Post-game press conference notes

[lou v]

Coach Greg McDermott

Big win for us because of the respect I have for Coach Collins and the Northwestern program. We started on a roll, they withstood our fury.

We're a hard team to guard, they're a hard team to guard. That's why it was such an entertaining game to watch.

Proud of my team after losing Toby Hegner.

Hegner's injury: Looks like high ankle sprain. Had sprain in another ankle before. Good to know we can win without him if we need to.

Vic Law's run: You have to pick your poison. Started with Khyri on Lindsey, then switched him onto Law. We can't guard everybody. Give him credit, he hit some really contested 3s.

Our ability to play in the paint comes from our ability to shoot.

McDermott felt like they had a depth advantage -- until Hegner went down.

First-half blitz: Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitchell Ballock got it going.

McDermott: We are who we are and we have our warts. We lack a little length and athleticism in a few spots. But there's a bond and togetherness...we trust our freshmen...Our leadership has done a great job.

 

[lou v]

Chris Collins

We're disappointed. Give Creighton credit. The story was really the first half, our inability to defend them.

We came out in the second half and fought really hard. Khyri Thomas hit a couple big shots, Krampelj's layups in the last minute were big plays.

We have to be better defensively, especially against better teams.

Creighton's pace: They push it. They had us on our heels. I thought our communication wasn't as good....We just played Monday, we couldn't run up and down the floor...We should get Aaron back here soon. Look at the bench points and points in the paint.

Halftime: Mostly about our defense. They shot 56%. We thought we got good shots. It was our defense.

Bryant and Vic: They were terrific, especially with Scottie in foul trouble.

Anthony Gaines: His energy, his athleticism. He got on the glass tonight, he had four assists. For a freshman, he's done really well. Great learning experience for him.

Atmosphere: I thought it was pretty good. I felt energy, I thought our players did too. I thought it was a heck of a game. Two good teams going at it.

Halftime adjustments: More communication based. They play at a fast tempo. I didn't think we were talking at a high level.

BMac 40 minutes: I'm okay with him playing heavy minutes. Like to get him a few breaks. Problem is we got down 15. Scottie went down with foul trouble. We have to find ways to get Isiah and Jordan minutes here and there.

12 3s: We were getting better 3s. We really executed our offense well. A lot of our 3s were open. When we're executing our offense, we're a tough team to defend. Offensively, I have no problem with how we played..

 

[Hungry Jack]

Thanks Lou

 

[lou v]

BMac: I'm just disappointing performance by our defense. This was a program game. We’re a blue-collar, defense-first program. Didn’t show that tonight.

Vic: Pride myself on my defense and I gave up last eight points of the game. Foster hit two 3s and I let Krampelj get the offensive rebound. I think I did a good job for the most part (on Foster), just those last two that killed us.

BMac on atmosphere :I thought the atmosphere was really good for a Wednesday night. Disappointed with how we defended, but it was a really good basketball game. Fun to watch for the fans.

Vic: Fantastic atmosphere. Students with chef hats….Credit to the student body. Really appreciate it. Really hope they keep coming out.

BMac on what can Flazon do to help: He’s a good shooter. Gavin’s a good shooter. Gavin likes to pass, Aaron has a knack for scoring. He also has energy that can provide us with energy. He’s an energy giver. His 3s are worth more than 3. It’s bigger than just one shot.

BMac on Locker room: Mad, upset, frustrated...Last three games we've had problems switching, etc. Tonight it got us beat.

Vic: Same spot last year. We lost to Butler going into a tournament. Same as this year.

 

[willycat]

BMac: I'm just disappointing performance by our defense. This was a program game. We’re a blue-collar, defense-first program. Didn’t show that tonight.

Vic: Pride myself on my defense and I gave up last eight points of the game. Foster hit two 3s and I let Krampelj get the offensive rebound. I think I did a good job for the most part (on Foster), just those last two that killed us.

BMac on atmosphere :I thought the atmosphere was really good for a Wednesday night. Disappointed with how we defended, but it was a really good basketball game. Fun to watch for the fans.

Vic: Fantastic atmosphere. Students with chef hats….Credit to the student body. Really appreciate it. Really hope they keep coming out.

BMac on what can Flazon do to help: He’s a good shooter. Gavin’s a good shooter. Gavin likes to pass, Aaron has a knack for scoring. He also has energy that can provide us with energy. He’s an energy giver. His 3s are worth more than 3. It’s bigger than just one shot.

BMac on Locker room: Mad, upset, frustrated...Last three games we've had problems switching, etc. Tonight it got us beat.

Vic: Same spot last year. We lost to Butler going into a tournament. Same as this year.

Need Falzon, ASAP. Skelly was good on the O end but not so good on D. What was the announced attendance? I must have missed it but what's with the chef hats?

 

[TheC]

I feel better after watching BMac and Law in their post-game press conference. BMac especially seemed ticked off and resolved to fix things. I have a lot of confidence in those two and I really liked the way they reacted to that loss. I'd like to think we'll blow the doors down on Saturday.

