The following quotes were pulled from the Sprint
Tournament Center's coverage of the third round games of the men's
college basketball tournament in the Atlanta and Oakland regions:
MATT DOHERTY
MATT DOHERTY on Duke being the first one seed eliminated: "I did pick Duke to be the first one seed to be eliminated because their lack of athleticism was eventually going to catch up with them. I think that is what happened today against LSU."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU containing J.J. Redick: "Garrett Temple was there every time J.J. Redick caught the ball, forcing J.J. to put the ball on the floor, something he's good at, but not great. Also, J.J. is not great at finishing at the rim, especially against the likes of LSU's Magnum Rolle and Tyrus Thomas."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU's weakness: "The thing that's going to maybe hurt them as they go forward is turnovers. They had 18 turnovers tonight against Duke and they're not a great ball handling team."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas strategy down the stretch: "You want to have your five best foul shooters in and try to get the ball in the hands of Abrams, Tucker or Buckman; not Aldridge, who is shooting 65 percent from the stripe. Aldridge misses the front end and gives Pittsnogle a chance to tie the game."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas strategy down the stretch: "Texas did the right thing inbounding the ball right away up the court, the defense wasn't set and it gave Paulino the chance to hit the game winner."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas win over West Virginia: "There are a lot of great situations that we as coaches practice and sometimes you get caught up in the moment. Playing against Duke when I was a coach at North Carolina, they always race the ball inbounds with ten seconds or under; when the game is tied; if they're down 1, down 2 or sometimes even down 3. What you want to do if you can, if you have the discipline and awareness is to call a timeout to set your defense so you can get back. They've got to score against a set defense. Easier said then done but West Virginia did have a timeout. I wonder if Coach Beilein wishes he used that timeout at the end of the game today."
MATT DOHERTY on how LSU matches up with Texas: "I think the front line of LSU struggles to score against Texas. I like Texas in this match up."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU: "They can't score. They struggle to score. Those guys are great athletes. They block a lot of shots. But they're not going to be able to score against the front line of Texas."
PERRY CLARK
PERRY CLARK on LSU defending against Duke: "They reacted when the ball was in the air and closed out Duke's players. LSU's overall team speed and defensive reaction to the ball was excellent tonight."
PERRY CLARK on Memphis: "Memphis really sent a message in the second half. Bradley is as athletic and as big up front as any team and Memphis destroyed them."
PERRY CLARK on Memphis: "I don't know if anybody in the tournament can run with this Memphis team. They are too fast, too athletic and too strong. Teams are going to have to find another way to play them."
PERRY CLARK on West Virginia's decision making down the stretch: "If I'm coach Beilein, I may have called a timeout to set my defense after Pittsnogle hit that three down the stretch."
PERRY CLARK on UCLA's potential return to dominance in the West: "I think we're seeing a shift of power now in the West. You have a young UCLA team emerging and a Gonzaga team that has dominated of late. And it started with Ben Howland understanding that his program starts with defense and toughness."
PERRY CLARK on UCLA coach Ben Howland: "We saw Ben Howland's team when he was at Pittsburgh do this many times in the rugged Big East. Now he's bringing that style out to UCLA."
PERRY CLARK on how UCLA matches up with Memphis: "UCLA does a great job at taking you out of what you want to run. Ben Howland is a very fine defensive coach, but Memphis has guys that once the offense breaks down, they can go make plays. UCLA has not played anybody in this tournament so far with capabilities like that."
PERRY CLARK: "I think LSU is going to step up and go to the Final Four. And it's going to be great for the people of Louisiana. After the hurricane, everybody is behind the Tigers."
PERRY CLARK: "Nobody on Texas can match up with Big Baby. They're too light to handle his 300 pound frame and Tyrus Thomas is more athletic than anybody Texas has played so far in the tournament or in the regular season. They're going to see some athleticism and some quickness that they have not seen all year."
JIM HARRICK
JIM HARRICK on the Memphis win over Bradley: "They just killed them with their quickness, running the ball up the court, blocked shots and rebounding. This is a scary team that beat everybody convincingly in the tournament. They haven't had a close game like the others, and they are scary."
