California Head Coach Wyking Jones

 
Overall thoughts:
"The guys really battled tonight. I was really happy with the effort. I thought from start to finish, they left it all out there. Looking at the stat sheet, we have to do a better job. Justice [Sueing] plays 41 minutes, Darius [McNeill] plays 41 minutes. We have to do a better job of trusting my bench and getting those guys out of the game. They were tired, so I've got to do a better job of giving them breaks. I was very happy with the effort, but we could not just score tonight. From a defensive standpoint, we kept digging. I'll watch the film and figure it out. The effort was there. We are getting closer, the guys are still fighting and competing and playing together and it's commendable."
 
On being close to the first conference win:
"We keep fighting, staying after it and staying together and believing in one another. Stay positive. It's going to come and when it does come who knows what happens after that."
 
On the defensive scheme UCLA showed:
"When you play against a team that has that much length, it's tough getting the ball to the high post. We got good things when we got to the high post but it was difficult to get it there. The guys don't want to turn it over and that team is the biggest team in the league, so when you're playing team with that much length it's tough to get the ball to the high post."
 
On forcing turnovers:
"I think they sped us up a little bit in the first half. Our guys came out with so much energy on both ends. The energy was good on the defensive end, but on the offensive end, we needed to slow down and execute at a pace we want, our pace, not their pace. Once we got into the groove of the game, it just got tough and we just couldn't make shots."
 
On looking toward USC:
"They will continue to fight, there's no doubt. We are going to watch film, give them the day off and going to just watch the game and see how we can get better. They are very talented. They have a bunch of guys that on any given night they have five or six guys that can step up and play a huge game."
 

California Center Connor Vanover

 
On what the loss feels like:
"We had this one. We were ahead for most of the game and we kind of just let it slip away. We made a few key mistakes and it made a big difference."
 
On his recent performances:
"Seeing from the beginning of this season to now, it's way different. I think every game that I go further and further on, I'm going to gain more confidence and be able to battle more with these bigs."
 
On maintaining a positive attitude through losses:
"The excitement of winning. We have that taste throughout the games and seeing the other team celebrate is something that we long to do to get our first win. To get that first one and keep going after that. We strive to motivate and to try and get that first win."
 

California Guard Darius McNeill

 
On mood in locker room:
"It was down. We had it and we practiced so hard. The guards were mixing it up and the bigs were getting rebounds and steals and we were just doing everything we could and a few missed defensive assignments at the end cost us."
 
On teams progress throughout the season so far:
"We're getting better. People may not see it but we're in every game that we lose in the first half, and in the second half we just come out flat and don't really get back together. But we're getting better every game and we just have to stay focused for the whole game. We can't afford to have those mistakes because people will capitalize on it."