 

[lou v]

BMac: I'm just disappointing performance by our defense. This was a program game. We’re a blue-collar, defense-first program. Didn’t show that tonight.

Vic: Pride myself on my defense and I gave up last eight points of the game. Foster hit two 3s and I let Krampelj get the offensive rebound. I think I did a good job for the most part (on Foster), just those last two that killed us.

BMac on atmosphere :I thought the atmosphere was really good for a Wednesday night. Disappointed with how we defended, but it was a really good basketball game. Fun to watch for the fans.

Vic: Fantastic atmosphere. Students with chef hats….Credit to the student body. Really appreciate it. Really hope they keep coming out.

BMac on what can Flazon do to help: He’s a good shooter. Gavin’s a good shooter. Gavin likes to pass, Aaron has a knack for scoring. He also has energy that can provide us with energy. He’s an energy giver. His 3s are worth more than 3. It’s bigger than just one shot.

BMac on Locker room: Mad, upset, frustrated...Last three games we've had problems switching, etc. Tonight it got us beat.

Vic: Same spot last year. We lost to Butler going into a tournament. Same as this year.

Need Falzon, ASAP. Skelly was good on the O end but not so good on D. What was the announced attendance? I must have missed it but what's with the chef hats?

Attendance was 6,384. It got pretty loud in there in the second half and felt like a home court. I don’t know what the deal was with the chef hats, but the students showed up. Skelly was right when he said he’d get them out there.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Chris Collins

We're disappointed. Give Creighton credit. The story was really the first half, our inability to defend them.

We came out in the second half and fought really hard. Khyri Thomas hit a couple big shots, Krampelj's layups in the last minute were big plays.

We have to be better defensively, especially against better teams.

Creighton's pace: They push it. They had us on our heels. I thought our communication wasn't as good....We just played Monday, we couldn't run up and down the floor...We should get Aaron back here soon. Look at the bench points and points in the paint.

Halftime: Mostly about our defense. They shot 56%. We thought we got good shots. It was our defense.

Bryant and Vic: They were terrific, especially with Scottie in foul trouble.

Anthony Gaines: His energy, his athleticism. He got on the glass tonight, he had four assists. For a freshman, he's done really well. Great learning experience for him.

Atmosphere: I thought it was pretty good. I felt energy, I thought our players did too. I thought it was a heck of a game. Two good teams going at it.

Halftime adjustments: More communication based. They play at a fast tempo. I didn't think we were talking at a high level.

BMac 40 minutes: I'm okay with him playing heavy minutes. Like to get him a few breaks. Problem is we got down 15. Scottie went down with foul trouble. We have to find ways to get Isiah and Jordan minutes here and there.

12 3s: We were getting better 3s. We really executed our offense well. A lot of our 3s were open. When we're executing our offense, we're a tough team to defend. Offensively, I have no problem with how we played..

At least we made some nice adjustments. Kind of like the Gonzaga game. We can beat anyone!

 

[Hungry Jack]

Those chef hats need to be a fixture at our games. They helped us come back.

 

[lou v]

BMac: I'm just disappointing performance by our defense. This was a program game. We’re a blue-collar, defense-first program. Didn’t show that tonight.

Vic: Pride myself on my defense and I gave up last eight points of the game. Foster hit two 3s and I let Krampelj get the offensive rebound. I think I did a good job for the most part (on Foster), just those last two that killed us.

BMac on atmosphere :I thought the atmosphere was really good for a Wednesday night. Disappointed with how we defended, but it was a really good basketball game. Fun to watch for the fans.

Vic: Fantastic atmosphere. Students with chef hats….Credit to the student body. Really appreciate it. Really hope they keep coming out.

BMac on what can Flazon do to help: He’s a good shooter. Gavin’s a good shooter. Gavin likes to pass, Aaron has a knack for scoring. He also has energy that can provide us with energy. He’s an energy giver. His 3s are worth more than 3. It’s bigger than just one shot.

BMac on Locker room: Mad, upset, frustrated...Last three games we've had problems switching, etc. Tonight it got us beat.

Vic: Same spot last year. We lost to Butler going into a tournament. Same as this year.

Need Falzon, ASAP. Skelly was good on the O end but not so good on D. What was the announced attendance? I must have missed it but what's with the chef hats?

I reached out to NUWildside on Twitter to find out the deal with the chef hats. The theme was Benson’s Bakery, a play on Bennison’s Bakery in Evanston (they couldn’t use the real name). So they had Bennison’s donuts for the shuttle bus rides for students. Clever idea. And it worked. For a November game, there were a lot of students there. It’s a PITA to make that trip from Evanston but they turned out.

 

[NJCat]

I feel better after watching BMac and Law in their post-game press conference. BMac especially seemed ticked off and resolved to fix things.

Loved BMac's answer to the "no home court" question. They're obviously sick of the narrative. And Vic seems to have really matured, much more comfortable in front of a microphone. He's the glass-half-full guy, BMac the glass-half-empty. Work well together.

And I thought the "definition of insanity" bit around their defense was interesting. Not sure if it was directed at himself and his teammates, or at the coaches. We'll see against LaSalle.