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The University of Utah Athletics
#22/23 Utah vs. Arizona State Post Game Quotes
2/25/2016 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2016
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
UTAH vs. ARIZONA STATE Post Game Quotes
Utah 81, Arizona State 46
Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
On his thoughts about the game…
I was really impressed with our guys coming out of the locker room and even the last few days with our preparation. They shared the basketball, made threes and defended really well. I thought our zone was really good tonight. We put one goal on the board to have less than 10 turnovers, and we had 9. The only area that we are going to have to really sure up for the upcoming opponents to accomplish our goals is our rebounding. It was a little bit sloppy. We took a step back from Southern California and gave up too many offensive rebounds. With our defensive rebound percentage, there were so many more rebounds to have. It shouldn't have even been close. We got out scrapped a little bit and with the Wildcats coming in here, the top rebounding team in our conference, it is going to be a point of emphasis for us Saturday afternoon. Overall, I was really pleased. We continued to move the ball well and the guys are having fun together. It was a heck of a performance.
On Utah's impressive start…
I was really pleased with that. I thought guys got some early looks, I think we have five threes to start the game. Our defense is what I was really impressed with. We did a really nice job on their leading scorer, Tra Holder. He is a guy that is like the head of the snake for them. We were aware of where he was and came out focused in all phases of the game. I was pleased with the zone and our defense. I haven't been involved in a game like that before, but it was solid.
On keeping team motivated in lopsided game…
I just talked about respecting the game. There are certain consistencies we try to have and we brought effort and shared the ball. We had an opportunity to maybe throw it all over the gym, but I thought from turnover point of view, to be able to accomplish that goal, when you do have that lead, that is when you get sloppy. We had mistakes. Basketball is a mistake filled game, but overall I thought we were pretty darn mature and did a good job moving it. I challenged our guys to stay focused. We've always talked about the next play mentality, whether you are up, down or tied. We break it down, often times, into ten four minute segments in a game. Regardless of what the score is or the what the circumstances are, we try to win the next four minutes. That is something we take some pride in.
On challenge of facing Arizona…
There are a lot of challenges. They are a really good basketball team. They are big, physical rebounding team. They have a bunch of guys that have played a bunch of minutes for them. Trier is back, giving them great punch. York has always been a thorn in our side. It is going to be a heck of an environment. It is going to be a challenge for us. It is very unique that we haven't played yet this year, this late in the season. We do have some prep work to do. It is going to be on in terms of our guys having to be dialed in mentally in one days time. We won't have a shoot around Saturday morning and we have to get prepped and in the right state of mind for it.
Senior Forward Jordan Loveridge
On Utah's hot start…
I think it is tough for teams to come in when they have seen Jakob do what he does night in and night out. I think they tried to live with outside shots and we are a great shooting team. They kind of picked their poison. I think it was good that guys found me and Brandon early and we knocked them down early.
On Utah's defensive effort…
It was a big part of it, especially after you are hitting shots and then get stops. It makes both ends a lot easier when you are pushing the pace and getting stops. We know that at this part of the year that is going to be a big part of us being able to keep playing basketball. We know that if we want to keep playing, we have to get some stops.
On only having two games left at the Huntsman Center…
You said it. We only have two games left and it is just winding down. We know that it is go time. We want to keep playing as long as we can as Utes, so we know that every little thing counts.
Sophomore Forward Brekkott Chapman
On focusing on defense…
Going into this game we really wanted to focus on defense. If we want to keep playing, like Jordan said, defense is going to be one area where we have to step up. I feel like we did that tonight and it worked out for us.
On individual offensive performance…
First half I missed a couple of good looks that I should of made. I tried to stay confident in myself and my teammates kept their confidence in me. That really helped me and once I saw it go through the hoop a couple of times it got a lot easier.
- - - - -
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
On the game and the effort…
I mean just our offensive effort. They came out strong like a team that was hungry to play well early in the game and they hit some threes early. We were like a boxer and took one to the chin early in the game. We didn't recover early enough and we missed a lot of shots obviously. The numbers are what they are. In the first half, we were unable to get anything to go in and then we turned the ball over quite a bit. Our defense, besides that first spurt that they had, overall wasn't bad percentage wise. We held them to 48 percent in the first half, just under 40 percent from three. We wanted them to shoot threes. We had no choice. We decided that after the Arizona game we needed to address our interior defense and give that more support which then leads to their effectiveness from behind the arc. They are a very complete team. They have players that really value their roles and understand how to play their roles. They have a guy that is pretty dominant inside that you have to give a lot of attention to and then their other players play well off of him.
On feelings coming off two hard losses…
Our frustration is very, very high right now with the group. I'm trying to hold it together as best I can. Just be composed and understand that this is a progression and there is some pain along the way as you eventually get to the top.
On the fight in the team…
We have our issues with our depth and our guys that are injured. You hope that a few days makes a difference but I don't make a lot of excuses, but I am going to protect a few of our players that aren't anywhere near where they were physically, Eric and Willie, especially. We just couldn't score so it's demoralizing when you keep going empty possession after possession, it chips away at your confidence each time.
Players Mentioned
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