Dec. 22, 2007

Recap |  Final Stats

UNI Head Coach Ben Jacobson

On team's rally, which included a 17-6 run late in the second half:

"We fought back and had a chance to win the game, but for 32 minutes, we didn't play well enough. I'm disappointed we didn't protect our home floor, and that's something we've got to change."

On team's 32-percent shooting:

"We missed open shots, which I thought we had enough of to keep the game close."

On defensive impact of JaVale McGee:

"McGee blocked seven shots and probably altered five or six more. He's a tough guy to match up against."

On UNi's final possession, with the team trailing 53-52:

"Credit our guys with doing a good job of scrambling to get a good shot. I wanted it in Eric Coleman's hands."

On benefits of bringing Coleman off the bench:

"He's better in the last 10 minutes of games than he was last year, and that's because he's fresher. He hasn't had to play as many minutes."

On UNI's defensive effort:

"To hold a team like Nevada in the 50s and to hold their shooting in the 40s is a good job by our guys. They have so many offensive weapons."

UNI senior Eric Coleman

On team's comeback in the second half:

"We decided to fight but it was a little too late. They were able to stay poised, and you have to credit Nevada for that. We could have easily folded the tent with about eight minutes left in the second half, but we fought back."

On Nevada's interior defense on UNI's final possession:

"They were really aggressive. I think everybody knew where the ball was going to go because we were having success down low. They played good defense and we didn't get a good look at the basket."

On matching up with Nevada's lineup:

"They're probably one of the biggest teams we've played so far, and the most athletic."

UNI junior Travis Brown

On UNI's ability to survive long scoring droughts:

"We just have to rely on our defense. When we're not scoring, we need to step up on defense and we've got to try and get stops. That will even things out."

Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox

On impact of JaVale McGee and Lyndale Burleson:

"McGee and Burleson were huge factors in the game. They both changed the game with their defense in the first half."

On trying to contain UNI's Eric Coleman, who led all scorers with 18 points:

"Coleman really dominated the game for a stretch there in the second half and it was because we had stopped playing defense before he caught the ball. If he can't catch it, he can't score."

On UNI's strong defense:

"You have to give Northern Iowa credit. That's a good basketball team. We figured this would be a low-scoring game because UNI is such a good defensive team."

On benefits of the ESPNU BracketBusters series, in which Nevada and UNI met last season:

"We get good games out of it, and we got one today against a team from a strong conference that is going to have a good season. We're big supporters of the BracketBusters series."