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Men's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
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Quotes: Duke 70, Southern 54
3/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening remarks
"Southern played great. Rob's (Spivery) a heck of a coach and his kids played like champions. I thought we came out, and I thought we were ready to play, but we were ready to play the wrong way. We were just going to fast break, and do one-on-one, and we looked bad. They made us look bad, and we made us look bad. Thank goodness that Shelden (Williams) played an amazing game. In the second half, once we got organized and played better in the half court, our defense was excellent. They hit four three's in a row, but other than that our defense was really good, and we executed a lot better on the offensive end. We had 20 turnovers in tonight's game, and we had 25 for the whole ACC Tournament. We did not value the ball. I think part of it, we thought it was going to be easier, and this tournament is not easy. Hopefully we learned that lesson."
On whether or not the players took a step back tonight
"I don't think you take steps forward and back, I just think you play. This isn't like an English course where you flunk the last paper. They're good players. Sometimes they don't play as well.
"They're good players, we have confidence in them. They didn't play as well tonight for a variety of reasons. They'll show up and I'm sure they'll play well on Saturday."
On how Southern created problems
"Obviously, they played really well. They're a really good team. They have a good system, they came to play, they looked like they were having fun, they were together, and they never let up. In order for somebody to look bad, somebody usually makes them look bad. That's primarily what happened. Southern played well, and then we didn't respond to the level that we needed to combat that for most of the game. The main reason was Southern's play, not our own ineptitude, or we just didn't show up, or we were just looking to take steps backward. Southern knocks you back."
On his conversation with Greg Paulus following his seventh turnover
"We're not here, and we're not who we are without him. He didn't have the game that he would like, but we wouldn't be a No. 1 seed if he didn't play well. We're ACC champs, so next play. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't walking off that court not knowing that we're together. We're together in this."
On Duke's Offense
"We would like to have more guys enter into the offensive than what was there tonight. I haven't looked at GW at all. I watched them a couple times during the season, and I know they have great depth and they like to play a fast-paced game, which lends itself to more people scoring. We're probably going to have to handle the ball a lot better against them."
On the 22 of the 24 field goals coming from J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams
"They played great. Shelden and J.J. they've been doing a great job for us all year long. They were terrific again tonight. We need to have everybody else contributing in one way or another. It doesn't have to be scoring, it could be rebounding, long rebounds, steals, whatever it may be, but we need everyone to contribute a little more on Saturday."
After playing well last week, was there nervousness today
"We definitely didn't take a step forward today. Neither one of us did. Good thing about the Tournament and playing in this atmosphere is that we have another chance on Saturday."
Southern Coach Rob Spivery
Thoughts on the game
"We competed very hard. A little more offensive output by us and it could've been a different story. I'm proud of the way our guys really battled. At halftime we were outrebounding them, but in the second half we just didn't generate enough points to stay close and give ourselves a chance."
On the NCAA Tournament Experience
"I thought we played very hard. We gave great effort tonight the way we battled the number one team with great pride and effort. They are not the number one team for nothing. They are a good basketball team but I am proud of the way our guys competed tonight."
On cutting the Duke lead to three early in the second half
"I told them that we had to remain poised and continue to play with the effort that we were playing with and not to rush on offense. We went back out and rushed a few shots and that is what allowed them to pull away. For the most part, I don't think we played as well as we could've as far as shooting the ball, playing with poise and patience. We just didn't make some things happen offensively."
On defending Shelden Williams
"He was the X-factor tonight. He was big and strong in there and did a great job of getting position. Once he gets it in there he does a great job, because he is very poised with the basketball. He can step through the defense and create some things, but in the second half I thought we bottled him up just a little bit better."
On what was accomplished this season
"It was a great season for us. We were picked to finish sixth in our league. We won the regular season going away and dominated the conference tournament. To come into the NCAA Tournament with players that haven't experienced this before, I thought it was a (great) accomplishment to be as competitive as we were tonight.
"This year was re-establishing Southern men's basketball. Now we just need to build on that and go forward."
Peter Cipriano
On the NCAA Tournament Experience
"This is a lifetime experience and the best experience of my life. Just playing with them (Duke) and competing and giving them an actual scare during the game. Playing against Coach K, and Duke and their school is one of the best experiences of my life."
On Cutting the Duke lead to three early in the second half
"This is real, that we could really beat these guys. We just needed to keep playing as hard as possible. Some shots didn't fall for us and some shots for them went in, but that's just how the game goes."
On leaving Southern and advice for the returning players
"Intensity and hard work will continue to build a tradition of winning championships, with us being the (SWAC) champions for the first time in 16 years and hopefully that will keep going (more NCAA bids)."
Players Mentioned
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