Feb. 2, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Notes | AP Photo Gallery 
Villanova head coach Jay Wright...
Villanova always seems to find good matchups in games: I think so. I think there comes a point in each game there is going to be a combination that fits against each opponent. We had a run there with TK and Isaiah Armwood, Scottie and Stokes and Reggie. That group went on a great run and got some stops and its usually the defensive end for us. They are a really good offensive team. Hazell is amazing, I know I don't have to tell you that. That was just an incredible performance and it was not our game plan to let him get his and try to stop the other guys, that was not our game plan we were trying to stop him.
Do you always feel your team will find a way to pull through? We do. We just feel like if we keep grinding and keep grinding- it doesn't have to be pretty- and some way... Tonight we did a great job on the offensive glass. We have the ability with some lineups to be really good on the offensive glass. With some lineups we're not. Tonight we did a good job getting ourselves extra possessions.
On playing after so much time off: We had a good, pure day and a half off. No rehab, no nothing. Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and I could really tell Sunday when they came back to practice they were refreshed. I thought it was good for them mentally. I didn't think we played poorly, I really think Seton Hall is a good team. Because we're winning some games- and we talk to our team about this- you can't expect to come in and blow people out in this league. These guys are good and they've beaten some good teams. I think we came ready to play. They hit some tough shots and they were playing well. The beginning of the second half I thought we came out ready. We ran some great cuts. We tried to double Hazell and they slipped it and got a layup. They're really good. I thought we grinded it out.
On Scottie's 2,000 points and what it means: He is an amazing player. He has impacted all of us, he's impacted me as a coach, he's impacted all of his teammates, this basketball program, this university. He is an amazing guy. I know he doesn't want to talk about it. I know his focus is on us getting better everyday. We'll have the rest of our lives to sit back and talk about it and we will, but right now, he and I and his teammates want to focus on every day getting better.
On whether No. 2 ranking impacts them: I think we're getting used to it. I don't think it matters what we are ranked because we're playing BIG EAST games and these guys know who is in first place in the BIG EAST. I think that means a lot more to anybody we play than what we're ranked. It might mean more to fans, but to players, we all know this because when we're in the league we know who is above us. We know when you're playing teams that have good records in the league I think that is the biggest challenge that we're finding. Seton Hall comes in here, they aren't intimidated. They know all of these guys, they are coming at us. They played a great game.
On next two games and being careful not to look ahead: These guys are 18-22. You always worry about what is going around them and what people are talking to them. We really rely on Scottie, I say this every time, but we do, so Scottie, Reggie, Stokes, Fisher and Antonio, guys that have been through it, we really rely on them. We don't talk about the future we talk about this game a lot. I love the leadership on this team. We could all be talking about is this a trap game, but when you have leaders like that... I wasn't disappointed in how we came out to play, I wasn't disappointed in how we started the second half. They are good. If we didn't come ready to play tonight, I think we're getting beat, but I think we came ready to play and we grinded it out.
Senior guard Scottie Reynolds...
On finding ways to win each game in some way. Does it calm you down? Yeah, I think that there comes a point in the game- I know this is going to sound corny, it's not corny to us- there's times in the summer where we are pushing and pushing and we live for the moments where we just push through it and open up a game. We really take pride in that. I think it started sometime around my sophomore year or going into my junior year. We take pride in that. If we have a chance to just close it out and just go to another level or if we feel like we don't know if we can do it, but do it anyway, it just makes it that much more special. When you have 13 guys doing that it is even more special.
Does No. 2 ranking make you a bigger target? The rankings are the rankings. We were ranked pre-season no. 1, so we've already had that target on our back. To have that no. 2 on our shoulders is something that we are used to. We know guys are going to bring it. We went to the Final Four last year we have a lot of reasons why people should come at us. We just have to go out there and concentrate on our goals and not lose sight of our principles.
On what 2,000 points means: Right now it doesn't mean anything. Compared to Kobe it's nothing, so I really don't even look at it right now.
Junior guard Corey Stokes...
On playing against Hazell: I was trying to not let him catch the ball. He is a great player. He shoots from anywhere and my teammates did a great job helping on him.
Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez...
Opening Statement: Obviously there is a reason that they are second in the country and won 11 in a row, or whatever it is. We did battle, we fought hard. I liked our effort. We just didn't make shots and it really hurt us. Villanova has a lot of weapons and they can really hurt you in a lot of ways. We were in the game 62-all with eight or nine minutes to go and Jeremy Hazell had 32, but he was the only guy scoring. We just couldn't get points from other areas. Jordan played his brains out, took three charges, played hard as heck. Eugene had a good floor game. Jeff and Herb were battling, we were battling. it was a blue collar, east coast type battle. Eventually they broke loose. I thought they broke loose because I thought we were so worried about Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds- they have so many weapons- and all of the sudden Corey Stokes hit two backbreaking threes and they are just a dangerous team that can explode and score in spurts. It was a game of runs and they went on that one run to wrestle control of the game and I thought that was the difference right there.
Is it tough where there is one guy who can turn on in any situation (Scottie Reynolds)?: You know in this league the people that have a real go-to guy- Jeremy is a go-to guy but we have to get Jeremy open. We have to set screens we have to find him in transition and get him open in out-of-bounds plays. We have to work really hard for Jeremy to be a go-to guy. When a guy like Dominic Jones from Florida can get to wherever he wants to get on the floor with the dribble or Scottie Reynolds because they are scoring point guards, they are go-to guys that can take the ball the length of the floor and then do something with it. It is hard to stop guys like that. That is probably one of the reasons he'll probable be player of the year in this conference. I'll be honest with you, if I had to vote I'd pick Scottie Reynolds. I think he is a winner. He finds ways to win games. He is just huge. He makes a lot of little plays that don't even end up on a stat sheet. Like you said, he picked it up, despite everything that Jordan and Keon are doing, he picked it up when they needed him. He made a difference. He is a great player.
