(Smith and Dudley) are the kind of guys that when you play against them, it's tough to like them. But when you get to know them, they're great kids. You hate to play against them, though, because they kill you. They beat you up.

Teams play at another level against us, and we're learning to handle that.

Most people are bigger than us, so they start that way and see how that goes. A lot of teams at some point have gone to their version of 'small' against us. We've seen both.

I hope so. I don't want to go inside against inside against them. But there's a lot of similarities, too. They're very strong and aggressive defensively. They like to play fast. And so do we.

They are probably more skilled at every position than any Big East team that we play against because everybody can handle it, pass it, shoot it well. They remind me of Connecticut, but with their size at every position and with the way they push the ball at you, they are just a little more skilled at each spot.

I don't know what to expect. I don't think we've ever played anywhere against a player of this magnitude in terms of what he means to a program, in terms of what he means to college basketball. A player that's as loved as Gerry McNamara playing his last home game? I don't know if we'll ever do this again.

We've just got to execute better against better teams.

We need to get our forwards involved. We've been working on it. Will has been defending, making plays, but not scoring as much. Tonight he took it to another level in a big game against an outstanding team, which I think tells you a lot about Will Sheridan.

Tonight he took it to another level in a big game against an outstanding team. And that tells you a lot about Will Sheridan.