from kstatesports.com
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement
(First, just give) credit to coach (Bob) Huggins and his team and their staff, to get their culture back after last year. I know it was a struggle for him. It wasn’t a fun season for him. He made some tough decisions. They got their culture back, they played their butts off. (They were) probably not like (Jevon) Carter’s teams and that group, but in their own way, they have a good unit. I also appreciate the West Virginia fans. Just at the hotel, (there were) people everywhere with great pride, and (there was a) sellout today. It was really cool. It’s kind of old-time college basketball, I thought. I really appreciate that. Hats off to them. I thought our guys battled. They’ve destroyed everybody here in the last stretch. With Texas, 38, and TCU, 30, and Missouri, 20 something, and even Texas Tech was double digits. We knew it would be a tough task. We were just saying to grind in there, stay close, maybe we will make a couple plays. We just didn’t make the shots and the free throws. And credit to them. I thought we missed either four or five straight free throws in the second half, when it was right there. You know, I think we could’ve taken the lead twice, and we just missed the free throw. (Senior guard Chase) Harler hit the one 3, and then we went zone and (junior guard Taz) Sherman hit that other 3 with one second on the shot clock and those were back-breakers, and now they get to seven and nine (points ahead). If you really study it, it’s the box score. They made six 3’s and we made 3’s and it’s nine points. So, you know you find a way to make one or two of those and some were open and some were forced. Their defense was much better than at our place obviously, but you know, credit to our guys. We’ve made improvement, we’ve battled. I would like them to play a little sharper and crisp, but part of that is how West Virginia plays.
On how hard it was to win with three 3-point baskets in the game
I guess that’s the low of the year for us and it makes it tough. You know that’s probably why we beat them at our place. We made those shots. We spread the defense. Now, we have to them spread out chasing us. It makes it tough. We still outscored them, I think, in points in the paint, which is not very easy to do. You know, so we did some good things. We just need to be a little better. Everybody, if are going to have a chance. Obviously, foul trouble made it difficult, too, for us.
On how senior forward Xavier Sneed can work out of his slump
I think he just has to take a deep breath, and I keep telling him that. Enjoy your last year of college. It’s tough on seniors with high expectations, and he wants it so bad he almost over does it. The only way I know for shooting (improvement) is to get in the gym. If you can’t hit in baseball, you get in the batting cage and you start with the tee, work on your stroke. Then, you do slow pitches and speed it up. Basketball, you get in the gym and start with two-foot shots, four-foot shots, six-foot shots. Get the rhythm back. Get the stroke back. He took seven 3’s out of how many shots he attempted. Go get some layups. The other night, he got some layups. That helps, too.
On what makes West Virginia so tough to beat at home
Their defense. It wasn’t what it was with (Jevon) Carter and that (team), but they are physical. They are aggressive, they battle, they don’t let you walk into stuff. I was shocked at our place. We kind of ran all of our stuff, and today it was more like I anticipated. Our guys needed to be a little sharper, a little tougher, make a little better decisions. We charged a few times, we should have just jump-stopped and made those easy passes, but obviously, we didn’t make the shot, so I’m not sure it would have helped. They are just so physical inside. (With) those two big guys, it’s tough. Oscar (Tshiebwe) had the same numbers as last time. I think he was eight (points) and seven (rebounds) at our place, and he’s eight (points) and eight (rebounds) today. Definitely, (Derek) Culver, 19 (points) and 14 (rebounds), made a big difference in the game, probably.
On if Kansas State and WVU have the same mentality
I hope so. That’s a nice compliment (from Derek Culver). Our coaches do a great job of scouting. Down the stretch, they really executed two or three things, and we probably, mentally, were not locked in where we needed to be locked in at the end. I thought we’d take away their stuff. We’d fight them. We try not to make passes easy. Those first catches, so they’re not in their comfort zones. We tell our guys to battle in the post, and that is not an easy task against them.
