Vanderbilt vs. Florida
February 22, 2003

Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
General Thoughts:
“Obviously we’re disappointed. We competed hard. Both teams competed hard. They made a play or two more at the end than we did and won. I am proud of our team tonight. I don’t say that very often when we lose. Florida is a heck of a good team. I felt like we should have won the game in regulation. We didn’t and I was disappointed.”

On Florida’s Matt Bonner:
“We had a hard time guarding him. He is one of my favorite players in the league. He has a high levelof energy ever night he goes out there.”

On Vanderbilt’s Defense:
“We improved on defense a lot in the first half. But, we did not do nearly as well in the second half.”

Vanderbilt Guard Mario Moore
Going Into Wednesday’s Game Against Arkansas:
“All we need to do is prepare for our next game. One loss can quickly turn into two if you don’t look ahead.”

On Vanderbilt’s Confidence:
“We gained a lot of confidence tonight. They were the #7 team in the nation. We need to play every game like this one. It is a big confidence-booster to know you can play with the #7 team in the nation and not let up.”

Vanderbilt Forward Matt Frieje
On the Momentum When Matt Bonner Fouled Out:
“I felt that gave us an edge. He played perfectly in the second half except for fouling out. He is a key weapon on their team.”

On Vanderbilt’s First Half Defense:
“We played really well. We got back on defense. Florida did not score well against our set defense. We talked, had energy, and played together. That is what it takes to play good defense.”

Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan
“I knew coming in tonight it was going to be a difficult game. I didn’t know this, but our play-by-play guy told me that coming into tonight’s game, we had only won nine games here. Certainly that speaks about the tradition they have here at Vanderbilt and how well they’ve played at home.”

On Matt Freije:
“Matt Freije is a great, great player. He always plays well against us. He stepped up big and carried his team on his back. He was a problem for us tonight. We had no answer for him. We tried three or four guys on him, and we couldn’t stop him. I think what happened was he saw some good looks at the basket against our zone that just came up short.”

Florida Forward Matt Bonner
“He’s a great player. He can score in a variety of ways. He’s a good shooter, and he’s got great elevation. He’s got a great game.”

Florida Guard Anthony Roberson
“Freije’s a great player. He’s way better than I thought he’d be. He can put the ball down, and he can hit the three. In the second half, he really started hitting his shots.”