Dec. 5, 2006

Recap |  Box Score

NORTHERN ILLINOIS MEN'S BASKETBALL 2006-07
NIU vs. UIC Postgame Quotes
December 5, 2006

NIU Head Coach Rob Judson

"I thought UIC started the game with a high level of defensive intensity. Offensively we were highly affected by that. They did a nice job of double-teaming James Hughes which we have seen before and we work on that in practice, but we didn't execute it.

"When you face the double team you have to be able to kick it out and make shots from outside. UIC doubled on the dribble and we didn't handle that well.

"I was surprised we found it so difficult to score. The last two games there have been stretches where we've had a hard time finding the basket and we need to solve that. Statistically, we had way too many turnovers.

"I like the way our team should fit with our offense, but you have to be able to make plays."

UIC Head Coach Jimmy Collins

"I think the thing that impressed me was our defense. I don't know how long they were stuck on 17 [points] but for a while every time I looked up, it was 17. I thought the clock was stopped. I thought our defense was superb and Scott Vandermeer did a fantastic job on [James] Hughes. He got a lot of help. We were well aware that Hughes was leading the country in field goal percentage.

"We got into their passing lanes [to force turnovers]. We exploited everything we saw in our scouting report.

"Scott prides himself on being a shot blocker. The guys are more confident that he'll be inside and they can take chances."

UIC guard Josh Mayo

"I took what the defense gave me. We were making plays on the defensive end and that opened up our offense. I ran down the floor and the guys hit me."