OU-Baylor Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“It was a great ballgame. I thought our guys responded with great effort and great energy. I thought our guys did well. Both teams were shooting the ball very well and I thought our guys just stayed with it and got after it. Buddy (Hield) got us off to a great start by knocking down some 3's against their zone. Their zone is so long and tough if you're not making shots. Buddy did a good job of getting us off to a good start. Isaiah (Cousins) was terrific all night long, He was making a lot of good plays and worked hard defensively and rebounding the ball. A lot of different guys. Tyler (Neal) did well again and did a good job of coming in when Cam (Clark) was in foul trouble. It was great to see Cam doing what he was doing and bouncing back like that. We need that. We had a lot of different guys making good plays for each other.”

On their spacing offensively:
“Guys have done a good job of moving the ball and we have been focusing on getting a good shot out of every possession, regardless. They don't care who gets it, they just want to attack and if it's for themselves, great. They'll see how the defense reacts and kick it to someone else and we're comfortable with that, too. I thought the spacing was very good and the ball movement was good. You can shoot it better when you shoot with good rhythm like we did tonight.”

On if they did anything differently than they did in their previous meeting with Baylor:
“Of course the second time around you make adjustments. They play zone and you make certain adjustments to get the ball in certain spots. Every team does that. Again, the key is making shots and that's what our guys did tonight. It's easy when you get the ball where you like it. The tough part is making shots like we did tonight. It was good for them to step up and knock those down.”

On the team's progress:
“I like the progress we're making. This group has done that consistently throughout the year. They're playing with more confidence as a group. It's a tough league to do that in. You notice, every night you line up against a team that has been ranked or will be ranked. Our guys know that, too. They respect everyone and they certainly have respect for Baylor.”

Sophomore Guard Buddy Hield
On if there is something about Baylor that he likes, given his scoring performances against them this year:
“No sir. Coach had a good offense for us to run. We had a “20” play that we would run and we would catch and shoot and my teammates found me in the right shooting spots. I was able to pick up my teammates and just keep going from there.”

On what he has said to Cameron Clark to encourage him (Clark was 7-for-8 from the field tonight):
“We just keep encouraging him. He's a great player and he is just in a little slump and he'll shoot his way out of it.”

On what it says about the team to have different guys step up offensively every night:
“It's special. You have guys like Isaiah (Cousins), who goes off for 21, and we have other guys like Jordan (Woodard), Je'lon (Hornbeak) and Ryan (Spangler). Even though Ryan didn't score tonight, Wednesday will probably be his night. You never know who is going to give you a good night but you just have to come out ready to play. All our guys come out ready to play each and every day and we just keep competing no matter what.”

On Baylor's second-half defensive adjustments:
“They started denying me the ball a little bit. Coach Kruger did a great job of getting shots for other guys. He found ways to get Isaiah (Cousins) going and found a mismatch. He did a great job with that. We just made shots and shared the ball well.”

Sophomore Guard Isaiah Cousins
On being more aggressive offensively in the second half:
“My teammates just wanted me to be more aggressive and I just had to step up and do what I could to attack. My shot was falling so it was a pretty good day.”

On what he has said to Cameron Clark to encourage him lately:
“I've told him to just keep his head up and play basketball. Just do what you have to do to help us win.”

On Baylor's defensive adjustments in the second half allowing him more opportunities to score:
“It helped me because everyone was focusing on Buddy (Hield) and gave me the opportunity to attack more and be aggressive.”

On his rebounding performance:
“I just go for the rebound and I just run in and hopefully it just comes to me.”

Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening comment:
"We shot the ball well, but we didn't defend very well, and when we did defend better they were already on a roll and made some contested shots. We had our chance in the second half, but we didn't take advantage of it to try and get it down to a one-possession game by missing free throws and not finishing a couple shots around the rim. I thought they really shot it well tonight. We didn't do enough to get them off to a slow start and once they got going it was tough slowing them down."

On slowing down the Sooners after the first half:
"When they're 11-for-18 from 3-point range you're feeling decent that you're still in the game. In the second half we didn't shoot very well at 38 percent and didn't get enough second-chance points. We have increased our free throw percentage the last four games, but it's still not where it needs to be yet."

On the defense's inability to stop OU:
"That was the tough thing. Buddy Hield got off to such a good start, Cousins took over, Neal jumped in. Different people carried them for stretches there. It was tough to consistently get enough stops in a row to really cause anything, and when it seemed like we did have a decent stop, that's when we gave up 10 offensive rebounds, and on some of their offensive rebounds we fouled them. We play good defense, but we have to get out when they're that good offensively."

On keeping the team focused through its current rough stretch:
"I think it's an honor and privilege to play in the Big 12 each and every night. You have the best competition in the country, so if you can't get excited for that no matter how you're playing then you got something the matter. We're not playing like we would like to, so the only thing we can do is either feel sorry for ourselves or try and get better. We've tried to get better and statistically we've improved in some areas: eight turnovers is good, getting better at free throw shooting. Tonight I don't think there was any answer. I think they were just better than we were on the offensive end and defensively there wasn't enough urgency early on to make things tough before they were able to get in a rhythm."

On Oklahoma attacking the hoop more in the second half:
"That's what's tough when you're down. You start extending, trying to get the ball back, and that opens up driving angles and driving lanes, and obviously they're a smart team. I thought they did a good job at finding their hot players."

On the difficulty of getting back in the game:
"Yeah, because we're not that explosive offensively. If you look at our shooting percentage in the Big 12, we're not as good as we've been in the past or in the non-conference, so it's harder to come back from margins. When our defense isn't spectacular or even good, that makes it tough. That separation is hard and that's why our margin of error isn't as good. You've got to make timely plays; you can't give up timely rebounds. Opportunities to finish around the rim, you've got to finish."

Baylor Sophomore Center Isaiah Austin:
On Baylor's defense and Oklahoma's ability to shoot 3-pointers:
“They were just hot all day. My team's still got faith in God and His plan for us. That's what we're going to work on, keep trusting in Him and it'll end up turning out the way it's supposed to be.”

Baylor Junior Forward Royce O'Neale:
On Baylor's defensive effort:
“We play defense. We just need to keep contesting shots.”

On not being able to get momentum after beating Oklahoma State:
“We just have to stay together as a team. It's basketball. It's a privilege to play out there on that court. We're thankful for being out there, but right now, things aren't going our way. But that doesn't mean we're going to hang our heads.”