Feb. 28, 2008
Coach Herb Sendek
Opening Comments:
"Looking back at the game, I thought our team really did a good job defensively through the majority of the first half, if not the entire first half. UCLA was able to open up the lead not so much on our defense, but on our offense. There were a couple of dramatic swings. We miss a dunk, they have a transition advantage, and instead of the lead going to three, it goes to eight. Then there was another play of similar fashion. Our turnovers really put us on our heels defensively, and then to start the second half, our defense wasn't as good, and then they were able to open up the lead. Obviously, their defense was excellent for 40 minutes. Very few things came easy for us offensively."
On Jeff Pendergraph's struggles tonight:
"He had two turnovers on trap situations, and he had one other one on the offensive elbow. No, it wasn't one of his best games, and obviously it's very important for our team that he be at his typical high level."
On UCLA's defense on James Harden:
"They just do a good job playing team defense. They really do. He didn't have many easy looks tonight. I wasn't able to create a lot of opportunities for him."
On UCLA's 3-point shooting tonight:
"Darren [Collison] got a couple early ones that got them going. I think we challenged them better in the second half than we did in the first. But they hit their shots once again tonight. They're tough to beat already, but when they hit 50 percent from 3, it's almost impossible."
On the five-point swing late in the first half:
"That was a key play. I should have finished the bucket. It resulted in a 3. Then we came back down, I think I missed another shot, they came back down and hit another 3. It was a big swing in the game."