Feb. 10, 2016
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Vanderbilt 86, Missouri 71
February 10, 2016
Post game quotes
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Comments:
“We’re happy to win. We played well on offense tonight… Our second half defense wasn’t very good. I didn’t think our second half intensity was good, which was reflected in our shooting. You look and we went 1-for-12 from three in the second half.”
“Nolan [Cressler] came off the bench and gave us some good minutes… He had two really good days of practice.”
On Missouri:
“They keep playing until the very end. I admire their team for that. I admire their coach for that. They’ve had a tough past couple of weeks. Their players want to contribute. That’s a real positive.”
On Vanderbilt’s Three-Point Defense:
“Our team was good at defending the three until last season. Then, we were last in the league. It’s something we emphasize and focus on.”
On Vanderbilt’s First Half:
“We defended well. Our team, when we get stops defensively, tends to shoot well on the other end. It’s something we’ve emphasized all season long. The more stops we get, the better we play offensively.”
On Vanderbilt Guard Nolan Cressler:
“He’s played well in practice. His confidence seems to be back. I’ve liked Nolan’s look in the last few days in practice than I have at any point this season. Nolan and Riley [LaChance] have both been terrific in practice… As long as they continue to practice like this, they’ll break out.”
On Vanderbilt’s Energy Level:
“It’s February. You’re probably not going to be amped up every second of every day. We played hard tonight. We were just missing a little emotion.”
Vanderbilt guard Wade Baldwin
On playing a great first half and a decent second half:
“I think we’re just happy with everyone that we can get. I think that this was due to our great preparation in practice for two days. As Coach Stalin said, we have to practice well to play well, and it showed tonight. There was a little drop off in the second half. We just try to continue to get better.”
On the success of three pointers during the first half:
“I guess the guys got a good warm-up before the game, and came out shooting threes well. They kept the streak alive.”
On Nolan Cressler coming off of the bench:
“Nolan is a great asset for us. In his play, leadership and character, it’s what this team needs. He helps us tremendously because he’s a great guy, a great teammate and his ability to score the ball is excellent for our team. I’m glad he’s coming along because he’s a great player and we really need him.”
Vanderbilt forward Luke Kornet
On starting the game with a ten point lead:
“It’s important to establish ourselves and set the tone. I think we did a bad job in maintaining that tone. Over the year, we’ve had pretty good starts and getting a little advantage in the beginning. I hope that we can carry this win into Saturday.”
On the team thriving at home:
“I think there’s some comfort in it. This year at home we’ve done a good job of putting in extra effort and extra energy. There’s a great opportunity on Saturday to show some growth.”
On playing with a knee brace:
“I don’t really notice it. I had some problems for a couple games in getting strength back in my legs. At this point I don’t notice it when I play, it’s not really a focus of mine.”
Missouri Head Coach Kim Anderson
On the game:
“Certainly a bad first half. I didn’t think that we played very well and they played great, they did a great job in the first half. But our guys in the second half kind of woke up a little bit, started relaxing. We did a great job of finding Ryan Rosburg. I think that was his first career double-double. Jakeenan Gant played extremely well offensively. He made some shots and I thought he was pretty active offensively. We just didn’t have an answer for the game. Vanderbilt is so balanced; you think you got one guy stopped but then another guy jumps up and shoots it in or takes it to the goal. I was pleased with our second half performance. We didn’t lay down and give up.”
On Rosburg’s effectiveness:
“We got the floor spread a little bit. We ran and set some ball screens, and was able to roll because they were dragging or hedging. We were able to get some pocket passes to him. He doesn’t shoot from far out, but he was able to get close enough. He did a great job of getting the ball to the basket. He had good footwork around the basket, we just have to get him there.”
On Vanderbilt’s Defense and 3-Point Shooting:
“You guys have only seen us play once, but we have had struggles all year trying to get out of the gate effectively. I have to give Vanderbilt some credit too, I thought they did a great job and were really on them [Missouri players]. But I thought we had some really decent shoots as well. We’re just a young bunch of guys and didn’t make them. If you don’t make them, you put yourself in a hole. This is not an easy time to come up against, they have so many different options. But, I thought we did a good job on Jones, though they do have five guys hitting double figures so you can’t just pay attention to one. It makes you think if want to double up on him, but when you do, he throws it to someone else that can shoot. But, I was proud of our guys. We hung in there in the second half and didn’t roll over.”
On guard play:
“I wish I had an answer. Again, I thought a lot of the shots were good shots and that some of them might of been off balance. But, some of our guys have to understand that when you get behind by ten points, it is not the end of the world. There is no ten point shot, you do have to catch up one point at a time. I thought at times we force things a little too much, but in the second half we did a lot better. We shot 37% the game, and we had two guards in there who shot 2 for 20, which isn’t very good.”
On shooting struggles:
“I wish I had some secret formula, but you just have to keep working on it. We have had games were we shot the ball well. Shot selection is something you are always trying to work with. You are always trying to get guys relaxed and shoot the basketball, which I thought we did a better job with in the second half. When the game is on the line early, you got to be able to make that fifteen foot jump shot. It’s something we have to keep working on. I don’t have any magic, we just have to keep practicing, keep trying, and keep encouraging the guys.”
Missouri Forward Ryan Rosberg
On his first career double-double:
“I think I just kept attacking, try not to get frustrated. I got a couple shots blocked, going up against a couple seven-footers, great players, I knew that was going to happen at some point, so I just tried to stay aggressive, not let that get to me, and keep shooting shots that I know I can make.”
On having success against Damian Jones and Luke Kornet:
“They’re going to block their shots because they’re so long and athletic, and always in the right place defensively. Give them a lot of credit. My teammates found me in good spots, and that helped a lot.”
On another slow start for Mizzou:
“Definitely on the road, the tough stretches and tough starts kill us. I don’t know. We’ve got to execute early out of the gate, we can’t get down early on the road like this because it’s so hard to come back when you don’t have your own fans. I don’t know, execute offensively.”
On Vanderbilt’s early three point shooting:
“It was tough. We knew coming in that they were a top shooting team, one of the top three point shooting teams in the country, so we just tried to stay out on the shooters but they’re really good. We need to take a page out of their book, do some things like that. But it’s tough when you see all these guys making shots against you.”
