March 26, 2004

Recap |  Box Score

UAB ended its season with a 100-74 loss to Kansas. Below are a few quotes from the postgame press conference:

OPENING STATEMENT FROM HEAD COACH Mike Anderson

"First of all, I want to tell these guys, my basketball team, that I've never been more proud of a basketball team. To come out and just lay it on the line not only in this game, but all season. At the same time, Kansas is used to this atmosphere. This is something new for our guys. I think you saw us getting caught up in the atmosphere. When you don't make shots, it's hard to put the pressure on like we usually do. I saw some things today that were not typical of our basketball team, but you've got to give some of that credit to Kansas."

On Kansas handling the pressure:
"Once again, I just thought it wasn't a typical night for us. It seemed like we were just a step off on anything we did. They seemed to make the adjustments or make the extra pass. You gotta give credit to Kansas. They did a good job of preparing for us. At the same time, I just don't think I saw my total basketball team tonight. I think just being in this setting is something new to our guys. They may not see it, but from a coaching standpoint, you could sense it and get caught up in it. It's something we're going to learn from, no question about it."

On Wayne Simien:
"I thought early on, we did not make any adjustments and once again, it's hard to get into our pressure defense if we don't make shots. Of course, they have size and Wayne Simien is a very good basketball player. They did a good job of finding him and getting inside. He also shot 20 free throws and when you shoot that many free throws, you're going to score a lot of points."

SENIOR FORWARD Sidney Ball

On putting the season in perspective:
"That's a hard question to answer. It probably won't happen until the end of the basketball season. Not until the national championship has been won, probably then get a chance to look back at it."

On Kansas' guards breaking the pressure:
"I think it was a combination of both their guards and inside play. Kansas has some great guards and they also got good low-post position. They got in good position to score and they were able to take advantage of that."

SENIOR GUARD Mo Finley

On Kansas handling the pressure:
"Kansas is a great team. They found our weaknesses and they did a great job of exploiting it. They did a good job of finishing once they broke the pressure."

"We had to try to make adjustments as the game went on. We usually try to adjust to what they opponent is doing and today, we just didn't make those adjustments."