Everything Mike Schwartz said after ECU's 68-55 victory over Wichita State

"Honestly, again, we played good on offense versus UTSA on Sunday. We shot the ball well. I've said this before, and we say it in our locker room, we're going to hang our hat on defense, and if we play well on defense, it doesn't mean that we're going to have a good performance every time or the stats are going to line up that way. But the bottom line is that there's a huge emphasis on defense. It just so happens these two games were two of our better defensive games and it worked. But it's nothing to do with Wichita State or any other specific team. It's that we have to be good on defense because we're not going to go win a game in the 80s or 90s."

"Yeah, I think that's always something that's good because there's two things. Number one, if you are fortunate enough to win the first game, we know what it feels like to lose the first time you play a team. There is something you really even more so feel every conference game. It doesn't matter if it's the first time you play them, or second time. If you play a team three times, like we did South Florida last year in the conference tournament. But if you do happen to drop one of the early ones, of course there's an added edge, an added fire to play them again.

"But from that standpoint, both teams are just going to evaluate everything from the first game. They're going to evaluate everything that's been happening recently. They're a different team than they were the first time we played, and I think we're a different team the first time we played. That game was somewhere in January, and so you approach it that way, but to be able to come back and win a second time, sure you want that."

"I think so. I think so. I think we've tried to do some things. We've tried to do some things when we had that bye week where we got some extra time in the gym, and I've said it many times, it's just in terms of trying to stay fresh and recharge mentally. Recharge physically, catch up academically. And we had one extra day this week with it being a Thursday game. We didn't just take it off. I mean, we practiced, but we did adjust it. Again, there's a lot of science that goes into it. I think Keith Pough and Nate Clark and our coaching staff, with scouting and everything, the way they prepare the guys, I think this is as much a credit to them to be able to come out and play well in back to back games. Keith, Nate and our coaching staff, I think, do a phenomenal job."

"No, I think it was just more of a matchup thing and a flow thing. That's it. They have a unique way that they guard switching everything one through four, on and off the ball, and then they're in a deep, deep drop with a true shot blocker and a paint presence and Quincy Ballard or Kenny Pohto. And it just was a matchup thing and that's it. Just the way the flow of the game went."

"I think not only the way he's been working, and we talked about it after and before the UTSA game, the way he's been working, putting time in the gym, but I just said this out on the radio also, that for Brandon and RJ, they're consistent. They're consistent. And what happens is, of course, there's a target on their back, and we talked about that target really being on their back when other guys aren't really stepping up and contributing as much, and the floor gets tighter and tighter for those guys. Well, all of a sudden, Cam (Hayes) puts the ball in the basket, Jaden (Walker) goes two for four, Bobby (Pettiford) goes four for eight. I mean, high, efficient numbers and so that stretches the defense a little bit. And I think RJ and Brandon, they don't need a lot of space, they don't need a bunch of volume shots to get in the rhythm. And if they can get a couple, it really helps. And if they're focusing in on those guys, then the other guys can go do it. And I thought those guys helped Brandon and RJ get going as much as anything."

"I've said this so many times, and I'll always say this about RJ. As great of a player as he is, as much as he does on the court basketball wise, he's ten times that the person and the teammate. And in terms of being a coachable, incredible teammate to his teammates and to the coaches that get a chance to be around him. Just feel very fortunate to have a chance to coach him. And we love him. We love him and that's what he means to us."

"I'd just be excited to have a 7th win. That's it. I'm not thinking about last year or before. I remember being asked this so many times when I was fortunate enough to become the head coach here because of the past. How is it going to be different now? And I'm just going to keep saying it, that what has happened in the past, including what happened last season, it is irrelevant to what we're trying to do Sunday. Sunday is a chance, a chance, to be above .500 in conference play in late February. And that's where you want to be when you're fighting to finish the season strong."

"It's all the time he puts in here in this gym and being in here and he knows if he's open, he knows he's got the complete green light. We may have been on the bench yelling at him to shoot it when he caught it. Because when we see when Brandon is open, we feel real confident with him shooting."

"Obviously I haven't had a chance (to study them). I've watched them. I know how great of a team they are and Ron Hunter and what they do, and they are so explosive on offense and they run that matchup zone on defense. And we had two really good games last year versus them in a very unique situation, as we all know. Play Wednesday, travel, play again on a Friday. But we know it's going to be an incredible test for us. I mean, again, we're all in the pack trying to fight for the same thing."