Feb. 22, 2014

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Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III

On Georgetown's defensive effort...

I thought that our effort, our attention to detail, our concentration was pretty good for 40 minutes. I think we came out of the box and set the tone early. Our guys were able to sustain their effort. Our guys were able to sustain their communication. We didn't have any mix ups today where you see two guys go running with one person and one guy is popping open. I thought we did a really good job on the boards also.

On the impact of having Jabril [Trawick] back in the starting lineup...

Quite honestly, it has a huge impact. Just when he is on the court, we are a better team. I liked bringing him off the bench because we were getting a fusion off the bench. But we were just getting too many slow starts. We risk not having as much coming off the bench, but it turned out okay today and we are probably going to stick with it.

On defensive effort to "clamp down" on Tim Stainbrook...

He's scary. He's a very good offensive player who can score on the blocks and he's a very good passer. And they do a good job of spacing around. If you commit too much to him, he can pick you apart. And he's picked everyone apart.

The challenge was for our bigs, who showed up today, to make it hard. You can't just stand behind him and push him, but they had to be active in their post defense before he got the ball. And the guys guarding the passer did a good job of pressuring the passer so he wasn't getting it exactly where he wanted to, where you're either dead because he's too deep or he can pick you apart. I thought between Moses [Ayegba], Nate [Lubick] and Mikael [Hopkins], they did a very good job of, before the catch, pushing him out or moving and creating a few seconds of uncertainty which makes all the difference in the world.

On the turnover differential...

It's the same thing, which we didn't do last game. Last game we started off the game, the first two possessions were turnovers. We can't turn the ball over. We have to get a shot every time down the court. This group can't have wasted possessions. For the most part, this last stretch here, we have done okay with taking care of the ball. But to go through a game with three turnovers, I don't know that I've ever been a part of a team that did that.

On beating Xavier, a top team in the BIG EAST, and after they beat Georgetown last time...

It holds weight because it is the game we are playing right now. They are a very good team and they are much better than they looked today. And so, does it hold more weight? I don't think so. It feels good because they beat us the first time and you're able to get them back. But now we have to move on and hope we can do the same thing on Thursday.

On similarities between the last game versus Xavier and this one...

At halftime I mentioned it. To be honest, I didn't realize what the exact score was of the first game but I told them that we had a big lead just like this in the first game. I think we came out in the second half and reestablished ourselves, reestablished our energy.

On the extent of Moses' injury...

I think that he is fine. It's not even swollen. He said that he was hurting and that he couldn't go back in so when a guy says that, most of the time I listen to him.

On the play of Georgetown's frontcourt players...

It doesn't show up [in the stat sheet], but I thought our frontcourt was active. They were active on defense and they were a presence at the defensive end. They made it hard, for [Stainbrook], to get the ball. And that was a key part of our scouting report. If he gets the ball, they are a hard team to guard. As it relates to the points and the rebounds, we need them to do that. But their effort, they had constant effort and they were a presence on the defensive end - on the boards, blocking shots. If our frontcourt shows up, we usually play well as a group.

Georgetown Junior Forward Jabril Trawick

On thought process of getting back into the starting lineup and did that change how he approached the game...

I come out and play the same way every time. I knew that we needed to get off to a good start and I knew that coach put me back into the starting lineup to start the aggressiveness and start the game off strong, and that's what we did.

On how much more comfortable Jabril is shooting three pointers this year...

I know what I'm capable of. It is just about being confident. I know that a lot of teams may come out here and try to throw me off of my game, but I just try and stay aggressive.

Senior Guard Markel Starks

On whether that second half of the last game motivated him for this game...

Yeah, I mean we needed to win, so we came out and won.

On the team only turning the ball over three times...

That is unbelievable. I think we just took great care of the basketball today. I also think our attention to detail was there. We've missed that at times through the year, but it was a joy to play today. If we can sustain that effort and level of competitiveness every day, then we are going to do big things.

Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack

Opening Statement...

We were overwhelmed from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. We give a lot of credit to Georgetown; a team that is able to come off a very quick turnaround and play an early Saturday morning game. They outplayed us. They out hustled us. They outcoached us. They were by far the superior team on the court today. It wasn't even close.

On taking Matt Stainbrook out of the game...

We had a tough time bringing the ball into the halfcourt. Georgetown's contained press turned into a turnover-type press. It's a contained-press and our guards couldn't handle it well enough. Our positioning down the floor wasn't what it needed to be. The spacing was poor and because of that we were never able to get into a halfcourt offense where we should establish him in the low post. In the first game, they didn't pressure us as much and we had opportunities to get him the ball. Since we couldn't find our way into the halfcourt, we couldn't get him the ball.

On Georgetown's Jabril Trawick...

He brings a lot of toughness to the game; you could see that on the film. I think he is their emotional leader. I know Markel [Starks] is a senior and obviously wants to go out the right way. Jabril shot the ball well today and played with a lot of confidence. We knew he was a really good player and an emotional leader. He did a good job today.

On trying to comeback from a double-digit deficit...

It's a combination of things that makes it very difficult. Number one is that their offense in general has great spacing. They have two of the best guards in the conference.

Markel, in my mind, is the fastest player in the conference. He is a jet. We struggled to contain his quickness, when you are talking seven, eight minutes left in the game and you want to get some turnovers, you can't catch him. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera plays like an old man; he really knows how to use his body and has a great IQ for the game. He sees double -teams coming from a mile away and he always knows how to make the right play. They are a very difficult team to defend in a matter of trying to make them turn the ball over.

On where Xavier stands after the game...

I don't worry about the big picture, I worry about our practice and where it needs to be tomorrow. We stunk today and Georgetown had a big part in that. I mean, there are two teams out there; they have scholarship players. I'm not taking any credit away from them. They did a great job. They played extremely hard and very effective. And we stunk.