What Tamar Bates Said After Indiana's 85-69 Loss to Miami in NCAA Tournament
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No. 5 seed Miami ended No. 4 seed Indiana's season on Sunday night with an 85-69 win in Albany, N.Y. Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes with 27 points, and Miami out-rebounded Indiana 48 to 31.
Indiana sophomore guard Tamar Bates went 0-for-7 shooting with four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Here's what Bates said after the game.
Bates: Man, emotions are high. I think it’s really tough because we just saw ourselves – we set out goals for our team and you know obviously we didn’t reach them and it hurts because our seniors and the team, we’re just so close. So it’s just tough. Obviously it’s going to take a minute to get over it, but we’ll always be a team. We’ll always be together, but yeah you guys can see the emotions just all over the place right now.
Q: You guys got thumped on the boards tonight. What was the problem? What happened there?
Bates: We just had to check out. I mean, they wanted it more. We just had to box out. I mean it’s not really a secret recipe to it. I mean it’s kind of the same thing that Taurean Prince said with Yale and how they got out-rebounded. They just grabbed more of them.
Q: Tamar, it looked like they were more athletic and just faster tonight and overall. They definitely looked faster on the court.
Bates: I mean it was a few stretches where it did seem that way, but we kind of found our stride early in the second half, we just weren’t able to maintain it for the whole second half, which is the toughest part, honestly.
Q: Tamar, how tough, exactly, was it? You guys did a great job getting a head, but then they just turned the switch back that fast on you.
Bates: They made a lot of tough shots. Obviously, like you said, we lost the rebound battle and that turned real quick.
Q: Was there any particular struggle you thought you had in these two games? I think it was around 40 minutes and scoreless. Was there anything in particular that caused you trouble?
Bates: I wouldn’t say anything in particular caused me trouble, it was just sometimes they don’t fall.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY: Indiana had no answer for Miami's athleticism on Sunday night, struggling defensively and getting crushed on the boards in an 85-69 loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss signaled the end of a brilliant career for Trayce Jackson-Davis, who scored 23 points in his final game as a Hoosier. CLICK HERE
- WHAT WOODSON SAID: Here's what Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the Hoosiers' season-ending loss to No. 5 seed Miami in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 on Sunday in Albany, N.Y. CLICK HERE
- WHAT GALLOWAY SAID: Here's what Indiana junior guard Trey Galloway said after the Hoosiers' 85-69 loss to No. 5 seed Miami in the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE
