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Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright

Wright's Opening Remarks...

What a tough game. Coming out and making the start we did, hitting the threes and getting the lead was big. We hung on in the second even though they outplayed us. It was not going to easy that team is tough and they are not going to quit. We have to get a little better at finishing but overall we had a good game.

Wright on how tough is it to play with a 20-point lead...

It really is hard. Having older guys like our two seniors and our three juniors helps. A younger team will relax a little bit. We are good at it but we can still get better.

Wright on three pointers in the first half...

That surprised me a little bit. We had great ball movement; guys really made the extra pass and were stepping into the shots with great timing. It is something we work on and tonight was probably the best we have done it in terms of stepping into the shot with good timing. When you do that, everyone is going to make good shots it all comes down to timing.

Wright on difficulty getting the ball into the post...

That was definitely part of their game plan, keeping it away from Ochefu and Jayvaughn . They did a great job of it. We got threes because of it but we really did struggle getting the ball inside. When we were missing three in the second half, that was our plan (to get the ball into the post) but we just couldn't get it in there.

Wright on ball movement and what comes from it....

We have good shooters; just sometimes we aren't taking the right shots. I think that is what we have been doing really well since the St. John's game. We are making the extra pass and getting wide open shots. If good shooters get wide open shots they are going to have high percentages.

Wright on Matt Stainbrook of Xavier...

We tried to keep a fresh body on him at all times and you have to credit his stamina. We had Pinkston and Ochefu switching back and forth on him all night trying to keep a fresh body on him and he kept battling. When we came across and gave help and he didn't get the ball he would wait on the weak side and get the offensive rebound. He did a good job, he is a tough cover.

Wright on Hart's OFF rebounds talent...

He is one of the best offensive rebounders I have ever coached. That is something that comes from the heart. We teach rebounding but to do it like he does that takes heart and desire. He has incredible tenacity and what we do rebounding wise he understands but what he does he create out of pure tenacity.

Wright on free throw shooting...

We probably work on free throw shooting more than any other team in the country. I have said it a thousand times. We never worry about missing them because we put in as much work as we possibly can on them. If we are missing them, we cannot do anymore so we never get on the guys for that and we never count that. Like the Seton Hall loss, we never count that as the reason. All you can do is put the most amount of time you can into it and then accept the results.

Wright on upcoming game against Penn...

It is one of the most historical arenas in our country. I don't think our guys have any idea what that is going to be like yet. We will practice there and we will take them on our little yearly tour of the Palestra but it will be a hell of an environment on the road. It will be a tough game ââ'¬Â¦ Winning at Penn will be really great.

Villanova Student-Athletes

Dylan Ennis on breaking out of shooting slump...

Nothing changed; coaches tell us to keep at it and keep shooting. We go out and practice it. We don't think of it as a slump, it's just the next shot. My teammates did a great job; tonight it could've been anybody. We made shots tonight.

Dylan Ennis on team making great shots...

I've think we've just stuck to what we do well. We catch and shoot; we have great shooters. We were patient today and we were getting open looks. I think we were very unselfish and when we play like that, we can hit as many shots as we need to.

Josh Hart on his ability to get rebounds...

I play with heart. I think just trying to beat my man to wherever it is or just trying to read it; whether it's a bounce off the ground or off the rim. I was pretty good at it in high school. It's all fundamentals. I go get the ball no matter what and try to put in the effort to be the first one there. It's something I grew up on. The rebounding techniques are something that the coaching staff has instilled on us.

Josh Hart on what team was thinking when the game grew closer towards the end...

We just kept doing what we do. We have a great team. They were good too, have to give them credit, they were making shots. They were making good plays. We knew that if we stuck to our game, than we would be successful no matter what the score was going to be.

Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack

Mack's opening statementââ'¬Â¦

You know, a lot of times, you sit behind this microphone and you lament about your own team. You say, "We didn't do this tonight, we didn't do that." But I am going to be very, very honest and just tell you that Villanova is a better team right now. They've got juniors and seniors; they are terrific. I think Jay Wright's got, not to put any pressure, a Final Four quality team. They are loaded at every position. They are experienced at every position. They're selfless. The ball doesn't miss too much from the three-point line, especially early on. I don't know if our team wasn't ready to play, but to that level, to the level we saw early on, I think it was a little eye opening for a few guys. You can watch it on film. You can show the kind of range that a guy like [Darrun] Hilliard has or the pace that [Ryan] Arcidiacono plays with, the improvement that [Daniel] Ochefu's made. You can shows those guys, but it's another thing to experience it on the floor. We started three freshmen, probably wasn't the most conducive for us, could have gone with a more experienced group. But we've got our own struggles that we've got to get through. I was proud that our team fought and continued to fight in the second half; didn't cash it in. There aren't too many teams, if any, that are going to come into this building and get a win. So we move forward. In this league, you have to have a quick ability to erase; short-term memory and press forward for Marquette for us.

Mack on freshmen J.P. Macura and Larry Austin Jr. making the starting rotationââ'¬Â¦

We felt that when we left Hinkle Field House on Saturday, that our effort in the last seven or eight minutes, the desire to win, wasn't where it needed to be. And that was my fault as a coach. If I'm continuing to play guys that aren't giving the effort that is needed, the toughness that is needed down the stretch to win a close game like that, that's on me. And so we wiped the slate clean and told the guys that the next couple days of practice: don't care what your year is, don't care what your name is, where you come from, what your stats look like. We are going to start the five hardest playing guys. And so we didn't necessarily have the lineup that works best for us offensively. You have two point guards in there. But that's taking away from Villanova. They are good.

Mack on Remy Abell finding his way in the lineup after Saturday at Butlerââ'¬Â¦

Remy just has to, like I said early when we wiped the slate clean. When we went A to Z on the hardest workers and the most spirited guys in practice. That's just sort of where he fell to. Again, it's coming upon him and everybody else that if you want to play, nothing is given. And Remy knows that. He does have to get better in our system defensively.