TicketsRV/RV Mississippi State at No. 25/RV Cincinnati
Dec. 12, 2017
BB&T Arena
Highland Heights, Ky.
Postgame Quotes
Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin
Opening statement:
"Well, obviously, to hold a team to 50 points, you will win a lot of games. We did a great job with our half-court defense. We got, I thought, a few key steals to get some easy baskets; they were important. Kyle (Washington) got it going in the first half and Jacob (Evans) in the second. This was a defensive victory, no question about it. We are still searching on offense a little bit at times with the new roles of guys on this team. We haven't had to play a lot of half-court offense and execute in the half-court. It's a new thing for us and it is just going to be a work in progress with Cane (Broome), Justin (Jenifer) and Jarron (Cumberland) and Jake [being] on the ball more than he had been with Troy Caupain in here his first two years. We are running a lot of new offensive stuff in the half-court that we hadn't run in the last year or two, so we are still searching a little bit from an efficiency standpoint on offense. I also thought that when we got up 19 or 20, our guys were emotionally drained; they need a day off mentally after the last three games. It has been a lot of emotion. In our program, losing two games in a row doesn't happen that often. I thought we were visibly tired late in the game."
On getting a day off tomorrow:
"Yes, which is nice because they are out of school. They need to get away for a day, freshen up."
On Mississippi State being 8-0 entering the game:
"They have everybody back and they have one of the best coaches in America. My respect for Coach (Ben) Howland is off the map. We go way back; he is a great guy and a great coach. What the guy did at Pittsburgh was unbelievable and what he did at UCLA with three Final Fours is unbelievable. He has everybody back and have six or seven Top 100 players. They are just young. They are still young and you can tell when you watch them play, even in their wins when I watched them on film. It will be all out to get a 'W' down there next year, I can promise you, because they will have that whole team back. (Aric) Hollman led them in scoring tonight and he is their only guy that plays that is above a sophomore, I think, of their main guys. So, they are just a young team."
On the importance of getting this win after two losses in a row:
"I was just concerned about the guys' confidence level. It's hard to shield them from the social media and the outside world. I can shield myself because I don't have it, but it is hard to shield them. Young people live in that world and I am sure the sky was falling in that world because we lost a few games. We're coaches and we have to worry about how our team is playing and focus on improving. We played bad in a few games that we won or even though we won by 30. I was unbelievably upset after our last exhibition game against Embry-Riddle; we had 20 turnovers. We were up 30 at half, but I was beyond upset. So, for me, the hardest thing this day and age is to keep your guys focused and together after a loss because the world is coming to an end. At every level; high school, pro, college, it doesn't matter because the world is coming to an end. And, when you lose two in a row, the world is really coming to an end, in their world, because they read, they hear and that is just the way it is. My daughter is 11 and I have to tell her to put the iPad down night and day. It's never ending. I was worried about their confidence because of that type of stuff; the outside stuff, so, yes, getting a win was important. But it doesn't matter. That's the thing: it matters, but it doesn't. You have to get better, or what's the difference. You have to get better to win Saturday. You have to keep your team focused on improving. I have a PhD in it after coaching seven years in the BIG EAST. In the real BIG EAST with Syracuse and UConn and all those guys, like the ACC now, I had a PhD in it. You have to move on. You can't look at your schedule. Like this four-game stretch; you can't look the schedule. I am just worried about practice Thursday. I have to get my guys to worry about practice Thursday. It is hard this day and age, even with these kids. I can see some things that I don't like; I see guys trying to do too much, our passing isn't what it was; but everybody goes through it. Once the games start and there are stat sheets and there are minutes and points per game and the outside world infiltrates your team, it's the hardest thing as a coach."
