University of Massachusets Athletics
Postgame Quotes: West Virginia 90, UMass 77
March 16, 2007 | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2007
West Virginia Coach John Beilein
On the game:
"With one day turnaround I expected a high scoring game because it's just very difficult to sit on things with both coaches trying to get their kids rest ... Both teams really got into it. I didn't see any let-up from either team,"
On UMass:
"They're known for their pressing and trapping and they didn't do it as much in the first half. In the second half they just came after us. Usually we're pretty good at handling it when people do press us but we had some uncharacteristic turnovers. Just when I think we play like veterans we show some inexperience. I've just got to do a better job of teaching poise out there."
"In the first half UMass was 1 for 10 (from 3-point range). Well, in the second half (James Life) just shot them right back into the game. He was 4 for 5 in the second half and he was absolutely terrific and he made a lot of tough shots. He was hard for us to defend and it was also hard to defend their inside game."
"They've got such a great post-up team, getting penetration and offensive rebounds ... I'm just happy to get a win. I think we just beat a whale of a team."
On Frank Young's performance:
"Frank just had a tremendous game and he's been such a leader for us. He won't let people quit. He won't let people fuss at each other. He's really been the typical young man that we like to recruit that just hangs in there and when he gets to be a senior he has a heck of a year."
UMass Head Coach Travis Ford
On the West Virginia environment and team:
"This is my first time here and this is a great basketball place. They have great basketball, good fans, and an incredible coach."
"West Virginia has a great system. They picked great players for the system. That's the key. You can run any system in the world but you have to have the right players. They have the right players for the system."
"When West Virginia is shooting like this in this gym ... there's a reason they're 15-1 at home. They made some very tough shots. When they make threes, there aren't many teams who can beat them."
On the loss:
"Were not looking for or making any excuses. We got beat by a really good team. When they made 3s, there are not too many teams that can beat them. They have the right players for this system."
On UMass' performance:
"Our seniors really set a tone for this team. We have some big holes to fill next year. It was an incredible year compared to where this program's been the past 8-9 years. This team should be very proud of themselves."
"I thought we were lucky to be down only 14 at halftime. I told our guys we could be down by 25."
UMass Senior James Life
On West Virginia:
"They (West Virginia) just stayed calm and collected. They hit a lot of big shots when they needed them. They have very big 3-point shooters, and they used them."
On his play:
"That's what we needed, so Coach ran a couple plays for me. We needed some quick threes to get back in it."
UMass Sophomore Chris Lowe
On West Virginia:
"We said we can't be scared of their offense. We just had to play our style of play and get Life the ball so he could hit some threes."
West Virginia Senior Frank Young:
On his game:
"I had a good feeling as soon as I hit my first shot. I was focused and I kept coming off screens and looked for my shot. During the rally, I told my teammates to calm down. They did and I popped open for a late 3."
