California Head Coach Cuonzo Martin

 
On the game…
"We got off to a good start, and I thought it would be the opposite with two Colorado starters out of the lineup. I thought our guys would let up a little bit, but I think we did a great job in the first 15 minutes really being assertive and aggressive on both sides of the ball. Once they settled in, they did something we didn't want them to do, which was go with the smaller lineup. I felt like they would always have an advantage unless we played the zone, especially with George King at the four. He's a physical presence who scores well and really makes plays, but the zone was really able to help us out tonight against him. If they went small, we had to put one of our bigs on the bench, which isn't necessarily a strength for us—but when we went to the zone, it worked out for us."
 
On Colorado's missing players…
"(I found out) when they put the lineups in the game, maybe 10-15 minutes before tipoff. It oftentimes affects the players, especially when you have key guys out, because you game plan and scout those guys and make plays based off those guys. They were going out like if they had never seen this quarterback before, haven't seen his plays. We felt like their advantage -- going small -- they would make it tough for us. Luckily, the zone really worked out for us tonight."
 
On all players adding points…
"I thought they did a great job out there. I think we scored five possessions in a row out there, and Domingo, Singer, Rooks all really got in there. I think when Rooks is healthy, he's a double-digit scorer every night. He's just getting his body right with more conditioning. With Domingo making a huge shot, he's a guy who continually works on his shot, so we expect that out of him— tonight they were just falling in. We expect all of our guys to play and be very effective, but it definitely helps us when everyone is able to score with the way teams defend against Ivan (Rabb). The way teams defend against Ivan, really corralling around him, you have to be ready to step up and make a shot."

Graduate Transfer Guard Grant Mullins

 
On quick start and allowing Colorado to get back into the game…
 
"They're just a really talented team and they shoot really well from the three-point line so we knew that a big lead could go away quickly if we let up. They hit a few good shots and had some and-1's so we just had to stay locked in defensively."
 
On Ivan going out early and having big shots from the bench…
 
"It's huge for those guys to come off the bench cold and come in and hit a big shot. That's really impressive. (Stephen Domingo) works so hard in practice and gets so many reps so to see him come in and do that, that's great, and I hope he can get more of that going."
 

Freshman Guard Charlie Moore

 
On his feelings after hitting first two threes and approach after that…
                                                                                                                                           
"After I hit my first two threes it felt pretty good. My teammates set me up and gave me wide-open looks. After that I felt the rhythm and their players kept going out on the screen so I figure I'd shoot it and it was just falling tonight."
 
On if the three pointers were by design…
 
"Definitely. Us penetrating the gaps and looking for the kick-out so the bigs were sagging in, so the kick-outs were wide open. I've got complete confidence in these shooters -- Bird, Grant, and Domingo -- so I'll kick it out to them and they'll knock it down."
 
On if he's feeling more comfortable as the season goes on…


"I'm definitely feeling more comfortable. Teammates are getting in the right spots and I'm feeling like I'm getting a little bit more chemistry with the team. I know where to find them, and I know where they're good to finish around the baskets so that's me coming into every game focused and I feel much more comfortable."

Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle

 
On the game…
"I was really proud of our guys fight, toughness and determination. We buried ourselves into a hole there in the first half with Cal making nine threes, and our zone not guarding well against the perimeter attack. We talked about coming out of the first media timeout of the second half, bringing it below 10, and we were able to bring it to eight, and then we called a timeout, but we could just not get over the hump. In critical times of the game, we broke down defensively, and let them bring the game back to 10. We made shots to get ourselves back into it, but at certain times we had really good looks that didn't go in, and to come back from where we were, you really have to play a flawless second half. I thought we tried, we just weren't quite good enough in the critical moments. I'm proud of our fight and effort."
 
On Cal's defense…
"(Kameron) Rooks and (Kingsley) Okoroh are huge bodies inside and their size and strength left us a little undersized there. I think George King did as great of a job defensively on Ivan Rabb as anyone we could have put up against him—he really took on the challenge. We saw some good performances for us, but we turned it over in the first half so many times against their zone, we just didn't handle it very well. Obviously, when you shoot 36 percent in the first half it doesn't reflect how well we've recently been playing offensively. Tonight's offense was not up to our standards."