John Thompson took something that could be perceived as almost menacing, because he was so big and was so serious looking, and used that to his advantage to create Hoya Paranoia, ... Every game they played, John was the underdog and yet he had Ewing and Wingate and Williams. That takes a masterful genius to do that.

Pittsburgh has turned into a rivalry game for us. They certainly have become a formidable opponent, an obstacle for us to get to a championship, or for seeding, or quite frankly just to get wins.

Overall, we just kind of overwhelmed them. When we play offensively like that we're very good. And this was their third game in five days so it made it very difficult for them to stay with us. Our depth is going to wear you out anyway. We didn't play great defense but we ran the court well.

I said coming into the game that it was going to be a battle of ... can they keep us away from the paint. And generally speaking, they were able to get us on the outside, keep us there with double teams, and certainly the way this game was called and played, it didn't allow us to be a factor in the paint.

I think Craig will play more. That was just a game where we got into a flow with the big three kids. ... We thought we were going to use more guard play.

I thought our big kids dominated the game. The difference in the game was our power.

I thought we would eventually take control of the game, and Kentucky kept fighting back. That was not in the game plan.

I would say our defense got us going, but it certainly wasn't the key to the game because I thought we let up many, many times. They all elevate. It hides sometimes bad defense. That was my concern tonight, the fact they were penetrating, particularly in the second half.

For us to tell our kids that this is just a regular season game ... we've always set goals, to try to win the Big East championship. To back away from that a day before or two days before the game would be foolhardy.

I felt bad for Rashad. He wanted to be so good. It's really unfortunate he didn't have the type of game he's capable of having.

I have been a big admirer of Don Haskins for a long time. He is one of the top defensive minds in the game and he is good man, a real coach.

Obviously, we are disappointed that Jeff will miss the game at Providence, but the rule as stated in the rule book is very clear. Other players will have to step up and make up for his absence and I have complete confidence that will happen.

Now the game has taken me back to Springfield and I am so deeply honored and humbled to be in such a sacred place.

This proves that you can't just show up in postseason play, because instead of going to practice and preparing for a game tomorrow, we have to wait a week. Next time we lose, we're going home.

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

What Louisville needed late in the game was experience. That's what we had, some guys coming down the stretch who know what to do. We turned our defense up in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the game, we took care of the ball, took good shots and made good decisions. This was a grind-it-out game.

Whether it was 50 bucks being sent to me at school, traveling through a snowstorm to see me play, coming to a football game in high school, all those things gave me a sense of love and belief and those things inspired confidence.

Am I finding a team with more resolve and more focus? Yeah. No question. You don't need 100 tough guys. You don't need 100 warriors. You need a couple leaders that can get you that. It becomes contagious.

The first 10, 15, 18 minutes we were really special, the kind of team I know we can be. I actually think we're getting better.

You can see a team that believes it's going to win. They had no doubt they were going to win. None. Therefore, that's the toughest guy to face all the time, the guy who believes he's going to win.

Sometimes you're blessed with teams that are incredibly talented, but there's chaos. But sometimes you're blessed, as I have been this year, to have kids who think the same way you do.