March 4, 2011

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

Miami Junior Forward Julian Mavunga
On preparing for Ohio: "We had short preparation, but we knew from the get go they have a high-octane offense and we had to do a good job of slowing them down. We know they have a great player in D.J. Cooper and a lot of it was stopping him. He's kind of like their engine. Being able to slow him down slowed the whole team down. They all feed off him. He's the one with the ball 90 percent of the time. Chris McHenry started on him early and Quinten Rollins came in there and did a wonderful job on him."

Comparing Miami's offensive success in the Ohio game to the previous game against Buffalo: "We just did a much better job of executing. We ran a little bit more. We did a little bit of what Ohio usually does, getting some easy baskets on fast breaks, and we had a few guards get in there for some offensive rebounds a few times. And we did a really good job of attacking the basket. We had really good energy tonight and we need to keep that going in the tournament next week."

Miami Senior Forward and Student Assistant Coach Antonio Ballard
On one of the keys to beating Ohio: "We talk about transition defense a lot. [Fast break opportunities] get Ohio going. We knew from the first time we played them that we definitely had to get back in transition and get every rebound we could to stop Ohio from getting fast breaks in transition."

Miami Senior Forward Nick Winbush
On his time at Miami: "I have no complaints. I've matured a lot in my time at Miami. I came in a little kid and I'm leaving as a man. Fighting through adversity has been a part of it. It's been a tough four years, but it's also been a great four years."

Miami Senior Forward Sean Mock
"It was great being out there with the guys. We go through so much in practice and it's tough sometimes, but it makes it all worthwhile in the end when you go out there and end your regular season career on a win. Now we're looking forward to going to Cleveland and getting three wins. We've been saying all season we want some rings."

On the impact Quinten Rollins brings to the team: "Q [Quinten Rollins] did such a great job on defense. I don't know if people really realize how good of a player he is. He's one of the best in the league at the guard position. He said he didn't want to let us down and came in the locker room today--we didn't know if he was going to play--and he was taped up. I told him `You're the man Q.' He's such a game changer. He did a great job today."

Miami Freshman Guard Quinten Rollins
On Miami's defense containing Ohio's high scoring offense: "It wasn't just me. It was a team defense. When I got beat a couple times, my teammates were there to help me. For the most part, I just wanted to keep him [D.J. Cooper] out in front. I knew if we stopped him, we were going to stop a lot of the things Ohio wanted to do."

On battling through injury: "I originally wasn't supposed to play today because of my foot, but I didn't want to let my seniors down. I know we still have the tournament, but I wanted to play this one [because it meant a lot]."

Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles
On the win against Ohio: "We were able to play some [good] defense tonight. I feel good when we do that. I don't feel so good when we're not guarding and just scoring. This year, we haven't been able to guard very well and this was the first game that we really did. Ohio is the best offensive team in the league, and they're well coached and they've got that point guard, [D.J.] Cooper, who is very good. I love watching him on video because he just knows how to play. We're never going to catch Tommy Freeman like he was tonight. He was 2-for-9. That will never happen again because he's too good of a shooter. I've very seldom seen him miss open looks."

On Miami's season to this point: "I want to congratulate our team. I know the season isn't over yet, but I think our guys have been resilient all year."

On Quinten Rollins' impact: "Quinten adds defense to our game. We need to get him to be more of an offensive presence, not necessarily shooting the ball, but just commanding the game from the point. He's a little bit too bashful right now. Our team feels good about Q. They feel safe with him because he's our best perimeter defender. He did a good job tonight."

Ohio Head Coach John Groce
"They showed great toughness and made a lot of plays. They played Wednesday night at Buffalo, then they came here tonight. I really admire their guys' toughness and play-making ability. We've been on a heck of run ourselves. We've played three games in six days, and they were three pretty emotionally-charged games with Kent, Akron and Miami."

"Obviously [Quinten] Rollins is a terrific point guard. I think he's a terrific defender and he really made D.J. [Cooper] work for everything. I certainly have a lot of respect for him."