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“Well, it’s been a hell of a trip for us, and I’m really proud of my team, proud of our guys. I thought we battled like crazy. Give Kansas credit, they’ve had a week off, you could tell, just the preparation, how ready they were right away to play, I thought they were the best version of who they are. Their experience is legit, their talent, obviously Coach Self, man, he’s one of the best. He’s done a terrific job always, so ton of respect for them and give them credit.”
“For us, look, it’s easy, it would have been easy to fold in that kind of game. The way they came out, I thought they made some tough shots to be honest with you, thought we missed some open ones, and we just started fighting. We just kept fighting and kept fighting. We’re asking a lot of our 17-, 18-, and 19-year-olds. We are, and that’s what they want. I thought the character and the heart of our team really showed tonight. And as much as I badly want to win, I think maybe at some point, I’ve thought about if I’m crazy for the schedule we’ve had our first six games, but I did it with this group because I felt they could take it. I felt that they’re wired the right way, they have a toughness about them, and the growth that we’re going to have from this game, this whole trip, playing in Arizona and then coming back and playing Kansas on a neutral site, we’re going to grow so much.”
“So disappointed, wanted to win badly for our guys, I want to win badly, but we’re going to learn so much and be better from this.”
