Postgame Quotes
Murray State at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tenn. - McKenzie Arena
Dec. 12, 2010

Head coach John Shulman
Opening Statement:
"They have a good basketball. We had a good basketball team for 20 minutes. We were battling and fought in the second half. We came out and were dead (in the first half). They sliced us and diced us. You cannot get down 19 to a NCAA tournament team. They have a really good team. I was encouraged with our fight in the second half, but one of the keys to being a successful team is that you have to fight for 40. We did not fight for 40."

On the matchup against Murray State:
"We cut a 19 point lead to four. I thought we kind of pinned our ears back and competed in the second half. This is why you do not like to play a whole lot of games during exam week. We just came out flat. They came out and executed fantastically. I was encouraged with our fight and execution in the second half. They have a really good team. Nothing phases those guards. They got fantastic guards. They don't get phased, you cut it to four and they still aren't phased. They have been through the war. I was encouraged in the second half on how we stacked up. I was discouraged about how we came out and played. It is interesting that the same guys that played in the second half, played in the first. I do not know if we thought we were kings because of last weekend in beating App and Western. If we can learn and go back to work, then this is going to help us preparing for Elon. I really have their attention now and we just have to get better defensively."

On the difference defensively in the second half:
"One was probably panic and urgency. We changed a little bit during halftime in how we were guarding a few different things. We cut it to four and at the end of the shot clock. We were really close to getting the final stop and Big D gambled as the ball came in and they scored. We are getting close, but close does not beat Murray State. You give them credit. Close does not beat really good teams. Nothing has been easy for us and our opponents have been very good, which in turn will make us better down the road. I am disappointed in our first half, but I still believe that we have a good team. We just have to put 40 together and hopefully this will help us for Friday."

On bringing in a top mid-major each season:
"Murray State just beat Stanford and they almost beat Butler (last year) and they lost two guys. They have the same guards that were up on Butler in the last three minutes. This helps us. It does not help us on a Saturday afternoon and it does not make me feel good at this moment, but in the long run this is going to help us. The Austin Peay and Jackson State games are going to help us. Nothing has hurt us to this point. Let's see if we can get better on Monday thru Thursday and see if we can go on the road and do something that we need to do in order to have a chance to win the league."

On the run the team went on to cut the lead to four:
"We played in a panic offensively in the first half. They are not so different than Samford, but they just don't play the same offense. You are not going to get beat on a back cut, but you are going to get lulled to sleep. It is frustrating because you guard and guard and guard. We want to play fast, but you can't really play fast against them because all you end up doing is playing defense the entire night. I thought we got a better flow offensively in the second half. We had our opportunities and fought. I said to our kids that this is a statement game. Where are we? I said after the first half, forget that because this is a statement half. Are we going to roll over or are we going to battle? We came out good in the second half and could not get anything going. They would go back up 17 or 18. We could have died, but didn't by cutting it to four and having a chance to win the basketball game after laying an egg in the first half. I am disappointed, but not discouraged."

On Murray State's offense:
"We got lulled to sleep with their offense. They use a lot of clock, and on their attack we got stuck watching. In the second half, we became more aggressive and made them do things that we wanted them to do."

On tough schedule:
"I didn't vote anybody as being an easy game. When I saw our schedule I saw that we had some tough games that would have us ready for conference."

Junior Omar Wattad
On team's play:
"We have to come out and bring it for two halves of basketball. It was clear as day that this was a tale of two halves of basketball for us. We can't get punched in the mouth like that immediately. To beat a team like Murray (State) you can't do that."

On what the team learned:
"Chattanooga basketball has a lot of fight. To be down 19, 20 points in the first half, it was positivity and we kept fighting. Another lesson is that you can't beat a team like that and not play 40 minutes of basketball. We played 20 minutes and got beat by eight. All the credit goes to Murray (State), but we got to bring it and we didn't in the first half."

On offensive flow:
"After the first three or four games I was in the flow. After the Western Carolina game I got my mindset where they were denying me a lot more. I can't rely on spotting up, so I got my mindset to be more aggressive. Offensively, I am fine, we are fine."

On play after Shulman's technical:
"I think it definitely made us realize how much coach is fighting for us, and made us fight more for him. I don't think that it should take the coach to get a technical for a team to bring it. That shouldn't be the case."

Murray State Head Coach Bill Kennedy
On winning at Chattanooga:
"I really feel fortunate to come here and get a win. Thought Chattanooga was playing really well, and they are a good team. To come here and set the tone in the first half and win with our defense was huge for us."

On difference of play in the second half:
"We started fouling to much. In the second half it was eight to one in fouls at one point. We also didn't adjust to how they were calling fouls. Offensively we missed some shots that we made in the first half. They did a better job of driving the ball and getting it inside."

On playing another Mid-Major team:
"We both have hard times in scheduling and getting home games. It is the best of both worlds with us getting a home game last year, and them (Chattanooga) getting a home game this year. We haven't had a home game since November 20. It is a beast of being a Mid-Major, no one wants to come to Murray, Kentucky, and it sounds like Chattanooga has the same problem."

On second half play:
"One, we missed some easy shots. Two, Chattanooga did a better job of defending us. We didn't some easy baskets in transition. The game was slowed down by fouls, and we didn't seem to get into a rhythm."

On defending Keegan Bell
"He is the key to their team. He played 39 minutes, and we wanted to throw a lot of different guys at him. He gets in the lane and creates offense for them. We were able to keep him to five assists, and he had been averaging around nine."