Jim Calhoun Tournament Quotations

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

Obviously they're a tournament team. I thought they were a tournament team yesterday.

I think it's the very charm of exactly what this tournament is about and I truly believe that. We played Gonzaga in 1999 and everybody in Phoenix was attached to them. That's a very natural thing.

I think that's the charm of what this tournament is about.

I think he feels a great deal of pressure. He's a human highlight film, but he's a young player who is learning how to be good. This tournament could be an opportunity for him to break out a little bit. He kind of got worn down by the pressure of expectations.

Well, to state the obvious, we're happy to be here today. We survived an incredible basketball game between two incredibly competitive teams. I think that game could go up as Exhibition A of what this tournament has been.

You have seen somewhat the Connecticut you've heard about being disrupted in the tournament because teams do catch up. Teams find ways to catch you when you play 30-something games. We are 30-3, and I think (we) find a way to win.

We're not exactly coming off a disaster, we are 27-3. We have to treat this like a weekend tournament because it is for us.

This whole idea of David and Goliath is a real natural thing to root for the underdog. The charm of this tournament is every single night, we're all surprised by the things that happen.

The thing that scares me always the most and the thing I caution our players on is that next week, you go home. You go home for the Big East tournament. And then next time you go home, we pack up the uniforms. And this team is good enough to get to Indianapolis. Will it get to Indianapolis? I have no idea. ... Maybe the first round of the tournament some team gets up, plays us tough and we don't execute.

Sometimes the NCAA Tournament can overwhelm a team. Others come in and see the great opportunity and play with a sense of looseness, even better than what they had. ... George Mason was never scared off by the NCAA. As a matter of fact, they were inspired by the NCAA.

Sometimes it can be the best thing in the world for you. A lot of times when you go through a down period, you find out a lot more about yourself than times when everything is flowing and you're winning. To some degree, Kentucky is already tournament-tested. They've been playing games with tournament implications for a while now.

I think all 12 teams in this tournament are capable of playing in the NCAA tournament and doing well in the NCAA tournament. That is incredibly rare.