JIM HARRICK on Memphis being the fourth ranked one seed in the tournament: "The committee put them forth and sent them all the way out west, but the way they're playing right now, they have moved to the top."
JIM HARRICK on Memphis: "I don't know if there's a team that can play with Memphis the way they played the first three games in this tournament. As you go through this tournament you gain great confidence. LSU gained great confidence tonight with a big win, but so did Memphis. They are so fast and quick and athletic, I don't see anybody playing with them."
JIM HARRICK picks a winner in the Memphis/LSU matchup: "I would favor Memphis, but you never know in these types of situations what's going to happen in a game. When you lose to a team in a non-league game or the preseason and meet them again in the playoffs, they have a tremendous advantage."
Coaches Clinic
Perry Clark on the definition of "Pittsnogled":
PERRY CLARK: "The world may wonder how you can be 6'10 and be wide open for three point jump shots but Kevin Pittsnogle does it every game by working well with Mike Gansey on a two-man game."
PERRY CLARK: "It's pick your poison between Gansey and Pittsnogle, but with the two-man game they play, this 6'10, 250 pound Kevin Pittsnogle keeps getting wide open shots. That's how the college basketball world has been Pittsnogled this year."
***Editor's Note - Sprint (NYSE:S) will distribute a daily quote sheet from the news desk of the Sprint Tournament Center with host Bonnie Bernstein. To view each sheet, visit http://www.sprint.com/mr/fpkdetail.do?id=1180. Attribute quotes to Sprint Tournament Center.
About Sprint Tournament Center
The Sprint Tournament Center is the cornerstone of Sprint's exclusive college hoops content. Renowned sports reporter and host, Bonnie Bernstein -- along with coaches Perry Clark and Jim Harrick - will provide in-depth tournament analysis only to Sprint customers. The Sprint Tournament Center originates from Chicago for the first two weeks of the tournament; during week three, the Sprint Tournament Center moves to Indianapolis. These studio-based video segments provide game predictions, in-game updates, post-game analyses and breakdowns of key games and players each day of tournament play. In addition, Sprint will offer news and analysis from other major college basketball events.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/mr.
MATT DOHERTY
MATT DOHERTY on Duke being the first one seed eliminated: "I did pick Duke to be the first one seed to be eliminated because their lack of athleticism was eventually going to catch up with them. I think that is what happened today against LSU."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU containing J.J. Redick: "Garrett Temple was there every time J.J. Redick caught the ball, forcing J.J. to put the ball on the floor, something he's good at, but not great. Also, J.J. is not great at finishing at the rim, especially against the likes of LSU's Magnum Rolle and Tyrus Thomas."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU's weakness: "The thing that's going to maybe hurt them as they go forward is turnovers. They had 18 turnovers tonight against Duke and they're not a great ball handling team."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas strategy down the stretch: "You want to have your five best foul shooters in and try to get the ball in the hands of Abrams, Tucker or Buckman; not Aldridge, who is shooting 65 percent from the stripe. Aldridge misses the front end and gives Pittsnogle a chance to tie the game."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas strategy down the stretch: "Texas did the right thing inbounding the ball right away up the court, the defense wasn't set and it gave Paulino the chance to hit the game winner."
MATT DOHERTY on the Texas win over West Virginia: "There are a lot of great situations that we as coaches practice and sometimes you get caught up in the moment. Playing against Duke when I was a coach at North Carolina, they always race the ball inbounds with ten seconds or under; when the game is tied; if they're down 1, down 2 or sometimes even down 3. What you want to do if you can, if you have the discipline and awareness is to call a timeout to set your defense so you can get back. They've got to score against a set defense. Easier said then done but West Virginia did have a timeout. I wonder if Coach Beilein wishes he used that timeout at the end of the game today."
MATT DOHERTY on how LSU matches up with Texas: "I think the front line of LSU struggles to score against Texas. I like Texas in this match up."
MATT DOHERTY on LSU: "They can't score. They struggle to score. Those guys are great athletes. They block a lot of shots. But they're not going to be able to score against the front line of Texas."
