OU-OSU Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It was a hard-fought game from the start. I thought our guys opened the ball game with good energy and enthusiasm and got a little margin there pretty early on which kind of stayed there for the rest of the night. We had a lot of guys step in and play well. Ryan (Spangler) got a couple of quick fouls and D.J. (Bennett) came in and Tyler (Neal) came in, Frank (Booker) -- the bench was huge. It's kind of been the trademark of this team all year long. Different guys, different nights stepping up and giving us great support. Again, we beat a very good Oklahoma State team so that makes it even more satisfying. I'm happy for the guys, I'm proud of them and the message instilled is that it's early in the grind and we have to get better in the next three or four days and we can't change anything we're doing. Happy for them.”

On Ryan Spangler's toughness on the boards and how it affects the team:
“Ryan has kind of been the cornerstone for our growth in the toughness area. I think we're getting tougher. I think we're getting big strides in that area. Again, O-State is hard to guard. They have so many people that can attack you and talented guys. I thought our guys did a good job of that. Of course, foul trouble with Ryan in the first half but their guys had foul trouble too so that changes the complexion a bit. We're growing. We're feeding off of Ryan's toughness in there. I think the guys appreciate what he brings every day in practice and every night and we're trying to move in that direction.”

On the significance of both teams being ranked:
“It's great. It's great for the state, it's great for the rivalry, it's good for the Big 12. Again, we have a ways to go but I like what we're doing and the progress we're making. (Oklahoma) State's terrific. I think every one pretty much prefers to have both teams playing at a high level when they meet like this. We know how tough the rematch will be in Stillwater. It's good. It's good for college basketball and good for basketball in general in the state and there was a great crowd tonight. The students made a big impact on the energy right off the bat, and I know our players appreciated that.”

On his bench play tonight:
“It was fantastic. It has been good when we needed it throughout the year. Tonight, with Ryan (Spangler) in foul trouble early, we needed D.J. (Bennett) to come in and do what he did and he was great. He got rebounds, buckets, blocked shots, changed a couple of shots. Tyler (Neal) was fantastic. He did that for us at Texas Tech on the weekend and that's terrific. We need that from him. Frank Booker comes in and knocks down some shots and Je'lon (Hornbeak) is getting healthier all the time and playing better. We need all of them. They're ready to step in there and different guys at different times have done that.”

Senior Forward Ryan Spangler
On his recent dominance on the boards:
“I think they are just falling my way. Nah, I'm just kidding. Hustle, I just try to out-hustle people. I think that will put me in the right position to get the ball. Right now they are falling in my hands where I want them to. Some games they are going to be hard to get but lately they have been easy. I just have got to keep hustling for my team.”

On seeing the bench make positive plays after leaving the game with foul trouble:
“I am used to it. They do it in practice every day. I just have trust in them. Tyler (Neal) is going to knock down open shots. D.J. (Bennett) is getting in a rhythm now this year rebounding, getting it back, blocking shots. I have no problem sitting on the bench because I trust them to do what they need to do.”

Freshman Guard Jordan Woodard
On the matchup with fellow freshman guard Stevie Clark:
“Pretty much I was just locked in on the game. Me and Stevie do have a nice relationship off the court, but on the court it's just me and my teammates for the most part.”

On if things seemed to be rolling offensively following a big 3-pointer to beat the shot clock:
“Yeah, pretty much. I just kept finding spots and my teammates kept finding me with the ball, and they just wanted me to shoot it when I was open. I just wanted to keep attacking. OSU was in foul trouble early in the game and Coach (Kruger) wanted me to keep attacking to see if we can further that foul trouble so I could get to the free throw line and that was my mission.”

On the importance of the win:
“It was great. It was good for the school and good for the University for them to come out and support us the way they did for an intrastate rivalry game. It was important for us to protect home court, and it was a good win for us against a great ball team."

Senior Forward Tyler Neal
On performing well in his final Bedlam game at home:
“Well, I told you yesterday that I didn't want to talk much about the whole 3-0 thing (against OSU at home so far in his career), but it was good to finish that out. Give a lot of credit to OSU. They are a great team and they are going to do some good things this year. We are going to have to be ready when we play them in Stillwater. But it feels good to not have a loss to them here. We are excited about the win as a team, and I am proud of the guys.”

