Jim Boeheim Teams Quotations

We got to play probably the two best teams in the conference besides Connecticut back-to-back in the road for television. That's just crazy.

We'll be alright. We need a few days off, we'll be ready to play. It's sad that you have to play such great teams back to back then you have six days off. It's not the right way to play your best basketball. I am proud of the way we've battled back though. This has been a very difficult way to start.

This year has proven that teams that just got in, or maybe didn't get in, can win games.

We just played three teams I consider to be Top Ten teams and, right now, we're not a Top Ten team.

We just played three teams I consider to be Top 10 teams and, right now, we're not a Top 10 team. It's sad we have to play great teams back-to-back ... that's not the right way. Nobody else has to do that, play back-to-back Saturday and Monday games two weeks in a row with three of four on the road. That's too much to ask.

I have a number in mind, I think it should probably be about four to six, somewhere in there. This year, more than ever, has proven that there are teams that might not get in, or might just barely get in, that can win games.

The top teams have been able to show they're the top teams. Everybody else is beating each other up.

The top teams are always going to have a rivalry. Connecticut is more of a big rivalry for us now because they've been so good. Now Georgetown's coming back, they'll be good again and that'll be a big rivalry game. It's the good teams that are rivals.

I don't think the overall identity of the conference has changed. We've been a good conference, and we are a good conference. There's more teams, I guess that's the change. The only thing that people really think about conferences is who the best teams are. We're going to have a lot of the best teams, like we always do.

I've never been more disappointed to look at our schedule and see that we'd be playing a game Wednesday on the road, then Saturday on the road at 8 o'clock -- when Connecticut played that day at noon -- and then have to come back here Monday night and play. Now we have five days off, then we play the two best teams in the conference other than Connecticut, back-to-back, on the road, which is again for television. That's just crazy to have to do that.

It's certainly a tremendous challenge. I don't know if it'll be any tougher than when we had three Final Four teams and two teams get to the Sweet Sixteen. It can't be much tougher than that, but it'll be difficult.

I'm never concerned about how many players a team has. Some of the best teams we've ever play only had five guys. In basketball, it's not about numbers, you don't need 10 guys, you only need five.

We haven't increased the number of teams in a long time and the quality has increased so much, I would have thought it would have been expanded a long time ago. This year more than ever there were teams that barely got in or didn't get in that can win games.

I don't want a doubling-type thing. I think there should be some teams added. I'm not looking at it like one or two. I'm not looking at 20 either. I think there should be an expansion of the tournament. Whatever seems to fit.

We really should be thinking, like, eight or 10 more teams get in.

We have struggled a little bit but we have lost five games to teams that were ranked in the Top Ten. This is a tough league. We still have tough games ahead. Every game in this league is a must win.

I think this year more than ever has proven there are teams that might not get in or just barely get in that can win games. In the past, years ago, I think there were always teams that maybe wanted to get in, but you really knew they couldn't win any games in the tournament if they got in.

We've got some really good teams. It's going to take a major upset for somebody to beat Connecticut. And three or four of our other teams are good enough to make a Final Four, maybe five.

We're not leaving out teams that can only win one game or no games. Now the reality is that we're leaving out teams that can win two and three and four games.

I just don't think you can have four teams not go to your tournament. It's not healthy. I tried to convince the people in the league and our coaches. We had a halfhearted fight about it. This year, it'll be an all-out fight.

These (conference) tournaments are so underdog-oriented. Teams that have to win, they're playing their hearts out. . . . You're going to beat teams that maybe are better. The real truth is, the teams that are better maybe aren't that much better.

The Big East, I think, we belong here. Even though we've added some teams from outside, we're still fundamentally the Big East. And I think we're better off than we would be in a southern conference.

We're pretty good, and we're getting better. I can't say we're one of the top three or four teams in the country, but we're definitely better than we were last year. Our problem is overly physical teams give us trouble.