PERRY CLARK
PERRY CLARK on LSU defending against Duke: "They reacted when the ball was in the air and closed out Duke's players. LSU's overall team speed and defensive reaction to the ball was excellent tonight."
PERRY CLARK on Memphis: "Memphis really sent a message in the second half. Bradley is as athletic and as big up front as any team and Memphis destroyed them."
PERRY CLARK on Memphis: "I don't know if anybody in the tournament can run with this Memphis team. They are too fast, too athletic and too strong. Teams are going to have to find another way to play them."
PERRY CLARK on West Virginia's decision making down the stretch: "If I'm coach Beilein, I may have called a timeout to set my defense after Pittsnogle hit that three down the stretch."
PERRY CLARK on UCLA's potential return to dominance in the West: "I think we're seeing a shift of power now in the West. You have a young UCLA team emerging and a Gonzaga team that has dominated of late. And it started with Ben Howland understanding that his program starts with defense and toughness."
PERRY CLARK on UCLA coach Ben Howland: "We saw Ben Howland's team when he was at Pittsburgh do this many times in the rugged Big East. Now he's bringing that style out to UCLA."
PERRY CLARK on how UCLA matches up with Memphis: "UCLA does a great job at taking you out of what you want to run. Ben Howland is a very fine defensive coach, but Memphis has guys that once the offense breaks down, they can go make plays. UCLA has not played anybody in this tournament so far with capabilities like that."
PERRY CLARK: "I think LSU is going to step up and go to the Final Four. And it's going to be great for the people of Louisiana. After the hurricane, everybody is behind the Tigers."
PERRY CLARK: "Nobody on Texas can match up with Big Baby. They're too light to handle his 300 pound frame and Tyrus Thomas is more athletic than anybody Texas has played so far in the tournament or in the regular season. They're going to see some athleticism and some quickness that they have not seen all year."
JIM HARRICK
JIM HARRICK on the Memphis win over Bradley: "They just killed them with their quickness, running the ball up the court, blocked shots and rebounding. This is a scary team that beat everybody convincingly in the tournament. They haven't had a close game like the others, and they are scary."
JIM HARRICK on Memphis being the fourth ranked one seed in the tournament: "The committee put them forth and sent them all the way out west, but the way they're playing right now, they have moved to the top."
JIM HARRICK on Memphis: "I don't know if there's a team that can play with Memphis the way they played the first three games in this tournament. As you go through this tournament you gain great confidence. LSU gained great confidence tonight with a big win, but so did Memphis. They are so fast and quick and athletic, I don't see anybody playing with them."
JIM HARRICK picks a winner in the Memphis/LSU matchup: "I would favor Memphis, but you never know in these types of situations what's going to happen in a game. When you lose to a team in a non-league game or the preseason and meet them again in the playoffs, they have a tremendous advantage."
Coaches Clinic
Perry Clark on the definition of "Pittsnogled":
PERRY CLARK: "The world may wonder how you can be 6'10 and be wide open for three point jump shots but Kevin Pittsnogle does it every game by working well with Mike Gansey on a two-man game."
PERRY CLARK: "It's pick your poison between Gansey and Pittsnogle, but with the two-man game they play, this 6'10, 250 pound Kevin Pittsnogle keeps getting wide open shots. That's how the college basketball world has been Pittsnogled this year."
***Editor's Note - Sprint (NYSE:S) will distribute a daily quote sheet from the news desk of the Sprint Tournament Center with host Bonnie Bernstein. To view each sheet, visit http://www.sprint.com/mr/fpkdetail.do?id=1180. Attribute quotes to Sprint Tournament Center.
About Sprint Tournament Center
The Sprint Tournament Center is the cornerstone of Sprint's exclusive college hoops content. Renowned sports reporter and host, Bonnie Bernstein -- along with coaches Perry Clark and Jim Harrick - will provide in-depth tournament analysis only to Sprint customers. The Sprint Tournament Center originates from Chicago for the first two weeks of the tournament; during week three, the Sprint Tournament Center moves to Indianapolis. These studio-based video segments provide game predictions, in-game updates, post-game analyses and breakdowns of key games and players each day of tournament play. In addition, Sprint will offer news and analysis from other major college basketball events.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/mr.