University of Tennessee Athletics
Poatgame Notes
March 14, 2003 | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2003
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Tennessee Head Coach Buzz Peterson
On the game...
"It was a tough game tonight. We came out a tad flat but fought back hard in the end. Auburn played a good game. It was a tough loss but it doesn't make our season. This team is still an NCAA tournament team."
On the slow start...
"We missed some shots early that we should have hit. We did come back strong in the second half but just couldn't seem to get the lead in the end. We missed some shot opportunities late and they (Auburn) were hitting shots in transition."
Forward Ron Slay
On the game...
"It was a hard fought game tonight. Auburn played well, but in the loss we had some guys step up. There were some young guys that stepped up big who I think will contribute a lot to the program in the future."
Guard Thaydeus Holden
On executing the game plan...
"We came out slow tonight and didn't execute our game plan like we wanted to. It wasn't until the end of the second half that we managed to come back and execute better."
Auburn Head Coach Cliff Ellis
On the game ...
"I thought that we did a great job tonight. I commend the team on both their defense and offense. We did all the things that we needed to do to grab this victory. We also did a great job of rotating people in and out."
On an invitation to the NCAA Tournament ...
"It was a great win for us. The semifinals are tomorrow and Auburn is one of only four teams left. During the regular season we were second in the western division. I don't know what else we have to do to get a invitation to the NCAA Tournament. I am not on the committee. My thoughts are on Kentucky, but as far as I am concerned it would be a shame if we are not invited."
Derrick Bird
On the game ...
"We focused on playing hard tonight. We rebounded well and kept the turnovers down. Everyone stuck together and played very well as a team."
Marco Killingsworth
On tough play inside ...
"Coach Ellis told us to play tough against all the teams down low. We tried to get all the rebounds that came off the glass. We did a good job with that, just look at the score."
