Bruce Pearl Quotes

"Lofton was the man. He had that look in him that the whole country saw who were watching on television. Everybody saw it."

"I am concerned with our second-half defense. We must focus on playing better. There is no margin for error with this team."

"It was a fun, locker room moment."

"I wasn't calling them out. I just remember some of coach Mears' teams, and the great games with Kentucky."

"A big part of March madness is that there are going to be upsets. If Winthrop looks at the No. 2 seeds, they would be thankful they're playing Tennessee instead of some other two-seed."

"Absolutely. There's a different set of rules for him than anybody else on the team."

"It's the greatest sound in college basketball. The crowd makes this noise, like ' oh no ' when a guy who's hot gets the ball and has an open look. Even before he shoots, before he makes it, the crowd reacts. It's so cool, and it's a testament to how smart these fans are. And it's fun for the shooters, too."

"I think that we've got to focus on trying to come down the stretch here and start playing better basketball. Every night we've had some really, really intense, physical games the last three or four, and there's no margin for error with this team. When we slip up a little bit, obviously a team like Kentucky is able to expose it."

"The good news is that this is a talented class, the bad news is half our team is freshmen. It's like having two first years as a head coach."

"You can't control what's happened but you can control what happens from here."

"At this time, we are dealing with discipline internally."

"That's when we can separate and get on a run. Chris Lofton is a great example. I can't believe how open he got. I can't believe he made those shots. Had I called timeout, I couldn't have given him a better look."

"At least this buys us some time where people are not going to say it's just a football conference."

"I've worked my whole life to get to a place like Tennessee."

"We'll be back. I'm very, very proud of these young men. I can't tell you how many people have written or called and said how much they enjoyed this basketball team. This Tennessee basketball team will go down as one of the all-time best, and this was the group that got it started."

"I just think the opportunity to be on the road to the Final Four, to have the opportunity to be there for one shining moment, those are all the things we've got to push. We've got to try to get our identity back and playing a team out of conference that's not played us for the second or third time will be a positive. Ready or not, here it comes."

"We deserved victory. It wasn't like we had to get hit in the mouth to start playing. We were ready to play, and we had to play well."

"We have to focus on getting better down the stretch and playing better basketball. There's no margin for error with this team. When we slip up a little bit, obviously a team like Kentucky is able to expose that."

"We are committed to up-tempo basketball. We will press 94 feet. There's a definite advantage because there is a different preparation (for opponents). I think the players do fit our style."

"I think a lot of times, you find your (conference) tournament champion being somebody that underachieved."