Levon Kendall Quotations

We started to fade a bit, started to lose focus the last couple of weeks. We talked about tightening up, taking care of the little details and just sort of refocus and regroup.

One of the beauties of this team is we have so many guys who can score. Tonight was just really a matter of everyone stepping up and helping each other out. That's one reason why we're so tough too beat.

He's a tough player. He's strong and he works hard. We did a fairly good job on him, but he was able to get some easy baskets and dunks off of some rebounds.

This was a good learning experience for us. We got away from our game plan, and it cost us. We have to stick to the things that have been working for us all year or we're going to keep losing.

I think the sky's the limit for this team. We have lots of talent. We're really deep. Dixon has done a really good coaching job. He's gotten us to work on our weaknesses. We're getting better and better, progressing each game.

Just being mentally prepared right off the bat is the key. You can't allow yourself to think because you're the higher seed that you're going to automatically win.

That's the thing about the Big East. We got a big win at Louisville. Initially, you think that Rutgers and St. John's would be easier, but really, the Big East is so tough. Rutgers took Villanova to overtime, and they have a really good chance of making it to the NCAA tournament.

We realized Seton Hall was playing for a tourney bid, and they had a lot to gain from tonight. They were working hard and we didn't match their intensity for 40 minutes.

We don't want to let them get any second-chance shots. We have to stay on the boards and limit their second-chance points and their transition.

We've done a good job of improving consistently all the way from the freshmen to the seniors. The coaches do not let us get caught up in winning.

We were kind of talking about it, joking around. It didn't seem like (the Big East tournament run) had much effect. It seemed like we could have lost in the first round and it wouldn't have changed much.

We didn't get the win we were looking for on Monday to, hopefully, clinch that fourth seed and the bye. We've just got to take care of what we can control and hope for the best.

With the Big East, you can't afford to have too many losses. There's so many tough teams. When the Big East Tournament rolls around, you want to have the highest seed as possible.

You can tell from the preseason rankings that they don't really mean much. I don't think we were in the top 50 when the season started. They're not really representative of the truth. It's something you really try not to worry about too much. It's nice to get the recognition, but there's always going to be critics and there's always going to be people who doubt you no matter what you do.

We wanted to start off fast. We wanted to stress the first five minutes of both halves. We've had some slow starts throughout the year. We didn't want that to happen again. We didn't want to give them reason to believe.

It was a little bit surprising. But I guess with the way it's happened in the past, maybe it isn't too surprising.

The sky's the limit for this team. We have lots of talent. We're deep.

Depending on how he plays, the team sort of follows. He did a great job. We expected it coming into this year. He's worked real hard and deserves everything he's gotten. We're looking to ride him the rest of the way.

They were definitely out there battling. They gave us some problems.

They're the best team in the Big East right now. They know how to win. It's a huge game. In the Big East, you can't afford too many losses. There are so many tough teams. West Virginia is at the top. That's our goal, so we're going to have to beat them. It's a big game. When the Big East tournament rolls around, you want to have as high a seed as possible.

A lot of people (on television) were picking against us. We took it personally.

They have a lot of older guys. They make very few turnovers. They capitalize off your mistakes. It's hard to get them out of their comfort zone. They have a lot of seniors and juniors who have been playing for a while. We're going to have to match their efficiency and be just as solid as they are if we want to be in there with them and get the win.

They're a pretty unique team because all five guys can shoot and space the floor. It comes down to individual defense because you can't help too much, which is something we tend to do quite a bit. They can all shoot, so you can only help so much off penetration.

It's a tough loss, but the only way it's going to turn into a bad loss is if we don't turn around and learn from it.

It's a little bit of bad timing, but for the city overall, it's great. People still recognize we're winning, so it's not a problem.

It's going to be a good challenge for us. We match up fairly well with them.

St. John's is a tough team, and they battled all game. They play aggressive defense. When they make the plays and make the shots, they are tough to beat. They're going to be a force in the Big East.

It's big. Obviously we're a little less star-struck than guys who haven't been here before. It can catch you off-guard at first.

They weren't intimidated at all. They were in our face the whole game.

For the most part we played well defensively. We let up a little bit a couple times once we got the big lead and that's when they got back in it.