Clemson vs. Maryland Postgame Coaches’ Quotes

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Overall thoughts:“Terrific win for our guys. I thought we showed a ton of resiliency, especially throughout the last 8-10 minutes of the game. We got down, had a little lead and lost it late in regulation, but guys fought back and made plays. We had a chance at the end of regulation to win it, but didn’t get it done there. It was the same thing in the first overtime. We made a mistake defensively and they made a big three. Then in the second overtime, K.J. (McDaniels) had a move at the rim which you expect him to get the foul.

“The guys came back a little dejected after the first overtime and I tried to stay positive. We rode our starters pretty hard down the stretch. They played a lot of minutes and I think they showed a lot of guts and courage to hang in there and come back and win. They could have given in at any time down the stretch, but for them to find a way to win, that was really good and I’m proud of them.”

On only turning the ball over nine times:“We were trying to push the ball as much as we could, especially when Maryland missed and I thought we got great shots. Our guys kept looking over, and I think they were looking for us to slow them down and I kept telling them to push it. I thought we got all kinds of great shots, but when you’re getting good shots and not turning the ball over you don’t have to shoot the ball as well. That’s why turnovers are so problematic, because they usually lead to points for the other team. So for us tonight to only turn the ball over nine times in 50 minutes, that’s pretty good.”

On not subbing through either of the overtimes:“It’s trust. I was going to let those guys ride it out and try to win with those guys. They were in a pretty good rhythm. Maryland did a lot of things where they switched guys and had five shooters on the court when they put (Jake) Layman and (Evan) Smotrycz in there together. But Landry (Nnoko) can guard some perimeter players, that’s one of the values of having him out there at center. I think his size always affects the game defensively, so I wanted him out there. Rod (Hall) played great today. He made some big shots and big plays and fought through a bunch. I was really proud of those guys.”

On coming back after the Wake Forest loss last week:“In that game, I thought for the first 20 minutes, we played very poorly. We had all kinds of breakdowns and couldn’t get it figured out. Some of the poor offensive shooting probably got into our heads a little bit. We practiced well the last two days. I thought we were going to play well today. I knew it would be a hard game. I think Maryland is very talented, especially offensively. There’s stress on your defense when they have as many shooters as they do out on the court. They did make nine threes, but they were 9-for-32, 28 percent. That was huge in the game.”

Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Overall thoughts:“I don’t really know where to start in a game like this with so many possessions. I was proud of our effort and I thought the last 18 minutes of the game, we defended well and rebounded. We also shared the ball well and got some good shots. At the end, we just couldn’t make a play to win the game. Give them credit. (K.J.) McDaniels’ block was big-time on Dez (Wells) and in the second overtime, they just made plays. I thought Rod (Hall) made plays to get it to the first overtime and then Damarcus (Harrison) hit the big three in the corner in the second to separate them from us. They made plays at the end and we didn’t.”

On being stuck on 54 points:“I thought we played well enough to win, but we could just not make a play. I don’t know how long we were on 54 points, but it felt like we were there forever. It was frustrating that we couldn’t score and it hurt us in the end.”

On what halted Maryland in the last few minutes:“Their defense was good, and we missed some open looks.”

On Clemson making the plays to win:“We got beat off the dribble a few times by Hall and then we put Nick (Faust) on him, and he got one basket on Nick (Faust). I think Nick’s height gave him a little bit of a problem. McDaniels is a very good player and Jake (Layman) got beat off the dribble by him one time and that hurt us. They had timely offense and we had opportunities to win, but just didn’t get it done.”

On the confidence of his team after this loss:“The kids are resilient, but it has been tough. Today was tough with the double overtime loss after playing well enough to win, but just not getting it done. We have to go play Tuesday and try and win. I told the kids we have to have a short memory and get refreshed and figure out a way to get a win Tuesday night.”