The second half would have been a good night to play against anybody. Every time you made a change ... You pressed us? We dunked it. You zoned us? We 3-pointed it.

The thing that scares me always the most and the thing I caution our players on is that next week, you go home. You go home for the Big East tournament. And then next time you go home, we pack up the uniforms. And this team is good enough to get to Indianapolis. Will it get to Indianapolis? I have no idea. ... Maybe the first round of the tournament some team gets up, plays us tough and we don't execute.

Right now, we have to prepare ourselves for a team that feels very good about itself. We have to tighten our defense.

Rashad wanted to be so good tonight, and of all guys who I thought wanted the limelight at home, it's really unfortunate he didn't have the kind of game he's capable of having. He's a terrific basketball player ... the best sixth man in college basketball.

Rashad doesn't mind who he takes a three on. We put him at point guard and every play worked its way to be for him. That's kind of unusual. He will be on track to be the greatest 3-point shooter we've ever had here, and we've had some pretty good ones.

People had the misconception that if you have three 6-10 kids, all of a sudden you have a good basketball team. The game takes instinct.

No matter how his shot looks - funny to all of us - or if someone is right in his face, it doesn't matter. He only sees orange, that little round thing. As long as he's squared up, he'll make shots. He's too good a shooter. And he really works so hard at it. This, by the way, is far and away his best season.

Coaches all understand. Coaches aren't responsible for the actions of their players, but if you're a good coach you feel very responsible for their actions.

This is our team and it's a pretty good one. When Rudy didn't play well, Denham stepped up. There were other guys, too. We appear to be a pretty good team with a lot of answers.

They've caught some magic in my opinion and they're feeling really good about themselves. When a team feels good about itself they're really tough to beat.

They run very good offense. If you're not on top of your game, they've got guys on this year's team that can make plays. I think our kids are going to have to pick it up a level.

A lot of beat writers asked the question, 'Do you think you looked by this game with the Villanova game coming up?'. We didn't. We didn't look by it. The first 25 minutes was a pretty good indication of that.

A lot of times games are built up and they don't fulfill their promise. This game more than fulfilled its promise. Villanova may be, pound-for-pound, the toughest team that we've played anywhere, any time. Early in the game, we had to match their toughness. They were getting every offensive rebound. They were hustling like crazy. Unless you have a tough team, you cannot win this conference. It was like an old Big East backyard ball amongst two really good teams.

They pass exceptionally well. They have three seniors and they have very good big people. The most disappointing aspect was that one-on-one, our two 6-10 kids could not guard their two 6-7 kids.

They gave us a good old-fashioned butt-whipping. We were god-awful. For the first time, I'm wondering if a couple of our kids are as good as they're supposed to be.

This league will not allow you to breathe. If you're not good every night, you're going to get beat. It's that difficult. In all my years in this league, I've never seen anything like it.

Everybody's talking about how many teams we'll send. Let's see if we can get out of the league first. My greatest fear is that we might beat ourselves up so much that records won't be indicative of how truly good a team is.

They're a good basketball team. They're going to be very tough out in their league. We gave up 24 points in a very short period of time.

It seems like there are more overtime games, more tough games and the reason is there are more good teams. Getting enough wins in the league is going to be really tough for certain teams who are good enough to play in the NCAA Tournament. Some teams are going to play really well and lose.

It's a tribute to the hard work the kids put in because they played in the best league in the country. I think our kids should be honored. We have an awful lot of good players in this league. I couldn't be prouder of our kids.

It's an important time because no one wants anyone else to get off to a 7-0 start. The league is off to a good start.

It's always good to be No. 1 in anything but it's not great at this time of year. I want it at the beginning of April, but I'll take it now. Being No. 1 isn't a goal of ours like the Big East championship or the national championship, but we feel we're one of the better programs in the country for the last 15 years and being No. 1 is another notch for us as a total program.

It seems Ed picks up fouls quicker than any guy I've ever had. And I don't know why. Ed is a very good basketball player and yet I don't think he ever gets recognized for that. He automatically gets tagged because he looks strong and muscular. Well, he's a very good player.

The two guards are just absolutely playing terrific.. Whitney has really become a force in this league. They're the kind of team that feels good about itself and those kind of teams you cannot give an opening to.

