Syracuse Defeats UConn: Quotant Quotables

The Syracuse Orange defeated the Connecticut Huskies 58-55 on Thursday. Here are the quotes to prove it.

Jim Boeheim with the full story:

It was a great comeback. It's very difficult to play a team like Connecticut. They've had a couple games. They're loose. I hate sitting around all week, and it's very difficult. I'm glad that we were able to get a win. We haven't played that many games and we need to play again. Tomorrow's game will help us, but this was a tremendous comeback. This team has been very good down the stretch all year, and that was the case today.

Boeheim on why Scoop Jardine sat out most of the second half:

Dion was having a great day and Brandon was having a great day. So it was just a matter of going with the two guys that were playing better, and some games it's been those two, some games it's been Scoop and one of them. But today Scoop wasn't making shots, and I thought that the two best offensive guards we had were those two guys.

Boeheim on James Southerland:

I think James is a very, very good offensive player, and I think he hasn't scratched his potential. He's getting better every day. He's got to help us more on the boards, but he's a tremendous shooter.

Boeheim on the Yahoo! report about failed drug tests.

This was reported five years ago, and we're waiting for them to make finish the process...This is a media this is you people's thing. This doesn't bother our players or our team or me. None of this. This is a media thing, period. If things were bothering us we wouldn't be 31 and 1. Nothing bothers us. We come ready to play. That's what you should do in life. Everybody gets bothered. Everybody has problems. I'm much more concerned about my wife being mad at me than I am anything else, to tell you the truth.

Boeheim on Peyton Manning:

I think that Manning should really come to the Jets, too.

James Southerland on the feeling after hitting his second three-pointer:

It felt really great out there, especially being at home and all. I missed my first two shots. The first one I felt was good, the second one was kind of rushed. It's good my teammates are here for me, they're not giving up on me just because I missed two shots, and it feels good.

Kris Joseph on his shootaround jammed finger:

No, it was my other hand. It wasn't my shooting hand, so that had no effect on me.

Fab Melo on his 20-foot jumper:

I felt good. The ball was in my hands and I felt like shooting. I did but the ball didn't go in. It happens.

Kris Joseph on whether or not the Orange silenced critics:

"We thought we answered those questions. We thought we did that a long time ago, but the questions keep on being raised.Tonight, we showed great poise and heart, you know 13 minutes is a lifetime in a basketball game."

Brandon Triche on Syracuse's depth:

"That's the beauty of our team, we guys, if we're double-teamed, we don't have to think twice about passing. Guys like James, guys like C.J. can knock down shots. We have so many great players, the best one is who ever is open, and James was getting his today."

Michael Carter-Williams on Syracuse's ability to beat UConn three times this year.

"We had been watching ESPN all week and them saying ‘can we beat them three times?' We kept that in mind but we knew we were still the number one seed."

C.J. Fair on why he didn't wear his trademark headband:

Everybody asking why I didn't wear my headband lol..I wasnt feeling well and it was hurting my head

Watch the press conference here and watch interviews with Fab Melo and James Southerland.