California Head Coach Cuonzo Martin

 
Opening Statement
"Good win. Really good second half for our guys -- not that I thought the first half was bad, but I think the second half really let us tighten the screws defensively. One thing we talk about is if their players make tough shots look easy, they'll consistently make them. After that first half, our guys came into the locker room with their heads hanging, seeing those tough shots consistently go in. They are really tough to defend and it puts Kingsley (Okoroh) and Ivan (Rabb) in really tough situations. In the second half, we really buckled down and saw Jabari do a tremendous job guarding (Torian) Graham and accepting that challenge."
 
On Grant Mullins' start
"I felt like it was the right thing to do to put him back in the lineup, because he didn't lose his spot — he went home to be with his family. I didn't think he was playing at the level and didn't have his legs really on him until now. For him to get in the lineup and do what the does well -- shoot the ball -- gives us tremendous confidence. I think he did a good job not trying to show off shots off the dribble but instead being a threat shooting."
 
On the three guard offensive set
"When you have those three guards out, it's a smaller lineup and takes away some rebounding power. It puts a lot of pressure on our big guys—especially Ivan and Kingsley. I think on defense, (the set) only works depending on what team you're playing, and I think tonight it helped because of the guys Arizona State had on the floor."
 

 Sophomore Forward Ivan Rabb

 
On his three-point game
"It felt good to have a few finally drop. I think I shot two before that missed but I just kept shooting with confidence and things went in. It's a big part of my game now. It makes them guard me on the outside —especially when we go small -- it really opens the floor. When I'm able to make that shot, it means we have five shooters on the court."
 
On Kingsley Okoroh's play
"I think he's really played exceptionally the entire season. A lot of things he does may not show on the stat sheet, but anyone following our program understands how huge of a part of our team he is. He dominates the game every time he touches the floor. Coach said he didn't have a foul tonight, and that just shows the leap he's made from last year to this year—he's just going to continue to get better." 

Graduate Guard Grant Mullins

 
On starting the game affecting his performance
"Because I'm an older guy, and I've been through it I'm used to it. I know coming off the bench or starting that I want to do the same thing. Some games the shots just go in and you're more open. I think that's all it was. The biggest thing in getting into the game is making sure your legs are warm and you get up and down a few times before you shoot it. I think we move the ball well and everyone gets touches—it doesn't matter if you start or come off the bench.
 
On three guard offensive sets
"It's great playing with those guys because we can all really play point guard or off the ball. When you play with three guards like that, you get more movement even if you give up some height for rebounding."
 
On 21-4 run to end the game
"It's really big for us (starting a run with Ivan Rabb on the bench). It gives our guys confidence. While we have a ton of confidence in him, he can't play 40 minutes a night or he'd just be too tired. When he's off the floor, other guys have to step up, and everyone showed us that tonight."
 

Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley

 
Opening statement
 
"I thought our guys were up for the challenge and performed well for about 34 minutes. When Rabb went out with his fourth, I don't think we capitalized on that the way we needed to with him not on the floor. Couldn't get a lead and then he came back in. They had a few plays that stood out. I thought that Bird's back cut and dunk and Okoroh's put up and dunk were momentum-shifting plays, so we just didn't handle the last several minutes the way you'd hope. It's good that we're in a close game like this. To go on the road and get a split, we feel pretty good considering the opponent tonight."
 
On game production from the bench
 
"The majority of our points are going to come from five guys, and the center position for us is…we need rebounding and defense, and we need some shot blocking and good screening and things. We knew the type of game it was going to be. They're one of the best defensive teams in the country so we knew it wouldn't be the type of scoring game that we've had in some others. That being said I think our offense functioned well in the first half. We struggled to make field goals in the last eight minutes and I think that hurt our chances."
 
On turnovers and miscues
 
"We usually take care of the ball pretty well. It's one of our strengths. We have guys that are good decision makers. The crowd was really getting involved on the shot clock violation. I think we might have passed up an opportunity on that one, but we're not perfect. We're going to make some mistakes. I think the difference was we had what we wanted getting their best player on the bench, then we just couldn't get any separation from them with Rabb on the bench."
 
On next few games (Utah and Colorado) and pac-12 play
 
"We want to be competitive. We were competitive tonight. We gave ourselves chances, and we couldn't come through late. But now we have an opportunity to go home, play on our floor and it's still great to split. Any time you get a win on the road in this conference it's a good situation for us, so we'll have a good week of practice and get ready for two good teams coming in."