OU-Baylor Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening Comment:
“It was a good way to open conference play. I thought it was really played at a high level. I thought both teams in the first half had what they wanted offensively and I thought both did a better job defensively in the second half. I thought Baylor played well. They're good. I thought our guys played as well as they have. We had a combined effort offensively in the first half. Defensively in the second half I thought we really did a better job. We made a lot of good plays for each other, played with pretty good composure, and made plays when we needed to. It was a good win. Good win.”

On not shooting well but getting buckets when they needed to:
“Well, we moved the ball pretty well. I thought the guys did a really good job of getting the ball to each other at the right spots. Timing was really good especially in the first half. We had some looks that didn't go down as well. I liked the way we handled it (Baylor's zone). Two turnovers in the first half, I believe, which is a good number against a long…Baylor's zone is good, they're long, athletic, and I thought our guys handled it well.”

On if they made an effort to get the ball inside:
“Yeah, I think the group as a whole since the Bahamas has done a much better job of playing inside out, valuing possessions much better, moving the ball better. They like passing the ball to each other and as a result they are shooting the ball for a much better percentage in the last five or six ballgames.”

On Buddy's two 3-pointers toward the end of the first half:
“Well, it was critical at that point. We were still trying to establish something. They kind of had the upper hand to that point and, all of a sudden, even though they had the upper hand we were up by a point after Buddy's two 3's. Then from there we kind of slowly pulled away and in the second half had a nice run to create a 10- to 12-point margin that we played the remainder with. Pretty solid effort from start to finish.”

On if he is thinking about a conference championship:
“Well, like Buddy said, every player in the country wants to win a championship but, most importantly, as we talk to our guys all the time, the teams that get better day to day and throughout conference play are the ones that are going to have a chance at the end. The level of play is so high in the Big 12 right now that if you don't get better and you are trying to get in that top division it's not going to be easy. There are going to be good teams, like you said, that aren't going to be in the top division. In the end, we just have to get better and I think our guys understand that.”

On what worked defensively in the second half:
“I thought our starting point defensively, our mindset, was just a little bit better. I thought we got a little bit lower, I thought we got after the ball a little bit better, we limited them to a slow start on their offensive boards. They got a few right off the bat. After that, we did a decent job. We gave up a few at the end. I thought our awareness and readiness defensively was a little bit better in the second half.”

On if he likes to take a 'pick your poison' approach for opponents to defend his team:
“Every team likes balance. We like the balance. Being able to score inside, if people double down Ryan and Tay are both really good passers and very willing passers. Our perimeter guys know that. They do a good job of kicking the ball back out. A big key was kind of being able to, even against their zone, play inside out and get the ball inside. And if you're not finishing then finding people on the perimeter. I thought we did a pretty good job of moving the ball in and out.”

On Buddy being able to put up 20 and 10 without having a massive stretch:
“I like the efficiency, I guess, of all of our guys. I thought we did a really good job. D.J. (Bennett) finds Buddy from inside out there with about five or six minutes to go in the ballgame for a big 3. Other than those two back-to-back 3's, they were spaced out pretty well. As a club, we did a pretty good job of not having any prolonged down spells. Defensively, in the second half, we were able to get stops on the other end.”

Junior Guard Buddy Hield
On how much easier his job is when TaShawn Thomas is playing well inside:
“It's a lot easier. TaShawn is one of our best players – if not the best player – on our team because he is so versatile. He just needs to keep on doing what he's doing. It makes it a lot easier on the guards – Isaiah (Cousins), Jordan (Woodard) and I."

On if they think about winning a Big 12 Championship:
“That's in every team's head in the Big 12. Everybody wants to be a champion. We are just going to take one game at a time and hope for that. We want to be the champions, that's our goal and I'm sure coach Kruger is thinking that, too. We're just going to take it one game at a time.”

On getting 10 rebounds:
“Ryan (Spangler) and TaShawn helped me a lot – they boxed them in and I was able to grab them. I couldn't do it without them. On the offensive rebounds, I just kept attacking the glass and trying to get an easy two-point basket. I was able to grab a few.”

On hitting two 3-pointers late in the first half:
“I got a rebound, I saw an opening and after that, they stopped. I saw an opening and I just said, 'Shoot it.' Coach (Kruger) wants me to shoot the ball. I got the next rebound and saw another opening. It was a momentum changer. Shots will change the game. I feel like it was a shot I could make so I just stepped up and made the shot.”

On TaShawn Thomas playing well in his first Big 12 game:
“He's just calm. He looks like he's always chilling but he's a killer, you know. He's ready to play all the time and I trust him. When he first stepped on campus, I saw that he was working in the gym all the time. He doesn't have class that much. When he's in the gym I see him working on his midrange jump shot and it's paying off. I'm happy to see him doing well and happy to see the fans welcome him, too.”

Senior Forward TaShawn Thomas
On if he is more comfortable now than he was earlier in the year:
“I'm just more comfortable with the offense and the players on the team. I kind of know where they are going to be on the court at different times so they've been making it a lot easier for me on the court.”

