BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 8, 2002

Mike Brey

Ryan Humphrey

Chris Thomas

COACH MIKE BREY: I thought it was a heck of a game. If you would have told me we'd shoot 32 percent from the floor and score 77 and take care of the ball like that, I figured it would be enough. I didn't think we could get stops when we really needed to get stops. They hit big shots and got big offensive rebounds when they needed them. I thought those were back-breakers for us.

COACH MIKE BREY: I thought we played a little too fast early. You know what, I think it was a combination of their quickness and the atmosphere. This is new territory for us as a basketball program, too. And a lot of that was being excited to play, and it's a fine line you want to keep attacking. But I thought maybe we played a little bit too fast. But their speed and quickness has a lot to do with it. They are the quickest team we've played.

COACH MIKE BREY: Well, we definitely felt we were on the road tonight when they introduced both teams. I thought maybe I was in the State of Connecticut. That's a tribute to Connecticut's fans and following and how excellent their program is. We'd love to get to that point where maybe we can take over the building on a Friday. But it was electric. I mean, it was a great experience for our guys. Again, it was some new territory to be playing in here on Friday night. I'm proud of our team. I thought we came here thinking we had a chance to win it. We played like that. We left it all out there. I think this gives us some momentum for the next tournament.

COACH MIKE BREY: That's a tough night. You look at the box score. You got what you usually get out of Ryan, Matty and Chris as far as offense. We need Dave to score for us. He's got to keep shooting the basketball. He had a tough night. I mean, you know, Dave's the kind of guy that came out of this tournament last year and went seven for seven in the first round of the NCAA tournament. That's why you got to hang with him. He can knock down two or three at any time. It wasn't his night, but we're going to need him to make a few on Thursday or Friday, whenever we play.

CHRIS THOMAS: I think I was a little bit caught up in the atmosphere, the environment. It was definitely, I mean, it surprised me that UCONN had so much following just from the announcements and the introduction. But, yeah, we forced offense in the first half, and, you know, later in the game. Especially in the second half, Coach told me come out, control tempo. That's what we did. We got good shots. Unfortunately we couldn't stop them on the other end. That's why we could never close the gap on them.

COACH MIKE BREY: I think we're a six-team league. Don't ask me to tell you who five and six are. I would hope our league would get six. We've been a power conference. I think we're still fourth as a conference in the RPI. We beath each other all year, and I think we're deserving of that. I hope we get that. All I know is I'm going to sleep good Saturday night. I know our name's flashing up on Sunday. Some other guys won't.

RYAN HUMPHREY: They sent five guys out there. Seemed like they had more guys coming than we had on the floor. It seemed like everybody on the bench was coming for the offensive rebound. It's tough. They're athletic, big, strong, fast. When they clog it up, they was just playing tip with each other.

COACH MIKE BREY: I think, you know, with the success that that program's had and how they've advanced in both tournaments, there's certainly an advantage there. You know, we'd like -- I'd like to get us to that point, where we have a little bit more of a swagger when we come into New York City. They've earned that. They deserve that. They certainly had a lot of their people come down - again, which I say is just a tribute to their program - to make them feel comfortable even here in New York City.

RYAN HUMPHREY: Didn't surprise me at all about Chris. He came in with a lot of hype. He's excelled everyone's expectations. Chris is a good point guard. It's sad I only get to play with him one year. I wish me and him could develop together. I wasn't shocked at all. Ben Gordon, he's another talented player. I was shocked that he came in and shot with as much confidence as he did. I knew he was a good shooter, but I didn't realize he was that good of a shooter.

COACH MIKE BREY: I think you've got two guys -- that's one thing Ben and Chris have in them, they both have a poise about them that's not in your typical freshman. Again, on that stage, their first time in that atmosphere, they looked like juniors and seniors out there. I know Jim is thanking God Ben's a freshman, and I'm very grateful this guy's a freshman.