Opening statement…
“Disappointed. Missed opportunity. I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we executed really well for the first 15 minutes. Like the Arkansas game, we had some breakdowns at the end of the first half and didn’t start the second half with any effort and energy. We got outplayed in the backcourt, and that’s OK because (Jared) Butler and (MaCio) Teague and Davion Mitchell and (Adam) Flagler are all really good. But I think our guys are good, too. That was disappointing. Just from the look of the shooting percentages that we had. We just didn’t guard them in the second half or at the end of the first half like I think we’re capable of. I’m proud of the kids for coming back. We called a timeout there late with about five minutes to go. Baylor kept their starters in the entire game, trying to build on their scoring margin or something. So we pressed and closed the game out in the last five or six minutes with some effort and energy. We made some plays.”
On Baylor’s run early in the second half…
“They’re dangerous. But how much of it was them? How much of it was us? I think I’ve got to hold us a little bit more accountable. I think the good thing is I would like to think we could control that.”
On the impact of playing No. 1 and No. 2 teams…
“It’s an important thing. These guys came here to play against a great schedule. You’re fortunate to be able to play in this arena, play against this program. It’s a bit of a gauge for where we’re at and we’re close, we’re improving – but we’re not where we want to be or where I want us.”
On difference in rebounding between first and second half…
“In the first half, the defense is in front of our bench. We’re in their ear about where to be and where not to be. The other thing, too, is whether or not fatigue is a factor. Sharife (Cooper) and Al (Flanigan) both played almost 34 minutes. That’s a lot of minutes. To be able to play at the level that you have to play at, part of it is maybe being not as physically strong to be able to dig down to get some of those second half resources. Part of it is the offseason. We didn’t have the kind of offseason you would normally have. But again, from my standpoint, I’m going to put it on us as a team. Fatigue was a factor, but that’s because we let down some.”
On solid frontcourt play from JT Thor and Jaylin Williams…
“They did well. I knew going in that Jaylin (Williams) at the 5 was going to be a good thing. We didn’t take enough advantage of him at the 5, but I thought those two young guys played really, really well. With the exception of (Flo) Thamba getting 11 rebounds and their big guys rebounded, their starting 4 and 5 had two points, and our starting 4 and 5 had 30. So I thought our frontline guys from that standpoint did really well. We did a nice job there.”