On reducing turnovers:
"No doubt. Gary (Clark) should never have four. It's not a byproduct of how we are playing; just sloppy. I will tell you, in defense of the guys, we are running a lot of things this year that are new and tailored away from Troy (Caupain) and Kev (Kevin Johnson) – they were really good at some things – and trying to tailor toward our team now. I think that is a learning process. Our passes are a little bit late. Keith Williams is a freshman and Cane (Broome) has to get much stronger with the ball. But, I wouldn't just point to our turnovers; I would point to our field-goal percentage as well as overall offensive efficiency, the KenPom (points per possession) is an area we have to improve. But, that is just part of it. When you have two new starting guards, it is going to happen when you are doing new stuff and you get into these half-court games. You will be really efficient when you are blowing people out and are running up and down shooting layups. You have to run offense and it is a lot harder to be efficient against a Ben Howland-coached team or like Florida and teams that are big and strong and can play defense. So, it is just a new world for us. The guys with the ball in their hands haven't had it in these types of games, which is why I tried to make the schedule the way I did. I think some people thought, 'they are great and they are going to run right through it', but I thought the opposite. I thought we would struggle, but I thought we needed it before we got to conference play. These guys need some reality. It is the only way to learn the truth about how to be a really good team and win real games. But, we took a step in the right direction tonight in a lot of ways. When you hold a team to 26 percent shooting that is 8-0 and Ben Howland is their coach, you are playing some good defense."
Cincinnati Player Quotes
#24 Kyle Washington, F
On bouncing back with his play:
"It's my fifth year in college so I've been through everything. I knew there would be some tumultuous times and I was just ready to embrace it. Whatever it was going to take I just wanted to help my team out."
On if the team's confidence took a hit after the two losses:
"Us (two) personally, confidence is something we have innately. We've through a bunch of situations. It wasn't confidence we were just thinking we have to get a win. We weren't thinking about personal accolades we were just thinking we need to get it back on the road because we're not used to losing."
On Cincinnati's defensive effort:
"We took away a multitude of things from them. We knew what we wanted to do on defense and we had a game plan and we were locked in on how they play well as a team. We just wanted to take all of that away."
On playing UCLA who knocked UC out of the NCAA Tournament last year:
"They are a very good team, super talented. We lost to them in the second round (last year) and obviously, we want to show that we can play with a team like that. We're going to come in humble but we definitely want to win."
#1 Jacob Evans III, G
On the importance of getting this win after a two-game losing streak:
"In college basketball every win is important, but coming off a two-game losing streak, personally, I don't think I've been a part of that ever at Cincinnati. It was important to get back on the right track."
On playing UCLA who knocked UC out of the NCAA Tournament last year:
"Of course we still remember it, but we know it's a different team. They are trying to bounce back after a tough home loss. We know we just have to be ready to go into the lion's den as Coach would say."
On UC's practices since the Florida loss:
"We definitely tried to over exaggerate us getting back to being the Bearcats starting with our defensive mentality – toughness, relentless effort with everything we do. We kind of got back to that. We still need to cut down on our turnovers. We did block 11 shots but 14 turnovers is too many."
Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland
Opening statement:
"First of all, Cincinnati's a really good team and a great program. He's done an incredible job, Mick has. Today we were really inept attacking their zone. We really didn't expect to see zone on the first possession of the game. They haven't played a lot of it coming in to today. They played more of it then we've seen against anybody, against Florida in their last game, but I was a little surprised. So it's my fault, we have to do a better job in our preparation. And we have to get better in our zone attack. Our defense was good enough, we held them to 40 percent. Obviously, Washington hurt us in the first half, Evans in the second, but we lost the game tonight because of our inability to attack that zone. We were standing way too much, not enough ball movement, not enough cutting and getting the ball inside."
On any problems Cincinnati's size maybe cause in the matchup:
"They have great size at the wings and they are long and athletic. But again, I thought our lack of the zone attack was key for us, it wasn't their size. It was our first road game, so it's the first experience for some of these kids to even be on the road. We just didn't play well at the offensive end of the floor."
On Aric Holman's double-double:
"Eric did a good job and played hard and did a good job rebounding the basketball, which is something we need to do. We need to get others to step up and be able to score for us inside."
On playing a ranked team on the road and how it helps prepare the team for upcoming games and the conference season:
"Cincinnati is like an upper echelon SEC team, so it's very similar. We've got to play better and the bottom line it we get back Thursday and Friday (in practice), it's going to be all offense, working against the zone when we're doing offensive stuff."
