Rick Pitino Press Conference Notes

--One of the toughest things about the loss last night was that it moved Cincinnati ahead of us in the conference standings. It was game that they really needed, but it would have been a big win for us as well.

--He's honored to be nominated for the Naismith Hall of Fame and he's also very grateful to all the other coaches and players that helped him throughout his career. It's not something that he's thought about a great deal because coaches are always too worried about winning games to focus on things like that, but obviously it's a tremendous honor.

--When Gorgui is in foul trouble, you're only options right now are to go small or go with Zach. If the game is at home, he'll probably go with Zach, when we're on the road he'll probably go small.

--We did a great job attacking the rim and scoring in the post last night, we just didn't hit threes. It was just an off night for Kyle and Chris, obviously.

--Wasn't disappointed in Kyle going 0-for-11, but he was disappointed in the fact that he didn't switch three times and gave up an easy basket late in the game. Even if you're not shooting the ball well, you can control your defense, and he told Kyle that after the game in front of the rest of the team partially to send a message to guys like Chane and Russ. It's not about offense, it's about defense. You can always control your defense.

--Didn't press as much because the game was on the road and it was an extremely hostile environment. When that's the case, sometimes you want to slow things down so the crowd doesn't get into it and you're guys don't get overwhelmed.

--The way we play and finish the season is preparation for the NCAA Tournament. You need to feel good about yourself heading into the tournament, and the next couple of weeks are critical for that.

--We felt good about the way we played last night. We played hard, we defended hard, we just didn't shoot well.

--The one really disappointing aspect of the game, again, was the turnovers. If you're scoring 85 points and turning the ball over 14 times, you live with that. But you can't play the way we did last night and turn the ball over that many times. We have to do something about this.

--The careless turnovers definitely concern him since it's so late in the season. Chane didn't make any turnovers last night, and that was a great sign because he had been one of the worst offenders. Russ and Chris did some really bad things with the ball, though, and that was concerning.

--Last night was great for Gorgui. Yancy Gates bullied him a little bit and that was good for him to take that and respond. He played very well before getting into foul trouble. His response to the bullying was "let's see what happens when I put on 20 pounds." I said, "Gorgui that's not going to happen between now and the Big East Tournament."

--Has not heard from the Big East regarding his comments about the officiating last night.

--Wayne Blackshear did not practice today, but there's a possibility that he could practice tomorrow. Thinks the best thing to do is only play him on Sunday if we need him. He still keeps missing practice time because of little injuries, so we need to rest him as much as possible to get him back close to 100%, because we're really going to need him in the NCAA Tournament.

--Chane was great last night. He's very mentally tough, but not necessarily mentally mature. Sometimes he tries to do too much when we're on the road in hostile environments, but last night he responded very well. I think he thought it was going to be a nicer homecoming than it was.

--Gorgui Dieng tells out-of-town reporters that he doesn't speak English. He is hilarious.

--Would like to play Zach a little more.

--Angel has the potential to be every bit as good as any of the other freshmen, but he's never had any formal basketball teaching. Once he learns more and puts on some weight, he's going to be very good.

--Temple, like Memphis, would be a good addition for the Big East because they fit the culture of the conference.

--Very excited about Terry Rozier because he's a guy who can shoot and play multiple positions, and those are the types of players we need.