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber
Opening Statement
(First, just give) credit to coach (Bob) Huggins and his team and their staff, to get their culture back after last year. I know it was a struggle for him. It wasn’t a fun season for him. He made some tough decisions. They got their culture back, they played their butts off. (They were) probably not like (Jevon) Carter’s teams and that group, but in their own way, they have a good unit. I also appreciate the West Virginia fans. Just at the hotel, (there were) people everywhere with great pride, and (there was a) sellout today. It was really cool. It’s kind of old-time college basketball, I thought. I really appreciate that. Hats off to them. I thought our guys battled. They’ve destroyed everybody here in the last stretch. With Texas, 38, and TCU, 30, and Missouri, 20 something, and even Texas Tech was double digits. We knew it would be a tough task. We were just saying to grind in there, stay close, maybe we will make a couple plays. We just didn’t make the shots and the free throws. And credit to them. I thought we missed either four or five straight free throws in the second half, when it was right there. You know, I think we could’ve taken the lead twice, and we just missed the free throw. (Senior guard Chase) Harler hit the one 3, and then we went zone and (junior guard Taz) Sherman hit that other 3 with one second on the shot clock and those were back-breakers, and now they get to seven and nine (points ahead). If you really study it, it’s the box score. They made six 3’s and we made 3’s and it’s nine points. So, you know you find a way to make one or two of those and some were open and some were forced. Their defense was much better than at our place obviously, but you know, credit to our guys. We’ve made improvement, we’ve battled. I would like them to play a little sharper and crisp, but part of that is how West Virginia plays.
On how hard it was to win with three 3-point baskets in the game
I guess that’s the low of the year for us and it makes it tough. You know that’s probably why we beat them at our place. We made those shots. We spread the defense. Now, we have to them spread out chasing us. It makes it tough. We still outscored them, I think, in points in the paint, which is not very easy to do. You know, so we did some good things. We just need to be a little better. Everybody, if are going to have a chance. Obviously, foul trouble made it difficult, too, for us.
On how senior forward Xavier Sneed can work out of his slump
I think he just has to take a deep breath, and I keep telling him that. Enjoy your last year of college. It’s tough on seniors with high expectations, and he wants it so bad he almost over does it. The only way I know for shooting (improvement) is to get in the gym. If you can’t hit in baseball, you get in the batting cage and you start with the tee, work on your stroke. Then, you do slow pitches and speed it up. Basketball, you get in the gym and start with two-foot shots, four-foot shots, six-foot shots. Get the rhythm back. Get the stroke back. He took seven 3’s out of how many shots he attempted. Go get some layups. The other night, he got some layups. That helps, too.
On what makes West Virginia so tough to beat at home
Their defense. It wasn’t what it was with (Jevon) Carter and that (team), but they are physical. They are aggressive, they battle, they don’t let you walk into stuff. I was shocked at our place. We kind of ran all of our stuff, and today it was more like I anticipated. Our guys needed to be a little sharper, a little tougher, make a little better decisions. We charged a few times, we should have just jump-stopped and made those easy passes, but obviously, we didn’t make the shot, so I’m not sure it would have helped. They are just so physical inside. (With) those two big guys, it’s tough. Oscar (Tshiebwe) had the same numbers as last time. I think he was eight (points) and seven (rebounds) at our place, and he’s eight (points) and eight (rebounds) today. Definitely, (Derek) Culver, 19 (points) and 14 (rebounds), made a big difference in the game, probably.
On if Kansas State and WVU have the same mentality
I hope so. That’s a nice compliment (from Derek Culver). Our coaches do a great job of scouting. Down the stretch, they really executed two or three things, and we probably, mentally, were not locked in where we needed to be locked in at the end. I thought we’d take away their stuff. We’d fight them. We try not to make passes easy. Those first catches, so they’re not in their comfort zones. We tell our guys to battle in the post, and that is not an easy task against them.
