Players Mentioned
CU-Oklahoma State Postgame Quotes
December 22, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
General
“I take the blame for this loss. As a coach, I didn't do a very good job on the sideline; I didn't have our team ready to play tonight for whatever reason, so I have to look myself in the mirror. With that being said, when you allow a team to shoot 62 percent from the field in the second half, it's going to be tough to beat them. We scored better in the second half, but in the first half I thought the key was our turnovers. We had nine turnovers at halftime; (Oklahoma State) had 11 points off those turnovers. We had talked about taking care of the ball being a very, very important part of this game because they are so athletic and they transition in the open floor. Our turnovers in the first half really led to that six point deficit, because we didn't play well in the first half. If we play a little bit better in the first half, and you win the second half by a point, we're talking about a different result but that didn't happen. Again, I take full responsibility for it.”
On Having To Sit F Wesley Gordon In The First Half Because Of Foul Trouble
“It didn't help us, that's for sure. Foul trouble is a part of the game. Coming into this game, we're eighth in the country in free throw attempts. We're eighth in the country for free throws made; we didn't get to the free throw line tonight, for whatever reason. Obviously we have to figure out how to score when we're not getting to the free throw line, but that's frustrating when you know over an 11 game schedule how many free throws you shoot and that's a big part of your offensive identity and then you don't get to the free throw line – for whatever reason – frustration sits in a little bit. We've got to get better in that regard, so we have to become a better half court execution team. I thought some of Oklahoma State's zone in the second half got us standing, which is exactly what they want, but we didn't handle that well at times. We have so much room for improvement, we still haven't put a (complete) game together, and yet we played the No. 7 team in the country to a five point game on a neutral court and we don't feel like we played well, at all. I love the toughness, and the grit, and the fight in our team, and I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma State and their players; it's just disappointing because we will never have this opportunity again unless were fortunate enough to get them in the tournament.”
On Not Limiting The Number Of OSU's Layups
“They got 11 (layups), and again 11 points off our turnovers, that number (of layups) needs to be seven. I thought we just didn't rebound the ball as effectively as we could. I thought in the second half there was a couple of possessions there where we got stops two or three times but we couldn't secure the rebound – those long rebounds – and they were getting them and we weren't; those 50/50 rebounds were going to them. In order to get back in the game, and turn the tide, and come from behind and gain the lead you have to come up with those long rebounds and we just didn't.”
On What Played A Role In The Struggling Offensively
“I don't know. That's where I take responsibility as a coach, coming off of finals and we had two practices as a team. I thought that at this time of the season we could carry over without those lengthy practices through finals; I want to respect our guys as students. So, as a basketball coach it's really hard to take that time and back off, and maybe that hurt us tonight. It's not an excuse, it's just the fact that we weren't as sharp and we need to become sharper and the only way you can do that is by practicing. This is a time of the year now, with our players having a break from school – they don't have study hall, they don't have classes to go to – we can make strides as a program and we need to. Our players need to make strides individually, and the players, and the programs, that use this time wisely and don't sit around and play video games and sleep 12 hours a day. If our guys are in the gym, practicing and getting better, we'll be better because of it. This result has to change, we're not happy with this result. Again, to play the No. 7 team in the country to a five point game and not feel like you did very many things well, there is something about this team that's good, and we know that. Their fight, and their toughness, and their will, they never quit and that's a good thing, so we just have to get better.”
-COLORADO-