Courtesy Florida Sports Information
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening statement
“Just an incredible win for our program. I thought our guys were fantastic for 40 minutes tonight. We were able to withstand a little rush early in the game, which we knew we were going to see. The last 36 minutes of the game, I thought we were just about as good as you could be in an environment like this. We took care of the basketball, limited their opportunities to run out in transition. We rebounded really well until about the last eight minutes of the game. I thought we defended very well, limited their opportunities to get transition baskets, which is a huge key to giving yourself a chance to compete in here. As I told the guys in the locker room, to win a game like this you’ve got to step up and make some shots. We made 13 threes, we were 15-for-18 from the foul line, and our players deserve all the credit for this victory today.”
On the historical importance, getting the first road win vs. #1 and snapping Auburn’s home win streak
“It’s incredible. I’m very proud of our program and where it is in Year 3. Again, I think it speaks a lot about our staff and our players to be able to come into an environment like this. Obviously, I worked here for two years, and I know what being able to compete in here is all about. Obviously, Bruce [Pear] and their program has done an incredible job. Best team in the country. One of, if not the best environments in America. The crowd is just insane. You make one mistake and the place is going nuts. Again, I think the biggest key was the mental toughness of our team. We just executed for 37 minutes. In that second half, it felt like we were out there forever. I kept looking up at the clock and it’s still 13 minutes, 12 minutes. It just seemed like it was never going to run out. But at halftime we talked to the guys about wanting to play 60 more minutes, not just 20. It’s a huge win for us. It’s a really big win for us. Obviously, it’s a needle-mover in terms of NCAA seeding. It’s a needle-mover in terms of where we finish in the SEC. I’d be hard-pressed to believe there’s going to be another club that’s going to be able to come in here in conference play and get a win.”
Senior G Walter Clayton Jr.
On how his ankle felt coming off the injury, especially with a fast start
“Ankle’s fine now. Training team did a good job just all week being in there with me, so the ankle’s doing good. I’ve still been in the gym getting my shots up, so no surprise.”
On the team rallying for two shorthanded wins this week
“I think we’ve all got a ‘next man up’ mentality. Alijah [Martin] wasn’t on the court, but Alijah’s still there. He was talking the whole game. He was telling us what he’s seeing. Same thing when I was on the bench. I was just telling the guys what I was seeing. So it was a lot of great communication between us, and we executed like Coach said.”
On his nine assists and the team’s 22
“The ball was definitely moving around great today. Guys were just hitting shots. Urb [Klavzar] was hitting shots. Zel [Aberdeen] was hitting shots. Will [Richard] was hitting shots. Condo [Alex Condon] and the bigs were hitting shots. That’s good execution on our part, and that’s where a lot of the assists came from.”
Sophomore F/C Alex Condon
On fighting through the slow start
“We came in with the right mentality. We went down at the start, but didn’t get too worked about it. We just slowly came back and then we weren’t playing around with the lead. We were composed and didn’t turn it over in critical situations.”
Sophomore F Thomas Haugh
On rallying to finish the first half strong
“We went on that run in the first quarter [of the game] and we were all like, ‘It’s OK. It’s another game in the SEC.’ Let’s go! Let’s do what we need to do.”
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening statement
“Just an incredible win for our program. I thought our guys were fantastic for 40 minutes tonight. We were able to withstand a little rush early in the game, which we knew we were going to see. The last 36 minutes of the game, I thought we were just about as good as you could be in an environment like this. We took care of the basketball, limited their opportunities to run out in transition. We rebounded really well until about the last eight minutes of the game. I thought we defended very well, limited their opportunities to get transition baskets, which is a huge key to giving yourself a chance to compete in here. As I told the guys in the locker room, to win a game like this you’ve got to step up and make some shots. We made 13 threes, we were 15-for-18 from the foul line, and our players deserve all the credit for this victory today.”
On the historical importance, getting the first road win vs. #1 and snapping Auburn’s home win streak
“It’s incredible. I’m very proud of our program and where it is in Year 3. Again, I think it speaks a lot about our staff and our players to be able to come into an environment like this. Obviously, I worked here for two years, and I know what being able to compete in here is all about. Obviously, Bruce [Pear] and their program has done an incredible job. Best team in the country. One of, if not the best environments in America. The crowd is just insane. You make one mistake and the place is going nuts. Again, I think the biggest key was the mental toughness of our team. We just executed for 37 minutes. In that second half, it felt like we were out there forever. I kept looking up at the clock and it’s still 13 minutes, 12 minutes. It just seemed like it was never going to run out. But at halftime we talked to the guys about wanting to play 60 more minutes, not just 20. It’s a huge win for us. It’s a really big win for us. Obviously, it’s a needle-mover in terms of NCAA seeding. It’s a needle-mover in terms of where we finish in the SEC. I’d be hard-pressed to believe there’s going to be another club that’s going to be able to come in here in conference play and get a win.”
Senior G Walter Clayton Jr.
On how his ankle felt coming off the injury, especially with a fast start
“Ankle’s fine now. Training team did a good job just all week being in there with me, so the ankle’s doing good. I’ve still been in the gym getting my shots up, so no surprise.”
On the team rallying for two shorthanded wins this week
“I think we’ve all got a ‘next man up’ mentality. Alijah [Martin] wasn’t on the court, but Alijah’s still there. He was talking the whole game. He was telling us what he’s seeing. Same thing when I was on the bench. I was just telling the guys what I was seeing. So it was a lot of great communication between us, and we executed like Coach said.”
On his nine assists and the team’s 22
“The ball was definitely moving around great today. Guys were just hitting shots. Urb [Klavzar] was hitting shots. Zel [Aberdeen] was hitting shots. Will [Richard] was hitting shots. Condo [Alex Condon] and the bigs were hitting shots. That’s good execution on our part, and that’s where a lot of the assists came from.”
Sophomore F/C Alex Condon
On fighting through the slow start
“We came in with the right mentality. We went down at the start, but didn’t get too worked about it. We just slowly came back and then we weren’t playing around with the lead. We were composed and didn’t turn it over in critical situations.”
Sophomore F Thomas Haugh
On rallying to finish the first half strong
“We went on that run in the first quarter [of the game] and we were all like, ‘It’s OK. It’s another game in the SEC.’ Let’s go! Let’s do what we need to do.”