their front line and their big guys. I thought Jack was happy with tonight. He guarded them but also moved around a little bit and probably has a little quicker feet to get there and get some buckets. The way he offensively rebounded for us is just amazing. Throughout the night he was a release. We had a hard time getting our guards open. They defended us so well. He and Scott (Martin) were great handling the ball and Jack was handling the ball up top a lot.

On Jerian Grant calming down
He got fouled and then he was a little whacky so he took a couple tough shots and I took him out to calm down a little bit. When he went back in he certainly made big ones. We have made some fearless 3s this year. We are really good at the end of a game. We are really a mentally tough group and this was a heck of a win for us on the road. I don’t want to screw my team up. They are playing really well.