Exact opposite teams. We've got to be good at what we do.

I'm going home feeling good because I think we're getting a little better. And I think we'll get a lot better.

I'm not that impressed by my team very much, but we were very good tonight. I can't think of a game where we shared the ball so well and ran so well.

I'll be honest with you that on Sunday all I'll look at is the bracket and see if it's a good bracket. But I'd rather go West. I think New York City is not good for us. There's too much family around. I like having control and not have other people thinking about the wrong thing.

I do know the feeling of being a 15 or 16 because I was there myself. I know how exciting it is and I know all Albany wants is an opportunity to show how good they are.

If he's not one of the best two or three kids in the country, then I guess I've lost my judgment about how good a guy can be.

For the first time, I'm wondering if our kids are as good as they're supposed to be. I'm not sure of anything because I'm just stunned.

For the first time, I'm wondering if a couple of our kids are as good as they're supposed to be. They were in Maui, and they aren't now. Marquette had a lot to do with that.

You can?t predict this thing ... two, three, four all gone. How do you predict these things? The whole idea that No. 1 gets the easy route ... there are no easy routes. Those teams at 16 are really good, and they have incredible desire to win. By the time you get to 8-9, you?re facing really good teams.

The college game is controlled by guards, has been and will be. You guys are going to try to name all the great big men who have carried their teams to Final Fours recently. You're not going to come up with any. You're going to come up with teams that are dominated by good inside play and terrific guard play. In the college game, guys that control the ball control the game.

What this is for 64 teams is a great opportunity. It's a great opportunity for Connecticut. It's a great opportunity for us and it's a great opportunity for Albany. Both teams have something at stake. Both teams want to move on. There is no feeling like it. I've been a 16, a 15, a 1, and I've been all places in between. Each one is exciting.

Very few players maintain the pace, obviously, he's on. Brian Fair, Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, the great shooters we've had here, if anybody could ... I don't think anybody we've ever had could get as hot as he could get. I think Ben Gordon and Ray might be better shooters, but I'm not sure anybody can get as hot as he could get.

When I did my voting, it was very difficult. Normally I can get a better feel. But there were so many kids that had so many great seasons.

The only place down the road I want to see them is in Indianapolis at the Final Four. They come loaded and knock you down. That is a great team with heart.

Many of those kids were passed over by Big East schools and others. I tip my hat to their courage. I feel a great deal of inner joy for what they are going through right now, something they probably couldn't have imagined.

I am so proud of my kids and the way we took every shot that Kentucky gave us. But I don't find it unusual for Kentucky, with its incredible history and a great coach like Tubby, to turn it into that kind of game.

I don't find it unusual for Kentucky, with its incredible history and a great coach like Tubby (Smith), for it to turn into that type of game. I thought Kentucky played awfully good.

He's going to be something very, very special. Right now, he is a terrific college basketball player, not the great, great dominating college basketball player that he would be if he stayed in college. I don't think the circumstances are going to allow it to come, unfortunately. I just think that's the way it is.

I can't remember the last time we were up three with 11 seconds to go and lost. We got beat by that shot by Gerry. Anything can happen in overtime. We made the decision of who would have the assignment. Gerry made a better play and hit a great 3.

He's becoming a tough guy not to play. You know he's going to guard folks. You know he's going to fill the lanes; he's a great fast break player. And you know he's tenacious.

He's a terrific kid who made a dumb, dumb selfish mistake. He's not the first and he won't be the last, unfortunately. Hopefully, it's not going to be on my watch. I'm a great believer that people should be allowed and are allowed a second chance.

He's going to go through a very, very interesting time. He's grown a great deal. I think it's been a very negative experience for him. Which it should be. He put himself in this position.

He's done a great job there. He has a team that puts constant offensive and defensive pressure on you. They're deep. They run. They're quick. They're just a relentless team. A lot of that has to do with his personality. That's how he coaches, and he doesn't accept excuses when it comes to effort.

He learned at the feet of the master, ... To have someone full-time for basketball issues is a great, great situation.

Kentucky gave us a great shot, but we're going to D.C..

Khalid El-Amin put up with a great deal of grief on the road. And it was the best coaching that anybody could have done for me, because Khalid loved every single second of it. He loved to show you.