Jamie Dixon Last Quotations

Hamilton is a big-time player who put up big numbers last year. He's had some injuries, but he can get it going at any time. He is very good around the basket. He can also step out and shoot it. I thought he was an all-league type player last year. And he's improved this year.

He had some health problems, so he's getting checked up. I think he will be on a flight tomorrow. He practiced yesterday, but got very ill last night ... He was throwing up last night and did not feel well. He was violently sick last night.

Records on the road usually aren't as good as records at home. We want to be undefeated on the road well but we had all five games down to the last minute. They could have gone either way.

We had four good games up there. We got a lot of good things out of it. A lot of guys got some good, big-game experience in a hostile atmosphere similar to what we'll face in the NCAA tournament. We got better last week. That's the biggest advantage.

We've always played three guards in certain instances over the years. A number of programs do that. Oftentimes, your smaller players are your better players. Last year, our bigger guys were our better players.

We've always thought he was a very good player and always believed in him. He just happened to play on some very good teams behind some very good players. Last year, he developed and got better. He played in a lot of big games against a lot of good people.

Every time these teams have gotten together in the last five years, every game has been like this down to the end. Every game has been a battle.

This was a great win for us. I think we were anxious at first and rushed a bit. But we calmed down and played a great last 30 minutes. They're a very good team, ranked 19th in the RPI, so they're battle tested and very well coached. Their size and versatility make them hard to play against. I thought we did a good job offensively, especially running the clock at the end and getting great shots towards the end of possessions. Our defense still has a long way to go though.

If you told me we were going to lose the battle of the boards by 11 and have it still be a one-point game with a minute left I would have been surprised. It's amazing. Every time these teams have gotten together in the last five years, every game has been like this down to the end. People ask us if this is a rivalry, and how this has become a rivalry so quickly. Every game has been a battle.

It's amazing. Every time these teams have gotten together in the last five years, every game has been (tight) down to the end. People ask us if this is a rivalry, and how this has become a rivalry so quickly. It's not very common for a rivalry to come upon this quickly. Every game has a lot of riding on it. Every game has been a battle.

These guys are good players. They're experienced guys. We know them from last year. They bring a different dimension. They're very active, athletic and quick. They are probably the best all-around big guys we've played so far.

It's as tough as it has been, no question. There's no question the league has gotten tougher the last couple of years. When we first got into the conference seven years ago there was talk that the conference was down a little bit. The conference is on the rise the last couple of years.

We weren't playing well despite the fact that we stressed the last three days about getting off to a good start.