Related pages Box score Season stats Possession analysis advertisement [an error occurred while processing this directive]

"This is one of those records that really did mean something to me. I wanted to be a part of the group that did that. I wanted this team to be a part of the group that did that. I remember when I came here 10 years ago. I was looking through the records, and I thought that was one that would never be touched. And I really mean that. I was 10 years at North Carolina with some very good teams, and we never had anything close to that. I think 21 was the most we ever had in a row during that time. But we've accomplished it through conference play, which is very good competition, and we've brought some good teams in here. "I thought Raef was sensational, and that'll be the big story, and should be the big story of the game. But from a choach's viewpoint, I thought defensively we were unbelievable. We were flying around all over the court in the first half. They shoot 14%. Now they had some good looks that just didn't go in. It was a bad day for them. But I thought Paul and Nick were both sensational bothering Cory (Carr) in the first half. Cory showed the kind of player he is in the second half when he came back and made a bunch of them. I think it might have been Paul Pierc's best game defensively since he's been here. On two different occasions the ball is on the floor, and he fights for it and keeps it loose. One time we ended up with it, and the other time it was a jump ball. But defensively we were really something. I was ticked off we gave them the last four of the half to give them 14. The second half they made some more shots. "But going back to the big fella, he's got to be the story. He could have played last Saturday (69-62 victory over KSU) and Monday (73-74 loss at MU), but I didn't think it was the right thing to do for him. We would have liked to have had him on the court, but I think that extra week really helped him and gave him three or four good days of practice. That gave him a little bit of extra confidence, too. Because I think if we'd tried to bring him back last Saturday or Monday, he might not have been as confident as he was tonight. Those days made him feel more at ease. When he shot his first turnaround and missed it, somebody said, 'I wish that had gone in,' and I said, 'He'll be fine.' And needless to say, he was. "He does enjoy playing basketball, and I thought he and Paul were a load tonight. I thought T.J. was good. Ryan gave us some good play. We didn't shoot the ball very well. We had some good looks from three, and Billy couldn't throw it in the ocean from the shore. But Paul and Raef made enough for a lot of us. "The last two games T.J. has played 28 and 29 minutes. He's been the defensive player of the game the last two games. Before he got hurt he had a streak of 12 out of 14 games being the defensive award winner, and he was the last two games. So he does all those things that you really appreciate. He had 10 points tonight, and that just adds icing on the cake. "I think the start (16-0, eventually 41-7), bothered them. Our pressure defense bothered them. We were in a frenzy, and we were able to keep fresh bodies in there, and we had more players than they did. James' (Dickey, TT coach) club started out this year 0-3 and came back and really fought well and played well. Those perimeter players worry you to death, because with Rayford Young and Stanley Bonewitz and Cory Carr, they've got guys who score quickly. But our depth hurt them. We were able to get the good looks. We made some of them and missed some of them. We were good defensively, but they missed some easy shots, too."