UCLA 75, OREGON STATE 68
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
February 15, 2018
The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“I’m really proud of the guys. I really liked the second half. I think we got a little bit out of rhythm because of the missed foul shots, but to get there 37 times is great work. Shooting the three, we were leading the Pac in three-point percentage going in, and our foul shooting has been good. To get a win in the Pac and not shoot the three ball well and not shoot free throws well means we did some really good things defensively. We got buried the first game on board play, and tonight we returned that and beat them 18 overall. They had 18 offensive rebounds in the first game and got six this game. I thought our offense was really good; we just didn’t make the shots we normally make. I thought we carried ourselves defensively, and that’s a good sign.”
on pushing the transition
“They’ve been playing faster. They’ve been going to a more four-guard lineup. They’ve been putting in (Alfred) Hollins in instead of (Seth) Berger, and they got a lot faster. So I think they’ve been trying to consciously play faster. I think they’re playing pretty well playing at that tempo. I just think they really want to get offensive rebounds, and we thought if we could not let allow them to do that, we’d be able to run and get out in transition. And we did that tonight. I thought we did a really good job in transition until we got careless and tried to make crazy plays instead of the simple plays. I told them at a time out that we’re not into degree of difficulty. It’s not gymnastics. We don’t get more points for style. Be simple, be disciplined in what you’re doing and make the simple play. And I thought that in the second half we did that. We shared the ball, did a lot of good things. We just didn’t get into a really good rhythm and really be able to stretch things out because of the foul shots.”
on the missed free throws
“It’s never easy to watch because it knocks you out of rhythm. We got there 37 times, so that’s a terrific job of getting to the line that many times. When you get there you have to take advantage of it, but we just had too many guys not shoot the free throw like they’re capable of shooting. But I’ll take that over not improving the defense in the end like we did. Two months ago we couldn’t get stops at Michigan while we didn’t make foul shots. Tonight we got stops while we were making foul shots.”
on the play of their big men
“We really challenged them. In Corvallis, we had 13 fouls between the three of them. Alex (Olesinski) fouled out, G.G. (Goloman) and Thomas (Welsh) had four. We gave up 18 offensive rebounds. It’s not ALL the big guys, but when rebounds are happening like that at the rim, the bigs take pride in it. Tom does what Tom does. We challenged them that way, and the big fella comes up with 17 rebounds. Alex has eight rebounds, G.G. has five rebounds. I thought we did a really good job of making things hard for their bigs on the rims. (Alfred) Hollins probably had a career-high for him, but we make somebody else beat us. Their big three of Tinkle, Thompson and Eubanks were all under their average, and that was the plan going in. I thought our bigs did a really big job of protecting the paint for the most part.”
on Alex Olesinski’s play
“He’s a smart player, he’s a hard-nosed player, he’s a position guy. When he does those things (going after loose balls, tip-ins on offensive rebounds), it really helps us. He can really rebound the ball. Tonight we challenged our bigs. G.G. got in foul trouble, which got him out of sync. But for the minutes he got, he did good things. Alex came in and really gave us a good boost when we needed it.”
on Aaron Holiday
“He just continues to fight. It wasn’t one of those games where I thought he got into a rhythm shooting the basketball. He didn’t finish like he normally finishes. It wasn’t a game where he all of a sudden he beat you because of his normal great shooting. He gets 17 and 10, and, oh by the way, he guarded Stephen Thompson the whole game, and he went 4-for-14. So he defends the best player, we ask an awful lot out of him, he gets to the free throw line eight times, leads us in scoring, has 10 assists, three turnovers. He’s a very, very special player and obviously a key to what we’re doing.”
UCLA senior center Thomas Welsh
on playing without mask
“It was great to finally get rid of it. I think I adjusted pretty well to it towards the end, but it’s good just to have it off. Knowing I have to adjust it or try to wipe my face with that guard. It’s good to be done with it. Just a good win.”
on frontcourt’s rebounding
“I felt we did really well. Alex came off the bench and got eight or nine rebounds. When he’s doing that, we’re in really good shape. Getting stops and providing extra possessions for us. We played them up in Corvallis and I think they had 18 offensive rebounds. It’s tough to win a game on the road when you give up that many second shots. This game, Coach (Alford) just preached to us all week about just being as good as we can on the glass and I think we did a pretty good job.”
on if running against Oregon State was a focal point
“Yeah. I think that’s one thing that we did really well. We can get stops and throw the ball ahead and get guys for dunks and layups and transition threes. I think it’s something we always try to focus on—against this team, especially, when they do try to slow it down. We just try to play our game, speed it up, get good shots in transition.”
UCLA junior guard Aaron Holiday
on frontcourt’s rebounding
“It’s amazing. I feel like Tom (Welsh) can get every rebound he wants, as well as G.G. (Goloman)… obviously Alex (Olesinski), as well. All season, that’s what they’ve brought to us. They always get the defensive boards, offensive board putbacks. They’ve done a really good job for us.”
on turning defense into offense
“I feel like every game we want to come out and get stops and run. Tonight, we actually showed we could do it. We get stops and run and we had a lot of scores in transition. It’s always good.”
on Alex Olesinski’s performance
“Yeah, Alex, he does that every game. He gives us great minutes every time he gets in he’s obviously guarding the big guys down low and he fights for position. He’s one of our best defenders of the bigs, so it’s awfully good to have somebody come off the bench, a big like that, to come out and always play hard and hit shots.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore guard Prince Ali
on frontcourt’s rebounding
“Yeah, it’s good. That was our focus before the game—finishing stops and rebound. It was good. Helped us get in transition.”
on the And-1 that pushed the lead to nine
“It felt good just to get the And-1 and having my teammate there to back me up. It felt great.”
on Oregon State’s frontcourt
“The bigs, they play tough. They crash the boards. Last time we played them, they had 18 offensive rebounds. That was the focal point, toughness and rebounding the ball. Our bigs came out and did what they had to do. They rebounded the ball. They showed great grit and toughness.”
Oregon State Head Coach Wayne Tinkle
on the difference in rebounding from the previous contest in Corvallis
“We were just really in a fog on the defensive end and on the glass. Give them credit, I think they were the tougher team. I feel like we won the contest in Corvallis because we were the tougher team. We had our chances at the end. We missed some of those free throws and we had some threes that we missed. We really have to take care of those opportunities.”
on their defensive effort
“We just started out in that fog and we started to do a better job on the defensive end. We just didn’t really capitalize on our opportunities. It really helped when we made some baskets because they had to walk up the ball.”
on where they go from here
“We just have to look at the positives we did on the defensive end. We also try to take some opportunities inside. I thought we were pretty successful with that. I also felt we got selfish at the end, but not in a bad way. Maybe instead of trying to shoot over that seven-footer, maybe making that extra pass for a drop off would have been better.”
Oregon State Junior Guard Stephen Thompson Jr.
on his overall play
“I felt like I could have played a lot better. I felt my offense and my defense could have been better. I also felt like I could have finished stronger at the rim. Also, the free throws at the end especially, were crucial.”
on the mood in the locker room
“We just have to get it together for USC. We have to take the positives from this contest. We’ll just have to move on and focus on the next game. We just have to look at the positive plays.”
on playing with his brother
“It’s been very fun. He’s a very versatile player, so it’s been very enjoyable.”