March 4, 2006

Recap |  Box Score

California Head Coach Ben Braun

General comments:
"The fans really showed up these last two games and made it fun for us and made it a great game for our seniors. I got a little coaching there at the end from my bench, the fans and the students. Steve Panawek did a phenomenal job in practice and a great job at the start of the game. He held his poise and played like a senior and I'm very happy for him."

"Our team was up for the challenge tonight. I told them before that we had to step up. We were just an overtime away from being Pac-10 champs and there's no reason to hang our heads about that. It really was a team effort tonight in a game we had to win."

"We wanted to disrupt USC's tempo early. Our guys were very smart, matched-up properly and got in the gaps."

"Nikola Knezevic really is a big shot in the arm for our team. He just has so much energy and speed out on the floor."

"Leon Powe created so much for us in the second half. I challenged him to do that at halftime and he really stepped it up for the team."

On the Pac-10 Tournament:
"We have to be very prepared mentally and physically and realize that it's postseason now. To be 12-6 is pretty good in this league. We want to get to that championship game, but first things first, we have a very tough rematch with USC in front of their fans."

"I'm glad they went to 10 teams. That was the fair thing to do. Everyone should have a chance to play and get to that championship game."

USC Head Coach Tim Floyd

General comments:
"We took too many threes in the first half, we knew that. They were able to pound it inside and as a result, shoot more free throws. I thought they did a really good job of keeping us out of the interior. We just didn't get anything around the basket tonight and that led to a terrible free throw percentage."

"To start the second half, we didn't get an offensive board, we gave up easier shot attempts, didn't have a stop there for about a four- or five-minute stretch and never really got it going on the offensive end. I thought that was really the big difference of the game - the first eight minutes of the second half."

On the effort being sustained from the Stanford game:
"If you were watching late, I thought our guys were fighting pretty hard. I didn't think anybody laid down."

On getting down 10 and then Cal getting two late:
"That is part of the thing you fight when you are trying to extend your pressure and your basket. Protection gets worse. We haven't been a full-court press team and that is something we will try to correct when we play on Thursday."

Do you like the fact that you are playing Cal again?
"Not necessarily, not when a team has beaten you twice. They've had our number and they have to feel good about the match-up. It will be a very difficult match-up for us."