BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 13, 2005

Bob Knight

COACH BOB KNIGHT: I think from our standpoint I think that we made a couple of plays at the end that weren't good. Oklahoma State made a couple of plays that were good at the end. But that wasn't the difference for us. The difference for us was the first half when we had 14 turnovers and that just put us in a bind to start with. I think that we came back in the second half. As a coach you have got to really be pleased for kids and with kids that get down as we did, 10 or 11 in the second half and come back and get the game in a position where now if we make the right plays we can win the game. Well, at the end, they made better plays than we did at the end and consequently we ended up getting beat. But I think for us, in looking at this game and trying to improve upon what we had to improve upon relative to really putting ourselves in this game the way we wanted to be, it would pretty much center in the first half. I think that we were able to -- you know, it's statistically a pretty even game and if you just go by statistics, as I said, a couple of plays they made at the end that were good; a couple we made that weren't, were the difference in the ballgame in the final analysis, but not the difference for us in terms of how we played over the course of the game. The first half was just not good for us.

COACH BOB KNIGHT: We just turned the ball over. It's not a miracle. We just turned the ball over. We made bad passes.

COACH BOB KNIGHT: I have no idea. I am not on the tournament committee.

COACH BOB KNIGHT: Well, I think that our guard play has been a strength for us all year long. I have never really particularly wanted a team to revolve around guards, but that's where we were. I think those two kids and Tanner Marshall coming in from time to time, Zeno as a third perimeter player, really carried us. And I think that they obviously did a really good job in the ballgame today with the exception of some turnovers, not getting the ball where it had to go, but I think our guards have been very, very good, not just in this tournament but over the course of the entire season.

COACH BOB KNIGHT: Oh, not necessarily. Think we would be far better ready for the tournament if we have rested. I think anybody would be. Okay?