On the impact Ryan Spangler's toughness has on the team:
“It is hard to find words to describe how much he has helped this team this year. That was really obvious last year, even before he was on the court. I think that was a big part of (Romero Osby) being so good and so effective for us last year. All credit to (Osby), but Ryan really helped improve him and I think they made each other better last year. I think we are reaping the benefits of that this year.”

On his improvement from last season:
“I think it is just from a confidence standpoint, mainly. I think this is an easy team to play for. Obviously Coach (Kruger) does a great job getting us ready for games and everyone trusts each other to make buckets. Everyone can score and we trust each other to do that, so when it comes to an open shot you are supposed to take it and knock it down. It's that simple.”

OSU Head Coach Travis Ford
Opening comment:
“Just give OU credit. They made big shots and they made big plays. Their guys played well. They had some role players that played well. Tyler Neal comes in; he's playing really good basketball for their team. He's really playing well. The freshman (Jordan) Woodard stepped up and (Ryan) Spangler did what he does. It is just tough to beat a team on the road in this environment when you let them play to their strengths. Give them credit, every time we made a semi-run, a semi-run at them, they would make a big shot or we would make a silly play. We just never got what we needed to get. In the second half, it's hard to come back when they are shooting free throws every time you turn around. It's hard to make a run back, and we just couldn't keep them off the foul line. We just didn't defend the ball very well at all. Give Oklahoma credit; they played well.”

On if Oklahoma State's foul trouble early made it difficult to get into a rhythm:
“I don't want to make excuses but, yes. We can't keep getting into foul trouble. We know that and it's tough to go to our bench, especially in this game with the way they played. Our room for error is very small, particularly in this game. Yes, it played a fairly significant role. We planned for that and we understand that it can happen, but we just didn't get enough.”

On the free throw discrepancy between the two teams and if he had a problem with the officiating:
“No. I mean I haven't watched the tape yet. We didn't defend very well and that's the bottom line. When you don't defend very well you put yourself in a position to foul. So we did. Give them credit; they did a great job of taking us off the dribble. Fouling is usually a product of being out of position and not defending as well as you need to. When the other team shoots 20 more free throws, you just don't give yourself a chance unless you are just clicking and I think we all saw that we weren't clicking.”

On the difference in the two teams and the environment this year versus a few years ago:
“You hit the nail on the head. You saw two good teams out there tonight. One of them played very well and one didn't. We have a lot of respect for this Oklahoma team and their fans rallied around them tonight, and it was a great atmosphere to play in. They deserved to win. They played well. Both teams have a chance to do something special and move on and do good things in this league and hopefully beyond. Give them credit they played well tonight.”

OSU Senior Forward Markel Brown
On OSU head coach Travis Ford saying the team was not playing well and if this team is in a slump:
“We haven't been playing our style of basketball. We've been in a lot of close, tough games. It shouldn't be like that. We haven't been moving the ball well on offense and our defense has been down, also. We just need to pick it up on both ends of the court.”

On how his body feels after playing 39 minutes:
“I gave it all I had out there. I'm a senior on this team. I've been here before. I'm tired after that one. My knee's sore. We have to regroup for next week. We have Baylor at home. Every night's going to be a tough game for us; we just have to bounce back.”

On Oklahoma's performance, specifically Tyler Neal and Jordan Woodard:
“I've played against Tyler Neal all four years I've been here. I know the type of player he is. He's a hard working guy, great shooter. He came in the game and played well for his team. Woodard, he had a great night tonight. Like Phil (Forte) said, we just have to go out there and play defense. Oklahoma's a very good team. We knew that coming into this game.”

OSU Sophomore Guard Phil Forte
On his performance tonight, despite losing:
“I don't really care about how I played individually. I would much rather go 1-for-50, like I did against West Virginia, and win. That's all I really care about is winning. I'll do whatever it takes for my team to win.”

On the fouls called tonight and so far this season:
“We just need to move our feet more. That's all there is to it. We just need to quit worrying about the refs and all that and just move on to the next play. That's the most important thing. We just have to learn and see how the refs are calling it. Once we pick up a quick foul, we just have to adjust and move on.”

On if he was surprised by Oklahoma's performance:
“They're exactly what we thought they were. They always play well at home. They're a good basketball team. They can score, one through five. They shoot the ball really well, they put it on the floor. We knew coming in, we were going to have our hands full defensively. They played really well, so give them all the credit. We didn't play well and Oklahoma did.”