March 22, 2001
Stanford Head Coach Mike Montgomery
(On the game)
"The second half was more typical for us. Cincy disrupted us in the first half, they got us out of our flow and we weren't very smooth. I kind of messed up substitution-wise. The second half we handled the press. When they pressured the wings, we rode Jason (Collins). Casey and Ryan hit some big shots and I was really pleased with that."
(On Stanford defense)
"We were guilty of out-smarting ourselves in the first half. Our post guys were over-thinking. We weren't stopping their guards, they were getting all the way to the basket. Then we went zone and that helped us. It slowed Satterfield down and took some time off the clock."
(On playing Maryland)
"We know they're a great basketball team. One thing we've been successful on over the years is defending big players. We'll try to deny the ball inside as much as we can. But they do a lot of things well and (Juan) Dixon and (Lonny) Baxter present a problem."
Guard Casey Jacobsen
(On Maryland and matchup Sat.)
"Maryland, since they play in the ACC and are on ESPN every other day, I've seen Maryland, North Carolina and Duke a lot. That's good for us. I know a lot about their players. After seeing an interview with Gary Williams on Up Close the other day, I feel like I know him too. We will have our hands full but they will too. It's exciting to be here, we've worked so hard, and so have all of the other teams, but we've worked so hard. So many guys stepped up."
(On playing in Pond)
"This is probably the 10th or 11th time I've played here. That's nice, but the baskets are the same, the court is the same length for everyone. By Saturday, just by playing one game, Maryland will feel like they have just as much experience here. It's great just to play in front of so many friends and family."
(On playing Juan Dixon on Sat.)
"It is a big-time challenge for me. Dixon is very good and I'm not just saying that because you guys are in the room. I've seen him score a lot of points. I've enjoyed watching him and I have a lot of respect for him and all of the adversity he's been through. I hope he's looking forward to playing me as much as I am (to playing him)."
Center Jason Collins
(On halftime adjustments)
"At halftime we made some adjustments to get me some more touches inside. We probably ran the same play (in the 2nd half) every third time down the court. They had a lot of trouble stopping it."
(On second half run)
"We just tried to get the ball inside. We practiced against the double team all week. If I was double teamed, I kicked it out. If defended one-on-one, we're difficult to guard one-on-one. I didn't want to lose, no one wanted to lose. In the second half, we made plays, everyone took it up a level, including energy level. I started feeling it and my emotion showed."
Guard Ryan Mendez
(On difference between first and second half)
"I don't think it was a sense of panic because we knew we could play so much harder. If you look at the loose balls they kept getting and little things like that, it really started ticking us off quite frankly. I think we played the first half trying not to lose instead of playing to win."
(On Stanford's defensive philosophy)
"In the first half our philosophy was to have the point guards out on their own a little bit, but they were doing so well that in the second, coach told the posts to step up and had the wings come down."
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