POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET:
WICHITA STATE 77, TULANE 62
SATURDAY, FEB. 9, 2019
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,435)
GREGG MARSHALL, MARKIS McDUFFIE, JAMARIUS BURTON, ERIK STEVENSON, MIKE DUNLEAVY SR.
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HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON...
...Opening statement:
"15-point win at home to go four-in-a-row and go above .500 for the first time in awhile -- we'll take it, but obviously we can't overlook anybody and we didn't overlook Tulane. They shot it really well in the first half and they were running some good actions to get wide-open jumpers. We had some breakdowns, of course, and we weren't sprinting out of the press. We were just okay in the first half. I thought the key to the game was the second-half defense."
...the first eight minutes:
"It was a matter of effort and a little more passion. I was not pleased with that in the first half.
...Markis McDuffie:
"He was tremendous the way he was shooting the ball. He took one bad shot after a pump fake in the first half, but other than that, he looked really good. Guys were doing a good job of finding him. It was a shootout."
...Ricky coming off the bench:
"Ricky gave us a spark. He was good at the pick and roll; that's his game and he does a very good job of trying to find that roller.
 ...takeaways from the game:
"We're still so young and immature. We have got to play hard and play with more energy and passion on the defensive end. I didn't like the way we were rebounding; they were getting loose balls that we weren't getting to."
...Dexter's effort:
"He played good defense. He's been doing that and he was tremendous in the ECU game...When he elevates he's hard to contest and he has to get better at dribbling it and passing it. He's helping us win. It is indicative that when he is out there the score is going the right way and that's because he is defending and coming up with some good rebounds."
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SENIOR FORWARD MARKIS MCDUFFIE ON...
....comparing his game this year to last year, where he leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring:
"I knew once I was healthy, I was going to be fine. I'm obviously playing a bigger role now, leadership role. I'm getting a lot of shots, I'm usually playing with a team of great players where we are all just sharing the ball. We still do here, but they know I'm the guy, the leader. It's just a blessing. You just have to keep working and keep praying for better days."
....defensive effort that led to steal and dunk:
"I always feel like every game, that just comes with veteran leadership -- just playing the game of college basketball. You just know what it takes to win, and just know how you have to come out every single game. That's just me doing me. Trying to get a steal and breakaway dunk-- ain't nothing better than that. "
...underclassmen responding to message at halftime:
" That just shows that these guys are growing as a team and as individual players. They are realizing what it takes to win right now. If they can just keep doing that -- aww man, not only this year to end the year, next year they should definitely know how to win. They should be way better than we are and look back it this like 'Wow, we really got so much better.'"
...confidence in three-point shot:
"I am very confident. I have always pretty much been a shooter my whole life. If you work on your game, you just keep grinding -- you just believe that every shot is going in. That's what my Dad tells me all the time, there is people telling me 'Just keep shooting, just keep doing you.' If you believe in it, good things happen to good people and good things are going to go your way."
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FRESHMAN GUARD ERIK STEVENSON ON..
.....Markis' (McDuffie) ability to score:
"I think they (Tulane) went on a 10-0 run late in the second half, and then the ball found Markis (McDuffie) in the corner and he got a three. Pushed it to 13, and I think that kind of got us rolling again. It's always nice to have Markis on the team."
....what has changed for the Shockers during this four-game winning streak:
" Defense. Defense and rebounding -- with the exception of tonight's first half. Those are both important. I would say our overall hustle -- 50-50 balls, diving on the floor. Coach always said before these four games, we have to get back to playing like previous Shocker basketball teams. These four games, he said it resembled a little bit more each-and-each game. That's how we are winning -- 50-50 balls, rebounding, playing defense. You are going to win if you can score and hold the other team to nothing. It's just defense."
....Coach Marshall's halftime speeches:
"He's a character. He gets going in the locker room, and its hard not to get going, if he starts getting in you."
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FRESHMAN GUARD JAMARIUS BURTON ON...
...what changed coming out in the second half:
" Just coming out of the locker room and listening to Coach (Marshall), we knew that the first three or four minutes were critical. In order for us to pull away, we have to go out there and put all our focus on the defensive end and let the offense then take care of itself."
....Markis (McDuffie's) ability to hit big shots:
"Markis (McDuffie) is somebody we can depend on if we need a basket. I just know -- find him, when in doubt, and he going to take care of the rest."
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TULANE HEAD COACH MIKE DUNLEAVY SR. ON...
...opening statement:
"Disappointing game for us, hoping to come out of the problems we've been having all year long, turning the basketball over. I thought the first half we came out and we moved the basketball well, had some good shots and opportunities...We did a better job attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. We had a six-point game at the half."
 ...having turnovers:
"Wichita State was good -- and they put themselves in position to do that -- but we made bad decisions, as far as the play we were trying to make."
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