Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. New Mexico Lobos
December 29, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2010
Game quotes
New Mexico Head Coach Steve Alford
On how New Mexico played against Texas Tech - "Well, I didn't like our start and I've got to give Texas Tech a lot of credit because the staff had them ready. We obviously did a poor job of getting our guys ready and they came out with much more intensity than we did. Not a lot of teams have done that to us and we take a lot of pride in that, but Tech definitely was more aggressive than we were and played with urgency. We needed to get smacked in the face so we could wake ourselves up. I think we were down, I don't know, 14-7, somewhere around there and I thought from then on we made it a battle and we started the second half the way we wanted to start, and we started finishing some things inside. I thought it was crucial that we showed some aggressiveness getting to the free throw line. I didn't think we finished particularly well and we still need to work on some spacing and we have a lot of work we need to do. The thing I'm most proud of is through some difficult stretches we are 11-2 we've been able to do some good things."
On the relationship he has with the Knight family - "I have so much appreciation for what Coach Knight (Bob) has done for me. I had dinner with Coach Knight, Karen, Pat, and Tim last night. Just being able to have that friendship after playing for him, and now being a mentor, and just as he's proud of Pat I hope he's proud of me as a former player. I want him to be proud of how our teams play. This was a hard fought basketball game and I thought both teams wanted it. It was not a high turnover game and it was hard to make shots because both teams really guarded each other well and it really just came down to the last 10 seconds, and unfortunately in the last 10 seconds of a tight game someone loses and someone wins, and we made one more play. I thought both teams played extremely hard, and I just appreciate the relationship I have with the entire Knight family. They have been tremendous to me and my family throughout my career and that means more to me than anything."
Texas Tech
On the play of Tech at the beginning of the second half - "Well, basically we started off flat and we didn't have the energy that we had in the first half. New Mexico started off on their run we picked up our energy a little too late." On filling in as a point guard - "The coaches always told me that they didn't want me to be just a one dimensional player so over the summer I stayed both sessions of summer school and just worked on my ball handling and my IQ of how to play the point guard role."
On having to be more of a leader playing the point guard position - "Knowing that John (Roberson) wasn't going to play today, everybody was little down. Coach called me in and told me I was going to have to change up my position and be a leader vocally and lead by example, so that's what I did."
On the rivalry between Tech and New Mexico - "Going into New Mexico last year and getting beat by 18 or 20 points leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, so that was our motivation but we came up short."
On moving forward after a tough loss - "It's very tough and losing our first home game to TCU kind of put us in a downhill frame. Obviously, you want to protect home court and losing today, it was just very tough. But, the most important thing is we have to keep working hard because although the non-conference schedule counts we have to get ready for the Big 12."
On Tech's defensive play - "Well, we gave up 61 points and as a team our goal is to only give up 68 points. We just didn't do enough on offense tonight. As a team, what we wanted to do was to play hard defense and get in the passing lanes. But at the end of the night, we just came up short."
Texas Tech Head Coach Pat Knight
On the atmosphere tonight's game - "I appreciate all the fans showing up tonight! I thought the crowd was great - especially since it's during the school break and the holidays. I just want to thank them for coming out. I do not want these fans to give up on my boys because the team that played tonight has a chance to win games. These kids really appreciate and deserve this type of crowd night in and night out."
On Tech's play during the second half - "In the second half we just got cold and took some quick jump shots. Then we started moving the ball again, getting stops, and making easier buckets. Our missed free throws hurt us and we got off to a slow start. I thought we just got in a hurry and New Mexico took a shot at us. However, we came back as we started moving the ball and made some stops. I thought the defense played well. I also thought the offense played well and we just went a little cold. But our defense kept us in it."
On the last shot to win the game -"The main thing is you have to get it in the basket. We didn't want to jack up a shot. Who ever got the ball was supposed to put their head down and drive to the basket and if necessary, we try to get a tip. You'd like to set something up but that takes too much time and then you might not get a tip. The last possession worked out perfectly and he (Singletary) did a great job doing exactly what we wanted to do. It just didn't go in."
