Bill Self Playing Quotations

Halfway through the second half, (the Raiders) were physically tired because we were able to throw a lot of bodies at them. We benefited from a travel day for them and them playing 45 minutes against Oklahoma State (on Saturday).

Today couldn't have been scripted much better for Kansas. This did a lot for our program from an exposure standpoint. Playing well was icing on the cake.

He's a good on-the-ball defender, loose-ball guy and forces help offensively. Now that he's not worried about making shots, he's shooting better. He's playing really well.

I always have had the approach to try to be loose. Last year was probably as tight as we've been going into a tournament and I think a lot of it was we weren't playing well.

He had a good attitude when he wasn't playing and he came in and made shots. But he does more than just make shots. He is concerned with being well-rounded and he is doing better defensively. He is stepping up and making shots because he is feeling good about how he is playing.

Our point guard and two-guard play has been average. That's not throwing anybody under the bus. We've just got to play better. When we do start playing better (at guard) I think our big guys will play better because they'll get more touches in tight at the basket.

I saw men playing against some guys that weren't quite as old.

I thought it was two teams playing really hard. I thought Oklahoma State played really tough and it rebounded well and pressured us out of what we wanted to do. We kind of did the same to them for awhile.

I thought there were some men playing against guys who were not as old tonight.

I worried because I knew that Stinson and Blalock love playing here.

We're still playing better physically than we are mentally.

The other thing our offense wasn't very good last night at all. If the offense isn't very good, I think you are better off playing your best defensive team the majority of time. That also could factor into the equation why those guys didn't get in the second half.

Teams learn how to win when they're not playing well and this team did that against Oklahoma. It's a maturation process with this team, but I think the guys really grew up in that game. Teams have to learn how to win ugly sometimes and we certainly did that. I couldn't be more proud of them.

I kind of thought we would be a four seed before the game even started. We are not complaining at all about the seed. That is one of the negatives about playing a game that butts right up to the selection show.

In the second half, they were playing tired because because we were able to throw a lot of bodies at them. Their main players don't ever come out.

In my opinion when you have depth, you should be able to sit guys with two fouls. We subbed with nine minutes left and had a comfortable lead. We're playing to win the game first, not for a point spread. We're doing things that give us the best chance to win the game. (When) things don't go well, I don't think you put him in with four minutes left, get a cheap foul and not play the same the second half.

These guys will come in and will play hard. They can shoot the ball. They'll make us make plays which will be good for us. Hopefully, we'll be excited to play. I'm sure the Holmes boys will let their teammates know how much it means to them and how much fun they'll have playing in Allen. We'll do the same.

That's one of the negatives of playing the game that butts up against the selection show.

The young guys ... they have been playing ample minutes in my opinion.

This team is pretty loose. A lot of that is just youth. We have a lot of young guys out there, and they don't know any better. Even when we're not playing well, they still seem to enjoy playing with each other.

I'd rather be playing every other day. But with four games in eight days after the OU game, we do need some rest right now, yet at the same time be focused and ready for next week, which is probably most pivotal to our season.

I don't think that's the case at all. Players and coaches talk that way all the time... about wanting it more. Both teams were playing hard. When two teams are playing hard, it comes down to execution, and Bradley did a better job of that.