Syracuse vs. Louisville Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim
(Opening Statement)
“It was an unbelievable defensive struggle tonight; both teams have difficult defenses to play against. They got a couple open looks they missed; we got a couple we missed. Usually it comes down to on offensive play. Dion (Waiters) had a couple of open looks on the drive and couldn’t finish; he made a defensive play at the end of the game. It probably should’ve ended that way because it was a defensive struggle the whole game. I’ve got to give their defense a lot of credit, their very difficult to play against. Their freshman (Chane Behanan) played very well. When (Peyton) Siva got in foul trouble, that hurt them a little bit, it was just a struggle for both teams offensively. You can either give the defenses credit or say it was a bad offensive game. We’re going to look on the bright side and say it was a real defensive struggle.”
(On Louisville’s defense)
“Well they play a matchup zone, we play a 2-3 zone and we match up very well. They matchup a lot and you have to really drive it and get in the lane. I told Scoop (Jardine) he was 50 percent the last two games, 100 percent last game and zero percent tonight. We’re fortunate enough to have three high quality guards; Brandon Triche had two big buckets. I thought we showed great perseverance to get the lead, they came back and took the lead right back, and Brandon made two plays we had to have to get back. We made a couple of defensive plays and were able to grab the lead. I think it’s always tough when you lose a lead like that and you go down five, it’s difficult at that stage. We’ve been in a bunch of close games this year and we’ve made plays we had to in those games.”
(On Louisville’s last possession)
“We were going to play (Kyle) Kuric the whole game; he’s averaging about 30 against us for his career. He’s not all-BIG EAST against us, he’s All-American. We forgot him one time and he made a 3; we were going to make sure we played him. I knew (Peyton) Siva was going to drive. We didn’t want the ball to get down to the baseline because when it got down there, the freshman (Chane Behanan) made some really good plays. Kris Joseph made the play at the end there and was able to come up with the ball.”
(On transition offense)
“We’d like to run, but it’s difficult – we’re not rebounding well enough. Everybody wants to get out and run, but you don’t get that to often when you play good teams.”
(On free throws)
“They were big, he (Fab Melo) made his first one. I wasn’t too optimistic on his last two. He’s becoming a shooter I guess, he’s been shooting the ball better lately.”
(On Brandon Triche)
“He’s a good player; he made some plays for us. He’s had 18 or 20 a few times this year. I have absolute confidence in him; it was obvious that Scoop (Jardine) wasn’t having a good offensive game, although he made some good passes. Brandon is a very good player and I have no hesitation to have him in there at any time.”
(On recent struggles against Louisville)
“Rick’s (Pitino) teams are very good against zone. He’s the best zone coach. He’s great at attacking zones and they’ve had really great shooters. I think (Preston) Knowles really hurt us, sometimes you don’t realize how valuable one guy might be and I thought he was very valuable against us. Seems like him and (Kyle) Kuric made big shots against us the last couple years. I thought our defense reacted a little better tonight than we had. They are very good at attacking zone defenses.”
(Opening Statement)
“It was an unbelievable defensive struggle tonight; both teams have difficult defenses to play against. They got a couple open looks they missed; we got a couple we missed. Usually it comes down to on offensive play. Dion (Waiters) had a couple of open looks on the drive and couldn’t finish; he made a defensive play at the end of the game. It probably should’ve ended that way because it was a defensive struggle the whole game. I’ve got to give their defense a lot of credit, their very difficult to play against. Their freshman (Chane Behanan) played very well. When (Peyton) Siva got in foul trouble, that hurt them a little bit, it was just a struggle for both teams offensively. You can either give the defenses credit or say it was a bad offensive game. We’re going to look on the bright side and say it was a real defensive struggle.”
(On Louisville’s defense)
“Well they play a matchup zone, we play a 2-3 zone and we match up very well. They matchup a lot and you have to really drive it and get in the lane. I told Scoop (Jardine) he was 50 percent the last two games, 100 percent last game and zero percent tonight. We’re fortunate enough to have three high quality guards; Brandon Triche had two big buckets. I thought we showed great perseverance to get the lead, they came back and took the lead right back, and Brandon made two plays we had to have to get back. We made a couple of defensive plays and were able to grab the lead. I think it’s always tough when you lose a lead like that and you go down five, it’s difficult at that stage. We’ve been in a bunch of close games this year and we’ve made plays we had to in those games.”
(On Louisville’s last possession)
“We were going to play (Kyle) Kuric the whole game; he’s averaging about 30 against us for his career. He’s not all-BIG EAST against us, he’s All-American. We forgot him one time and he made a 3; we were going to make sure we played him. I knew (Peyton) Siva was going to drive. We didn’t want the ball to get down to the baseline because when it got down there, the freshman (Chane Behanan) made some really good plays. Kris Joseph made the play at the end there and was able to come up with the ball.”
(On transition offense)
“We’d like to run, but it’s difficult – we’re not rebounding well enough. Everybody wants to get out and run, but you don’t get that to often when you play good teams.”
(On free throws)
“They were big, he (Fab Melo) made his first one. I wasn’t too optimistic on his last two. He’s becoming a shooter I guess, he’s been shooting the ball better lately.”
(On Brandon Triche)
“He’s a good player; he made some plays for us. He’s had 18 or 20 a few times this year. I have absolute confidence in him; it was obvious that Scoop (Jardine) wasn’t having a good offensive game, although he made some good passes. Brandon is a very good player and I have no hesitation to have him in there at any time.”
(On recent struggles against Louisville)
“Rick’s (Pitino) teams are very good against zone. He’s the best zone coach. He’s great at attacking zones and they’ve had really great shooters. I think (Preston) Knowles really hurt us, sometimes you don’t realize how valuable one guy might be and I thought he was very valuable against us. Seems like him and (Kyle) Kuric made big shots against us the last couple years. I thought our defense reacted a little better tonight than we had. They are very good at attacking zone defenses.”
