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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2012Anthony MarshallMike MoserDave RiceLAS VEGAS, NEVADA New Mexico – 72 THE MODERATOR: We're ready to begin with UNLV. Coach, if we could start with you, your thoughts on tonight's game. COACH RICE: First, credit to New Mexico. We know how good they are. Played 'em now for a third time. We came out with great energy and focus, got off to a great start. To their credit, they answered that and got themselves back into the game. I think the biggest thing, I just want to concentrate on our team and how disappointed I am for our seniors. Had high hopes for what we might be able to accomplish this weekend. Yet after the game, I told them that we've already had a very good season. We're disappointed right now, but we'll be in the NCAA tournament, whether we play Thursday or Friday. Once again, we need to learn from this experience and not let our frustration, our disappointment from this experience keep us from being as good as we can be on Thursday and Friday. One of the keys going into the game, we wanted to make sure we got shots. We did that. We only turned the ball over three times, which was an emphasis for us. We just didn't make quite enough shots. Again, that's a credit to New Mexico's defense. Again, it's about the guys, how disappointed I am for them. But we'll bounce back. Again, the great thing is the season is not over. We've got a lot to play for. I know our guys are excited. As frustrated and disappointed as they are right now, we'll wake up tomorrow and we'll still know there are games to be played this coming week. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Are you ready for the real March Madness to start? ANTHONY MARSHALL: Yeah, you know, we just had a disappointing loss. It's going to be on our mind tonight. We still got a lot to play for. We still feel like we can accomplish something special. So come back Monday and get ready for practice, you know, just get better for the next game. Q. Mike, just talk about losing the last game at home, the disappointment. Obviously you had some success, but losing here at the Thomas& Mack for the first time. MIKE MOSER: Definitely real tough. I mean, we gave it a good effort. We just didn't make plays down the stretch. Q. Anthony, did the atmosphere make a difference today? Did you feel their crowd took you out of your element at all? ANTHONY MARSHALL: Definitely not, you know. Basketball is just basketball. Came out hot. Basketball is a game of runs. They made a run, we made a run. Came down to the end, like a lot of basketball games do. We just didn't convert on a couple plays towards the end and they got the win. Q. Talk about that the season will continue. Obviously disappointed right now. But your mindset as you let this one burn off a little bit, where you go from here. ANTHONY MARSHALL: Yeah, definitely disappointing. We have four great seniors on the team. We really wanted to get this win for them and be able to play for them tomorrow and cut down those nets. Just come back Monday and prepare for the tournament. Like I say, I think we can do something special. We have all the weapons needed. We can make a run. We just got to be prepared for that both mentally and physically and make it happen. Q. Mike, coach talked a few weeks ago about getting your swagger back. Is that something you're still looking for? MIKE MOSER: No, I wouldn't say we are. I think we're real confident in ourselves right now. It was a tough loss to a good team. Just going to keep moving and try to do well down the stretch here. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time and continue with questions for Coach Rice. Q. When you look at the points in the paint, the rebounding battle, is it fair to say perhaps that's where you lost the game tonight? COACH RICE: I think that would be fair to say. It was an emphasis for us going into the game. We obviously know how good Drew Gordon is, he had 27 and 20 against us at the Pit. One of the things that makes him so hard to guard is the ability to shoot three‑point shots. Absolutely, that was one of the places that the final stats would bear that they had a major advantage, yes. Q. What did you say to the team before the game that had them so fired up in the first five minutes? COACH RICE: We got a great group of kids. We were excited to play. Guys who dedicated our season to the seniors. There wasn't really a whole lot to say. We prepared for what we felt like New Mexico was going to do. There's a lot of familiarity among all the teams in a conference tournament setting. We've got guys who bounce back from adversity all the time, and we'll do the same with our game whether it's Thursday or Friday. Q. When San Diego State played at New Mexico, they fell behind 10‑0. It almost helped them a little bit. Do you think that happened tonight? When you get a big, early run, it's emotional, that you have a tendency as a team to maybe take your foot off the gas a little bit? COACH RICE: It's a great question. It would be hard to speculate on that. We were very happy with the way we started the game. Shots went in. As all good teams do, New Mexico made a run back at us. These games in tournament settings, whether it's this week or next week in the NCAA tournament, they're long games with long timeouts. Teams go on runs and it's hard to hold leads. It's a credit to their experience. You look at their team, Hardeman and Gordon who are seniors, Williams seems like he's played a million games. They have a patience and a calm demeanor that helped them get back in the game. I don't really know the final answer to your question, but it might have some merit to it. But I think the biggest thing is we played a very good basketball team tonight. Q. You had a resilient bunch after losses for the most part this year. What do you expect from your guys heading to the NCAA tournament? COACH RICE: One of our goals will always be to never lose back‑to‑back games. It's nice to say we're going to go undefeated, but we're probably not going to have that many seasons around here. Only one time this year have we lost back‑to‑back games. It will be incumbent upon us to come back and win on Thursday or Friday. I told the guys after the game, a very disappointed group of guys who wanted to be able to do something special, we have an opportunity to do something extremely special this coming week. We cannot allow the emotion of this to affect us in any other way than moving us forward. It doesn't make us feel any better right now, but there's still a lot to play for this particular season and the follow‑up foundation our four seniors have laid for the future with our program and where we know we're going to go. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. COACH RICE: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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