PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF post-game quotes, Iowa State 80, Tulsa 78

IOWA STATE Coach Steve Prohm – “This was a great win for our guys tonight just persevering. We didn’t get off to a good start. We responded and really finished the first half on both ends of the court. We were really at good pace and we moved the ball and then these two guys (Donovan Jackson and Nick Weiler-Babb), we talked all summer that these guys have to be great for us every night and they’ve played like that the last two nights down here. Now we’ve got a day off, we’ve got a really good opponent, we have a lot of respect for Boise and for their league. It’s going to be a great opportunity for our guys. Any time you have an opportunity to win a championship, preseason postseason, that’s a special moment in college basketball.

“You can say now that you won it’s great to kind of have some adversity at the end where we had to execute and Donovan came over and wanted his number called and he responded. That’s growth from a senior. Then Jakolby (Long) had his opportunity tonight and did some really good things.

Iowa State Guard Nick Weiler-Babb – “We did some good things. We started off slow but we got locked in and we came together and said we want to play for a championship Sunday.

“I just have to say guys have been buying into their roles. Coach putting me at the point has opened up a lot of opportunities for Donovan on fast breaks and Lindell (Wigginton) to run the wings. We’re just getting a lot of easy buckets out of transition that we weren’t getting in the first two games and it’s giving me assists and I’m just trying to get rebounds as much as I can to help the other guys.”

Iowa State Guard Donovan Jackson – “We did start off pretty slow but the guys found the toughness within themselves. It was a great opportunity to come out and win.”

(On Weiler-Babb taking over point guard duties): “I just let go of all the things I was thinking about. I was always wondering that I’ve got to do so much for this team in order to win but at this moment right now, I don’t care, I’m playing carefree and I’m playing for each teammate. Our biggest thing is I just want to win games.”

TULSA Coach Frank Haith – “That was a tough. Our guys competed really hard. We had a couple opportunities there in transition. We missed a couple chippies, it looked like we were going to make a play and we turned it over but all in all it was a great effort. They made some big shots, banked a shot there late in the game at the end of the shot clock, Donovan (Jackson) made some huge shots but I can’t fault our guys’ effort and how we competed.

“There’s a lot we can take from the ball game and one is that every possession matters. We got down 16 because I thought we got stagnant in the first half and took some tough shots. We didn’t give ourselves a shot offensively. We scored 40 points in the paint and that’s what we want to do night in and night out and that’s the number we try to hit but I think we could have done more.

“Our bench was good last night, they weren’t very good today in terms of scoring. I think our bench is very capable, just tonight it didn’t develop.

“Daquan was outstanding, terrific. He scored inside and out but I love how he competed on the defensive end, too, when we were struggling getting defensive stops. He came up with some loose balls and rebounds.”

(On the stretch at the end of the first half): “We didn’t do a good job of contesting during that time. They got us back on our heels a little bit when they drove on us. We weren’t ready and set to guard the ball. When they got in the paint they were able to kick because we were having to help and we guarded the ball better in the second half.”

Tulsa Forward Daquan Jeffries – “We were just coming down and fighting on defense, getting stops and keeping them from getting offensive rebounds. It’s a little frustrating. We just have to play a full 40 minutes with the same effort we put into the second half.”