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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2006Barry CollierJason DourisseauJamel WhiteDALLAS, TEXAS MODERATOR: Coach, we'll come to you first for your thoughts on tonight's victory. COACH BARRY COLLIER: I thought our team got off to an okay start in this game and we had a good first half working, but Missouri was not going to back down and they made a push there. We fouled them and started missing free throws. That was really a big part of our problem. In the second half, we stretched it out to I think a dozen or so again and really weren't able to finish with some scoring at that point and they really took it to the basket on us. We had some trouble stopping them and then some great individual plays were made at the end of the game. Jamel's three-pointer was a huge basket and then we finally got some stops in the first few possessions. Q. What about Oklahoma? You guys played them earlier this year? Jason, this goes to you. You won that game by a point, what do you think about the matchup with them? JASON DOURISSEAU: That's a tough, well-coached team. We're going to have to come out and obviously give a lot of effort. But we got to show a little bit more toughness than we did tonight as far as free throws and some turnovers. Just, you know, letting the ball go through our hands and things of that nature. We're going to have to try and win the battle on the glass as well because they are a great offensive rebounding team and they got one of the best front lines not only in our conference but probably in America. It's going to be a tough game. We're going to get rested up and be ready for them. Q. On Sunday in Columbia you kind of took that loss on your shoulders because the weight-guard, in other words, went off. What was your attitude heading down the stretch in relationship to that? JASON DOURISSEAU: To be honest with you, some of those threes he shot tonight at the end of game there wasn't much difference. The only difference was the result. I had a hand up on Sunday as well as tonight and they didn't go in fortunately tonight. But a player of his caliber, like I say, he's capable of going off at any time and, you know, we're fully aware of that. I just try to stay on him as much as possible and chase him as hard as I could. Fortunately he wasn't knocking down as many shots tonight. Q. Do you find it a little ironic that on Sunday your coach said you guys fell in love with the jump shot at the end of the game and tonight you are left with a decision whether to take one or not? Talk about what was going through your mind at that point? JAMEL WHITE: Well, the shot clock was going down a little bit. My teammates just found me at the right place. It was a good shot. Q. Jason, was this last dunk powered by a senior who didn't want to finish this thing tonight? JASON DOURISSEAU: I figured -- it's part of that, but figured if I didn't try to dunk that I probably would have got it blocked. They weren't calling many fouls down there. I just went aggressive. Aleks made a great play to get that rebounds. He found me, they were scrambling, I had a hand at the basket, I just took it. I was going to try and dunk that to matter what. Q. What are you feeling right now? This is something new at the Big 12 tournament. COACH BARRY COLLIER: I am hoping that we don't have many questions so we can go practice free throws right now because I think that about gave the game away. I feel really good about our team because they want to keep playing basketball. There's four days here for us as we finished in the 6 spot and I thought that our focus was really good. We had got out to a 12-point lead in that first half with just four to go, stumbled there at the end of the first half. And then again, I thought we started well again in the second half and pushed out to a good lead. But Missouri didn't stop. It was a tough ballgame for both teams, I think. Q. If could you also talk about tomorrow night's matchup against Oklahoma? COACH BARRY COLLIER: It's been a while since we played them given that was the opener of the Big 12 season. So we have certainly watched them play and push themselves right to the brink of being in the Championship position. But the thing for us is to try to duplicate the things we have been capable of doing this season. Talked to our team before our game about those kind of thoughts and focusing on making similar plays that have already been made. With Oklahoma, they have got an excellent team. They really didn't -- they were without one of their key guys who has played very well for them, when we played, and but they -- you can always start with Gray and Bookout and Everett, so they are obviously a very good team to finish third in our league. Q. That shot clock run down a little too close for comfort when ended with White's long three-pointer? COACH BARRY COLLIER: Really we were trying to milk as much clock as we could late in the game and working with the penetration and trying to attack and maybe draw some help defense and find an open teammate. That's kind of a basic in basketball. But we're not -- we don't have a specific time other than before that, that sucker buzzes, so it was fortunate. Q. Speaking of free throws, 50% from the line tonight. Anything you can attribute to that poor shooting? Is it just a lack of concentration? COACH BARRY COLLIER: I don't know that -- we had a couple of guys there that don't get a lot of opportunities in the first half that missed and then Alex missed a couple early. Sometimes free throws seem to work like that, they think more about it than they should at the free-throw line, but I don't think that anybody has -- we're close to a 70% free throw shooting team for the season and yet tonight it just about cost us the game, so -- I don't think that will happen again and I hope we get fouled as much because going to the free-throw line is normally a very good thing.
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