FSU Basketball vs Miami - Post Game Quotes and Video

Miami Head Coach, Jim Larranaga:

--"First of all, Florida State defended us very very well in the second half. We only scored 18 points after scoring 36 in the first half...you gotta give them credit. Their defense throughout the second half made us miss shots."

--"Their big guys had an outstanding game."

--"We had two turnovers to start the second half that led to dunks, and I think that got them really going. Brandon stole the ball twice and dunked it twice, and that fired them up." --when asked what he thought changed outlook of the game.

--"Yeah, it's tough. You think if you defend their guards that well...you know Bookert had zero I think and Mayes only had 5...but their big guys, Montay Brandon, and [Kiel] Turpin, [Boris] Bojanovsky made those two big plays at the end of the first half where made the buckets and the free throws."--On FSU getting other guys to step up

--"It's a battle right until the very end...that's the way it is every night in the ACC. I don't care if you're the favorite, I don't care if you're at home, you've got to play very well to beat the team you're playing."

--"There's always some big guy lurking. Even if he's not guarding [our big] there's another one around. We don't really have a post-up game...I'm sure their strategy was to pound it inside." --On the challenge of facing a team with so many 7-footers.

--"We only gave up 55 points, normally that's enough for us to win the game. But their defense in the second half--we only scored 18--their defense in the second half really was the difference."

--"I thought in the second half, a couple of threes--not all of them,but a couple of them--were in a hurry. You could really see the level of intensity of their close-out. And our guy tried to get it off rather than just shot fake and let them go by, and take your time and make the shot. But they're very long and athletic and you gotta adjust to that." --On shooting so well from outside in the first half to so poorly in the second half.

Sophomore guard, Davon Reed:

--"I think that's the biggest thing for us--maintaining focus."

--"The big men, they changed the game."

Florida State Head Coach, Leonard Hamilton:

--"Miami did a very good job of creating some indecision on our part in the first half. I thought our guys were very anxious...they did a very good job of boxing us in on our ball screens and made us make some adjustments."

--"[In the first half] I thought we defended for the first 20 seconds of the shot clock, and the last 10 seconds of the shot clock in the first half we didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency...and they are an unbelievably accurate three-point shooting team."

--"On the offensive side I thought we did a little bit better job executing." --The improvements on offense in the second half

--"Cutting down on our turnovers, I thought, really made a big difference down the stretch."

--"We were very focused...they were not going to give us the game, we had to create some offense from our defense and I think [Montay Brandon's] experience told him that somebody had make some plays. And he made several defensive plays that gave us an emotional lift, gave us some easy baskets, and gave us some momentum and I thought that really really sparked us." --On Montay's dominance to start the second half

--"We had an overtime victory against Wake Forest and that was a grinder. This was a grinder...but the truth of the matter is, that's ACC Basketball."

--"I've said all along that we have to win games by committee. We need different guys stepping up...but that tells you the strength of the preparation of everyone we're playing against. Miami was determined not to let [Devon] Bookert, [Phil] Cofer, and X (Xavier Rathan-Mayes) be the offensive factors that they have been...fortunately for us tonight, other guys stepped up." --On getting the win despite just 5 combined points from Bookert, Cofer, and X.

--"If you hadn't told me I wouldn't have known. That's how important it is...we cannot start taking any bows because we've won the State of Florida. That won't get us in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT." --On being undefeated against teams from Florida this year.

--"We gotta do this from start to finish. That's what great teams do. Obviously we're not in that category yet. We're a team that's improving." --On the team's improved execution in the second half of games.

--"With the game running down and you got a one point lead, absolutely not. What I want to do is get a bucket. And then I'll take the chance on playing defense on the other end...we're not that quite that advanced with this team...that's a philosophy that we have used in the past. Maybe at the end of the first half, that might have been good. But when the game's on the line and you gotta one point lead and you're hanging on, you want to make sure that you get a great shot and get a chance to score." --When I asked whether they considered shooting quick for 2 for 1 possessions at the end of the game.

Kiel Turpin on the big comeback win:<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ugzraXo7G18" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Montay Brandon on his aggressive play:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WJrjiNoVwyE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Between the improved defense from the bigs lately, the slight uptick in perimeter shooting, and FSU being a little bit of a trap game for Duke (in between Notre Dame at home and a trip to Syracuse), maybe the echos of Monte Cummings can lead FSU to a stunning upset of the Blue Devils tomorrow night?

Or maybe we just enjoy wins over UF and Miami.