OU-Oklahoma State Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“Well, obviously, it was a big game. We were playing a really good team that has been playing well. We had dropped a couple [of games]. Great crowd, great energy in the building and I thought our guys played off of that from the start. I thought our guys' focus was really sharp. We talked about that the last few days and they have really been doing a good job on certain things and preparing and we tried to see if it would transfer to the court. It was a good win. It was a good win against a good team.”

On Buddy Hield's night:
“Yeah, he's fantastic. He made shots early when we needed him and he made shots late when maybe they were thinking about making a run. I thought he hit a couple of big shots at those moments. His defensive awareness was outstanding. A lot of guys played well but I thought Buddy was fantastic.”

On how important it was to get back to playing defense like he knows his players can:
“It was very important. The last couple of ball games we hadn't really been doing that. It's just a reminder to all of us that that's the way it's going to be in the Big 12. If you're not totally ready, you're not totally focused, there's a good chance of you getting beat because the people you're playing against are really good. That's the way it's going to be 13 more times. They are all going to be tough.”

On if this was one of their best defensive efforts:
“Yeah, I thought really until (Leyton) Hammonds got going there late, our focus was pretty good and we started trading buckets late. For the most part, it was probably as good as we had [this season] early [in the game] especially. Players like (LeBryan) Nash and (Phil) Forte, they're two terrific players having great years. You have to have guys guarding them plus a guy or two on either side aware of what they're doing. I thought our guys had good awareness from the help spot.”

On how important the rebounding and defense was for creating opportunities early:
“I thought we were able, with our defense, to create some offense in transition early. Buddy got a shot down in transition and Jordan got one. I thought our defense created some of that during the opening 10 or 12 minutes. It was really important. Defensively, we have been [rebounding] a little bit better this season and we have to keep improving in that area.”

On what the bench gave him tonight:
“Yeah, huge. We need production off the bench. We need to give those guys more minutes. Of course, they need to play those minutes a little better. It's kind of a chicken and egg [scenario], but it's great to see. I thought D.J. (Bennett) gave us [a spark] when Tay (TaShawn Thomas) was in trouble in the first half and Khadeem (Lattin) stepped in there for a few minutes and played well. Frank (Booker) played well. It was his best stretch of minutes by far this season. I think he's starting to make shots now. Dinjiyl (Walker), I thought, had good attack. We need that production from the bench.”

On what the key for them was in limiting Phil Forte:
“The guys covering Forte, we switched different people on him from time to time. We did a really good job, but with good players like that I thought the big guys did a good job of showing on screens. Oklahoma State runs good [plays] for him. It's tough to guard him. I thought it was a good team effort. The guys individually on Forte did a good job. The guys in help position did a good job.”

On benefiting from a good performance by Jordan Woodard:
“Jordan might have had one of his better games from start to finish. He played a lot of minutes. I thought he fought [being fatigued]. He did a good job defensively, controlled the pace offensively. I thought this was one of his better games.”

On if the frantic pace early on helped them tonight:
“I thought it freed us up some. You go into a ball game after dropping a couple [games], you want activity, you want to attack, you want to get the ball moving and I thought we did a pretty good job of that from the start.”

Junior Guard Buddy Hield
On going 10 for 10 from the field:
“My teammates found me in good spots. I got open in transition. Ryan (Spangler) got me open when I cheated a little bit and leaked out. Jordan (Woodard) found me, too. I just stepped up and made some shots, but I couldn't do it without them. Hats off to them for finding me.”

On if he wanted the ball more once he started making shots:
“I have to stay humble. I have to listen to Coach Kruger and let him run his offense.”

On Spangler's second-half dunk:
“It had me hyped. Coach was like, 'Get back in the play' and I was like, 'Coach he just dunked on him!' It was a good play. TaShawn (Thomas) found him and TaShawn always does a good job of finding guys. He is unselfish. It was a great play, and I liked it a lot.”

On what time he arrived today to start shooting:
“I came in early this morning with Ryan at about 9 o'clock. This was a late game on Saturday so I just stayed in the gym and shot. It is a routine. If I don't do it, I don't feel comfortable. I just shoot until I feel comfortable and then I go sit down in the locker room and crack jokes with the boys. I rest for about 30 minutes and then I come back and shoot again.”

Junior Forward Ryan Spangler
On if he took this game personally:
“I think in the three games that we've won, we've come out and hit them first and were tougher for the whole game and that's the reason we won. In the two games we've lost, they hit us first and we weren't able to catch up. That was our goal, to hit them first and maintain it the whole game.”

On laughing at Buddy's response to previous question:
“You all asked how he felt to make shots and he does that all the time and we expect that from him. With the amount of work he puts in, every game he'll go 10 for 10 if he can.”

Senior Forward TaShawn Thomas
On if he took this game more personally after the losses the last two games:
“The past two games have been tough for anybody to deal with. We all put it in each other's heads that practice had to be more intense. We had to talk more on defense and we had to do everything more. Everything was magnified. I feel like we came out and did that.”

On how much attention OU paid to limiting Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte:
“Throughout practice that was one thing we talked about. Forte and Nash, we were telling each other the things they like to do and how we needed to try to take it away. We practiced on it hard and I feel like we executed it in the game.”

On his first Bedlam experience:
“It was crazy. I was upset that I didn't get to play a lot in the first half (due to foul trouble), but my teammates helped me. Ryan just told me to move on to the second half and forget the first half happened and I did that.”

Oklahoma State Head Coach Travis Ford
Opening comment:
“Congrats to OU. They played well from the beginning; kind of set the tone early in the game. They played well.”

On Buddy Hield:
“(He's) one of the best players in America and he showed it. I've got a lot of respect for him. I understand how hard he works, I hear all those things. I know he's more than capable of doing that. I'd like to say we didn't do a good job but he deserved it.”

On if Buddy Hield is the best player OSU has faced in conference play this season:
“There are so many good players in our league. I wouldn't say one of the best players in the league, one of the best players in America. Forget the league. He's got size, can shoot, he's good.”

On what OU did defensively to Phil Forte:
“Yeah, they were triple-teaming him. When he comes off screens they were sending everybody after him. They did a good job of overplaying when he comes off staggers, helping off on the screener who's jumping out the line – they did a good job.”

On OSU's lack of intensity:
“I think everybody saw it. Yeah, we didn't start the game the way we needed to.”

On OU cranking up its defense tonight after a loss to WVU:
“Yeah, they did. They did a good job. OU played well.”

On if OU gave more effort tonight than the WVU game:
“I don't know. I wasn't at that game. I actually thought that the West Virginia game was just one of those games. You know, you have one of those games and that was just one of those games for them. I didn't actually put much stock into it when I watched it. Just one of those games.”

If this is 'one of those games' for his team:
“We'll see.”

On his feelings on the effort in the first half:
“I've addressed it with my team. I'll leave it at that.”

On if he felt like the effort picked up in the second half:
“Not a whole lot. We probably played with a little bit more sense of urgency, sure. But, that's the least we could have done.”