Dec. 12, 2017
BB&T Arena
Highland Heights, Ky.
Postgame Quotes
Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin
Opening statement:
"Well, obviously, to hold a team to 50 points, you will win a lot of games. We did a great job with our half-court defense. We got, I thought, a few key steals to get some easy baskets; they were important. Kyle (Washington) got it going in the first half and Jacob (Evans) in the second. This was a defensive victory, no question about it. We are still searching on offense a little bit at times with the new roles of guys on this team. We haven't had to play a lot of half-court offense and execute in the half-court. It's a new thing for us and it is just going to be a work in progress with Cane (Broome), Justin (Jenifer) and Jarron (Cumberland) and Jake [being] on the ball more than he had been with Troy Caupain in here his first two years. We are running a lot of new offensive stuff in the half-court that we hadn't run in the last year or two, so we are still searching a little bit from an efficiency standpoint on offense. I also thought that when we got up 19 or 20, our guys were emotionally drained; they need a day off mentally after the last three games. It has been a lot of emotion. In our program, losing two games in a row doesn't happen that often. I thought we were visibly tired late in the game."
On getting a day off tomorrow:
"Yes, which is nice because they are out of school. They need to get away for a day, freshen up."
On Mississippi State being 8-0 entering the game:
"They have everybody back and they have one of the best coaches in America. My respect for Coach (Ben) Howland is off the map. We go way back; he is a great guy and a great coach. What the guy did at Pittsburgh was unbelievable and what he did at UCLA with three Final Fours is unbelievable. He has everybody back and have six or seven Top 100 players. They are just young. They are still young and you can tell when you watch them play, even in their wins when I watched them on film. It will be all out to get a 'W' down there next year, I can promise you, because they will have that whole team back. (Aric) Hollman led them in scoring tonight and he is their only guy that plays that is above a sophomore, I think, of their main guys. So, they are just a young team."
On the importance of getting this win after two losses in a row:
"I was just concerned about the guys' confidence level. It's hard to shield them from the social media and the outside world. I can shield myself because I don't have it, but it is hard to shield them. Young people live in that world and I am sure the sky was falling in that world because we lost a few games. We're coaches and we have to worry about how our team is playing and focus on improving. We played bad in a few games that we won or even though we won by 30. I was unbelievably upset after our last exhibition game against Embry-Riddle; we had 20 turnovers. We were up 30 at half, but I was beyond upset. So, for me, the hardest thing this day and age is to keep your guys focused and together after a loss because the world is coming to an end. At every level; high school, pro, college, it doesn't matter because the world is coming to an end. And, when you lose two in a row, the world is really coming to an end, in their world, because they read, they hear and that is just the way it is. My daughter is 11 and I have to tell her to put the iPad down night and day. It's never ending. I was worried about their confidence because of that type of stuff; the outside stuff, so, yes, getting a win was important. But it doesn't matter. That's the thing: it matters, but it doesn't. You have to get better, or what's the difference. You have to get better to win Saturday. You have to keep your team focused on improving. I have a PhD in it after coaching seven years in the BIG EAST. In the real BIG EAST with Syracuse and UConn and all those guys, like the ACC now, I had a PhD in it. You have to move on. You can't look at your schedule. Like this four-game stretch; you can't look the schedule. I am just worried about practice Thursday. I have to get my guys to worry about practice Thursday. It is hard this day and age, even with these kids. I can see some things that I don't like; I see guys trying to do too much, our passing isn't what it was; but everybody goes through it. Once the games start and there are stat sheets and there are minutes and points per game and the outside world infiltrates your team, it's the hardest thing as a coach."
