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Utah vs. BYU Post Game Quotes
12/2/2015 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
UTAH vs. BYU POST GAME QUOTES
Utah 83, BYU 75
Utah Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
Summing up the game…
It is kind of hard in a short period of time. I thought it was about three different games really. The first half, I don't know that we could have played much better. We did a terrific job defensively, made a number of three's and moved the basketball. It was really perfect. Then we had the little halftime break. We came out and I thought Jakob provided a focal point for us in the first half and then second half, in the first ten minutes, I don't know how many times he touched the ball. Guys got to feeling good with their three-point shot, I thought. We started jacking a bunch of them up and they weren't going in. There were a combination of some turnovers. Then I think that sucked the life out of us defensively. We let our guard down. When your offense is miserable like that, I think it carried over to the other end. We managed to hold them off and recapture the energy we had defensively. We got three or four stops, then all of a sudden we made some shots. Basically three different ball games in forty minutes.
About Jakob's playing …
I think he was solid to begin with. Kuzma was just a point away from us having five players in double figures. There was some pretty good balance. Jakob does nice job in the post. They played him straight up in a number of possessions tonight and he did exactly what he needed to do. He slowed down and then the couple of occasions where they doubled him, he did a great job of finding some shooters. Overall, it was a pretty solid performance. I just think it is a great opportunity to learn a little bit. I mean, give BYU credit. They could have folded it up and went away which they didn't. The momentum in this game of basketball is interesting and they got us on our heels. It all started with Jakob, there is no doubt about it.
On the foul against BYU…
I saw it live. Basically punched Brandon and I watched him tell him to stay on the ground after he punched him. Crazy things happen in this game and I just hope thats something we would never do.
Fouls chopping up the plays in second half…
Well, I think the style changed a little bit. Not to put the refs in a awkward situation. There were three, four, five fouls in a row and it got into some guys that affected our rotation. We got guys with four fouls fairly early in the second half. I thought it was effective. We needed to do a better job. Without seeing the film, I don't know if we were a step behind or they were doing a nice job running around. I thought we were trying to be a little bit to physical when they were trying to get places maybe when we had an opportunity to shoot the gap. It definitely played a factor in the ball game. It was physical and then it seemed like that five minute stretch, there were a lot of whistles.
Senior Guard Brandon Taylor
On the punch…
It was a dirty play. It's uncalled for and it is what it is. I bounced right back and got right back up. He said something very foul and I'm not going to repeat it. Not only did he hit me like that but he said something very foul. I'm going to leave it like that.
On second half…
We took a lot of threes and we didn't get the ball in the post like we should have like we did in the first half. That opens up the floor once you establish a post presence. Also, taking care of the ball. I think I had five turnovers and I have to better at taking care of the ball along with the other guards and our team. If we want to get to the next level, we have to build on the lead and take care of the ball at the same time.
Junior Guard Kenneth Ogbe
On starting…
It is great. I am happy. I am happy every minute I can get on the court. I don't know what to say, I am just happy.
On being the play maker…
It is very important to be that guy. You just have to bring energy in games like those. Its a rivalry and it gets crazy. Everyone is looking forward to that game and I was hyped. I played this game last year and I knew how it was. I was ready to bring the energy. Our fans did an incredible job as well. They helped us out.
Having Jakob almost the whole game…
We all know how good Jakob is. He is an NBA guy. That is where the ball has to go. He opens up the floor for us. We get open three's because of him. He is an NBA guy, he is our most important player.
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BYU Head Coach Dave Rose
On first half struggles...
The first half was a little disheartening. I thought that we had a good plan, but they were the aggressors. We had a hard time guarding the dribble penetration and when we did bring someone to help they found an open shooter. They shot the ball well. They changed their lineup a little bit and got some good scoring from that fifth spot. As far as perimeter shots, Ogbe hitting 3 of 5 in the first half. We made a couple of adjustments at halftime, but mainly it was just challenging our guys to be more competitive, active and the assertive team. I thought we played better in the second half, but we were in a really big hole.
On rebounding...
We knew that rebounding would be a huge key in the game and they out rebounded us. They ended up outscoring us almost the same way.
On the effectiveness of the 1-3-1 at the beginning of the second half...
They haven't seen it. We haven't played it all year and our guys were really aggressive. They (Utah) were also a little bit passive and back on their heels. We were able to score a few baskets and had some momentum. They finally figured it out and got the ball to the middle, deep. Two things, Taylor's penetration hurt us and Poeltl's ability to get deep catches and score.
On not being able to put together a complete game...
We talked about that in the locker room. Hopefully, we can get past ourselves and get to our team. We want to work on building our team from here. We have learned a lot about ourselves and I learned a lot about our team tonight. I was very pleased with how we competed and executed in the second half, at times. We need to get better at that.
On Emery's flagrant foul...
I talked to the official and he told me that it was pretty obvious what happened. I talked to Nick and I wanted to make sure that he saw the entire play. He told me that he got it, it was pretty easy and it was kind of textbook stuff. We sent Nick to the locker room and Taylor to the free throw line. I didn't actually see the full play until after I addressed the team. It looks like when this is sent to the conference office there will be more than just what happened here tonight.
BYU's Chase Fischer
Thoughts on the game...
We didn't execute. Ogbe starting was a little bit of a surprise to us. Credit to Utah. They did a good job of taking us out of what we wanted to do. We just have to execute better and come out with more urgency. We played harder in the second half and it gave us a chance to even be in the game. I think that we are capable of executing, but we have to just piece it together and figure out how this team clicks.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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