On how he feels about his first Big 12 game:
“I feel pretty good. In the preseason, before conference, I didn't really feel like I played to my potential. So I talked to myself, talked to my coaches and they told me, 'When conference starts out it's a new beginning.' So, I just came out with a fresh mindset, didn't try to think about anything that happened in the preseason. I just tried to come out and play strong.”

On Baylor's game plan to give up the 2 rather than the 3 and if that's what he likes to hear:
“Yeah, I mean, I've been in the gym trying to knock down my midrange (shot) a lot so whenever they gave it to me I was just trying to knock it down. I knew that was going to help out because we still got a couple of 3's because we were knocking down midrange shots. So I just feel like that helped us out a lot – me being able to knock down a midrange shot.”

On his thoughts on Baylor freshman forward Johnathan Motley:
“I kind of knew him before he even went to Baylor because when I was at Houston they were recruiting him. So, I kind of knew him and I knew we were going to have a battle today. He kind of punched me in the mouth early but I responded. So I wasn't surprised (at his ability).”

Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening comment:
“Well I thought this was a typical Big 12 game in what the season will be about, and that it was hard fought. I thought both teams defended. We shot 37 percent and they shot 40 percent. I think both teams feel that they could have played better and done things better. With us, at the end of the day, transition defense is what hurt us. I thought we were much more aggressive defensively in the second half than we were in the first half. Oklahoma did what you are supposed to do and that is winning your home games. Coach Lon Kruger does a great job, and you see why everyone speaks so highly of him.”

On the play of Johnathan Motley and Taurean Prince:
“Well I think that you have to give a lot of credit to Oklahoma's defense. They really got after it and made shots tough. On film we missed a lot of layups, but there is a reason that you miss layups. The pressure they put on, the contest that they have. OU defensively was top 10 in the nation coming in and they showed it tonight.”

On Oklahoma's defense in the second half:
“They put a lid on the rim. I think that they just didn't give us any easy looks. Everything that normally…the second and third efforts to contest shots rather than the one more, getting a wide-open look; you just didn't get that this game and credit their effort.”

On Johnathan Motley's performance in his first Big 12 game:
“Johnathan was tremendous. He really played poised and within himself. He didn't turn the ball over and didn't force things. I thought the guys did a good job at looking for him and getting him the ball. He was definitely a bright spot. It was one of his best games and most efficient games. He has to rebound better, but we will show him on film.”

On playing against TaShawn Thomas:
“A lot of our players know him because he is from Killeen (Texas). A lot of respect for him and he is a great kid. You always want those guys to do well because he works hard and does the right thing. He was very good tonight. He definitely made things tough defensively, and offensively he was very efficient.”

On the play of OU's Buddy Hield:
“That is typical Buddy. He is a great player. He was a preseason All- American and he is that for a reason. The great thing with him is he does it on both sides of the court.”

On what makes Hield a great player:
“A lot of times you have athleticism or you have skill. Buddy has both. That makes him hard to guard. He plays hard and defends. It's that he is getting in on the offense, but also giving it up on the defensive end. Those things: just his skill, athleticism and motor.”

On the start of their conference schedule:
“It's not easy. It is the top-ranked conference in the country. I know people always say that, 'In my opinion it is the best.' No, statistically it is the best. The computers are unbiased. The last two years it has been the best in the country and for fans it is a great opportunity to watch great basketball.”

Baylor Freshman Forward Johnathan Motley
On if he felt confident during the game:
“Yes sir, I did. My teammates kept feeding me the ball and I was just making them better by giving them assists and creating things for my teammates.”

On his first Big 12 game:
“It is a little physical playing against a better OU team than (we have faced so far this year). It was a little physical but it is nothing we haven't prepared for, so it is routine.”

On keeping up with the scoring of TaShawn Thomas:
“They were executing our zone pretty good so it was kind of tough just getting out there quick enough.”

Baylor Junior Forward Taurean Prince
On not being able to stay consistent throughout the game:
“I do not think that is the case. We just need to make layups and make our free throws and we will be good. Get in the the gym and get some more jumpers up. Get consistency as jump shooters and we will be better.”

On going up against OU's balanced scoring:
“I wouldn't say it was difficult to go against. We are a pretty good team as well. We just missed some defensive assignments; some bonehead plays that we normally make. As far as their high-low passing, they were pretty good in the first half. We adjusted and took that away in the second half that caused some turnovers. We'll adjust to how they play our zone. We know the spots that are weak in our zone. We just need to get better at it.”

On Oklahoma being a difficult team to defend because they have shooters and an inside presence:
“It is really a give and take. You have to give something in order to be good against them. We were giving up 2's so we wouldn't let them beat us with 3's. That was our game plan. As far as the 2's go, we weren't really mad about that, we were trying to limit their 3's; which we did a poor job of. Just like the boneheaded plays I was talking about, we need to do better as far as closing out and playing defense on the perimeter.”