Post-Game Quotes

Arkansas Head Coach Stan Heath:

“First we would like to thank our fans. It was a tough day with the snow and ice. We really appreciate their effort. I’m proud of our team. We’ve been in so many close games, and today they found a way to win. We made some mistakes, but when we needed to, we made big plays. Vincent gave us momentum when he first came in the game. (Jonathon) Modica gave us a chance to win, and (Ronnie) Brewer made a smart play and ran out the clock for the win.”

“The free throw line scared me to death today, but we made key ones that kept us in the game.”

On rebounding:

“We hopped on (rebounding) today. We didn’t block as many shots as we usually do, but that allowed us to stay home and rebound. Another key stat for us was only 14 turnovers to their 19. That gave us a few more possessions. We had great intensity on defense, and I thought our zone was very effective.”

Modica’s Block:

“He made great defensive plays. I’ve been on him about his defense, but he stepped up today. Those were big plays. They’re a great offensive team with a lot of weapons. We held them to 43 percent shooting, which is below their average.”

Arkansas Forward Vincent Hunter:

“I just wanted to be a sparkplug off the bench. This was a big game, and it feels good to win one of these. We were excited and this was a must-win, so we’re excited to come away with the win.”

Arkansas Guard Ronnie Brewer

“We wanted to apply our style. We needed to rebound and defend, and we kept grinding on the defensive end. We ended up making some tough shots. You’ve got to give it to our fans, they could have been anywhere but here, but they showed up and supported us the entire game.”

Arkansas Guard Jonathon Modica

“Coach left me in on the defensive end at the end of regulation, and I wanted to reward him and my teammates with a big play. The whole time we were playing, I was praying we could get ourselves over the hump. We’ve lost some close games, and it feels great to win a close one.”

Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan

“I was really, really proud of the guys. They played really hard.”

“The first half, we just tried to get to halftime. We struggled. Arkansas kept us in the game the first half with their missed free throws.”

“They found a way to come out with the victory.”

“Taurean [Green] played a great game. He was able to keep us organized.”

On the steal by Jonathan Modica:

“It was a lucky play by Modica. It was very heads up. I was very impressed with Modica’s offensive skills. It was a very alert play to get the ball back from a guy who didn’t know he was there.”

“I knew we could come in here and be like, ‘If we keep it close, they’ll give it to us.’”

“They matched up with us well, but they were more experienced and more physical than us in body size.”

“People don’t understand in the league it is hard to win on the road.”

Florida Forward Joachim Noah:

“The calls were soft, but you can’t blame the officials. That is just part of the game. Arkansas just wanted it more, but we have a tough schedule ahead of us so we have to keep our composure.”

Florida Guard Taurean Green:

“(Corey) Brewer and Noah got in foul trouble early and other players had to step up and we just couldn’t get over the top.”