Feb. 7, 2004

Recap | Box Score | Notes

Pittsburgh Quotes

Coach Mike Brey
On the Pittsburgh game…
“We’re disappointed, but I’m proud of our group. We dug and fought and tried our darnedest against a very good basketball team that’s poised. We didn’t have rhythm offensively. A little bit of that is Pittsburgh and a little bit is us having a different guy in the post. I think they took some things away from us that had us frustrated.”

On Torin Francis, who missed most of the game with back spasms…
“He was a little stiff yesterday. I know he wanted to bounce back after Wednesday’s game, so that’s disappointing. We had a different look without him, but I thought Tom Timmermans, Jordan Cornette and Rick Cornett played their hearts out. I hope we’re going to get (Francis) back on Monday, but we better be ready to play without him.”

On Chris Quinn and Chris Thomas…
“They’re the key to us. We really need those two guys playing well together to have a chance in this league. (Thomas) has meant so much to our program, and he’s going to keep shooting, as is Chris Quinn, who had a tough night. As I told (Quinn) in the locker room, ‘You’re playing 35 minutes on Monday, so get some rest.'”

On his team getting up for Monday’s game vs. Connecticut…
“We have no other choice. We play a great team on Monday. Our kids will be excited. Get ready – they’re different from Pittsburgh. We’ve got the sprinters coming in on Monday.

Senior Forward Torrian Jones
On having a different mindset when playing against highly ranked teams…
“I think when we play good teams like Pittsburgh and Syracuse and Kentucky, we have to play all forty minutes and come out strong. I don’t necessarily think that we go into the game with a different mindset, but it just shows on the court when we are out there and we play a lot harder and show a lot more aggressiveness. We go out there and play disciplined and I think that’s the difference between how we played tonight versus our games against Boston College and Rutgers.”

Sophomore Guard Chris Quinn
On Chris Thomas…
“Chris had a great game tonight. So many people put him down when he has bad games and he is so good at not worrying about all that. He showed why he is our team leader and why he is the good player that he is because he responds and feeds off the energy and plays his game.

On Pittsburgh…
“They are a great team. There is a reason why they are #4 in the nation and 22-1 and I think its because they know how to win. We got close to them at the end and it didn’t seem to rattle them one bit.

On the upcoming game against Connecticut…
“We know what we have to do. We have a lot of games left but Monday we have one of the best teams in the nation coming in and we have to bounce back and be ready to play.

Junior Forward Jordan Cornette
On losing Torin Francis…
“In my mind and I think a lot of basketball minds out there, Torin is one of the best power forwards and centers in the country and he is monumental to this team but at the same time, we have 12 other guys to fill in for him that are ready to contribute to this team.

On what is needed for the team to stay focused…
“I think its mental toughness. Basketball is a game of runs and their run happened to be very long tonight. We had a long run to start the game but everyone knows that it’s a long game and they went on a run at a perfect time for them and we went on a scoring drought but at the same time we competed well against them. You always have to put positives in a loss like this. We have to take away what we learned tonight and move on to the next game because Connecticut is a great team. That’s the great thing about basketball: there is always another opportunity and ours is in two days so we have to stay focused.

Pittsburgh Quotes

Head Coach Jamie Dixon
On the poise of his team…
“We have guys that believe in each other and believe in what we’re doing. That’s what gets us through in the face of adversity and when things get tough.”

On Notre Dame’s big men sans Torin Francis…
“Their big men played very well. Tom Timmermans got great touches inside. Jordan Cornette had nine rebounds, and was the leading rebounder in the game. They got very good production from their big men.”

On the onslaught of Notre Dame three’s in the first half…
“We prepared for them shooting three’s from way outside the three point line. But when you see them pulling up from 25 feet, you realize that they are a tough team to play.”

Sophomore guard Carl Krauser:
On game…
“The game was basically decided by toughness. We wanted to come in here and get a win for our seniors. We had great mental preparation in the shoot-around to come in here, execute our plays, and get a win.”

On 15-2 deficit to start contest…
“Over the last couple years they always get off to an excellent start by hitting a lot of three’s. We just knew that if we kept our composure, followed the seniors, kept our young players in the game, and locked them down on defense then we’d be alright.”

On injury to Notre Dame forward Torin Francis…
“It definitely didn’t affect our game plan because we didn’t realize he was out. He wasn’t that much of a force to pay attention to. We just wanted to do what we needed to do and not worry about anybody else.”

Junior forward Chevon Troutman:
On team’s confidence level…
“Our confidence is real high. We know that if we get down however many points that we are going to come back and give the team heck and try to knock them off.”

Senior guard Julius Page:
On past problems in Joyce Center …
“The experience we have in being down in games like this on this floor, trying to get it all back at all one time would just get us in a deeper hole. We knew that if we were going to come back we would have to take one possession at a time and get some stops on defense and make points.”

On half-time adjustment…
“To play the way we did in the first half and only be down six points, we knew that once we got it going they couldn’t stop us.”