Jan. 17, 2001

Recap| Box Score| Notes

Maryland Coach Gary Williams

(on the victory)
"I thought both teams worked really hard to win that game. I never thought that game was over at all in the second half. For us it was really important because Wake is a very good basketball team and they play very hard. I'm not sure we could have won that game in November or early December. That was a game we needed because it proved we could play with a physical team that rebounds well and would not give up anything easy on the defensive end. I told our guys I was proud of the way we went to war tonight. It was strong out there. That was a great college basketball game."

(on the Terps)
"I thought Juan Dixon did a great job of getting looks. Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas especially really found him when he was open. Terence Morris and Lonny Baxter really came through for us. Our so-called `big three' guys really came through in a tough game. We had some guys give some great performances."

(on Tahj Holden)
"Tahj Holden had practiced twice, once for only half the practice, and I thought I would put him in at the end of the first half for about 1:30, but we got in some big foul trouble in the second half and came in and battled some pretty tough people without obviously being in great condition. It was good to have ol' Tahj back, and it's his birthday, too. That was my birthday present to him - I made him play in the second half."

(on Chris Wilcox)
"Chris Wilcox saw how difficult it is to play against a very good player (Darius Songaila). It was a great experience, he did make a great play with a blocked shot in the first half. It was nice for us to use 10 players tonight, and hopefully our bench will continue to be there."

(on physical play of Terps)
"We talked about how people didn't feel we were a very physical team or a rebounding team. I think that came from how we played in Maui. It's tough to lose that rap. We had to do what we did tonight. Hopefully we will get some respect in terms of our ability to rebound."

Wake Forest Coach Dave Odom
(on playing against Maryland's Big Three)
"We came knowing that their three players, Dixon, Morris and Baxter, were three we had to deal with defensively and obviously we did not do a good job with any of those guys. Still, I think it is remarkable that we were able to hang in there and make a run at it."

(on the emotion of tonight's game)
"It was a difficult game to play and there was a lot of emotion involved on both sides. Obviously, our team did not handle the emotion of the moment very well at all. As a matter of fact, I think we failed miserably in that department. It is something we have been talking about and we could see it coming. Obviously, we have to take a different approach."

(on tonight's game)
"It was a tough game. It was tough game to referee, a tough game to coach, a tough game to play and probably it was a tough game to watch to be honest about it. Maryland is a good basketball team and they played very well when they had to."