What Lance Jones Said After Purdue's 72-66 Win Over Tennessee in the Elite Eight
Lance Jones didn't have his best performance in Purdue's 72-66 victory over Tennessee to advance to the Final Four, but he made some big plays to secure the win. Now, the Boilermakers are in position to compete for a national championship.
Jones finished Sunday's game with seven points, which included a clutch 3-pointer with under 2:30 to play in the game, putting Purdue up 66-60. He also played well on the defensive end.
All season, Jones has added a new dimension for the Boilermakers on both ends of the court. His spark proved helpful in Sunday's win over the Volunteers.
Here's everything Jones said following Purdue's victory over Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
On Zach Edey's star status in college basketball ...
Yeah, Zach is -- his game speaks for itself. One thing I really like about Zach, he's humble. He doesn't brag about what he does and what he's capable of doing. He just goes out there, he works, he puts his head down. You know he's a great teammate.
On Jones' ability to stay confident when shots don't go in ...
Just staying confident. Just be ready to shoot. Coach Paint tells us, just be ready to shoot the ball when it comes your way and you're wide open.
I put a lot of work in my shot, and I have a lot of confidence in that, and my teammates have a lot of confidence in me.
On defending Tennessee's Dalton Knecht ...
So I wanted to make it my main priority to lock in defensively. When I lead defensively, it kind of trickles down and helps everybody else defensively.
He was cooking. So I wanted to do anything I could to shut his water off.
On how difficult it is to defend Knecht off of screens ...
Just sticking with it, just trying to be physical, make his catches limited, push the ball out where he catches the ball. Just try to make it hard on him defensively.
He can rise over me and shoot over smaller guards. So, yeah, I just wanted to do whatever is necessary.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- WHAT MATT PAINTER SAID: For the first time as a coach, Matt Painter is heading to the Final Four. Here's everything the longtime leader of the Boilermakers said following Purdue's 72-66 win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight.CLICK HERE
- WHAT ZACH EDEY SAID: Zach Edey was dominant in Purdue's win over Tennessee, scoring 40 points and collecting 16 rebounds. He's cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats in college basketball history. Here's everything he had to say following the win over the Vols. CLICK HERE
- WHAT BRADEN SMITH SAID: In Sunday's win over Tennessee, Braden Smith scored nine points, dished out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Here's everything the star point guard had to say following his performance. CLICK HERE