BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 5, 1999

Jim Boeheim

COACH BOEHEIM: I think the difference in the first half, they just played great defense and took us out of what we were trying to do. Second half, we fought back about as hard as we could, but we're not going to climb back up that mountain. The difference in the game was just their defense in the first half. They were outstanding. They just took us out of everything we tried to do.

COACH BOEHEIM: I don't know. They really didn't get to transition that many. We got back for the most part. It was just the halfcourt defense that didn't allow us to get really anything good.

Q. Could you rate this year's Connecticut team, how it's different, how it's better?

COACH BOEHEIM: They have been good both years. You're talking about the same guys a year older. They played -- you know, the games I've seen them, overall this year, they have struggled in a lot of games, but their defense has always been there and they always make big plays. But it's hard to -- they are just too physical for us. The reason we've struggled this year is that we have had trouble with physical teams. The teams in the -- you know, the St. John's, Miami, you go down to Providence and Rutgers, two teams that we lost to. We're just not physical enough, and that's been our problem. When we're physically able to play, we've won. We're just not physical, and we're not strong enough, and just really, I don't know if it's physical strength. We're just -- some of our young guys are just not tough enough to play against the physical people in this league. But Connecticut is, you know, all the time from what I've seen of them this year and not really looking at our games, but the games people are physical enough to play -- they play with them all year but they make plays at the end of games and have won those games. But they are not dominating people. They are winning, but they are -- in every game -- in a lot of, lot of games that I've seen, there's a fine line there that they make some plays and they win. But they have had a lot of games where they haven't shot the ball well. The they have struggled. But they are physical enough, tough enough and experienced enough to win those games. But that's a dangerous -- there's a dangerous line there someplace.

COACH BOEHEIM: He always plays hard, I think. And I think the thing that, you know, he's good around the basket and we got extended there and had to go out. And, you know, they are able to hold the ball. We're not a physical team that can go out and play halfcourt defense 25 feet. And we're going to give him a lot of opportunities where he's going to do stuff around the basket, and if he gets around the basket, he's going to make it.

COACH BOEHEIM: He's always played well against us. He beat us here last year. He was the difference in the game. He's a tough guy for us. He gets by. He gets to the basket. When we get behind and have to spread our defense, and, you know, go after people, we just are not that kind of defensive team that can do that.

Q. Jim, in the second half when it starts to get -- when there's the intentional fouls, is this another sign that this is not going well for your team; that it's not going to be your type of game?

COACH BOEHEIM: It was just an intentional foul and they called it and you've got to go on. The game was over. You've got to go on by then.

COACH BOEHEIM: We're just -- we play fine, unless somebody can get physical with us, and we've got to be better next week and be more physical in those situations. We did not handle it well today. We played well, obviously, in the two -- first two games in New York, but there's no question that the third game in a row is tough for us. We knew that coming it was going to be tough. But we should have responded better physically than we did.