Kansas Basketball: Players Talk Border War Win

Tyshawn Taylor, Thomas Robinson and Connor Teahan all played major roles in one way or another during the Jayhawk comeback win over Missouri. Each player talked about the final Border War in Lawrence, the comeback and what the win means to them.

Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor

On how it feels to come back and win:

"I feel good. Words can't even describe how I feel. I'm so proud of my teammates. They stuck it out and we just kept grinding."

On what the team was thinking when down 19:

"We have to take it one possession at a time. Coach (Self) always says there's no 10-point plays, so every possession at a time. We had to hunker down on defense and that's what we did. They went for a stretch where they didn't score for a while and we kept making plays and chipping away. We made free throws in the second half because we missed like five or six in the first half, so I think that was a big thing. We just kept grinding it out. We played a lot of that first half without T-Rob (Thomas Robinson) and Jeff (Withey). That contributed to us not playing as well, but when we had all our pieces out there we just kept fighting."

On what he was thinking when he stepped to the free throw line at the end:

"I have to make them. I talked to one of my best friends after the last game and he told me, `next time you see them, you're going to be in a bigger situation and it's going to mean more.' He was absolutely right. It was the same team again, but not the same circumstances and I came through this time. I'm actually glad I got to shoot those free throws."

On his mindset after Missouri guard Marcus Denmon scored to go up by one at the end of overtime with no timeouts:

"We have to go score and get a good shot, but get it as fast as possible. I just put my head down and saw a little seam and just attacked. I got bumped a little earlier, but they called it on the shot. I got fouled and I made the free throws."

On what Coach Self said about the first half free throw shooting:

"Actually nothing. He feels like he talks about it and stresses it to us. He never really talks much about free throws. We're big-time players and he feels like we should be able to knock them down. We talked to ourselves about it and we made them (in the second half).

Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson

On what this win means:

"It was big. Revenge, payback, it definitely feels good. It felt like someone just jumped us and ran away and we finally caught up to them. Like Ty (Taylor) said, I can't even put it into words. We're never going to be a part of something as big as this game was tonight. Just when I thought we couldn't get to another level, we stuck together and got better tonight."

On if coming back from 19 down to win shows how good this team really is:

"After the game, we were talking and I don't think you can put a team in a tougher situation at home. We were down 19 against a top-five team and we stuck to it and got through it. I'm definitely proud of everybody."

On his block at the end of regulation:

"I think I had my eyes closed to be honest with you. I saw Elijah (Johnson) get beat at the free throw line and, if I recall, in the last game Denmon had the same type of play on the baseline. So, like Ty (Taylor) said, it was the same situation, but this time we learned from it. We learned from our mistakes and we capitalized on them this time."

On having to sit out the final part of the first half with foul trouble:

"I was thinking all types of mixed thoughts. I was thinking that I let my team down and that we needed to find a way to stick it out. It was a lot of mixed emotions, but at the same time, in the back of my mind, I knew we still had 20 minutes left in the game. It was scary being over there."

On the and-one play at the end of regulation:

"It was a big play; it was definitely huge. I just knew that I had to get the ball off the glass and that is all I tried to do. He came up from under me at the last second."

Kansas senior guard Conner Teahan

On what this game meant to him:

"To be honest, I think the whole situation makes it one of the best victories that I have been a part of. Probably by default, I would have to say the National Championship game (was the best win). For a game that I have played in, this game was the most awesome experience I've had in my life. We were able to stick through it; at halftime, Thomas (Robinson) and Tyshawn (Taylor) were talking about that no matter what the situation is, we have to stick together as a team. We were able to do that, even when we got down 19 in the second half when things weren't going our way. It was a great win."

On if he knew this would be an important game since Missouri was playing a zone defense:

"I felt like it was going to be an important night for me regardless of what they were playing. The last game, I shot the ball terribly; I wanted to come out and prove that I was going to be able to make shots in big games and big situations. I wanted to do whatever it was that would help the team regardless. We were struggling with the zone in the first half, and then we were able to find a weaker spot in the second half."

On being able to bounce back after struggling in the previous game:

"Like I try to say every game, I try to put the game or (my shooting performance) behind me. I felt like I played pretty terribly against Texas A&M in terms of shooting the ball. I'm not even sure to be honest; I'm all over the place with my emotions right now. I'm just happy we won."