OU-Texas Postgame Quotes

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Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening comment:
“Well, it was a good basketball game. There was not much margin throughout. I thought Texas played really well. Our guys kept fighting, plugging, and trying to stay within reach in the second half. Texas had just a little bit of a step on us. Our guys kept working at it and made big plays down the stretch. It was a really good win because I think Texas is playing well. I thought they played great tonight. Their size, of course, was a big factor in the game. The plays their guys made down the stretch were big-time plays. They shared it a little bit. Each of them stepped up and made big buckets. Jordan (Woodard) made some big plays late there to get us over the margin. It was a good win. I'm proud of the guys.”

On the biggest thing that turned it around late in the game:
“Well, we made a couple of activity plays defensively that turned into layups. Then Jordan's 3, I think we were down six there and he made that one. I thought we had some good defensive stops there, rebounded, kept them to one shot. (Isaiah) Taylor is so quick and it's so hard to keep in front of him. I thought we had to work pretty hard doing that and he was still able to drive and kick for some 3s. Still, he's a good player and you expect good players to make good plays, and he was a handful.”

On if Ryan Spangler's basket out of the timeout late was the result of a set play:
“No. The set play they covered. Then, Jordan and Ryan just did a really good job. I would like to take credit for the set play but not at all. Jordan did a good job of maintaining his composure, I thought Ryan made a good cut, and then Jordan found him. He made a good finish over the big guy there. Just good instinctive movement and a big play.”

On how important it was for Dinjiyl Walker to get going:
“It was really big, really big. Like Buddy (Hield) said, their teammates do a really good job of promoting and encouraging. Dinjiyl and Frank (Booker), their attitudes are good about trying to stay aggressive and be ready when the moment comes. It was big tonight. I thought Dinjiyl played really well in the first half, as did Frank.”

On if there is something about Walker that allows him to play well against Texas:
“Well, not necessarily. When a player has a good game against someone he probably has a good state of mind going into the next one. I don't know that there is anything in particular other than that he did have a good game (in Austin in January). Maybe he was a little bit more upbeat and anxious for this one, too. It certainly wasn't because of matchups or anything we were doing. Dinjiyl just made good plays. He got in and hit a couple of 3s there early which really perked him up and that always helps.”

On if OU shot enough 3s:
“There was about 13 times where we would have rather shot a 3 than have it swatted back at us. You just have to keep attacking though. This group has attacked all year and like Tay (TaShawn Thomas) said, on his one (shots) he kind of pump faked a third time. I think he really only pump faked twice and got them blocked so he learned from that and made a big-time play. That extra pump fake finally got him a bucket.”

Junior Guard Buddy Hield
On blocking out his “poor shooting” performance to make the last two free throws:
“Coach (Lew) Hill just told me, 'Let's see what you're made of. No matter what, just play in the moment'. Coach (Kruger) gave me confidence and my players gave me confidence. I was able to knock down the shots. Even when I'm struggling, every shot I take I think I'm going to make it. I don't care how many I miss.”

On Dinjiyl Walker and Frank Booker scoring off the bench:
“That was big for us. We keep asking for bench production and keep talking to Dinjiyl and Frank. Frank has been doing a good job the past couple games. He has been stepping up and making shots and scoring points for us. Dinjiyl is doing that now. Hopefully that keeps their confidence up, because we are going to need that down the stretch.”

On winning a close game late in the season:
“These are the toughest games to win. We just have to fight. Texas is trying to get back in the fight and fight for the season. Coach did a great job of settling us down and no matter how many points we got down he just kept us together as a group. We just found a way to win. Jordan (Woodard) had some big buckets for us, and TaShawn (Thomas); Isaiah (Cousins) was deflecting balls and getting steals. It was a team effort. We just have to keep grinding and grinding until the last buzzer.”

Senior Forward TaShawn Thomas
On staying aggressive in the paint despite all the blocked shots by Texas:
“We knew they were going to block some shots, but Coach kept telling me to go up with two feet. If I went in there with one foot they were going to block it, and most of the time they did. He was just telling me to keep attacking, keep attacking. The blocks didn't really get to me.”

On if he could feel the momentum change when Woodard hit a 3-pointer late:
“I definitely felt the momentum go up. The crowd got into it and we all started jumping around and talking. Everybody was on their toes on defense. We started getting steals. Then Buddy got that steal and the dunk. That brought a lot of energy for everyone too. I feel like Jordan hitting that 3 started it and we just kept riding it.”

On pump faking an extra time on his late and-one layup:
“The coaches were telling me to pump fake and I was like, 'I am!' They kept getting it. On that last one I had it in my head that I was going to do at least one or two extra pump fakes. I was just happy I finally got that last one. It was a big one to tie the game, too.”

Sophomore Guard Jordan Woodard
On OU's improved defense down the stretch:
“We had to do a better job of keeping their guards out of the paint. They were making plays from there. We had to talk about it and make sure we forced long contested shots.”

On how difficult it was to get a shot off in the paint vs. Texas:
“It's very hard. They are long and aggressive, but none of us are scared to go in there. That's what we do every day, no matter who we are playing.”

On his big 3-pointer to cut Texas' lead to 3 with 3:13 to go:
“I saw Isaiah (Cousins) do a great job of drawing the defense. He got a lot of attention on that drive. I just tried to find an open space, catch it in rhythm and let it go.”

On if he thought about only having one field goal on the night before taking his late 3-pointer:
“No. When it comes down to the stretch like that you can't worry about that stuff. You just have to make plays for your teammates.”

Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes
On if it was defensive breakdowns down the stretch that cost them:
“Some of the turnovers were crucial turnovers. You look and they got 18 points off of turnovers defensively. We did a pretty good job the last four minutes. We did have two breakdowns. Offensively, we have to make plays. Again, we had some looks at it and that's part of it, but overall there were some good things. I just know that we've got a chance to be a really good team but we still have to get everybody playing to the ability that we know they can.”

On if he felt like his team played like they did early in the season until the last five minutes tonight:
“We can defend – our defense was good enough, certainly, to win the game. We know that our zone has been good to us all year, so that's part of it. But, offensively, we got six balls knocked out of our hands. Six balls. And two of those turnovers were Demarcus (Holland) charging – he's got to get that under control – but six times they just knocked the ball out of our hands and you can't do that.”

On protecting the rim early and OU's adjustments late in the game:
“(Myles) Turner was down on the ball screen – you look at what he had tonight. He had six blocks. Jon Holmes can do it too, but he didn't rotate over on the one play. I'm not sure they really ran a screen as much as they kind of slipped it and Myles didn't get over where he needed to be and gave [OU] a great run to the rim, which I'm not sure if anybody in there would have been able to block that one. That's a breakdown where when you're pushing it all left and you just can't get over there. And then the other, where he did get there, he didn't rotate over. But we've blocked shots all year. Again, offensively, 18 points off of turnovers is a lot of points to give up. Like I said, six times they just knocked it out of our hands.”

On if he is worried about this game hurting his team's confidence:
“No. I mean, [OU] is an outstanding team and we did a lot of good things tonight. We were close, but close doesn't get it done. Like I told our team, we did a lot of good things. Then we had a couple of turnovers at the wrong time. When you think about it, Isaiah (Taylor) got the ball taken away from him at half court when he was trying to not fall into the back court, which there he would be better off eating it. Then, Javan (Felix) drove in and [OU] knocked it out of his hands. That's how fine of a line it is in those situations. I thought that Jon (Holmes) rushed a 3, which he didn't have to do down that stretch. Even Myles (Turner) – those guys can knock down 3s but I think both of them at times have to slide in and shoot 12-to-15-foot jump shots.