Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening Statement:

"It was a great win for us. I'm always thrilled when [we] win. It's hard to win. Our crowd was terrific from the beginning to the end. We struggled a little bit offensively in the first half. Second half we got both things going for a while. We were up 14, 15 or 16. Something like that. Then they started making shots and we started making mistakes on defense. We played a little bit younger during that stretch. When they cut it to two or whenever that timeout was at 57-52, we were terrific after that. We really guarded – they hit a tough three in the corner and then a layup late. We were terrific offensively and defensively during that stretch. We did some things in the last three minutes that I was really proud of. So, take away turnovers. I don't want to talk about it, don't ask me about it even though I'm talking about it now. We've got to get it corrected. But, don't forget we shot 49 percent. So, if we could just cut that [turnover] number in half, it will make things a lot easier for us. So, we'll keep working on it. We had to play without Eric [Ayala] tonight. He wasn't feeling well. We weren't planning for that and that's a big thing when you play without your point guard in a game who's been terrific. He tried to play through it and he wasn't himself when he tried to play through it so we just put him back in the training room for the second half."

On the two plays Bruno Fernando made late in the second half:

"We've worked really hard on what we do after an offensive rebound. So, it was great to see Aaron [Wiggins] cutting and Bruno make the play. To be quite honest with you, it was probably one of our best possessions of the game. We had a lot of them where we used the whole clock and ran a play for Bruno. When he shoots a little left handed hook with the shot clock going off he puts us up eight. I think it was a minute and 30 seconds after that. It was a terrific possession – we played with a lot of poise there and executed at a high level there. I was happy. Bruno – in the first half – he wasn't in front of me but he was catching the ball too far off the block and in the second half we were able to establish him a little deeper. Even the pass he made to Serrel [Smith Jr.] where he got fouled and made the three free throws – that was a terrific play for us. It's hard to win in February, guys. But we did what we had to do, so I'm happy."

On if he's more concerned about blowing a 16-point lead or happy with how his team responded:

"I'm disappointed with the way we played defensively during that stretch. We made a lot of mistakes. We weren't alert – there was a soft foul on a three-point play. That's disappointing. But, you'd much rather learn in a win than learn in a loss, so we can watch that with guys who weren't playing as well in that stretch. We can watch film and hopefully be better because of it. But, it's always nice to know because when we don't play well to end the game, we get criticized until the next game. Playing well to the end of the game is great for this young team."

On the key to containing Kaleb Wesson:

"Bruno was terrific. I just thought Bruno was terrific. When he went out we tried to get Bruno out. In the first half, unfortunately, Jalen Smith was at the scorer's table for three minutes when Kaleb was out and I had Bruno sitting next to me because Bruno gets tired. I thought his defense was terrific on him – I thought our help side defense was good. Our ball pressure was good. But, the other guys around him were playing so well. They didn't need him, they were making some shots. I told our guys before the game when CJ wasn't playing – some of my worst losses in my career was when the other team's point guard hasn't played because everyone relaxes. Oh, we're going to beat this team easily. Well, no. They have a lot of top-50 players in their locker room, and another guy stepped up today in his absence. We had to play without our point guard in the end and Serrel stepped up for us."

On the play of Serrel Smith Jr.:

"You tell guys to be ready when their number is called. He exemplified that today. I say to people all the time that I wish I could play Serrel more. Eric's played so well, Wiggins has been so good and Anthony [Cowan] has been good. I wish I could play him more. I wanted to play him more at Iowa and I didn't get to do that, but he made a big three in that one. He's comfortable and he's a great kid. He really stepped up and you could see from the beginning that he was going to play well. What was great in the second half was that he really guarded. In the first half he didn't guard as well but he really guarded in the second half. He got his hands on some balls and did some good things. I'm happy for him because he's one of the first guys in the gym and one of the last guys to leave. So, for him to be rewarded in a big game like that and on a big stage is terrific."

On if there was an extra gear for some of the veterans today:

"I thought we were fresher. What I mean by that is that at this time of year you can overthink it and over-practice. But you can trust your guys. We took Wednesday off because we got home at 4 a.m. And then Thursday we just lifted and shot with our top six guys. I thought we were fresher because of it. You could see it in Anthony, right? He looked fresher because of it. I trust my guys – I really do. We were able to do that and I think it's going to help us moving forward. Our guys were locked in, we just can't get out of our own way in the first five minutes of a game. We had Darryl [Morsell] for an open layup on the first possession and we throw it six feet off the block. So, once we figure that out and we figure out turnovers, it's going to be a lot of fun. Our guys are dialed in. They know every game is hard in this league and there's nothing easy so they were dialed in to win."

On how CJ Jackson not playing for Ohio State influenced the game:

"Keyshawn Woods was terrific. Holy smokes, they guy is shooting 22 percent from three in the league and then here he is popping threes and we're posting him up. We did a great job on him in the second half. He's giving them different minutes but would CJ have given them that? You don't know. That's the whole thing. But we had a game plan to guard CJ a different way because he's their leading scorer with 12.5 points. It changes things a little bit, but they've got players. All those kids can really play, and guys stepped up with minutes just like our guys did with Eric."

On his four-guard lineup:

"It helps if Darryl goes to the right spot when we throw it to him. But, that was all defense. We were having a hard time guarding them and not mentioning any names but we were late on a three, we were late on another three. Darryl allows us to switch ball screens so we were just more solid defensively. You look, when we went to that lineup what their offense did after that. I want to play Stix and I want to play Ricky [Lindo Jr.], and that's our best defensive team normally. But, they went small and one kid was making shots and made it really hard to guard so we had to do what we had to do.
 

Freshman Guard Serrel Smith Jr.

On his confidence:

"Every second I am on the court I try to keep myself confident, keep myself up, try to set up and hit those big shots."

On Eric Ayala being out and if they need him more than normal:

"Yea, there was a missing spot and it had to be filled. Coach came in and told us Eric wasn't feeling well, so it was about my time to step up and play that role."

Junior Guard Anthony Cowan Jr.

On all the various runs during the game:

"We just couldn't get the stop we needed. Our crowd did a really good job keeping us in the game. Like I said, once we went on a little scoring run we just couldn't get that one stop."

On Bruno Fernando's game play:

"We got to get him ready and get him going. That's what we did. He helped us out a lot."

On Serrel stepping up for Eric:

"We have the next man up mentality. Serrel has been doing great in practice, so he was ready for the moment. I'm just really happy for him."

Sophomore Forward Bruno Fernando.

On his improvement and what he works on:

"I work on expanding on my game; try to be more of a team player and making the right play for my team at the right time, all the time."

On his second half:

"Personally, I think I was a lot more aggressive in the second half. I think in the first half I just couldn't get going earlier. I just had a team mentality and make plays for my teammates."

On Caleb Wesson:

"It's a battle I can tell you that. He's probably got like 60 pounds on me, so I just try to get him as tired as I can. Move my feet as much as I can, and I know the weak side help is going to be there so I just try to get him tired. "

-Terps-