COURTESY OF THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Q. Just wanted to ask about the first half, the offensive rebounds, just how important was that for kind of setting the tenor of the game, being able to crash the glass and get the opportunities like that?
COACH EWING: … at the beginning of the game. That took them out of what they were trying to do. We had 11 offensive rebounds at half. That’s significant for us.
Q. You got a lot of traction out of Blair, had one of four sets in the second half, was able to come off and make plays, screen and make plays. Talk about his development as a player with the ball in his hands, not just shooting it.
COACH EWING: I thought he had a great game for us today. Theo John was injured. Looked like his knee was bad. So we tried to put him in pick-and-rolls, wanted to move. And Jahvon did a great job not only scoring but also facilitating. Even though he had only two assists, he made some great plays for us. Tonight it was a total team effort. Everyone did something positive to help us win. Don Carey was solid. Jamorko Pickett, he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but did a great job defensively and getting opportunities when he had them. And the big fellow here, Qudus played great for us. He got tired in the second half. I had to curse him out tell him, man, get your butt back on defense. Took him out and Timmy Ighoefe came in did a great job. But it was a total team effort.
Q. Yesterday you talked about that fact that Jahvon and Jamorko and yourself hadn’t experienced it. How big do you think this is for the program?
COACH EWING: It’s huge. It’s huge. This is my first as a coach, Big East win. This is my fourth year now. We had opportunities, last year we were up on St. John’s at halftime and weren’t able to get it done in the second half. Tonight we were up and we didn’t, unlike what we did the last time we played Marquette, we didn’t falter. We kept fighting. We kept chipping away and we were able to just take the game over.
Q. You talked about the guys that have been around. Talk about Jamorko, Jahvon, Q, how big was it to you that those are the guys that are the ones that stepped out. It was a team effort, but those guys seemed they stepped up the most in the game. How big was that to you?
COACH EWING: I think it’s great. I do believe that. I do believe guys who have been here and have been through the struggles like Jahvon and Jamorko, it means something. Don Carey, this is his first year with us, but he’s a fifth-year guy. But he’s also been through the wars. Q, last year was a freshman. Omer played the majority of the minutes last year, but when he had his opportunity he took advantage of it. When you get a win it’s not just the older guys or the younger guys. It’s everyone. Everyone did something positive. Even the guys that didn’t play. They were cheering. They were in it. And I think it’s a huge step for our university and our program.
Q. You guys have a quick turnaround tomorrow with Villanova at 12, of course. Can you give us a quick look at what that timeline is going to be for you guys?
COACH EWING: Right now we’re going to enjoy this win. We’re going to go back. We’re going to eat. They’re going to shower. We’ll watch film on Villanova tonight. Walk through tomorrow. And then get on the bus and get over here. I mean, it’s just the way it is in tournaments. You play and you win, you play again. So we’re looking forward to this. We’ve taken the first step in our journey. And we have more steps we want to take.
Q. Could you talk a little bit more about the efforts of Qudus Wahab and Timothy Ighoefe controlling the game on both sides of the court? How impressed were you with their play first and second half?
COACH EWING: I was very impressed with their play. They did a great job. Q, he had 19 points. Timothy, when Q got in foul trouble, he came in, was huge for us. Defensively — he may not have scored a lot of points — but he was huge defensively. Clogging up the paint, making them make mistakes, it was a great win.
QUDUS WAHAB QUOTES
Q. You had a big game today. You obviously had a big win today. What do you feel like you guys learned from the first matchup against Marquette this year?
QUDUS WAHAB: I feel like we just got better since then. We’ve been playing together as a team. We’ve been playing better games. And we didn’t want to lose the lead. So we just played harder in the second half to keep the lead.
Q. Is this as complete a defensive performance as you’ve had this season?
QUDUS WAHAB: Can you say that again?
Q. Was that as complete a defensive performance you feel as you’ve had this season, as a team?
QUDUS WAHAB: Yeah, I feel like this is probably the best defensive game we’ve played. They scored 14 points in the first half. We were like — we were rebounding — defensive rebounding was good. We had 11 rebounds in the first half, 11 offensive rebounds in the first half. That helped us a lot. We were able to keep our lead and win by a lot.
Q. What do you guys think about the Villanova matchup? Now you played Villanova twice, obviously, this year. Had a big lead in the first game. Second game it was a tight game towards the end. What do you feel like going into the game against these guys tomorrow?
QUDUS WAHAB: I feel like it’s going to be a big game for us tomorrow. We just have to stop — we have to guard the 3-point line. I remember Jermaine Samuels had a big game last time we played them. We have to guard the 3-point line better tomorrow, I feel like we have a chance to win.
