Feb. 9, 2004

Recap?|? Box Score?|? Notes?|? Photo Gallery

Coach Mike Brey
On the win…
“We really needed that one and I can’t tell you how proud I am of our group. We hung in there after that disappointing loss to Pitt and we bounced back.”

On team confidence and leadership…
“Our leadership was excellent tonight, Jones, Cornette, Timmermans, Thomas. We had Torin in and out with the injury and when Quinn went down, these guys really stepped it up.”

On the Offense…
“We played slow, but overall I think it helped us. Chris Thomas really quarterbacked the tempo offensively.”

On Rick Cornett…
“How about him, coming off the bench and really playing tough. He played great for us, and had some key plays.”

On Torrian Jones…
“Torrian played fabulously, he had tough makes on tough shots, and he managed to get in there for rebounds also. A great job on his part.”

On Chris Thomas…
“Great job by Chris, we really rode him hard all game and he responded. He played an amazing game for us.”

On fast break defense…
“We really focused on our transition defense all week and we knew that if we could control the speed of the game, we had a great chance to pull one off.”

Junior Guard Chris Thomas
On the play of the team…
“We put it together, the whole team came together. We did it without Torin [Francis], but just him going out there and starting game was just motivation for us to win for him because we knew how much he wanted to be out there.”

On the upset of Connecticut …
“Tonight was a special night, not only for myself, but for the team and the program. The guys in here have worked so hard and come in the locker room after three or four straight games and just felt empty inside. This was huge for us. This is motivation just to show how well we can play together.”

Sophomore Forward Rick Cornett
On playing as a team…
“We’re in this together, and we have to go out and face the world. We did it together, and that’s how we came out with a win tonight. Torrian [Jones], Chris Thomas, and Chris Quinn were definitely are backbones tonight. Jordan and Tom did an excellent job as well.

On coming back after an injury…
“It was a setback after the DePaul game when I was injured. Now, I am feeling really good and healthy. I am really excited that I got the opportunity to go out there and play tonight.”

Senior Guard Torrian Jones
On team play…
“Tonight guys stepped up and made plays when they were called upon. Rick [Cornett] hasn’t gotten to play for many games, but tonight he did a great job getting offensive rebounds and getting steals. It just shows that everyone is ready to step up.”

On the future…
“We have to come into the game against Seton Hall on Saturday with the same energy. We can’t take any steps backwards. We need to have the same aggressiveness and the same mind set, and just go in there being confident and knowing that we can win.”

Uconn Quotes

Coach Jim Calhoun
On Chris Thomas…
“He had a tremendous game. He’s been erratic at times, but tonight he was really big. When it was 69-69, he made a super-big shot, and one of our players decided to reach out and grab him when he came up with the screen, and you don’t win any basketball games that way.”

On the outcome of the game…
“Overall, though I always thought we could win this game, I didn’t like the general attitude of our team. I didn’t think we were poised on offense. We didn’t have more than ten fast-break points. We made some bad decisions, and then the wings just did not play to their capability. We did get points in the paint off of Emeka. My only complaint all night would be that Emeka has got to make more than two trips to the foul line.”

On Notre Dame’s performance…
“The fouls at the end were probably accurate because we fouled them a lot more down the stretch. Notre Dame clearly won, whether I officiated it or those three guys on the court did. They were tough, they stayed within the context of their offense; they shot the ball late and still put 80 on the board. All of my credit goes to Notre Dame. I mean, they won the basketball game.”

“Their guys dominated the basketball game. I was very disappointed. I thought we had made progress, I mean, here we are in February. I don’t mind if a couple of those guys go out and have a big night. Chris Thomas is capable of thirty a night, and Quinn is good at positioning the ball.”