UNC-Notre Dame Quotes

North Carolina 75, Notre Dame 69 • January 15, 2019
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Roy Williams

Opening Statement
"We are happy. We won the game. I got my wish – I wanted to win one ugly. We did that. We had a key stretch for about five or six minutes in the second half where they didn't score and we scored, outscored them 11-1 during that time period. That was big for us. Our defense, believe it or not, was better in the second half. The first half we played without a brain. It was not fun at halftime. It was not fun for me and it was not fun for them. I like their toughness making plays down the stretch. Nassir [Little] made two or three big baskets for us. Coby [White] made a big three and a big drive to the basket. Cam [Johnson] made a big running one-hander off the board. We made some big shots down the stretch and defensively we were better. At the same time, they missed a lot of shots at the end. They are probably tired from playing six guys only on Saturday then flying down here and playing. The best thing to me was the fact we had only two turnovers in the second half. I think that was needless-to-say big for us."

On what Nassir Little did well
"He took the ball to the basket. He got three good passes. Luke [Maye] gave him a pass on the way up and he got a dunk. On a good drive he got another good pass. Two of them were drives to the basket where he is effective doing that. His shot hasn't been going in for him and he took it to the basket and made good plays. I think he was probably the key to the game."

On improved defense in the second half
"I don't think they made a single basket on the roll to the basket in the second half. We covered it better. Basically, what we try to do every day, they did a much better job of in the second half. We make a silly mistake there down the stretch, running to stop the drive and they wanted to shoot threes anyways. Other than that, defensively we were better in the second half."

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening Statement
"I'm proud of our group. This is a tough atmosphere. We knew we'd get a big punch today after they had a tough one on Saturday and we had some clean looks in the second half we couldn't knock down and you've got to make a few more of those to escape, but I loved our effort and we battled and I think our young group is figuring ourselves out. We're getting better. We're just one-and-three. We need to try and get another league win because they're hard to get."

On what Carolina did to limit TJ Gibbs on the court
"My trainer said you can't play him his usual thirty-five minutes because he's ill and I played him thirty-five minutes because that really was our only option. I thought they had fresh guys on him that really defended him and took him away. We need to get him back and get him one hundred percent by Saturday."

On if he was satisfied with the game tempo
"We wanted to control it… I was really thrilled with our transition defense for the most part. Overall it was great. They really want to run and so we did a good job and we wanted to play a little slower in the half-court, which we did. So the tempo, everything was just right for us. We just needed a few more plays and we probably needed another scorer tonight. We could have used one more scorer to escape down here tonight… but everything else kind of was pretty good for us."

Player Quotes
Luke Maye, Senior, Forward
On winning ugly
"It is always good to win in the ACC, especially at home. Coming off a tough loss I feel like we bounced back. Even though we didn't play well I feel like we battled and fought and were able to pull out a win which was great."

On wanting to get back out following the Louisville game
"We really wanted to get back out there and start a little bit better, finish a little bit better, the whole nine yards. I thought we did that tonight."

Nassir Little, Freshman, Forward
On being in a rhythm in second half
"He left me in the game, got to get that rhythm. Coming off the bench, you got to find a way to get yourself involved in the game. Initially I was focused on trying to get rebounds, play defense, things like that. As I got I got in a groove second half, I started to feel it, and it turned into a huge game."

On baseline move for big dunk
"I saw a big guy on me. I was pretty confident that he couldn't move his feet as quickly as I could. I just did a simple jab right, and I saw a little crease and I knew that Cam was far corner. I knew the guy there wouldn't want to help off of Cam that much."

On key to stringing together multiple games of good play
"Coming off the bench, it's finding ways to get myself involved. Make sure I rebound and try to get a feel for the ball. Coming off the bench it's kind of hard, you've been cold, you haven't touched the ball in a little while."

Brandon Robinson, Junior, Guard
On his career high in three-pointers
"I was just open, and my teammates did a good job of getting me open and giving me the ball. I was wide open so I knocked it in. It is a big part of my game, and it has improved a lot along with defense. Just knowing the difference between a good shot and a bad shot … understanding that was a big part of my game and development here."

On giving the team a lift
"It's a big time feeling. I just want to win and to do anything to help the team. Coming off the bench and scoring for us, knocking down those three three's in the first half, if it helps us win I will do it every game."

On coming off the bench to make those shots
"I don't think it's hard, I actually think it's easier. When you're on the bench you get a chance to watch the game and see what the defense is doing and where you can get open shots. I think that is a big part that helps me with coming off the bench."

On responding after a loss
"We had to bounce back. Coach always says his great teams respond after losing, so that is what we had to do tonight. I think we did a great job of doing that, even if it was an ugly win."

Players Mentioned

Nassir Little

Luke Maye

Brandon Robinson

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