Postgame Quotes vs. Arkansas

OLE MISS HEAD COACH KERMIT DAVIS

Opening statement…
"We've had two top-15 wins, great wins, but that was probably the best win of the year because of the response after you lose your first league game. I thought our team had two really physical practices Thursday and Friday because bouncing back and doing it for the first time in this league for a new program, sometimes is hard, especially when you have that kind of atmosphere out there. You want to please the crowd. I thought the crowd and players were connected today. What a fun atmosphere. We beat a team, Arkansas, that played extremely hard. They made some great runs. I thought our team shared the ball really well, got their hands on balls, got out in transition and played really unselfish."

On D.C. Davis' play…
"You think about his story, what a great story. He was a walk on, a Mississippi kid. He has worked his tail off in practice, and you see, he's very athletic at the rim. One of our best, he and Breein (Tyree), in traffic. He guarded well, he stayed within himself. He shot good shots. Devontae (Shuler) was a little better health-wise. He looked a little better. He's got to keep it going, take some days off and hopefully he can get himself healed in the next three or four weeks."

On guard rotation going forward…
"Devontae (Shuler) can easily start at Alabama. He could, he's still our point guard. I just thought D.C. (Davis) deserved it. I just had a feeling because of how hard he's worked in practice the last two days. It's nothing Devontae didn't do. He's still our point guard."

On giving D.C. Davis a scholarship in the summer…
"We did it after Canada. I told him I'm going to put you on scholarship in the summer and we're going to evaluate you in the summer, how hard you work, academically, the whole thing. We got back from Canada and our staff and I (talked about it). There was no question that D.C. (Davis) deserved it. In doing that, we knew we were going to give up a scholarship and maybe a chance to take a guy mid-term. We just thought it was that important, and he deserved it. He's done a great job."

On game plan going in…
"TD (Terence Davis) had a great floor game today. He hit Dom (Dominik Olejniczak) on long rolls when (Daniel) Gafford was trying to get the edge, and he long rolled to the rim. Dom and Bruce (Stevens) together, that's the best they've played. When Dom came out, Bruce had some moments in the second half. I really haven't looked, but Dom had 13, Bruce had 14, and they get 13 rebounds. That's a heck of a game from the five spot."

On guarding Daniel Gafford…
"I thought we did a great job. I thought our double teams were great. We missed a couple. When you hold him to only six attempts and no offensive rebounds, that's about as good as you can do. We saw he had 32 against LSU as athletic as they were."

On energy level in the second half early…
"That was critical for us. We had a great first half, poor start to the second half with the energy level. I cannot tell you how much the crowd helps, it's amazing. You get on this SEC Network, and that's all they talk about. They feel the crowd on the TV broadcast, and you can sense it. That's terrific, everybody's starting to see it. The Ole Miss spirit in that building, appreciating the way those Ole Miss players play, huge part of our game."

On the stretch in the second half when Arkansas cut it to 6…
"We came out, had an and-1 and went up 14. I could sense it, we just had a letdown. We lost our energy and Arkansas just played so much harder in that four minute stretch, and that was just it. We got it cranked back up, went to our 1-3-1, and I thought that energized us. We had some turnovers in transition. I thought that 1-3-1 changed the rhythm of the game."

On not losing composure after Arkansas closed the gap in the second half…
"There was some growth, but we have got to do better coming out of the half. I'm serious, the LSU game it was one minute and forty seconds. It went from one to nine in 1:40 and it just stayed that way. When they cut it to six, that is when our team started playing so much harder. When you get some buckets off of steals and in transition, then the building gets going and that is what happened tonight."

On limiting Devontae Shuler's minutes…
"We haven't talked to (Athletic Trainer) Andrew (Beyke) about that. In my mind, I am kind of thinking about down the road. He is just working like heck in rehab."

On if he believe Dominik Olejniczak could have a big game…
"I did. We thought that (Daniel) Gafford sometimes switches on ball screens. And if he did, obviously we thought that we had a mismatch. We have got a perimeter guy on Dom, and now Gafford has to guard Breein or TD (Terrance Davis) on the switch. They were really conscious about trying to hedge Breein and TD because they are really good on ball screens. TD did such a great job with patience. Dom made some really nice shots."

On winning the battle down low…
"Our paint scorers did a good job driving the ball. KJ Buffen, for the second straight game, came in and made tough plays around the goal. I thought his energy level was good. We have got to get Blake (Hinson) going again. I tell Blake all the time that he needs to affect the game without making a three. And that is when his maturity level will really emerge as a player."

On holding Daniel Gafford to nine points…
"Just quick double teams, and the biggest thing too is that he is so good at going back in and getting his own missed shots and rebounding for others. Our quick double teams and he had no offensive rebounds, that is hard to do."

ARKANSAS HEAD COACH MIKE ANDERSON

Opening Statement…
"Kermit (Davis) and his team came out and delivered the first punch and obviously had us back on our heels. I thought they brought the energy, and I thought they brought the effort. We didn't do a good job defensively on the screen and roll. It seemed like they were scoring with the big fellas every single time. We adjusted in the second half and that allowed us to get back into the game. We had some momentum going and it kicked in with our lack of experience coming in and executing. Let's give them credit. Their feature guys (Terence) Davis and (Breein) Tyree did the things that they were supposed to do, and they got some help from other guys. So, congratulations to them. I don't know if it was a hangover effect that we had, I just didn't really see us clicking on all cylinders. The guys that we have that normally score for us didn't score."

On the losing streak…
"We have got to win. The confidence has been shattered. We have to come in and we have to play well. We didn't shoot the ball well. The confidence has a lot to do with that as well."

On the young team…
"We just have to keep working and I think you have to be positive and point out things that we can get better at. We have to play better for longer periods of time. We have to learn how to win. That is one of the difficult things for a basketball team. That is the hurdle we have to get over. We have to get to a point where we take advantage of momentum and take advantage of the things that we have. We had some of their guys in foul trouble, and I don't think we fully took advantage of that."

On the success of Ole Miss down low…
"We didn't do a good job. You could see we snuffed it off in the second half. We have got to make adjustments. Our teams have always been good at that. We are learning how to get better at that."

On Gabe Osabuohien…
"I thought there were some positives that came out of this. Gabe was one of those guys. Defense, charges, touching the ball. His turnovers came because he was trying to get the ball in. That is something we have to get better at."

On the rest of the season…
"Lots of basketball left, it is still a race."

On having to dig out of early holes…
"The first thing we did was we came out and got a stop. Then we turned it right back over. That is something we have to get better at. We have to come out and give the first punch. That will be a big key. That is something we just have to keep working on."

On Terence Davis…
"He is a good player. He is experienced. They do a good job of putting him in a position where he can be successful. He has scored against other people too. He is a good basketball player.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

D.C. Davis

Terence Davis

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

The University of Mississippi Athletics