Memphis Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes vs SMU

Feb 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Feb. 26, 2015

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  University of Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner

Opening Statement...
"First of all, I want to say that I am very proud of the guys. I'm very proud of our team. We battled. We competed. We were up one under the eight minute timeout against what I think is the best team in the league, down two starters in Kedren Johnson, who fouled out due to not a smart tech and not having Markel [Crawford] the second half due to his jaw. We were within four with about four minutes to go. I was mix matching lineups because D'Marnier [Cunningham] needed a break because he hasn't played that much. The guys competed. They battled and fought. We were down six with about a minute to go and both times [Nic] Moore hit two big threes. The defense I felt for the first 32 minutes worked. The last seven minutes we were switching from zone to man, and he got hot on us. That was the difference in the game."

On not having Markel Crawford or Kedren Johnson...
"Pookie [Powell] was out due to the flu. Markel [Crawford] got out due to the jaw, and then Kedren [Johnson] fouled out. Our guys battled. They competed. SMU is the best team in the league, there's no question about that. We had our chances though. Unfortunately, we were down a couple of starters. It's just been like that this year with our ups and downs with our guys, but that happens. The guys competed, and that's all you can ask them to do. We were just shorthanded and low on players. It was just one of those things."

On Shaq Goodwin and Nick King's performance...
"I thought Nick [King] really played well. He hit some big shots for us and a couple of big threes and some and ones. He was very active. Shaq [Goodwin] was really good from start to finish. I'm really proud of Shaq. Those two really did a nice job for us. I thought Calvin [Godfrey] came in and gave us some good minutes. It was just a tough loss, and we have to bounce back from it. We have to get ready to go and try to get a win on Saturday."

  Junior Forward Shaq Goodwin

On personal performance and playing every minute of the second half...
"I just came out really excited for today's game. SMU is a great team. They have a great coach. They are second in our conference so it was a great opportunity today. Unfortunately, we came up short."

On the game...
"First half, we have a good half overall. We had three turnovers. I believe we were down by two or three. Going into the second half, they pulled away from us a little bit. We had nine turnovers in the second half. They shot almost 60 percent. We held Nic Moore to maybe five points in the first half. He got off a little bit in the second half and hit a couple of threes at big times. They made the key plays towards the end that we needed to make, and they got the win. We just came up short."

On physicality of the game...
"It was physical. The intensity was pretty much matched. You could tell by our foul calls and how many of our players got hurt that it was a physical game. We welcome and embrace that energy. That type of play is what we do. We are just looking forward to our next opportunity on Saturday. We can't dwell on the loss. We're not mad at our effort at all. We needed to make big plays towards the end, but all we can do is forget about today and move on to Saturday."

Today you seemed determined whether it was with a fully loaded team at the tip or with 18 minutes to go, was it just one of those things where you just wanted to carry the team a little bit?
"I was just excited; we have four good teams in the last stretch of the season. SMU, UConn, Cincinnati and Tulsa; these are really the top four teams in the conference. I am just excited and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and leave it all on the line."

They were very physical with you guys and it seemed that they controlled the physicality of this game...
"I disagree. In the first half, I believe they went to the line and shot 18 free throws and we have to be physical with them in order for them to go to the line that many times. They were physical, but we matched their intensity throughout the whole game."

When you lose so many guys from being fouled out, sick, etc. how does that change the game?
"It makes the situation a little tougher, but we do practice for those situations. I cannot say we are not prepared for that, we needed to come up with bigger plays toward the end. They made bigger plays in the final stretch and that is why they won the game."

  Sophomore Guard Avery Woodson

Did you play every position this game? It seems as though you guys were down a few guys toward the end...
"Yeah, we took a tough one to the face. SMU is a top 25 team, no doubt about it. Losing our guys from fouling out hurt us."

Markel was supposed to be a big part of hurting them, how different does it make it when he goes out?
"Markel is a great defender. Losing him also hurts us really bad because we needed to throw different bodies at (Nic) Moore. It was just a tough loss."

What was SMU doing differently in the second half?
"I don't personally think they did anything different. They just stayed consistent with their offense and made good plays, and that is pretty much what it comes down to."

  Sophomore Forward Austin Nichols

This was an off night for you, what do you have to do to get back in?
"I just need to shake it off. It's just one of those nights, it happens. I was missing some easy shots, and I let it get to my head a little bit. We have another opportunity Saturday. They are a great team, very well coached, but it is behind us now."

How tough was the loss of Markel (Crawford)?
"Losing Markel is huge because he pretty much locked down (Ryan) Boatright for UConn, and we were aiming on him to help us with Nic Moore. That was a huge loss for us."

  SMU Head Coach Larry Brown

Overall Thoughts...
"They turned it up defensively in the second half. I didn't do a good job for us adjusting to it. Sterling Brown came out and hit the first two threes and everyone got hesitant after that. The first part of the second half we didn't guard great, but I thought we were outstanding down the stretch. Cannen Cunningham hit some huge shots for us. We really needed a lift from him. Obviously, Nic Moore hit some big shots for us too. This was a team win. Ben Moore was great on the boards. We had a lot of real positive things tonight."

On the performance from Nic Moore...
"I thought he had 30. He hit a lot of big shots. Every time it seemed like Memphis made a run, he came through. This is a good win. I don't remember the last time SMU has won here, but we won here now. Let's enjoy that. I'm so proud of this team. We handled adversity on the road. I'm hoping that's an indication of us growing up a little bit."

On winning in FedExForum
"They have a great crowd. This is a great arena. They have great tradition. They've had some success. They didn't do anything that we hadn't seen. We just came out and got a win."

On guarding Austin Nichols...
"We've got big, long athletic guys. We did a better job on him than we did on Shaq Goodwin. He starts the game by knocking down a three. I think that was his first three on the year. Our bigs are really underrated defensively. When you can start out with Yanick Moreira and Ben Moore and then come in with Markus Kennedy and Cannen Cunningham, it really helps. They're all big and athletic. Austin Nichols is as good as any big man in the league."