Wake Forest falls to No. 2 Virginia 70-34
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
On Virginia's adjustments since the last meeting...
"They guarded. They guarded us the first time too, but we made some tough shots. I think Dinos [Konstantinos Mitoglou] made like six threes in that game. He didn't have quite the same air space tonight. I think in the first half, we missed five layups. They came out and played well and we didn't play well. That's disappointing. You get the number two team in the country coming in here and we didn't bring it tonight. That's on me. I didn't have them ready to go. But we've got to get better. We'll watch tape. At the end of the game, they've got the game in control and they're still flying around defensively. They're still getting deflections, they're still blocking shots, they're still getting out on the break. That's what the number two team in the country does."
On whether Virginia's aggression caught Wake Forest off guard...
"No. We knew after the game up there that they were going to make some adjustments. They made their adjustments and we didn't adjust to those."
On having the previous week off...
"It's the number two team in the country. It doesn't matter what you have going on in the week before. They're the number two team in the country. You got to go out and compete."
On foreseeing the possible Virginia adjustments...
"We knew that they were going to come out and be a little bit closer to us on the catch. We also knew that we had to have really good ball and body movement. Tonight we were a step slow and they weren't. They played exceptionally well. Anything that you look at on the stat sheet basically says the game was a beat down. We didn't answer the bell the way we needed to answer the bell."
On the discrepancy in points in the paint...
"We got to guard better. We have to take more pride in individual matchups and stay in front of our man better in our defensive rotations. As a coaching staff, we knew going into this game their style of play. We knew the type of team that they were, and regardless of what the score was, they competed and they grinded and they battled every possession. The score didn't matter, and that's the sign of a very good team. We have to get to that point, and we're not there."
On looking forward after the loss...
"There's no rest for the weary. There's no feeling sorry for yourself. That's our conference, and if you don't come out and play that can happen again."
Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett
Opening statement
"This is a program game. We are doing it the way we have to do it. I mean that sounds cliché, but those guys really stepped up and played. I thought defensively we played a little better than we did last time. Offensively we were a little shaky with some outside shots and a little bit of pace. It was Isaiah Wilkins and Devon Hall and certainly Marial Shayok and Evan Nolte were real important. We needed that."
On putting in new players...
"Those guys work hard in practice. I know Wake Forest was not quite right tonight. I was hoping we had something to do with it defensively. Boy it is so gratifying for a coach and players to see guys who do not normally get those minutes play for us and in an important game."
On working with Buzz Williams...
"I respect him. He is a heck of a coach and continues to build it for Marquette. We had to scrap and claw to walk away with victory. I respect his coaching skills."
On improvements since last time...
"We said we are going to be there soon and be more aggressive. We got three guys who are good in the post with Thomas. Codi Miller McIntyre... if he gets going downhill and turning those ball screens, that is a major problem, and he puts pressure on the defense. But when you put two people on him then you better be better on the catch."
Wake Forest Forward Darius Leonard
On what Virginia they do different from the first game...
"They beat us in every aspect of the game, 50/50 balls, rebounds, transitions. They got it done and we just didn't have a chance."
On the team preparation for the game...
"They are the number two team in the nation. They are number two for a reason. They come out here and play no matter how much time is left on the clock. They play the same and we just need to get to the point where we do the same no matter what is going on during the game. We just need to play and compete the way Coach Manning wants us to, but we just didn't do that tonight."
On team's feeling down final stretch of games...
"We are still the same. Every game is a tournament game for us. We are on the outside looking in now, so we just need to keep winning."
On team's status with home finale on Sunday...
"We just have to change things. Unfortunately, the scoreboard is already set and it's now in our past. So Sunday we need to win and get it done."
On expectations about Virginia's performance...
"I mean we knew what we were walking onto again. They are the number two team in the nation. They came out and played great. That's exactly what they did."
Wake Forest Guard Codi Miller-McIntyre
On the game against Virginia...
"We didn't come ready to play. I don't know what the reason was. I don't know if it's because we haven't played in so many days. I don't know if it's because we played them so tight the first time that we expected to come out here at home and win and didn't bring our effort. I don't know what it was but we didn't come ready to play. They're the number two team in the country, who pride themselves on defense and that's what they did tonight; they got stops."
On how the loss affects the team...
"It's only a setback if we allow it to be. We just have to bounce back. As a team we all have to come out and play better and realize what's at stake and what a win like that could do."
On the difference from the previous game against Virginia...
"I don't think it was anything they did differently. I think it was us. We didn't play the same way we played when we were there. We didn't play good defense; we didn't get stops. We didn't come out ready to play or aggressive. We didn't come out defensive-minded today."
