March 3, 2007
Arkansas at Vanderbilt
Memorial Gymnasium
March 3, 2007
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
“I’m disappointed in how we played today. Congratulations to Arkansas. Today they played up to their capabilities and we didn’t. We didn’t shoot well and we didn’t defend well. We didn’t deserve to win. We have a little time now to fix some things defensively. I’m not concerned about our shooting. We hit 16 threes a couple of nights ago. I’m just disappointed in our performance and I wish I had done a better job of getting them ready to play.”
On Practices since the South Carolina Game:
“Yesterday’s practice wasn’t great and we played about the same today. We unfortunately only had one good day of practice since the South Carolina game, and that was on Thursday. Neither yesterday nor today was a good day.”
On Arkansas’ Defense:
“Their defensive field goal percentage is really good and they do a great job of contesting shots. Their length and athleticism make it difficult for opponents to score. They defend well and the game came down to the quality of their shots versus the quality of our shots. Today’s, theirs were better than ours.”
On Bench Play in the Second Half:
“We weren’t getting the energy that we normally get out of the first team. I had given them a better part of the first half to try and get something going and they didn’t. I think some of it was Senior Night, but they were a step off of their usual energy level today.”
Senior guard Dan Cage
On his feelings after the game:
“It’s just kind of a stinging feeling. We needed to be better prepared. This was kind of a week in the making. We were lucky to get out of South Carolina with a win. We were not playing good defense. Down there we were able to hit shots. Today we were not hitting shots and when you don’t hit shots you need to play good defense.”
On Senior Day:
“This means a little bit more to me than just one hard-fought game. I’m going to remember all the great games and big-time wins we had here during my four years. I really appreciate the support that everyone has shown to me, Derrick, and Ted.”
On the final minutes of the game:
“It was just one of those days. We had a chance to cut it to three with some free throws, but we couldn’t make those. We got some more stops and then got some open looks. If some of those go down, we’re confident we could have won this game. We feel that there is nobody better in the conference, or perhaps in the country, who is better than us in tight situations. Unfortunately we couldn’t keep it close in those final minutes.”
Senior forward Derrick Byars
On preparing for the SEC tournament:
“We have a week to prepare. We would have liked to have had a little momentum, but we can’t worry about that now. We’ve had our good points, our good performances, smart possessions and we have those to reflect on. That gives us confidence. And like I said, we have a week to prepare for whoever we draw.”
On Arkansas’s defense:
“They guarded us more physically than probably anyone in the league has. We have to learn to adjust to that. We need to find more driving opportunities, more good shots.”
On the loss on Senior Day:
“It hurts a lot. But we’ve had some big-time victories here and I’ll always remember those.”
Arkansas Head Coach Stan Heath
“What a great performance by the Razorbacks. I thought we got tremendous effort from every one of our kids, top to bottom. To come in here and get a win the way we did against a very good Vanderbilt team is a very positive sign for our team.”
“I like this team, and like the direction we are headed in. I can tell you there’s a bunch of happy guys in our locker room. The light bulb is really turned on right now for our guys. All of them are stepping up, playing for each other, and really focused on doing what they can to help us win.”
“I thought one of the keys was the job we did late in the first half and midway in the second half when Vanderbilt starting making their push. I thought we really focused in that situation, and made some plays, offensively and defensively. We bent, but didn’t crack. For our young team to step up like that, it’s just a good sign.”
“I thought our defense throughout the game was outstanding. The defense really came up big for us today. For us to come into their house and take away the three like we did says a whole lot about this club on the defensive end.”
“We also get a great job rebounding the basketball. For us to control the boards like we did was a huge factor in this win. There were times when the rebounding also gave us an opportunity to beat them down court, leading to some easy transition baskets.”
“Our guys really performed at the foul line, especially down the stretch when we were able to maintain our margin by hitting free throws. For a young team to come in here, make that many free throws and shoot better than 75 percent from the line is definitely one key to our win.”
Play of freshman forward Michael Washington
“Patrick (Beverley) and Gary (Ervin) have been playing extremely well and both of those guys came up big again today. But for us to be successful, we need a third option, especially from the young guys. We have to get that to win in this league. Today, Michael that stepped up and made some big baskets and played hard on the defensive end.”
Patrick Beverley
“It feels really good to play as a team and win, especially against a team like Vanderbilt. I think they have the player of the year in Byars, who is a future NBA star. Both he and Shan Foster are really talented. They played really hard today and we had to bring our best.”
On stopping Byars and Foster:
“We needed to play really hard and have a lot of defensive intensity. It takes a group effort and we really came together as a team.”
On playing in Memorial Gym
“We kind of like the gym here. We felt really comfortable, had a great shoot around and felt prepared to come in and get the win.”
“We need to continue to play like this. This was a great road win and we are going to head into the SEC tournament really confident. We need to stick to the drawing board and keep up the intensity as well. This was a great win.”
#0 Gary Ervin
On the feeling at the end of the game
“I felt relieved. We knew we were a confident bunch and believed in each other. It felt good to get the win and especially over the past two games come together as a team.”
“There is nothing like winning on the road. It’s always great to come in and be a spoiler, on their Senior Day and last home game of the year. We played hard and this really gave us momentum heading into the SEC tournament.”
“Coach said to go out and have fun. We made open shots, our big guys played well inside, and we had enough to hold them off. They cut the lead down to five near the end and it really came down to making foul shots. This was the sign that we’ve got each others’ backs and that we’re a good team.”