Feb. 13, 2014

Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

South Carolina Head Coach Frank Martin

Opening Statement
Real happy with our guys they’re resolve, their fight, their attention to detail. Defensively we played really well. We played strong today and that is why we got 26 offensive rebounds. We didn’t shy away from contact and when the ball went on the rim we weren’t taking the hits we were getting through contact and going after the ball. I think that Vanderbilt is really good, obviously they don’t have a lot of man power but they are as well coached as any team in the country for starters, and number two, they have old guys that know how to play. I know a lot of SEC coaches just like me that are going to lose sleep knowing that their center is a freshman and he is going to be in this league for a while. I’m proud of my guys.

On his team’s effort paying off…
We almost did the same thing again where we build leads and then give it away because we are turning it over. We aren’t playing intelligently on offense, which leads to easy baskets for the other team and it gives them life and we almost did it again. We buckled down and made a couple mistakes, which allowed a 13-point game to become six in a matter of what seemed like 10 seconds. I don’t know how much time went off of the game clock but it seemed like it was about a 7-0 run in 10 seconds. Defensively, I thought that we were rock solid. We gave up some baskets their late because we were trying not to foul which makes you a little tentative. We also had those two turnovers that lead to easy baskets. One was an easy basket and the other was free throw. We played strong today and when it was time to win, we took care of the ball and took good shots.

Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings

Opening Statement…
First off, I would like to extend my appreciation to Coach (Ray) Tanner and his staff here, and Coach Martin and his staff because they couldn’t have done anymore to try to help us and make the conditions around this postponement any better. I really appreciate that. They were very professional, courteous and we appreciate that a lot. As far as the game goes, Frank’s team tried a lot harder than my team did. They played with a lot of purpose, a lot of fire, energy, and toughness. This was not what we were hoping for, but that is what we got.

On South Carolina’s control of the game…
I never thought we had the game in our control. We were never the team that was playing with the most fight. There was no point in that game where we were playing harder or with more of a purpose than South Carolina was. I don’t feel like we were on top of the game at any point.

On South Carolina’s and Sindarius Thornwell’s play…
We are not looking for excuses, we’re looking for results. Frank’s team played hard today and they played well. I thought that (Sindarius) Thornwell was the best player on the court today.