Washington-Oregon State Quotes
February 15, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2001
Oregon State 83, Washington 69
Bank of America Arena, Seattle, Wash.
February 15, 2001
WASHINGTON HEAD BOB BENDER
General remarks:
"You have to give Oregon State a whole lot of credit. They came in with eight healthy bodies and six of them were in double figures. The story of the game was effort that was required for them to win and they got it and we weren't able to match it."
On key to team's struggles:
"I wish I had an answer. I wish I could come up with something to put it in perspective but I don't right now. You look over your shoulder thinking 'what's going to go wrong now' and we are at that point as a team. I told them at halftime that if you are scared or hesitant there is only one way to get out of that and that is to play hard, especially rebounding and defensively. We might miss shots being nervous or scared but when you are giving up points that is the one thing effort can control and that is not what we are getting right now."
On effort:
"At this point in the season there are always things that are going to effect your game and how you execute but the fact is for us to win we have to play harder. What Ritchie McKay and Oregon State did was really impressive to come in with only eight guys and have them in foul trouble was impressive. For us it is an effort issue that will be addressed by the people on the floor. Pushing the right buttons and putting the right people on the floor is the thing we have to answer and I don't have a solid answer right now."
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH RITCHIE MCKAY
On balanced scoring:
"I thought we played unselfishly. Washington kind of made us play like that because of their pressure. We had been relying a little bit on Jason Heide the last month and they really came after us and took that away, but our guards stepped up and played really well together."
On getting a win at UW:
"It's always nice to get a win, period. We haven't had enough of our share. I thought our guys really stayed together and played Oregon State basketball. I thought we played hard defensively."
On carrying over energy from previous games:
"I kind of thought we would play well tonight because of the way we had practiced and those games that we played against Cal and Stanford. Likewise, Washington was in a situation where they had something to prove, so I thought our guys did a nice job of preparing and battling. We got the win."
On changing the game plan in response to the fouls:
"I think every time you play a game, you've got to adapt to the officials' calls, and they were calling it close today. We only had two post players. Our guys kind of played outside their roles tonight, because we had five guards on the floor and were trying to guard Perkins and some of their bug guys with a guard. Washington kind of took advantage of that, but I was glad that Jason Heide was able to stay in as long as he did."
On the defensive plan:
"Our man defense has been pretty solid for the most part. We hit some stretches in games where, because of our depth, we get tired. I thought we kind of sucked it up tonight and stayed solid defensively. Containing Curtis Allen's penetration was a key, and we did that for the most part, though he kind of got away from us at the end."
On building confidence:
"It's our first win on the road, so I think it's a confidence boost. However, we again have been playing well, so I think they also gained confidence from last week's home games."
