Feb. 1, 2017
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening statement…
“Vanderbilt defensively frustrated us, as well as any team we played. They forced us to keep the ball out, we struggled scoring, defensively we had a hard time chasing them. They played like a professional team, we have to give them credit. Give them credit, they were really good.”
On the takeaways from tonight’s game…
“We got to be better, I thought we were prepared with the game plan, but obviously they look like a well-oiled machine offensively in the first half, we can’t score, it makes it hard defensively.”
On Vanderbilt’s ability to hit three point shots…
“That’s what they do, they had five guys score double figures. I have to give credit to Vanderbilt, they had a new coach come in, and they played the same offense that they ran last year. It was really difficult for us to defend. When we played zone, they drove, and made shots.”
On same three players continuing to play after the Aggies cut into the deficit…
“They play hard, deserve to play, they are my main guys. Caleb [Smith], Kobie [Eubanks] and Tonny [Trocha-Morelos], they pick up there intensity defensively, and the light comes on when we are down fifteen. We are searching for five guys that play well together, we are playing guys out of position, because of our lack of perimeter.”
On not fouling…
“We didn’t foul them because we didn’t guard them. The first thirty minutes we had nobody, we played back on our heels, we weren’t aggressive enough, and we are going to get better on this, I can promise you on that.”
On bad loss…
“Every loss is a bad loss. We will make two steps forward then we seem to make one step backward this year. We were a little beat up. With Vanderbilt, if you’re behind you’re in trouble.”
SOPHOMORE CENTER TYLER DAVIS
On Vanderbilt’s defense…
“The first half I don’t think the bigs did a great job of posting deep in the paint so every time we caught it, we were a foot or two or maybe just right on the block but they were sending a double team to any big who caught it so it made it hard for us to get points in the paint that way. Then, in the second half, we did a much better job of catching it in the paint and being able to go right up and prevent them from coming.”
On adjusting to different lineups…
“I mean it’s an adjustment but at the end of the day, whoever’s on the floor, it’s just about playing hard. I don’t really care who Coach Kennedy puts me on the floor with, I just want to play hard and I want to win.”
VANDERBILT HEAD COACH Bryce Drew
Opening Statement…
“Our guys came out with a lot of energy to start out the game. We really shot the ball well, got us off to a good start. Coaching is a lot easier when you got a guy like Luke Kornet out on the court, making three-pointers, and contesting a lot of shots at the rim. I thought Texas A&M did a tremendous job in the last ten minutes really getting back in the game cutting it down to eight points. I am really proud of our two underclassmen. Joe Toye and Payton Willis made two really big plays that helped get our lead back to fourteen with Jeff Roberson three pointer.”
On first impression of Luke Kornet…
“Really tall. You see on TV how tall he is but until you stand next to him, you don’t realize exactly how big he is. The thing I’m most impressed about Luke, there are several things I could go at here, is first, he’s really unselfish. For being a senior, for being as talented as he is, he is all about the team. I think anytime that you have a player as good as Luke that’s team first, that sets a tone for everybody else in that locker room. Every day I go to practice it’s enjoyable to be with Luke. He’s always in a good mood, always smiling, always talking. He’s always working on his game, trying to get better. Having someone like Luke really spoils you as a coach.”
On how Vanderbilt was able to jump to an early lead…
“I thought our ball movement was really good. We play a little bit different style than other teams with Luke being such a great shooter on the perimeter so he’s really able to spread the defense out and we know we shoot three’s this much. There’s going to be goods and bads because you just can’t shoot a high percentage from threes all the time and so when we do shoot the ball well and are able to score some points, the biggest thing for us is getting defensive stops. Again, I thought that Luke’s length and Clevon Brown came in and did a great job with his length, allowed us to get some stops and rebound the basketball.”
SENIOR GUARD Luke Kornet
On direction the program is heading…
“I think we’ve definitely made a good turn recently. We’ve been playing well and even in the couple games before this that we lost, I felt like we made a good step and we just couldn’t really finish those games out so I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction. These last really four or five games at least, I think we’ve been competing well, the last couple especially, because today I think we did a great job especially getting better defensively and staying disciplined on that end.”
On how he wants to close out his senior season…
“It’s been a great journey for me, especially coming back from all the way as a freshman. Every single team’s different and with this new staff, I’m just happy with the way the program’s headed and I just want to make the rest of the year special. I think we’re heading in a good direction for it and I’m happy to be a part of a team where we’re just going to keep fighting. Whether we have some rough stretches, we’re just going to work the best to turn it around. Me and Nolan [Cressler] as the seniors, we want to finish our careers on a high note and knowing that we gave our best. That’s been the focus for us and these last few games have been a great stretch for us.”
