Jan. 27, 2007

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Cal head coach Ben Braun

On Alex Pribble and Jerome Randle in the second half

"Those guys are energy guys. They played with a lot of heart and laid it all out on the court. Their play alone was the spark for our team in the second half. Alex (Pribble) is an energy guy. He made tremendous defensive stops, took some charges and helped us get back into the game. Jerome (Randle) came back and did a great job for us in the second half."

On Ayinde Ubaka
"Unfortunately, Ubaka comes back, but he literally ran out of gas. (Yes) he did get I.V. treatment; I was amazed with his performance...he came back on guts and determination."

On Theo Robertson
"Theo was fighting a battle with tendonitis (out there today) because of all the minutes he has been playing."

On getting to the free throw line only eight times
"We're trying to get to the line. Sometimes as a team we let our emotions get the best of us. (But) the game was definitely getting physical inside (the paint) tonight."

On preparing for Stanford
"This is a great week to have a bye week and play Stanford on a Saturday (Feb. 3). It's also a chance for our guys to get healthy, catch up in the classroom and the weight room."

Afterthoughts
"Theo (Robertson) said it best: `opponents are not going to feel sorry for us.' Our guys are getting some toughness...we are building toughness as a team right now ... we have had spurts of good basketball in halves ... we need to put together a solid 40 minutes."

USC head coach Tim Floyd

On the game as a whole:

"We made perimeter shots. We played inside and out well. Instead of taking one shot and scoring 50, we took three or four shots and scored 76. I was really pleased with how our guys defended the glass. We passed a lot more (than at Stanford) and got some separation. Shooting 58.7% and winning by three shows you did something else wrong. We will work on that this week."

On Ryan Anderson:
"He is terrific. He is going to be terrific in this league for a long time. We just beat it down like a dead horse about Ryan Anderson's range ability. He got a couple looks inside to start the first half and that built his confidence."

On Jerome Randle:
"The small kid, Randle, made some nice drives to both help himself and his team. He played very well."

On Cal's play:
"You have got to give them credit for how well they played that far down. I am real proud of our guys. We didn't quit on anything except defending the three-point line. We didn't foul late, and it was really key."

On Cal's injuries:
"They are short handed without their big guys, and we were able to out rebound them because of that."

On USC's play:
"(Daniel) Hackett did a real good job against (Ayinde) Ubaka. Nick (Young) did a good job on Theo (Robertson). Lodrick Stewart's play first half was awesome. He was able to make some tough shots."