Feb. 6, 2011

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Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

On winning the game…
“I haven’t been happier about a win. That’s a great league win for us. You can get into what should happen because we’re 8-3 and they’re 3-8. They’re a tough group that beat us last year. They kept game pressure on us. It was a hard game for us. It was good for our group because I think we’re going to be in a lot of games like this the rest of the way.”

On letting the old guys play…
“It was a night for our old guys to win the game. They are great at time-outs and huddles. We would make a mistake and they did a good job of moving on to the next play. They didn’t panic. We got the ball to the right guys to get to the foul line. I thought we defended well. We switched stuff pretty well and rebounded well to get out of the game.”

On Ben Hansbrough for BIG EAST and National Player of the Year…
“Certainly, he is a BIG EAST Player of the Year candidate, but he is also a National Player of the Year candidate. We are in the top ten. He’s driven us into that position. We’re in the hunt for the regular season title. It’s starting to be really evaluated, and he continually does what he needs to do.”

On the defensive play…
“We went zone for awhile and that really helped us. They were hard for us to guard because of their speed. We couldn’t get away from them. We rotated into zone, which gave us a little spacing, and then they were chasing us down the rest of the way. [Carleton] Scott anchors us in the zone. When you put him in the zone, he’s in more of a hole in an open stance. That way he can be a little bit of a safety back there and fly around.”

Notre Dame Players

Ben Hansbrough – Senior – Guard

On Notre Dame’s trouble getting into a rhythm on defense…
“You know, I think Rutgers came in and played really well against us. They’re a Big East team with a road win. They came in and made some shots today. They had some big guys that were able to get into the lane, cause some matchup problems for us, but that’s the Big East. All that matters is that we found a way to win. Now we’re 8-3 and looking forward to our next game.”

On the importance of physicality and getting to the free throw line…
“I think that’s where we beat them. I’m looking at the stats right now, and it looks like we went 27-34 from the line, and they went 8-12, and we won by 7.”

On having to play three games in seven days…
“All I can say is that we got another Big East win. A win is a win in this conference, no matter who you beat.”

On knowing when it is time for him to take over the game…
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Coach Brey. He called a high pick-and-roll for me, and has a lot of trust in my basketball IQ. I’ve been able to find guys. We have so many weapons out there, and it makes my job a lot easier.

Scott Martin – Senior – Forward

On Notre Dame’s inability to pull away from Rutgers…
“You have to credit them. We came out and threw a punch, they took it, and came right back and threw one of their own. They are a very good team, and I think that says a lot about the power of this conference. The wins and losses may not look good, but they’re a good team. They played us tough, and they never quit. It was definitely a hard fought victory.”

On the upcoming game vs. Louisville…
“The great thing about us is that we are an older group, so it’s easier to change mindsets. Coach will get us ready. We know what we’ve got coming in here, we’re excited for the challenge, and hopefully it will be a good game.”

On the challenges of being a top ten team…
“We look at it as a compliment. There’s definitely still work to do though, and we know that we’re going to be receiving some punches, and we’re excited for that.”

On the significance of Carleton Scott’s two straight blocks with about three minutes to go…
“I think it definitely made Rutgers think a little bit, and maybe second guess themselves when driving into the lane. They were definitely key plays to alter their mindsets.”

Carleton Scott – Senior – Forward

On the defense fueling the offense in the second half…
“We can run off of stops. We pride ourselves on defense like we’ve done all year. We know if we get rebounds, blocks or loose balls we can come down and are efficient on offense.”

On defensive focus for their 3-pointers…
“Initially we knew they had some shooters, but they were mostly drivers. We played them as drivers, but then they started banging in some shots. We just had to adjust, and our coach made the right calls.”

On Rutgers stubbornness…
“They’re a great team. They move the ball really well. They screen for each other and are kind of a menace. They did an excellent job of moving us around and they kind of caught us off guard sometimes.”

On rebounding his own dunk…
“Sometimes, when no one is in the gym. Coach wouldn’t be too happy to see me practicing it. It was a great play personally. It bounced the right way.”

Tim Abromaitis – Senior – Forward

On that many possessions in second half with a one-possession game…
“It was good for us to have that game pressure on us. They were definitely tough, and we knew they were going to hit those shots coming down to the end. Being able to take care of the ball and make free throws was definitely key to the game.”

On turning defense into offense…
“I think we were able to mix it up a little bit better, going between zone and man. Keeping them on their heels. Being able to get some stops and rebounds and push it off the bat was key for us to build that lead in the second half and win in the end.”

On Rutgers grinding it out…
“We knew coming in they are a team that always puts up a good fight. Obviously they beat us last year, so we definitely respected them. We were up for the game, being able to grind it out, take care of the ball, and handle their shooters and not give up too many open looks was definitely key for us.”

Rutgers Head Coach Mike Rice

Initial thoughts about his team and the game…
“They have fight, they are improving and our formula of whether it is offensively or defensively, well, I’m going to have to trust the referees that all of those are fouls. It’s just tough. Like Pitt, they just get to the free throw line too many times. The intensity, the aggressiveness-everything is there. We have to play with a little more purpose on the defensive side. When we have wide-open shots, we have to shoot a better percentage. To beat a ranked team, you’re going to have to make your open shots, and we didn’t do that today.”

On how difficult it is to mount a comeback when Notre Dame keeps getting to the free throw line…
“It’s very difficult yet we almost did it. Notre Dame dropped their heads, and it seemed that whenever they dropped their heads, they got a foul called.”

On the officiating…
“You don’t do anything with the referees in the Big East. They have their own fraternity. You just leave them alone and make adjustments and for the last two weeks we have. Whether we’ve ran for fouls during practice and scrimmages or did drills to work on it, we’re going to pressure the basketball, but we have to do it with our feet and not our hands. Believe me, some of those were fouls. We have to improve. I believe that is something we can and something we will improve on or our team is going to be very tired in practice.”

On the play of Ben Hansbrough…
“He is a winner. There is a reason why he is very driven. We did not lose track of Hansbrough, he just took the ball and manhandled us most of the time. A couple times they set good screens and he uses them very well. I think a lot of what Hansbrough got was 11-13 from the free throw line. We didn’t lose him, he drove into us.”

On his team’s passion today…
“When you fight and your guys have that kind of energy and passion for one another, what am I going to do? Yell at them and scream? No, but we have to find ways not to beat ourselves at times. Whether it is turning the ball over like we did against St. John’s or fouling like we did against Notre Dame and Pitt, it is difficult. Those are top teams right there. They put so much pressure on your defense, but we’re a good defensive team. We have a great formula, our guys understand it. We just have to stop using our hands apparently.”

Rutgers Players

Jonathan Mitchell – Senior – Forward

On the frustration of losing to multiple top ten teams so narrowly…
“We get a little frustrated because these are games that we might not win on the road, but at the same time we’re getting so much better. We have come so far this season. We just can’t give up, can’t quit. We’ve got to keep fighting.”

On the number of fouls committed…
“I feel like we’ve been getting penalties before the first media timeout. We just have to do a better job of getting our hands off them. I think we’re starting to get a reputation around the league, that we like to foul with our hands. So we just can’t get in our own way, because how many free throws did they get to shoot-30? You can’t win a game when the other team shoots 30 free throws.”

On Notre Dame trying to draw fouls out of them…
“Ben Hansbrough does a great job of using his body and using your weight against you to create fouls. They did a great job of attacking us.”

On the balance of their offense versus that of Notre Dame…
“No one player can win in this league, so we’ve got to have a balanced attack. I think we’re getting better, but we still need everyone to contribute. We’re getting there.”