Feb. 14, 2009

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

On today's game:
"I thought we did a good job on both ends of the floor of playing like a team. The ball really moved offensively, especially in the second half. Defensively, that's probably the best we've played in the second half, playing away from the bench. It can be a little different defense, and we did a great job of just seeing where to help, where to double, things that we worked on this week in practice. It was great having that much time to prepare for a game, and we did a good job of executing."

On his players' performances today:
"Landon Milbourne - he's just done a tremendous job for us all year. Today he played 38 minutes against some really good players. The effort plays that Sean Mosley gives you throughout the course of the game, some of them go unnoticed because they're not stats. They don't show up on a stat sheet. They're just great plays. That's always there for us now, and that's been there on a pretty consistent basis. Of course, we had Eric Hayes and Adrian Bowie against some pretty good guards. They did a great job defensively and offensively for us. It was really a team effort. Greivis Vasquez had a great game. He played great when he was out there. I don't want to leave anyone out. Dino Gregory, he played 17 minutes of tough defense to stop players like Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney and A.D. Vassallo. They're really good players that come at you. It took a team to stop them."

On the team's mood today leading up to the game:
"I don't make players tight. We had won two out of three, and I think that is good momentum going into today's game. I think we just came out and played. This was a good team we played. Virginia Tech was 6-3 coming in here, so there was a lot of emotion in the locker room before the game, and if that translated into playing like we played, that's great. I thought Dave Neal gave us great senior leadership today, in terms of in the huddles and when Greivis (Vasquez) was in foul trouble, and especially when he fouled out. He kept us there. He was playing with a lot of young guys and he just kept them focused on the game."

On sophomore Cliff Tucker's increase in playing time:
"He gives you another athlete, a guy that's very quick in terms of getting to the ball and can make a play. In other words, if your offense breaks down and things aren't going well, all of a sudden there's Cliff coming out of the pack with the ball, and he's going to make something happen at the end of the court. Defensively, I can see it in him now that he's starting to take a challenge. He wanted to guard (A.D.) Vassallo a couple times out there down the stretch. Cliff has really made some great steps, and he is just a sophomore. He's really going to be an important part of our program for the next couple years."

Maryland Forward Landon Milbourne

On his dunk late in the second half that put Maryland up by 10 points:
"It really sparked our team. I looked around and saw my teammates were jumping around, and the crowd really god into it. When things like that happen, it helps our defense get into it. It really affects the game."

On his versatility:
"At the beginning of the season, I had a post-player type of mentality. But I've realized the more I move around, the more I get open. My teammates keep finding me and I keep getting my shots."

Maryland Guard Eric Hayes

On Maryland's energy
"The crowd definitely had a lot of energy. This was a huge game for us to get bac to .500 (in the ACC). We came out with a lot of energy and played as hard as we could."

On Maryland's defensive effort
"We ran our offense pretty well. We were passing well. When we drove to the basket, tey would collapse. We would kick it out for the open guys, and guys were hitting shots tonight."

Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg

On Saturday's loss to Maryland:
"Obviously they played well. They had a week to prepare. They took us out of what we wanted to do, and we reacted to them the whole game. I was really disappointed in our team. I thought we had no sense of urgency whatsoever on the defensive end. We had two absolutely two horrendous games of practice, and that's what you get when you have two bad days of practice. The game was a reflection of that. We were prepared, we knew what we wanted to do, but we had no flow offensively. We had no commitment to getting stops. They out toughed us. They had a greater sense of urgency, and that's my fault. I take full responsibility. I'm sure practice Monday will be more spirited."

On Maryland's strengths:
"They were going to use Landon Milbourne's quickness against Jeff (Allen). They were going to get (Greivis) Vasquez off those high screens, and they stretched us out. Right from the first possession, we let Adrian Bowie go to his left hand for a layup. That is just a lack of attention to detail. I thought they did a nice job of stepping out on our screens, beating us to spots. Defensively, they inverted. They stepped (Dave) Neal out against Cheick (Diakite) which made it hard to play Cheick, because they were stretching us out a little bit and he couldn't help in the lane. We got back in the game, and it was a three point game. We had a chance to really get back in it but we missed a block out and gave up an `and 1.'"