Arizona State 68, UCLA 66
Tempe, Ariz. (Wells Fargo Arena)
February 18, 2015
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
on being outrebounded by Arizona State
“We got killed on the boards tonight. You've got to give them a lot of credit for their effort. It has been a long time since we have been hammered on the glass like that and they hammered us.”
on whether being outrebounded had to do with effort
“I don't know. I'll have to watch the tape. Obviously, we had some guys not rebound tonight that normally do rebound. So, it was frustrating. That's a tough loss. This and the Cal loss, coming down to the end, and just coming up short. That's hard.
on what he saw with Tony Parker
“He never really did get in the flow, and that's hard. He has been awfully good. He has been working awfully hard. Hopefully, we will be able to respond on Saturday.”
on how difficult it is to have Norman Powell sitting out in the second half due to foul trouble
“That's really tough. That put us in a tough situation. I think that fouls were 23 to 15. They did a really good job in the two-shot bonus in both halves, at least in the bonus. That was hard for us to get to the line. That is a credit to them. They obviously got fouled a lot more than we did.”
on Tony Parker's positioning
“Well, I thought that [Eric] Jacobsen was really good. I thought that he did a lot of good things. He was physical. He did a really good job battling, defensively. [Savon] Goodman got away from us, as well. He had a big game. It was just a tough one. We did not get enough stops, and we did just not make enough shots.”
on if he thought the team was looking ahead to Saturday's game against Arizona
“No. I would hope not. We're not good enough to do that. I don't think that was it, at all. I thought that the effort was really good. We just did not make enough plays, and they [ASU] have been playing well. This is a team that beat Arizona in here. They've been playing very, very well. But, no, it wasn't anything about looking forward to Saturday or anything else. We knew what we had to do here tonight, and we didn't get it done.”
on what he saw from Arizona State's Savon Goodman
“Very athletic, very quick. He does a very good job of getting the shots that he needs. I don't think that he missed a shot tonight. He did it all around the room. Very quick driver. Very bouncy and runs in transition and does a good job on the backboard. He has been playing at a high level. I think that he has been averaging about 13 and a half and 13 and a half, and he helped his average out today.
on how much of UCLA's plan in the game's final possession was to get the ball to Norman
“We wanted to go quick two, and we got that. Then we got the missed free throw. So, we had it down to where we could go for two. After he missed [the free throw], we could go for two or three. And they did a good job of stopping Norman on the drive. We had Bryce flaring and had Isaac coming back. Norm found Isaac. We just didn't get the shot to go in.”
on how he expects UCLA's players to bounce back before Saturday
“We'll see. You have to. We will see how we bounce back, but we have to tough-minded. WE have to bounce back and play an outstanding team down in Tucson on Saturday.
on if this is where he can see what his team is made of
“Yeah, we have been. And for whatever reason, we struggled tonight. But, a lot of that had to do with Arizona State. I have to give them a lot of credit. We'll see how we bounce back on Saturday."
UCLA freshman Kevon Looney
on how tough this loss feels after having won five of six games
“It's really tough. The road has been rough for us, and this was a game that we needed to win. We talked about it all week, and we let it slip away from us.”
on being outrebounded by Arizona State
“They were just more active than us. In the first half, [Savon] Goodman was a beast on the boards, as was [Eric] Jacobsen. Tony got in foul trouble and that hurt his rhythm a little bit. They were just more active. They got a lot more of the loose balls that we needed to get. They just came out with more energy in the beginning. We got down in a hole and they had more energy.”
on the impact of having multiple players in foul trouble
“It threw us off a little bit. Tony and Norman are huge for us, and it affected us in the second half because they didn't play because of foul trouble. That messed up our rhythm on offense. Tony never really got in rhythm in the game. It threw us off a little bit.”
on not having Norman Powell, in particular, on the floor for stretches in the second half
“It's pretty difficult because Norm does a lot on both ends of the court for us. He's our leader. So there is a difference when he isn't out there. He puts pressure on the defense and gets in their passing lanes. When he isn't out there, it can be pretty tough.”
on putting this game behind him and moving on to the game at Arizona
“We just have to go back, watch some film, and get ready for the next one. We just have to prepare mentally and get ready. It's a big game, and it should be easy to get ready for.”
UCLA senior Norman Powell
on how difficult this loss feels after having built some momentum
“It's really tough, especially being so close and having the game in your hands near the end. I thought that we were able to control the pace of the game, defensively. Offensively, we were getting the looks that we wanted down the stretch. It was just tough. We couldn't get on a good run like we'd been able to do at the beginning of the game.”
on what changed after halftime, with regard to controlling the pace of the game
“Honestly, I think that their defense really picked up. They climbed into us. They really forced us into late-clock situations. They forced us to settle for three-pointers, instead of attacking the rim like we'd been doing in the first half.”
on what helped Arizona State get UCLA into foul trouble
“We knew that they were a dribble-drive team. We knew that they were going to exhaust their dribbles and play with you, try to get you off balance and go right into your body and get fouls. They did a great job of that. We just have to work on getting over screens and being in help and really just locking in and not letting that person in front of us beat us off the dribble.”
on whether he was asking for the ball late in the game
“That's where we had success. Coach did a great job of setting up late-game situations. We got a good look at it with Isaac coming off for a three, but sometimes the ball doesn't go in. I felt like that the plays that we ran and executed down the stretch really gave us a chance to win.”
on what he needs to do to help lead UCLA against Arizona on Saturday
“It's really important. This road trip is really big for us. Now, we have to go into Tucson and try and steal one. We have to get focused. I feel like this is a really big game for us. It shouldn't be hard to get them motivated – it's just about looking past this game, going to watch some film, seeing what we can improve on, and going on from there. It's not the first time that we've faced adversity, so I think we need to bounce back.”