March 1, 2008
Coach Herb Sendek
On if this was the most physical game they have played all year:
"I don't know if it was the most physical, because we've had some physical contests. Most certainly, anyone who thinks the Pac-10 is a finesse league hasn't been watching us that carefully. You have terrific athletes who are competing really hard. I thought the officials did a great job of letting guys play but also keeping things in check. That was just a really good college basketball game."
On the play of James Harden and USC's OJ Mayo today:
"That question reflects my comments about that just being a really entertaining basketball game. We saw something really special today. OJ Mayo, he was incredible. You have to understand, we're emphasizing him, and he's still getting 37. It's not like we were focused on other things. And, obviously, for us, we're always going to be better when James [Harden] and Jeff [Pendergraph] have the kind of day that they had today. I thought they really helped pave the way for us."
On the offensive execution in the second half:
"I thought our guys really did a good job making each other better, and once again, a lot of credit has to go to James [Harden] and Jeff [Pendergraph]. I think when those guys play like they did today, then everybody around them benefits. I thought both James and Jeff let things come to them. They were very efficient in what they did. I think James only missed one shot from the field and one from the free throw. Jeff ended up with 21 points, but it just came along. You never felt like he going out of his way to get 21 points. Both those guys really stayed within the framework of what we do, and as a consequence, really helped make their teammates better as well."
On the importance of this win for the NCAA Tournament hopes:
"Very important. We're at home. SC is a great team. We had to just bring it back to 8-8. If we drop to 7-9, it's going to be tough."
On if they talked before about the importance of this game regarding the Tournament:
"We knew. It's not really up to us to get voted in. All we can control is how many games we win. So, that's what we're here to do. As long as we keep winning, hopefully they can't keep us out."
On the importance of the win for the NCAA Tournament hopes:
"I think it's very important. If you want a chance to go, you've got to win as many games as you can. We've got to win as many as we can if we want to have a chance to get voted in."