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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 5, 2012Jeff BzdelikCOACH BZDELIK: We are just excited about the opportunity to play, and looking forward to it. I believe my team has been playing well. And for the most part, there's been some stretches where we need to play a little better, but we are working hard to make sure that we give a great effort, not only in terms of physical but playing the game the right way for all 40 minutes. Q. It's been almost two months since you've played Maryland, I'm sure your team is different and their team is different in some respects. First what do you see as the differences in their team from back in January? COACH BZDELIK: Well, I just think they are more in sync. Their younger players have a little bit more experience. So very similar to us in many ways. I actually watched our game from a couple of months ago this morning once again, it was a case where I think both teams have established an identity in terms of how they are going to play, both teams are executing better. Players have gained more experience. I know we are a lot better right now than we were the first time around. So I think both teams are at the point in the season where we are both playing at a better level than the first time we met. Q. Where do you see the most improvements in your team since January? COACH BZDELIK: Well, we were not very good offensively in that game. We stood around a lot. Our screening is better. Our execution is better. We are making better decisions with the basketball right now. Although in the second half when we played them, we scored I think 40 points and shot the ball well. I just think we are much better offensively, and somewhat better defensively but we still have a ways to go in that department. Q. Now that Carson is essentially your only big man, do you have to do things to protect him, to rest him, to keep him in the game, because you really don't have another option anywhere close to him in size? COACH BZDELIK: No, you're exactly right. We have played a zone against Georgia Tech throughout the entire first half except for ten seconds of man after a time‑out with ten seconds on the clock, we just went man. But you know, part of that reasoning is to simply keep guys out of foul problems, but we have to do a better job of rebounding out of the zone, no question. But yeah, it's a concern, and I think that Georgia Tech in the second half of our game, they went inside and attacked us, and both Nikita and Carson fouled out. We have to do a better job of defending aggressively without fouling. We watched the tape and learned from that experience, and we need to make sure that, again, we defend aggressively without fouling, because you're exactly right, we have no depth there. Q. Does this matchup then maybe help you out in the sense that Maryland's two best weapons, or the best by far, is Stoglin, a guard, and obviously Mosley, a guard; is that where a lot of their offense comes from, and does that make it a little easier for you guys to matchup? COACH BZDELIK: Well, I would hope so, but they hurt us on the offensive glass at their place. I know in the first half alone, they had eight offensive rebounds. So, you know, we have got to make sure that we make it‑‑ we don't make it an advantage for them. We need to block off better and position ourselves better to make sure that doesn't happen, because it could work to an advantage for them. Q. You were just down there in Philips Arena so having played in that building, especially just a couple of days ago, can you make that work to your advantage at all or is that pretty irrelevant? COACH BZDELIK: Well, you know, I think at this level, everyone has played in big arenas. Can it help us to be familiar? Yes, hopefully it does. But you still have to make shots, you still have to guard. The court's the game. I don't see it being that big of an advantage. Q. I know you played Georgia Tech, once with Rice and once without Rice; any thought on how different they are without him? COACH BZDELIK: I just think that when we played them the second time, just the other day, that they were really‑‑ they were a united group. They really worked well together. They moved the ball well. They executed their game plan. There was one heartbeat, and that's just my observation. Q. And could that be attributable to more balanced in terms of shots and not having really one go‑to player? COACH BZDELIK: You know, I just know that they worked together well. They executed and hit us from a couple of different directions with guys that had really good games, and they took high‑quality shots and they knocked them down and that's the‑‑ the players that were involved with that game did a great job. That's the only observation I can make in answering your question. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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