POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET:
WICHITA STATE 75, rv/rv UCF 67
JAN. 16, 2019
WICHITA, KAN. / CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,211)
HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON...
...opening statements:
"Obviously, we have a ton of respect for that team. I know they will go to the NCAA tournament and hopefully make a deep run. Our team had tremendous resolve, resilience and tremendous toughness tonight. I thought we got our best game from point guard play in a while from JB. The seniors were unbelievable and Asbjørn was huge in the first half, especially, and it's a big win for us. We needed that one."
...an emotional performance:
"It's been a while since we've won, so I guess you can say that. I was thinking during the game, and I was thinking that -- win or lose -- I'm having so much fun coaching this group. We're getting better. It's one guy here and another guy here and we're seeing little incremental improvements with the team and the individuals among the team, and I'm really enjoying that process. This isn't a year where we are fighting for a seed. We're just trying to get as many wins as we can and improve this basketball team by improving the individuals and developing their talent and teaching them how hard and how long you have to battle to beat a team like that."
...getting production out of the underclassman:
"Asbjørn made three middle-range jumpers, and he did a great job battling the big fella. But I thought Jamarius was key. I thought his point guard play was really good. He had a good rhythm and good pace. We tried to simplify it for him and maybe that's what it takes. Markis and Samajae made big shot after big shot. Samajae was making pull-up jumpers and floaters, which he has not been making.
...UCF's size:
"That is a big team. That's a really good team. When you add Aubrey Dawkins and Collin Smith to what they had last year, and then BJ and Tacko are healthy, that's a huge, talented and well-coached team that we just beat. It took everything we had and everybody in that locker room really fought for however-many minutes they played."
...seeing a six-point lead cut to one in the final minute:
"We've seen this movie a couple of times and the next day in video I write 'missed opportunity' on the board. We can't get those back and they're gone. We wanted to finish this one as best as we could and try to re-establish Koch Arena being a difficult place to play."
...out-rebounding UCF:
"I know we were really focused. We were out-rebounded in the first half and we did a great job in the second half going +15 in the second half...I thought we did a wonderful job defending B.J. Taylor, because he just comes at you and comes at you. Other than the and-one on Tacko, I thought we did a pretty good job on him, late in the game he got the and-one."
...Markis' defensive play:
"He really wanted to win. It's bothering guys like Markis who are maybe a little spoiled with winning and it's been affecting him, so we really wanted to get this one. We let the one get away in Houston. They're a great team, but we battled them pretty well and we had a chance. We didn't start the second half very well. We're fouling, and they went to the free throw line a ton, and then we lost their shooters. Being at home we were able to get over the hump, unlike against Temple."
...a happy postgame locker room:
"We had a very excited group, because it's been a while since we've won. We earned that win because of how hard we've worked in practice and because of how positive they've remained. Everybody played a part."
...overcoming adversity:
"We've been through our share of adversity and nothing has gone our way for awhile around here. You have to keep fighting, and nobody is going to feel sorry for us. People are licking their chops and saying 'Wichita State may be a little down.' Mr. Dickie, our character coach, talked about adversity, "You can let adversity define you, or you can let adversity refine you." Just like iron ore is refined to become strong steel, that's what our team has done, and that's what we chose to do tonight."
...Burton's defense:
"I thought he defended really well, and he used his body, He made some jump shots, making pull-ups and free throws. He looked like he belonged out there and could be a great player. That hasn't been the case. Not just him, but others -- we've looked timid and a little uneasy, if you will. Tonight, they looked like they belonged, and they took us home."
...Jaime and Asbjørn on the floor together:
"We are one of the teams -- and there are probably not a whole lot of teams in our league or even the country that can do that. We have a surplus of big guys. We probably have one more big guy than we should have. We had Poor Bear in prep school, signed Mo, had Asbjørn and we had an opportunity to get Jaime and I said I wasn't going to pass on that. We are one of the teams that can match that. We can't match Tacko Fall -- who can? -- but we can be pretty big and we can be pretty powerful.
...Rod Brown's performance:
"Made some free throws and got fouled a couple of times. He's showing signs. He's getting a couple of minutes and he's playing well so he'll get more. He'll get another opportunity on Saturday, just like Asbjørn will. I don't know who is going to play well from time-to-time. These guys are so unproven, which is the hardest part to me. They are great people, fun to be around and I love coaching them, but I just don't know they're going to perform and tonight we got so many good performances and that's what we need."
...Asbjørn's performance in the first half:
"He is European. That's what they do, and they can shoot the basketball. He's got a great little mid-range. He's our best screener of the big guys, and that was big tonight. Tacko has to stay in the paint. He doesn't come out and hedge. You almost have a two-on-one when you set a ball screen on the guard when Tacko's man sets the ball screen."
SENIOR FORWARD MARKIS MCDUFFIE ON....
