March 11, 2005

NC State Head Coach Herb Sendek
I could not be more pleased with our performance tonight. Our guys really stepped up and it was a great team win. We played well offensively throughout the game and gave a much better defensive accounting for ourselves in the second half. For us it was really a complete team win. We had a number of guys step up and play outstanding games. Julius (Hodge) continues his stellar career. We ask him to do so many different things. He was just really special tonight. Andrew Brackman, man was he special tonight. He gave us a big lift that we really needed. These guys stepped up in a big way. I'm really proud of them.

(On start to the game)
Our guys did a great job preparing for the game. I think it was helpful with the short turnaround that we played Wake Forest the last game of the regular season. A lot of the preparation was fresh in their minds. We played them last Sunday so it was not like we were starting from scratch. That worked to our favor given the fact that we had to play yesterday.

(On offensive rebounding)
That was really important for us and obviously hasn't been a strength for us throughout the regular season. The guys played with great determination tonight. Andrew (Brackman) can do that very well. He was nothing short of sensational.

NC State Forward Julius Hodge
Coming into this game, we felt very confident in our defense. Our rebounding just got better because we boxed out for the most part. Guys like (Andrew) Brackman came in and did their job rebounding and made some great plays. That is what we needed. We needed guys coming off the bench to do their job, plus more. Everybody who stepped onto the court had a part of this victory. It feels good.

(What about the ACC Tournament seems to bring out the best in the team)
Coach Sendek gets us so prepared for every game. By the time the ACC Tournament comes around we have engrained in our membranes -- space, rebounding and play tough defense. We get it done and go about it like our coach goes. He is a great guy, a great coach with great character. He is very demanding. When we are on the court we are very demanding of ourselves. We really tend to play well in the postseason. Hopefully we can continue this ride.

NC State Forward Ilian Evtimov
(Our younger) guys had to step up during the year and they learned a lot. Now it is the time to show it. I think Andrew Brackman showed how much he has improved. He made the free throws down the stretch, had some huge rebounds, and made some huge blocks. He isn't playing like a freshman, I tell you that much.

(On whether NC State is in the NCAA Tournament)
I would hope so. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be in. We just showed that we are a very capable team, despite fighting some adversity right now, without Tony (Bethel). I know that is what they (the committee) are looking for, teams that can come through. We showed that we are one of those teams tonight.

NC State Guard Cameron Bennerman
We started with defense and our overall energy level was there the entire game. I can't really think of any part of the game where our energy wasn't there. I'm a high-energy guy anyway, that boosts my game. It was the energy and the defense.

Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser
Give credit to NC State. Obviously that stretch in the second half where we turned the basketball over and they converted those turnovers into points was the telling part of the game. Again, that was too many points to give them as a direct result of our turnovers. I thought we played, after the first flurry of baskets, pretty well in the first half. Again, give them credit. They deserve the win. They'll be in the national tournament.

(On playing without Chris Paul)
We shot 49% for the game, obviously not as well in the second half, and as I said earlier the 24 points off turnovers were telling. We had players in there capable of winning the game, so I'm not going to sit here and talk about who didn't play.

(On if Chris Paul expressed any emotions after the game)
Yes, he was remorseful ... as you would expect.

(On whether the loss could cost Wake Forest a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament)
I don't know. I know this though: those guys on the committee are basketball guys. I think we've won something like 10 of our last 12. We played a difficult schedule. The committee asked us to go out in the non-conference season and not be afraid to take your team out on the road and I'm not sure that too many teams did that to the level that we did. You wouldn't think that after 31 games it would come down to 40 minutes like this, but if it does, then it does, because like I said earlier, we had players capable of winning the game and (NC) State beat us. We were fortunate to beat them two out of three, but they got this one. I think the committee will look at the proverbial body of work that everybody is talking about though.

Wake Forest junior center Eric Williams
That was a real intense, emotional game. It just seems like they outscrapped us in the second half.

(On the impact of NC State's 12 offensive rebounds for 19 second chance points)
It just seemed like in the second half they went to the glass more and their guards got a lot more involved in the rebounding. Cameron (Bennerman) went to the glass hard and it was hard to keep him off.

Wake Forest junior guard Justin Gray
I think we played pretty good for about 25 minutes but they had a stretch where they got all the loose balls and got second shots.

(On the absence of All-ACC point guard Chris Paul due to suspension)
Tonight maybe we did miss him, but in that situation we really couldn't think about it. I think everybody really tried to step up their games a little bit, but we just didn't make the plays.

(On a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament)
If you look at our entire season, the games that we've played and the teams on the road, it still looks good. We weren't scared to go on the road and play. We won games on the road so if the committee looks at that I think we're in pretty good shape.

Wake Forest senior guard Taron Downey
The fact of the matter was they flat outplayed us in the second half. We struggled to score a little bit and they did a great job defensively.

(On the immense pressure playing postseason ball)
It's do or die this time of year. Everyone wants to win really badly and it's just about will now. If you lose you're going home for good and we definitely don't want to do that. So we have to get that hunger back.