POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 68, OREGON 76
March 2, 2016
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening statement
“Congratulations to Oregon. They've been the best team in our league all year, and they proved it again in the second half. We did a lot of good things in the second half, but the difference was on the free throw line. They beat us by 10 on the line and they beat us in the second half on the boards. Other than that, we shot the ball well (49.2%). We just didn't rebound in the second half like we did in the first, and all night long we couldn't get on the line. We only had nine attempts. That puts a lot of pressure on our offense to make baskets.”
On the message to the team after the game
“I thought we did a lot of good things, but for 40 minutes we were not there from a rebounding standpoint. We just got outrebounded in second half and beat by 10 at the line, and that was the difference in the game. One team made 15 points at the line, and one made five. Our effort was great, but we were not able to finish in the end.”
On Oregon's second-half run
“At the start of the second half, we missed a dunk to go up seven, and then they went down the court and made a three, so instead of being up seven, we're only up two. I didn't like our start in the second half. We didn't execute offensively.”
On seeing improvement
“I thought defensively we worked, and most of it was zone. Most of where they got us was in transition. This is the best team in our league, and we shot a high percentage. We just didn't make enough big plays in the end to get over the hump. But we did some good things. Obviously we didn't win the game, but we have one more game - senior day – and hopefully we can get a win under our belt before we take off for Vegas.”
On how to correct rebounding problems
“Some of it was effort. We've been a pretty decent rebounding team for the year. We didn't get a lot of rebounding today. This is a very athletic team. [Tyler] Dorsey was a wrecking crew. Dillon Brooks, he might be the player of the year in this league. He didn't have the best game, but he came up big late. I thought that was huge.”
UCLA Senior Forward Tony Parker
On board play
“In a zone you have to find bodies, you have to find someone to box out. It's not like playing 5-on-5. The way they move the ball makes it hard because on one play I may be boxing out one guy, and on another play I have to find another guy. Also, they were hitting their shots in the second half.”
On how to generate wins
“You have to continue to come out and get into the gym. We have to continue to fight and get wins.”
Feeling in the locker room after the game
“When you lose, you feel terrible; you have a bad taste in your mouth. You really can't sleep at night. I've had this taste too much this year.”
On how to turn things around
“You just have to guard; teams are really going to execute, especially in March.”
Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman
Opening Statement
“I'm really happy for them [the players]. They really did a good job coming back and stayed with it. As soon as we got those turnovers cut down, we had pretty good luck. Guys were just trying too hard, trying to make plays, and just got going a little too fast. Our defense was better in the second half, and we out-rebounded them by 11 as well. Those are big stats.”
On what the team did differently in the second half
“In the first half, we just didn't get enough ball pressure, and UCLA just threw those direct line passes wherever they wanted. That's what got us into trouble. The second half, our ball pressure was better, and they weren't able to get the ball inside as easily. We got a couple of turnovers and a steal and doubled Tony [Parker] once and got a block. He was still 8-10 [shooting from the floor], but he's a load, and he's given us trouble in the past. This team did beat Kentucky here, went to Gonzaga [and won], and beat Arizona here. Everyone has a chance [in the conference tournament]. UCLA has good players; they were big time recruits.”
On winning at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title
“I want to be happy and pleased [with this win], but we are in no way satisfied. We want to go out and win on Saturday as well.”
Oregon Forward Tyler Dorsey
On playing in Los Angeles
“It feels good to be back home. It was a great game. We knew we needed this one to clinch the Pac-12 top spot, and now we need to go beat USC to be the only one at number one. We're not going to celebrate until we finish off USC. It means a lot to play at home, to let them see me play and get a win. It feels great. They started off in a zone defense, but my teammates found me, and I knocked the shots down and kept it going.”
On the second half
“We knew it was going to be a forty-minute fight. Even though we played bad in the first half, we were only down five, and we knew coming out in the second half that we needed to hit them first with a lot of energy. That's what we did and we got stops. That's what it came down to.”