Seton Hall 83, Miami 81- Post-game quotes & notes

Coach Kevin Willard, Seton Hall – Opening Statement: “I’m just proud of the way the guys fought. Coming in here 2-3, it was important that we played well. This group showed me a lot of toughness and that’s a very good Miami team so that’s a good win.”

On winning the Wooden Legacy: “I think it’s important for these guys to realize the way they are capable of playing and to play the way we practice. We didn’t play the way we practiced against Saint Louis and it showed. This week we brought it. It’s a good building block but we still got a long, long way to go. We have to continue to get better, that’s the biggest thing.”

Guard Myles Powell, Seton Hall (Wooden Legacy Most Outstanding Player) – On winning a back-and-forth game: “Coach just told us to keep our heads up, keep fighting. We just needed to get a couple stops and that’s what we did. We stayed together.

On being the focal point that defenses key on: “Everybody is pretty much denying me the ball. Coach does a good job of putting us in the right spots in practice and telling us what we have to do. We just listen to coach, follow his gameplan and it works.”

On progress team made: “We took big steps (forward). Coach never lost confidence in us, we got right back to practice after the Saint Louis loss. We came in as a team, watched film, learned from it and came out here to handle what we had to handle.”

Coach Jim Larranaga, Miami – (On Miami’s ball control): “I felt like the game came down to assists vs. turnovers. We only had 11 assists and 16 turnovers. A lot of bad decisions during the body of the game but, with that being said, it was still just one made shot away from winning. The shot we got at the end was a beauty. Zach [Johnson] did exactly what needed him to do, he got into the paint and kicked it out, Anthony Lawrence had a wide open three and he’s a 40% 3-pt shooter, so we couldn’t ask for anything better than that. For us to be the kind of team I know we’re capable of becoming, we’re going to have to reduce our turnovers to the last three games. We just turned the ball over way too much.”

(On his team’s defensive performance and ball control): “I didn’t think that we moved the ball that great in the first two days. I thought we turned the ball over a lot through the first two days. Turnovers are the worst thing you can do on offense. You can’t defend that. The other team steals it and goes down, you throw it to them and they go down and score before you get your defense set. We’re 30-55 for the game, you should win. We didn’t shoot great from three but if we had made just one more. If it was 8-20, which the last shot was, then that is 40% and that wins too. The game is a matter of inches, a possession here, and possession there.”

Guard Zach Johnson, Miami – (On fighting back in the game): “Being solid, not turning the ball over, not making the right plays, passing the ball. Like Coach said, down the stretch we kind of got sped up and made some hasty decisions and that put us in a tough position at the end of the game.”

(On whether the team is encouraged on how they played in the game): “I think definitely, along the line that is something you tend to look back at every little play that you wish you had back. Like Coach said, our turnovers and our lack of assists and attention to detail put us in that position.”

(On what the players got out of the weekend): “I think we will have a better answer to that once we get back to Miami and watch film. Obviously, we made it to the championship game. We didn’t meet our expectations in winning the championship games. When we get back to Miami, and see where we messed up, and start watching film, that’s when we’ll know.”

Wooden Chips

Seton Hall (4-2)

 Miami (5-1)