On reducing turnovers:
"No doubt. Gary (Clark) should never have four. It's not a byproduct of how we are playing; just sloppy. I will tell you, in defense of the guys, we are running a lot of things this year that are new and tailored away from Troy (Caupain) and Kev (Kevin Johnson) – they were really good at some things – and trying to tailor toward our team now. I think that is a learning process. Our passes are a little bit late. Keith Williams is a freshman and Cane (Broome) has to get much stronger with the ball. But, I wouldn't just point to our turnovers; I would point to our field-goal percentage as well as overall offensive efficiency, the KenPom (points per possession) is an area we have to improve. But, that is just part of it. When you have two new starting guards, it is going to happen when you are doing new stuff and you get into these half-court games. You will be really efficient when you are blowing people out and are running up and down shooting layups. You have to run offense and it is a lot harder to be efficient against a Ben Howland-coached team or like Florida and teams that are big and strong and can play defense. So, it is just a new world for us. The guys with the ball in their hands haven't had it in these types of games, which is why I tried to make the schedule the way I did. I think some people thought, 'they are great and they are going to run right through it', but I thought the opposite. I thought we would struggle, but I thought we needed it before we got to conference play. These guys need some reality. It is the only way to learn the truth about how to be a really good team and win real games. But, we took a step in the right direction tonight in a lot of ways. When you hold a team to 26 percent shooting that is 8-0 and Ben Howland is their coach, you are playing some good defense."
Cincinnati Player Quotes
#24 Kyle Washington, F
On bouncing back with his play:
"It's my fifth year in college so I've been through everything. I knew there would be some tumultuous times and I was just ready to embrace it. Whatever it was going to take I just wanted to help my team out."
On if the team's confidence took a hit after the two losses:
"Us (two) personally, confidence is something we have innately. We've through a bunch of situations. It wasn't confidence we were just thinking we have to get a win. We weren't thinking about personal accolades we were just thinking we need to get it back on the road because we're not used to losing."
On Cincinnati's defensive effort:
"We took away a multitude of things from them. We knew what we wanted to do on defense and we had a game plan and we were locked in on how they play well as a team. We just wanted to take all of that away."
On playing UCLA who knocked UC out of the NCAA Tournament last year:
"They are a very good team, super talented. We lost to them in the second round (last year) and obviously, we want to show that we can play with a team like that. We're going to come in humble but we definitely want to win."
#1 Jacob Evans III, G
On the importance of getting this win after a two-game losing streak:
"In college basketball every win is important, but coming off a two-game losing streak, personally, I don't think I've been a part of that ever at Cincinnati. It was important to get back on the right track."
On playing UCLA who knocked UC out of the NCAA Tournament last year:
"Of course we still remember it, but we know it's a different team. They are trying to bounce back after a tough home loss. We know we just have to be ready to go into the lion's den as Coach would say."
On UC's practices since the Florida loss:
"We definitely tried to over exaggerate us getting back to being the Bearcats starting with our defensive mentality – toughness, relentless effort with everything we do. We kind of got back to that. We still need to cut down on our turnovers. We did block 11 shots but 14 turnovers is too many."
Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland
Opening statement:
"First of all, Cincinnati's a really good team and a great program. He's done an incredible job, Mick has. Today we were really inept attacking their zone. We really didn't expect to see zone on the first possession of the game. They haven't played a lot of it coming in to today. They played more of it then we've seen against anybody, against Florida in their last game, but I was a little surprised. So it's my fault, we have to do a better job in our preparation. And we have to get better in our zone attack. Our defense was good enough, we held them to 40 percent. Obviously, Washington hurt us in the first half, Evans in the second, but we lost the game tonight because of our inability to attack that zone. We were standing way too much, not enough ball movement, not enough cutting and getting the ball inside."
On any problems Cincinnati's size maybe cause in the matchup:
"They have great size at the wings and they are long and athletic. But again, I thought our lack of the zone attack was key for us, it wasn't their size. It was our first road game, so it's the first experience for some of these kids to even be on the road. We just didn't play well at the offensive end of the floor."
On Aric Holman's double-double:
"Eric did a good job and played hard and did a good job rebounding the basketball, which is something we need to do. We need to get others to step up and be able to score for us inside."
On playing a ranked team on the road and how it helps prepare the team for upcoming games and the conference season:
"Cincinnati is like an upper echelon SEC team, so it's very similar. We've got to play better and the bottom line it we get back Thursday and Friday (in practice), it's going to be all offense, working against the zone when we're doing offensive stuff."