Oregon State Post-Game Quotes
January 12, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Arizona 81, Oregon State 73 (OT)
January 12, 2012
McKale Center
Tucson, Ariz.
Head Coach Craig Robinson
On playing back-to-back overtime games...
"Well, the shame of it is that we play that hard to get back in the game and then kind of not hold your cool enough to finish it out. That is what was disappointing to me. We didn't even play our best game and we were right there with them. But this is where we are at this stage of our development. We have to figure out how to win these types of games. The question is how are we going to do that and that's up to me to figure out; to get these guys to the next level, the next phase."
On the possibility of frustration leading to the near brawl at the end of the game...
"Probably. But that is the mark of a team that's making that culture change. You don't get frustrated and let it ruin the situation for you."
On whether Starks' three-pointer at the end of regulation looked good...
"I'm standing on the side of it. I thought it had a chance to go in because he made his last couple. I don't even know if it was a three or a two. It was just a shot that looked like it could go in. So if that shot goes in you win the game and don't have overtime."
On Starks scoring 10 straight points at the end of regulation...
"He really just started playing like he normally does. Unfortunately, it was like his first game where he didn't really play well for us for the entire game. And that's going to happen. We had other people pick us up until he got ready. So that was a beautiful part about it is that we had other guys pick up the slack and keep the game close while we waited for him to get on track."
On Arizona's three-point shooting in the game...
"They went nuts. A couple of those shots we were right there on them. A couple of them were wide open. But you have to take your hat off to them. They haven't been shooting real well and we knew they could do that. That's why we were concerned about getting on them."
On Jared driving to the basket in the second half...
"Sometimes when you're away from home, the best way to get going is to try and get something going to the basket so you can either make an easier shot or get fouled."
On feeling like the Beavers had the momentum going into overtime...
"I wasn't thinking along those lines. I was thinking that when you're on the road and you're not playing your best game, you're lucky to be in overtime. That is what I was thinking."
On being able to stay in the game despite not playing the best basketball...
"I think without sort of being immodest it's clear that this is a different team and a different situation."
Sophomore guard Ahmad Starks
On his scoring outburst at the end of regulation...
"I was able to get the basketball and make good shots against the defense. I realized that I needed to make big shots down the stretch because we were down. That is something that my teammates and I strive for and I was able to do it."
On the game going to overtime...
"Being on the road and playing against Arizona, I had high expectations. We went from having the lead and then to overtime. Arizona is a different team with different mentalities. My teammates and I are still learning. We realized that Arizona had more energy from the jump in overtime."
Junior guard Jared Cunningham
On whether Ahmad's final shot in regulation looked good...
"From my point of view, it looked good. It went in and came back out. Sometimes you can't live on those types of end-of-game plays; you have to seal it earlier in the game."
On driving to the basket in the second half...
"I was just attacking the basketball because of the foul situation. I felt like I could get to the foul line and that's what I did."
