Coach Stan Heath
On the game...
It's too bad that somebody had to lose that game, I think that both teams just battled and fought and it was a well played college basketball game. That's BIG EAST basketball, it comes down to those possessions and I am really proud of the fact that our guys, when we were down big, kept battling and fighting and kept digging into that lead and cutting it down. I really thought that when we tied it up  that we would get that big stop and unfortunately it didn't happen that way. I didn't see the call, whether it was a foul or not, I just hate that it had to be settled that way, but it is what it is. Unfortunately that is a play that we execute in practice and we are at least able to get a catch or a touch. I think most of that was just fatigue. Those guys gave their hearts out there and towards the end they were just operating on fumes we just weren't able to execute at that end.
 
On Harangody...
He is fun to watch and he is a great player. You can just tell every year, this is my third year of seeing him, and every year he has added to his game. He is making those threes and he moves pretty well without the ball and he is able to drive the ball along with his post game. He is a calming influence with the other guys and they know when they need to make something happen he can make the play and bail them out. What a great college player and every time we don't play him, I am a fan of his for sure.  
 
To pick your poison, and I would much prefer him away from the basket than around the basket.  I would much prefer him to be a guy who is going to take those shots, even though I know he can make them. Especially when we are short on the front line with getting our guys up and getting fouls. 
 
We decided in the game that if we could do a great job on the other guys and shut them down and maybe allow Harangody 25 or 30 that we could have a chance to win.  We didn't expect that he would get 36.
 
On the final play of the game...
We were trying to get a lot of movement to throw the ball long.  We had two looks and we were hoping that one of those two guys would be open. We actually had a third look but we never got to that one.  It's something that we work on, and we have made the shot in practice. Unfortunately I think that we were just so tired and so exhausted from fighting our way back, that Chris, who is a terrific passer, just let the ball get away from him and it is what it is.  He is the heart and soul of our team. 
 
On defense in the second half...
I think that our defense really picked up, for some reason I don't know if we were trying to conserve energy or what, but the pressure let down in the first five or six minutes of the second half and then once our guys got down there they knew that it was either one way or the other.  We knew that we either had to turn it on or it would be over.  I give them a lot of credit for knowing that they needed to turn it on and we gave ourselves a chance to win and that's what you want your team to do. 
 
On Toaralyn...
His last two BIG EAST games have been his two best games of the year.  He is making a lot of progress.  We went into the game thinking that he would be our best match up against Harangody and I thought he was.  As crazy as it sounds, we gave up 36 points to him, but I thought he did a great job.  He battled him and blocked his shot made him work by boxing him out.
 
On Dominique...
I just think that Dominique is a special athlete, he is a guy who just never gets tired and I still think that if he were able to get a five minute rest during the game it would make him even more effective, especially moving without the ball and putting on the defensive pressure.  He is a big time guy and he makes a lot of things happen out there.  He is carrying a big load with Gilchrist out and he has been doing that since his freshman year.  It has gotten to the point now that all of us just expect him to do it and he does.  



Dominique Jones, USF, Guard
Were you surprised by the last late whistle?
"Yeah I was surprised by the whistle. I didn't think they would let the game end like that but they said we fouled them, so they gave it to them. I think that was a bad way to end the game. It is what it is, but we just have to move on."

What were you guys doing different on the rally after they went up by 13?
"We just made them take hard shots and we pushed the ball. We made a couple shots ourselves and we just kept playing. We understand that they only have six to seven people who play as well, so we just knew we had to keep playing. We felt like we were the better in shape team so we just kept playing."

Do you feel the team was playing better when you were operating at a faster pace?
"Yeah I feel like everyone follows me. If I play a bad game then the chances of us winning are very low. I feel like I have to make sure that I am on top of my game to perform at a high level every night so my teammates can have the confidence to follow me to perform as well."

You guys have had close calls in BIG EAST games before and you had another one tonight. Do you take anything away from it?
"You can always think of possessions that you could have made a little better out there and things you could have done. That is all the game though, and it just comes down to who can make plays. Harangody made some tough plays. We had a freshman guarding him. Toarlyn played him hard, but Harangody made some tough plays and that made the difference."

Mike Brey, ND, Head Coach
Opening statement…
Just another Big East game. It was a heck of a game, and I am proud of our group as we are trying to develop an identity especially on the road because you know, because when Jones dunks and transitions, it doesn't look good on us getting out of here. I thought we made some big plays and some big free throws to escape with a win. We executed there at the end to get Luke [Harangody] to let the ball in the right place and then we defended that out of bounds pretty well. We'll take them any way we can get them, initially especially because we are on the road. I'm very impressed with them and they aren't at full strength, and we are going to see them when they are at full strength. They're tough to guard at times, and we had a hard time guarding them at times.

On the run by USF in the second half…
You know what, I think they defended us better. We had Tory [Jackson] on Jones who was our best match up. We couldn't do much with Jones. I thought about putting someone else on him, but I just felt we are going to win or lose the game with Tory. I never felt we were going to win by 20 down here. When we were up by 13, I was hoping we could hold them off and it wouldn't be one, but I think you just have to be ready for runs. I thought their defense improved, they really locked into us when we were up 13.

On the final play…
Well you know we run that set a lot, we ran it in the opening half against Connecticut four up. We try and get Ben [Hansborough] and Harangody on the side and if Ben catches it then it's a ball screening situation. They took that away, Jones really contested him, Tory did a good job of getting Luke a touch at the elbow, and when we do get him a touch there, we clear the whole side. We wanted him to go and make a play and he did, he made a heck of a play and drew a foul and you know you have your best player. You are going to win or lose the game with you best player with his hands on the ball.