Jan. 12, 2016
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Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Statement:
“More than anything else I’m happy for my team. They’ve been working hard and it just hasn’t happened for us. I’m happy for them that we were able to win tonight, and I thought we got some really good individual performances as well as team performance. I really liked our defense. You know, the key when you play them is trying to defend (Kareem) Canty and he’s got such unbelievable range and ball skills that every time he goes to shoot it, it has a good chance of going in. So, we just tried to make his shots difficult and we tried to make his touches difficult sometimes, and obviously Luke’s (Kornet) presence around the goal was critical. People wondered what I was talking about when he was out and I said something was missing, and there was a little glimpse of it tonight of what he can do. So, I thought Riley (LaChance) had a really good look in the first half that helped us, and Wade (Baldwin IV) was good on both ends, really good actually. So, we are pleased to get this win and get off the snide.”
If he was aware down the stretch of Luke Kornet being close to a triple double:
“Had no idea. No, that’s not true. There at the end we went to a new offense. It was called, ‘Nobody but Luke can shoot.’ So, we were trying to get it for him. He deserved it.”
If he could tell that Kornet’s teammates really wanted this triple double for him:
“Certainly, you know Baldwin IV was only three rebounds away from one, but yeah I mean of course they wanted it for him. Kornet is a positive life force for our team. It’s obviously good to have him back.”
On what his procedure is for getting stats during the game:
“They bring the stat sheets to the bench during the game. I don’t look at them. It’s almost superstitious with me. I don’t, I just don’t want to see the stat sheet, but somebody on the bench made me aware. ‘Coach Luke needs two points for a triple double’, and I said, ‘Okay.’ Then he got fouled made one of two free throws. Had a chance to kill it off right then and end the suspense, and then he got fouled again and missed and then someone made a nice tap out for him so he could go in and get it and score. It was good for him.”
On what it says about Kornet as a player that he had 10 blocks and 10 rebounds before the 10 points:
“It says he didn’t make his free throws in time. He’s a good player and a good leader and the anchor behind our defense. Our defense will be pretty good if we can get Baldwin IV to play like was playing at the front of it tonight and Kornet playing at the back of it like he was tonight. We can be a good solid team defensively. That’s what we hope to be.”
On what having Kornet back does to the rest of the lineup:
“So, if Kornet’s not there and Damian’s (Jones) in foul trouble now we’re back at Purdue or we’re back at so many other games that we felt like we played while Kornet was out. It lengthens our bench. Josh (Henderson) came in and gave us some good minutes tonight. So, it lengthens your bench. Matthew (Fisher-Davis) the MRI was negative. When he stops having pain he’ll be able to play again. You know, it feels like we’ve been stretched every game. We’re stretched and you know Camron (Justice) and Kornet are out then Fisher-Davis is out, Jones is in foul trouble it just, nothing seems easy. Fortunately, our guys were able to play the game tonight in a way that we were able to build a cushion and never really relinquish it.”
On Damian Jones and his constant foul troubles:
“He’s just got to play with more discipline, but I said that after the South Carolina game then I went back and looked at his fourth and fifth fouls weren’t fouls. I’ll go back and look at this and see what the deal is, but he’s got to figure it out. He’s a Junior in college I shouldn’t have to explain it to him at this juncture. If he’s getting bad calls then he needs to get himself out of position to get bad calls.”
Vanderbilt Player Wade Baldwin IV
When were you guys told that Luke was close to getting a triple-double?
“I’d say about 6 or 7 minutes left. He needed two blocks and two points. We got the two blocks and everybody pointed out one more. We got the one more and got him to be the second person in Vanderbilt’s history to make a triple-double.” Coming close to a triple-double of his own:
“I was more aware last year when we played South Dakota State. I got caught in a tricky play and had to make the right move last year. But, Luke beat me to it.”On the teams first win against an SEC team:
“It feels great. Going back to last year, January wasn’t a good month for us. And three games into the SEC and we are losing three games in a row. The pressure is on now and we are trying to win every game that we play. We are trying to play hard. Tonight was a good night. We started out with six threes. Damian was in foul trouble with some debatable calls. It stinks playing without him, because he does so much for our team and is such a great teammate and a good guy. To have him on the bench in a lot of these games is disappointing, especially cause I know how much he tries not to foul, and tries to do the right thing. But, sometimes he gets hit with some bogus ones.”
