Feb. 21, 2009
Vanderbilt 68 – Florida 82
February 21, 2009 – O’Connell Center – Gainesville, Fla.
Attendance: 12,543
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt Head Coach
Opening Statement
“We had some missed opportunities in the first half with missed lay-ups. Florida got on a role and got its confidence up. We had some breakdowns defensively; we just had a hard time guarding them. Everyone was shooting well for them. They took care of the ball and everyone was hitting the right guy – that’s what Florida can do to you. We did a much better job in the second half. We were attacking in the second half offensively. By that time it’s really too late, unless you can put a whole bunch of stops together. We weren’t able to get enough stops combined with baskets to get us back in it.”
On Florida’s back-to-back three’s with 12 minutes left in the game
“That was a problem. We talked about if we could get a couple of stops there and get a couple of points, we’d be okay. Then they hit those three’s back-to-back and it was back to clawing our way back in. It’s frustrating because we know Jeff (Taylor) had a lot of shots at the basket, he just couldn’t get in the goal. There was no shortage of effort on our part. Our kids played hard. Their offense was way better than our defense today.”
On Florida shooting 60 percent or better in both games against Vanderbilt this year
“It is very frustrating. You try to figure out what you can do but they just have a lot of weapons. When all of their weapons are playing well, it’s hard.”
Billy Donovan, Florida Head Coach
Opening Statement
“I knew Vanderbilt was going to come out and really be ready to play. In the first game (earlier this season), (A.J.) Ogilvy was a non-factor because of some health issues – so he was not his normal self. I thought he would come in here and play well and we would have to contend and deal with him.”
On the game
“I thought in the first half we did a pretty good job defensively. They did miss some shots and we had some rotations and created some turnovers. We turned the ball over a lot ourselves and even though we had a double-digit lead going into the half, I really felt like they were in striking distance. Kevin is a terrific coach and I knew that they would make some adjustments and do some different things in the second-half. They attacked our zone really well in the second-half. In the first-half, we had a lot more energy. I thought we got a little bit loose defensively in the second-half, but I was proud of our guys.”
Florida Players
Nick Calathes, guard
On the week ahead
“We’re going to have a good practice tomorrow and the next day and be ready for LSU. We’re going to come out with a lot of energy and be ready.”
Alex Tyus, forward
On the game
“We played a very balanced game tonight. We played pretty good defense, with a lot of energy. We got our hands on the ball and that had an impact. We tried to stay focused, to come out with a lot of energy, like coach was saying.”
On the rest of the season
“We feel good about the last two wins, but we know there is a lot more basketball left to play. We can’t take any game lightly; every game is going to be a battle.”
Erving Walker, guard
On teammate Nick Calathes
“Nick is a great point guard. He makes life a lot easier on me and I thank him for that. I try to come out with confidence, take good shots, and do everything I can.”
