March 16, 2003

DUKE HEAD COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI

"I think of the five ACC championships, this team played with the most heart. What a tremendous second half against a terrific NC State team. I mean, we both played great. They are not a loser in this game. I even told my staff when we were down by a few points that this is a game deserving of a win by each group. I would have been proud of my kids no matter what. But, of course, I am really proud of them right now."

On coming back after being down 15 points:
"We had a lot of confidence and we just tried to settle our kids down ... There were 13 minutes or so left in the game and there was plenty of time. We just couldn't hit shots, but we were playing really hard. So I said just settle down, and the kids just did it for us."

On the contributions of Casey Sanders and Nick Horvath:
"Two kids that might get lost in the aftermath are Casey Sanders and Nick Horvath. Every minute they played was productive. They gave us some unbelievable games in this tournament. The stars are obvious, but Sanders and Horvath were just critical to our winning this tournament."

NC STATE HEAD COACH HERB SENDEK

"First, I would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Duke. They played a remarkable second half, and an outstanding basketball game altogether. Clearly what they have been able to accomplish is remarkable. They have our greatest respect."

"I couldn't be more proud of our basketball team. We have gotten better every step of the way. We are a much better team than we were at earlier points of ther season. I can't exress well enough in words how honored and privileged I am to coach these guys. It means more to me than I can adequately describe. Our guys played well today. Duke played better. It was two teams playing at a really high level."

"J.J. Redick was sensational. What more can you say? I thought in the second half, from our standpoint, our fould trouble was really crippling. Guys were trying to play good, solid, hard-nosed defense without picking up their fifth foul. During that time period, we did not have the same defensive stopping ability that we had at other points in the game. We were in deep foul trouble and Duke recognized that and they continued to attack it."