Jan. 25, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery

USC Head Coach Dave Odom Quotes

” I can not think of a team who needed that type win in the country more than us.”

“We did it in front of a highly supportive crowd, led by our student body.”

“The key to the game was our defense. It is hard to hold a team like Florida down offensively when your offense is being lackluster. Our defense held up until our offense picked up.”

“We gave up one breakaway lay-up in the first half. I do not remember one in the second half. That was key in the game.”

“Florida’s Joakim Noah is going to be a sensational player.”

“When you take away their three’s and breakaway lay-up’s, you force a team like Florida to do stuff they do not want to do.”

“Once we put Stephen McDowell in, it forced them to go small.”

“For whatever reason against us, it seems that it is easier for opposing teams to shoot three’s late in the game.”

“This was a night the Gamecocks were going to win, and we did.”

USC Senior Forward Tarence Kinsey Quotes

“It’s just that something good had to happen. We’re not a bad team so something has to come good when there’s a group of guys that want to win and love the game of basketball and have coaches that believe in them.”

“It feels good to beat Florida. Every time we play them they always come out with the victory. When I come home they’re like `Florida owns you, Florida owns you.’ It just feels good beating them.”

USC Junior Forward Renaldo Balkman Quotes

“It’s a good win. It’s a great thing. They’ve got good players on that side but we came out with more intensity than they did. They’re a good team though. We earned it.”

“I’ve been here three years and they’ve beaten us every year. I think it was last year, it was a close game but they beat us here. (Today) I love it. Now I can brag to some of the players I know at Florida. Now I can brag and say `We got you.'”

“(People at home) rag on me all the time. `When will you all beat Florida?’ We finally did. It was good to come in here with a win.”

Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan Quotes

(On watching USC play earlier this year) “They were really showing signs of becoming a very good team.”

“The last 32 minutes we were outplayed, out-coached and out-everything by South Carolina.”

“They played harder than us. They deserved it more than us. I thought we were basically manhandled.”

“We didn’t play well in the first half. Horford only had one rebound in the first half and grabbed eight in the second half to have nine.”