St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Creighton
1/3/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On defensive adjustments made by Creighton in the second half:
"The three point shot is a huge weapon, depending on how you create it. I think we played a little into their defense, but I also think we cooled off a bit in the second half. In the first half we made eight, and then only made one in the second. Some of them were open looks, but we just didn't knock them down. I know that's kind of simple, but that's the fact of the matter. They made 10 and we made nine. If you play solid defense you are still going to give some up, and credit the offensive team for knocking them down."
On when the momentum started to shift back to Creighton:
"It was 73-71 with [1:26] left, so I thought we were in pretty good shape. I think they made a pretty big run at us and we held in there, but there was still a lot of time left. It was 73-71 and we were at the free throw line, so we played until the end of the buzzer."
On the atmosphere of the game:
"I thought it was a well played game. Good flow, not too many whistles, and the atmosphere was good. This is a great place to play and [Creighton] has a tremendous crowd here."
On the health and impact of Shamorie Ponds:
"I wouldn't say 100% for sure, but he gave us a good effort. Whatever he was at, he played his game well."
On what was said during Creighton's run in the second half:
"We had a seven-point lead at half. We missed a few open shots, [Creighton] played good defense, and you knew that you were going to get their run at some point. Again, it was still 73-71 with [1:26] left, so even with all that stuff happening, it was a two point game. That's part of the game. You have to accept that, maintain your composure, and I thought we did that. We just didn't finish it off."
On slowing Creighton down and limiting them to two fast-break points:
"We had a big focus on transition defense. Especially because we didn't want them getting up in the 90's. We really stressed our transition defense which starts with getting balanced offense and not turning the ball over. We only had seven turnovers, so that helps. We were taking care of the basketball. They are a dynamic offense and we knew that coming in. When they had that little run in the second half, it didn't knock us out and we were still in the game. We were just having a hard time knocking some shots down."
On switching to the zone defense in the final moments and forcing late turnovers:
"If you play man-to-man the right way, you're in a zone a lot. We were playing really good man-to-man defense. If we were playing man-to-man defense the correct way and the ball is on the weak side, you should have two guys in the paint. That, by definition, is a zone."
