On the team’s physicality:
“I think we are physical. We have a game plan, and we have to execute it on both ends. We know that it is going to be a hard-fought game, and rebounding is going to be a part of it. We have to do a better job of not fouling. They do a great job of getting to the free-throw line. I expect both teams to play hard, and I think we are both physical teams.”
On who was more physical in Lexington:
“I think they were more physical. There is no doubt about that. Our guys know that, and we just have to play harder than we have played. I think everyone knows that.”
On how tough the back half of their schedule was:
“You expect that this time of year. You look at your league play, and there are no easy games. I do not care if a team has not won a league game; teams keep getting better. Especially when you are in a league where there are terrific coaches and players that work hard. You truly expect down the stretch that you are going to be in some close games. The fact of the matter is, those games we won by good margins at the beginning of the year, we were not expecting that. Some of that had to do with us having an experienced team coming back. Right now, I think our guys know that every game we are going to be in are going to be like the other night.”
On the team’s defensive play lately:
“We have gotten better, and the other night, I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We really were able to keep ourselves in good rebounding position. There were some games where we got too spread out to do that.”
On previewing Kentucky:
“They have some depth, and when they lose a player, someone steps up. We saw that first hand at LSU. That is what you expect regardless of who you play. They would not be where they are if they were a one-man team. I think P.J. Washington brings the physicality they want, and that is probably why they recruited him.”
On the keys to the Vols’ offense:
“As long as you take good shots and give yourself a good chance of rebounding the ball. We guarded Ole Miss really well the other night, and they made some shots from way out there. You have to just pat them on the butt and say, ‘great shot.’ Shooting is a big part of this, but you want to make sure you get high-percentage shots.”
On closing out the end of the regular season:
“It has been a long year in a lot of ways with the notoriety that these guys have brought to the program. You want them to enjoy it, and they came back the next day and got back to work. You have to enjoy it; that is what you do it for. They have handled it pretty well to end the season, but they still know that we have work to do.”
On home-court advantage:
“It does not mean anything if you do not come out and do your job. When we go on the road, we think that we can win in any building. I think that they have respect for their opponents and know they are coming in thinking the same thing. We just have to play good, solid basketball.”
On Jordan Bone:
“I would like to see him get it back. He tested positive for the flu a few days before the LSU game. I just want to see him finish it strong so he can look back on it and be proud about it. He should, because he has had a lot to do with this.”
On Lamonte Turner’s play recently:
“Every shot he took came within the offense. When you go back and look at the shots he took, our guys had good board coverage if it was missed. It made Breein Tyree have to defend. Lamonte did a good job of staying within himself.”
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