...the scene in the locker room after the win:
"Its been tough the last month or so, just losing. Nobody likes losing, but you know we always believed we were a good team. We had to get over hump. I was in the second half and I thought, 'We are tired of these second half slumps and all that that -- stretches during the game. We wanted to go all-out in the second half. I believe we are getting better. All the tough practices and all the hard work we put in is coming into play now. I think even the last game we lost we still looked promising --improvement. I thought this game I told my guys, 'Tonight's the night, we are going to do what we got to do. Everybody contributing, I was just so happy. I almost cried during the game, because I was just happy. It's been hard the last month."
...being the underdog at home:
"It feels totally different. Every win is, like, joyful for us right now. Considering the hard work we put in every single day -- and for us to lose, it hurts really bad. With a young team like this, every win is encouraging. We have to encourage. With these guys, they can tend to put their head down sometimes and not believe in themselves. I thought tonight, for them believing in themselves and us beating a really good team in UCF, I think that really opened a lot of the young guys' heads."
.
..the crowd's reactions to Asbjørn's big plays:
"He was a huge part of this win. We are just happy for guys who haven't really had the chance. Starting to contribute and show what they can do. Its just amazing. It's a beautiful sight to see."
....celebration after the game:
"We were just celebrating. We just came in there and we started playing music and started hollering. I feel like we won a championship or something. Its been a hard month, so much negative energy been inside us. So much drought. Not positive. We were just tired of losing. To get a win against a great team in UCF, probably the best team in the league pretty much --at home--that just shows what we are capable of. That's just amazing, winning just feels good. That's the definition. We won tonight and everyone played well. I thought in the second half we played even better, in terms of staying locked in. Even when they got closer, we still just stayed together and didn't let down."
...momentum going forward:
"Huge momentum. That shows what everyone is capable of. Now that coach sees what we are capable of when we do the right things, and do what we have to do in the game -- we should take no step back. We should move forward -- win or lose -- we should always show that we are a good basketball team. That just shows right there that we can beat anybody, or we can lose to anybody."
SOPHOMORE CENTER ASBJORN MIDTGAARD ON...
.
....key to slowing down 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall:
"We just tried to be physical, push him out of the paint. Limit his paint touches. Pretty simple."
.....the rare instance of playing against someone bigger and taller than himself:
"It was strange. I walked in. it was a free-throw, so I just stood there and I was looking-- and it was his chest. That's different, that's weird."
....going three-for-three from mid range:
"I just try to set screens for other people to get some motion screens in -- to get Tacko (Fall) out of the paint so they could drive in and shoot the ball. It ended up me being open so I just shot it. Simple."
...stepping up when your name is called:
"You just have to. When you are on a team, you owe it to the guys to keep going. You just got to keep practicing, keep playing hard. Keep giving yourself 100-percent. Otherwise, its just disrespectful to the whole program. Then of course, getting this opportunity to come out and play and help the team win -- I mean nothing feels better, it's the best. It's great."
SENIOR GUARD SAMAJAE HAYNES-JONES ON.....
....floater to seal the game with just under a minute left in regulation:
" It's just something I work on everyday. That pull-up, mid range shot. I have been working on that all my life. Just having the confidence to knock that down, it was big for us."
...feeling after the win:
"Feels amazing. Just like Markis (McDuffie) said, we have been going through ups and downs and to come out on top this time, it feels good. We just got to get back to work."
....confidence shooting in second half:
"Being in the gym everyday. I get up a lot of shots, I know me and everybody gets up a lot of shots. That's where the confidence comes from. Shooting thousands of shots everyday. You just have slumps just like you can be in the gym the same way. You just have to keep shooting and having confidence in everyone."
UCF HEAD COACH JOHNNY DAWKINS ON....
...opening statement:
"Give Gregg (Marshall) and his team a lot of credit. They did a great job, I thought they played with great energy, with great effort for the full 40 minutes. I really think they made the plays they need to make. When we made runs to cut the lead and have a chance to maybe take a lead, guys on their team stepped up and made plays."
....Markis McDuffie:
(Markis) McDuffie -- one of the best players that we have faced all year. I think he's terrific and he's having a great season. I thought was terrific tonight as well. He hit tough shots -- hands in his face, falling away. I had seen it on film, it's not like he hadn't done it when I watched it on film. We were prepared for it, but what can you do unless you just keep fouling him. He's going to knock down tough shots. That's what makes him a terrific player. I thought the young man (Samajae) Haynes-Jones, I thought he did a great job as well. I thought he stepped up and made a lot of plays down the stretch. Got to the basket and made some some other plays in the middle of the paint. Those guys, they play really well. Give them all the credit."
....Koch Arena crowd:
"I thought it was a great atmosphere. Looked like it was a sold out crowd and they were loud, they were engaged. It was really good. They did a great job of giving their team a lot of energy when we were making runs -- I could hear the crowd just picking it up even more. That is what you want to see. They did a great job."
