Nov. 28, 2007

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening Statement
"I was really proud of our players and the effort they put out there. [Illinois] was an NCAA Tournament team last year and I fully expect them to be there again. We had something to prove. We had to prove that we could beat a good team and I think that was on our minds tonight coming into the game. We got the win with our defensive effort and our rebounding in the second half. We had some guys step up off the bench. Cliff Tucker did a great job offensively for us for a stretch. Jerome Burney gave us another big player, which we needed tonight against Illinois size. Bambale Osby coming off the bench certainly gave us a lift. When you have a pretty good player coming off the bench it can mean a lot to a team. So I was pretty happy with the way we played. It wasn't perfect, it never will be perfect. But tonight we grinded it out and we were the team we probably have to be this year to be successful."

On freshman center Braxton Dupree:
"He's a freshman and he's learning how to play. He'll have his peaks and valleys. All we've asked of Braxton since he came here is to work very hard. And I think he's starting to see results from his hard work. Our players aren't afraid to get him the ball when he's open."

On sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez:
"I think it's important that he understands that we can win with him shooting 2-for-14. He does a lot of good things on the court like getting the ball to Eric Hayes when he's open. And that's very valuable to us. He had seven rebounds tonight and it was very physical out there."

On Dupree's second consecutive start:
"Boom's been sick. And sometimes a player like Boom, because he's a senior, can watch the first few minutes and pick up some things, and then go play better than if he started the game. Braxton seemed comfortable starting against Lehigh when he had to. So we just kept it like we had against Lehigh. It worked well."

On team's three-point shooting:
"You have to shoot it when its there, but the right guys have to shoot it. You can't be taking bad threes because bad threes are long rebounds and the other team usually scores when you miss."

On building after tonight's win:
"It's hard to build on a win when people think you should win the game. Even if you play well, the players know you were supposed to win that game. We're a very good basketball program. We have a lot of pride. We went out there against Illinois and we believed could win the game. You can't win a game like that unless you believe you can win the game. We came out very confident tonight even though we hadn't beat a team as good as Illinois."

Maryland Sophomore Eric Hayes:
On scoring:
"I think it is definitely important for me to score a little more. Tonight was a big game for us and I wanted to step up and play well tonight. I was just trying to be aggressive and look for my shot. I am taking more shots, especially tonight."

On tonight's game:
"Everybody contributed tonight. The starters played well. Guys off the bench like Cliff, Jerome and Boom - they all came in and contributed right away. That is what you need to do in a game like this; have a good team effort."

On Vasquez:
"He is a great scorer but tonight he was not scoring and I definitely needed to pick up the slack for him. I was glad I could do that tonight."

Maryland Sophomore Greivis Vasquez:
On tonight's game:
"It does not have to be my day everyday, but like I have said before ... I just want to win, and tonight we won. I do what it takes. Sometimes I don't score that much, but I am happy and I just have to keep working hard."

On Hayes:
"Eric scoring was giving me confidence and energy. He is the kind of player who is never going to settle. He is under control and is such a good shooter. I think he did a great job by leading us tonight."

Maryland Senior James Gist:
On scoring:
"You are not going to be on offensively every night but the biggest thing for me and the biggest thing I think for Greivis is just to show up every game. If your shots are not falling, that does not mean that you do not have to play. That means you have to run the court."

On the team:
"We did well and it was team effort. I am proud of these guys. I have been saying all year that these guys can play hard and do it and it is just a matter of us going out and executing it."

On the BB&T Classic:
"I have not won a BB&T since the game my freshman year against George Mason. I am coming in to win that. We are playing VCU who beat Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament last year. They are a good team. We are going to have to work hard in practice the next few days to get ready for VCU."

Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
On today's game:
"Your focal point players, your guys that are on the media guide are supposed to carry you and they didn't do it tonight. We had chances down the stretch. We didn't quit and we talked about hanging in there and fighting ... We shot 29 threes and you can say they're open but we didn't make them. Maybe we've got to slow down shooting them. At the same time we got Shaun [Pruitt] 16 shots in the paint. But we've got to get some of that in-between game, some pull-up jumpers, and get to the free throw line. And when we do go to the basket we've got to finish."

On the Illini offense:
"I think going into the season the big question was `are we gonna make shots?' We didn't make shots today. Shooting 33 percent we still had a chance to win the game. If going down the stretch you make a stop and get a play, that's how you win against good teams at their place. You hang in there and hang in there and when you have a chance, you make plays. Last year that's what they did to us ... It's disappointing we didn't play better."

On starting point guard and Baltimore native Chester Frazier:
"You feel bad for Chester. He was so hyped up for tonight's game. He played hard and did a good job on [Greivis] Vasquez. But he had some costly turnovers and couldn't get a bucket. I don't care if he scores for us, really, but he didn't play as well as I'm sure he hoped. I'm sure he's been dreaming about this game since it came out on the schedule."

Illinois guard Trent Meacham
On making plays to win the game:
"It came down in the second half that they made more plays than us on the offensive end and the defensive end. It's tough because we came in here and did the things we do in practice and they score off some of the stuff that we've been doing for three days. That's tough, but we cut the lead to two with about a minute left and then we gave up an offensive rebound. That's huge right there."

Illinois guard Calvin Brock
On improving his offensive game:
"While you're out there on the court, you have to be a threat, because otherwise people are just going to pull off on you. I had to work on my offensive game and kind of show it a little bit. It's a tough challenge because we have so many young guys and we just have to fight through it and keep practicing hard."

Illinois forward Brian Randle
On the play of the veterans:
"It's really frustrating. We knew they were a good team, but we felt that they were beatable. I had a terrible game. Chester Frazier didn't play well and Shaun Pruitt came on a little later. It's up to the three of us to be an example. Not being able to do that is hard, especially against a team you think you can beat. "