It was a rollercoaster ride but the 2020-21 college basketball season finally tipped off Wednesday, Nov. 25. Eleven Summit League men’s and women’s programs played its season-openers yesterday. We saw South Dakota State (men) hold its own against #15 West Virginia to Denver (women) take care of business on the road against Air Force.
Here are some of the best quotes from yesterday’s games (Nov. 25).
Men’s Basketball
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins on his impression of South Dakota State: “I think they are really good. … They are extremely well-coached. They make shots and do a really good job of handling the ball and creating shots for one another.”
Miami (Ohio) head coach Jack Owens on North Dakota junior forward Filip Rebraca: “Their big kid from North Dakota’s a problem. He’s like Ethan Happ that played at Wisconsin when I was in the Big Ten. He’s versatile. So, the scouting report was to trap him on every catch and you guys saw the time we didn’t get to him and what he was able to do.”
Nevada head coach Steve Alford on getting to play a team other than themselves in practice: “It’s been nothing but blue and silver (jersey’s) since Jul, so it was good to have a different opponent, a well-coached opponent, a team that’s had a lot of success. Four kids have been in the NCAA Tournament, they’ve won a lot of championships in the Summit League, so it was good to get that fight because I knew they were going to fight us for 40 minutes.”
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle on South Dakota: “I thought we played really hard and South Dakota did too. My hats go off to them. They were running some offensive stuff at a pace that was mid-season form.”
Women’s Basketball
Kansas City head coach Jacie Hoyt on the Roos season-opening 84-70 loss to Bradley: “We were not the disciplined team we needed to be to beat a very good Bradley team. It was a good opening game to show us the things we need to figure out and get better at.”