On the offense getting back into the grove:
“Our shooters were hot today. We were 6 for 6 threes to start. The guys made shots and moved the floor well. It’s tough to keep up with me in a full court like that and I got to give credit to those guys that can roll with me. Even Luke off his injury was following the plays as fast as he can and getting his feet straight to shoot those threes. It’s not as easy as he makes it look. Same with Riley, Camron, or Jeff. After losing those three games, the guys came out and put the work in and got it right. We are going to need that.”
Vanderbilt Player Luke Kornet
On the game:
“It is definitely an honor. I know a lot of people who had the opportunity to do it and it is something I take a little pride in. But, I’m excited that we finally got a win. I really want this season to be something special. I’m hoping this win will push us forward.” On his last few possessions:
“You knew the ball was going to you and you probably felt like you had to shoot it.Yeah, they were definitely telling me to shoot the ball and I didn’t really like it that much. But I guess I had to do it and step up to the occasion. I felt kind of weird with the whole situation and with everyone trying to get me the ball it was definitely a weird place to be in.” Coming back from his injury early:
“I’m not too surprised. I had been running for a little while and then I practiced the day before the Arkansas game and didn’t have any problems with it. I hadn’t had any problems at all from when I was running to when I started practicing so I felt comfortable playing a little bit. It’s felt perfectly fine. It’s weird playing with a brace but I feel pretty much back to normal.”
How his rehab is going:
“There is still a little bit to go. My conditioning is not all that great and not where I want it to be. I also have lost some leg muscle so I’m working at getting it back. But other than that I am pretty much close to being back at 100%.”
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl
Opening statement:
“It’s probably the first time that I’ve been in Memorial where we didn’t press for forty minutes. A lot of people have seen my teams play here in the games, a lot of family and friends. Not that pressure always worked, you always saw our teams fly around a little bit, but when you’ve got three scholarship guards that are playing it’s challenging. I thought that we played hard, I thought we defended fairly well, I thought we got good looks but obviously it didn’t convert. So obviously we’re disappointed. We have to get better, we have to play better, I have got to get more productivity from the younger players. [The younger players] did not deliver all tonight. When you’re a man two or three down, you have to get those guys to step up and play better. I was pleased with our effort. Vanderbilt’s a good team, and I think that people around here need to relax and understand that they play one of the toughest schedules in all of college basketball. All they need is a couple of wins, and they’re going to get their confidence and get on a run. Vanderbilt’s a good team and has great weapons- Kornet makes a difference for them obviously, and not having him for that little stretch was definitely a factor.”
On the impact of Kornet in the game when he was not blocking shots:
“He has great length. We’d get the ball inside deep, and Tyler Harris, a good inside player, had a hard time scoring over him. He’s a force down in there, you have a game plan for him. He’s a very difficult match up.”
On Damian Jones being benched for fouls:
“It’s just another guy that’s not out there for them. I thought Cinmeon Bowers did a good job tonight, another double-double for him. I thought he played hard. But they’ve got so much size, we missed a lot of shots around the rim. There’s really not much of an excuse for missing eleven free throws and making nine.
Pearl on his game plan against Vandy with Kornet playing versus him not:
It’s very different. As you stretch forward, pick and pop four, you’ve got to do some things and create some mismatches. I thought we did a pretty good job defensively.”
On the upcoming game against Kentucky:
“I take it one game at a time. I’ll study Kentucky to know what challenges they bring, but we’ll get on that tonight.”
On player Cinmeon Bowers:
“I thought he attacked the rim really well, showed his athleticism and his motor. When he plays like that he’s fun to watch.”
Auburn F Cinmeon Bowers
On Auburn’s slow start:
“We had a good defensive plan coming out. We’d been prepared all week. We just couldn’t execute on the offensive end. For myself, I could’ve finished better.”
On the team’s mind set after Vanderbilt opened on a 13-2 run:
“When that happened, we just had to keep climbing. We had faith. You’ve got to have faith that something’s going to happen.”
