Colorado 84, Nebraska 69

COLORADO HEAD COACH RICARDO PATTON

GENERAL-"Overall, I thought this was a good game for us. We are not going to cheat this win at all."

ON BIG 12 TOURNAMENT-"We have got to be prepared to play a really good Kansas State team. I think we will be (prepared). They took one from us there and we got one here, so right now it is a split. We'll take tomorrow off and come back and practice hard ready to go this week.

"I think our guys realize that it is the start of a new season. You have got the preseason, conference season and tournament (season). The season is basically broken up into three, or four parts-I hope four this year.

"I think we have enough guys who have been there (the Big 12 tournament) and know what it takes to win. That is something that will be good for us."

ON MICHEL MORANDAIS' ANKLE-"I don't think he hurt it any more, but it is still tender. In the second half, I saw no reason to take a chance and bring him back."

ON STEPHANE PELLE-"Pelle has been solid for us. We really appreciate his effort over the last few years. It was great that we could send him off like we did tonight."

ON DAVID HARRISON-"I thought he played really big. He is getting better for us on the offensive end. I really think he is showing his potential right now. It is going to take time for guys to develop early in their career. I've always said you'll see two solid years out of guys-their junior and senior years. That's when you'll see the hard work payoff."

ON GAME TURNOVERS-"We were just careless with the ball at times. It was a game-when you think about all the emotions-that guys have a lot of pressure to play well. Sometimes they get too jacked up and play sloppy."

NEBRASKA HEAD COACH BARRY COLLIER

ON DAVID HARRISON-"He was a real force for Colorado. I thought he got too deep, caught the ball a number of times, and made big shots and knocked down free-throws. We put two guys on him, but we couldn't stop him often enough."

ON COLORADO's DEFENSE-"They were very good defensively. They put a lot of pressure on us. We got some penetration, but when we came to the basket too often, their big guys blocked shots or altered shot and that was a big factor in our low shooting percentage."

ON HIS TEAM's PERFORMANCE-"I thought (Brennon) Clemmons did a tough job handling the ball for most of the night. (Nate) Johnson and (Andrew) Drevo scored the points for us. Johnson was pretty aggressive offensively after a tough night Tuesday at Oklahoma."

ON THE POSSIBILITY OF FACING COLORADO IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT-"Colorado certainly deserves a lot of credit. They finished strong in conference. The way the standings look, we may face them again. Obviously we will have to play better and they are on a roll so it will be a tough assignment."

COLORADO PLAYERS

SOPHOMORE CENTER DAVID HARRISON
ON HIS TRIPLE-DOUBLE-"I didn't even know about it. I knew I was scoring a lot. Blair (Wilson) came over and said I needed one more, then I got the block and I was like 'Is that it?' and he told me that I needed a rebound. I had to try and crash the boards which is hard to do because they weren't missing there at the end."

ON CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THE BIG 12 TOURNEY-"We're 10-times more confident than we have been in the past. We're on a nice win-streak and we have a very good mindset going into the tournament. I think our play recently has contributed greatly to our confidence."

ON THE HOME-COURT ATMOSPHERE-"A lot of guys that we play against come here and ask how to breath up here. Combine that with the fact that you have 10,000 fans screaming with you, and the altitude, it is a very difficult place to play."

ON GAINING RESPECT-"When we beat KU that really opened some eyes and we hung with Georgia so we knew that we could play. Anytime you play two top-20 teams tough you know you've done well."

SENIOR FORWARD STEPHANE PELLE
ON TOURNAMENT HOPES-"I think I'll appreciate it once it's Sunday and we know where we stand. This is not a gift. We worked very hard all year and we deserve it."

ON SENIOR-YEAR SUCCESS-"My sophomore and junior year were years when we lost a lot and we had some players leaving and really received a lot of criticism from everyone. It's very gratifying to play so well as a team especially when it's your senior year."

JUNIOR GUARD BLAIR WILSON
ON KANSAS STATE-"They gave me a very tough time when we played in Manhattan. But I think we're a different team now. Mookie (Wright) brings a lot to the table. I think we're a much better team with him. I expect us to play much better next time around."

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