Jan. 30, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

VILLANOVA, Pa. -

Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright

Opening Statement

"I thought we did a good job in the first half creating some offense off of our defense. In the second half we could not get stops. That is really the best way for us to create offense. They executed and I give their guards a lot of credit for controlling the game in the second half. Darius-Johnson Odom just makes all the right plays and the big plays. We couldn't get a stop to get out and get an easy basket. We got locked into the half court game and they were just better at it."

Q: What was your thinking as far as getting Mouphtaou [Yarou] back in there?

"He had two fouls in the first half. The type of rebounding in this game is more quickness to the ball because they are so quick. I felt like we needed to be quicker out there. It was a decision I was struggling with. Should we try to stay quick or try to go bigger and rebound? It was because they were getting him in pick and rolls. Their guards are so good at getting into the bigs. That is why we tried to go a little bit quicker."

Q: Were turnovers a concern of yours in this game?

"When you are a team that is struggling there is never one thing. It could be turnovers, not getting a couple rebounds, or not getting a couple stops. It is always a combination of little things and that is definitely one of them."

Q: {On the strategy and foul trouble}

"I felt that we would have a chance inside on the glass against their quickness. You either try to match them and go small, or try to play bigger and get the ball inside and beat them on the glass. That was our intention. Mouph taou and Kennedy both had two fouls quickly in the first half and then in the second half they both got four immediately. Maurice [Sutton] is more of a quickness guy so then we had to try and match them and play smaller. They are better at small ball than we are."

Q: What were your thoughts on Maurice Sutton?

"He was great. He played with a lot of energy. That is one of our things we try to pride our guys in. We have confidence in all of them. We just want them to be ready. I thought he was ready and did a great job."

Q: Do you have any concerns about shooting beyond the arc?

"Three-point shooting is a big part of this game. Making them is very important, but the second most important is the threat that you could make them. If you don't take them they are not going to play you at all, so you have to have a balance even though you aren't shooting well. It is a balance. That is the worst thing you can do to stop shooting threes. The other teams are smart. If they know you are not making threes than they are going to pack you in. You always have to have a threat."

Villanova Forward Dominic Cheek

Q: How were they able to take the momentum and lead away from you guys?

"I think Marquette is a more experienced team than us, but our journey is just going to continue. We just are going to keep getting better."

Q: How do you change those second half problems?

"Practice, watch film, and keep getting better. That is what we practice for."

Q: It has to be frustrating to not be able to translate your games into wins.

"It is frustrating, but as long me, my teammates and coaches know we are getting better then that is what counts."

Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams

Opening Statement

"I thought it was a very disjointed game. I thought there were a lot of variables that played into that, but I thought it was just very disjointed. I felt they played outstanding in the first half. They had nine offensive rebounds, a lot of points in transition and it was a parade going to the free-throw line. I think all of those things are hard to overcome, but I thought our guys were able to hang in there against all odds nearly on every single front. That is a big win. I think Villanova has played very well over the last two weeks. I think Pinkston [JayVaughn] has been playing really well off his layoff. I think their team has been playing with much more confidence so we are thankful."

Q: How critical was it for Junior [Cadougan] to guard Maalik [Wayns] well?

"He is the leading scorer in our league. I think he is a very hard matchup because he is great at gaining space, so you have to limit his space. We were playing ball screen coverage different throughout the game to change the pace. Any space that he has, he uses to his advantage. Even when you take away his space he may have created enough of angle or a lane to create an open shot for someone else. I thought Junior was outstanding defensively. It was probably the worst he played offensively, but he played outstanding defensively."