Kentucky-Texas Postgame Quotes
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. TEXAS
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
JANUARY 21, 2026
UK Student Athletes
#23 Mouhamed Dioubate, F
On how the team is rallying around Kam Williams during his injury…
“It’s a sad moment for the team but we know the kind of guy Kam is and he would want us to keep playing, keep going hard, pick up the pace. In moments like this, we can’t do anything but be there for him, enlighten him, and bring this energy around him.”
On how he expects the team to perform after another season ending injury…
“We just have to keep going. This is another example of adversity and we’ve been through that this year so far. We just have to have other guys step up. There have been other guys playing so they will have to step up and keep doing what they are doing. I think we’re going to be fine.”
On what it feels like to be regarded as the toughest guy on the team…
“It should mean something to me. I just go out there and try and play my game. It’s not something I’m necessarily looking for as a name but it’s just who I am.”
#5, Collin Chandler, G
On what the last couple days have been like dealing with an illness …
“Not the greatest. The biggest thing with sickness is energy levels and trying to get sleep and so I’ve just been working on that and trying to get as much rest as possible, and today, my trainers and everybody were great and helped me get ready. I got an IV before the game, which helped a lot with my energy and hydration.”
On whether there was any point he thought the illness would keep him from playing and whether the illness was diagnosed…
“No, I’ve practiced the last few days. I missed shootaround today mostly to just catch up on sleep and rest and being sure I had all my energy for tonight, but there was never doubt on whether I was going to play or not. I haven’t been feverish which has been the nicest thing about it, but there’s been stuff going around. That’s just how the winter is so it’s something I get every year.”
On the connectivity of the team when Kam Williams got injured …
“The worst part about the game of basketball are the injuries. That’s something I think every athlete is prepared for and every team needs to prepare for. We’re all with Kam right now. It sucks, being injured, being taken away from the thing that you love to do, but we’re all with him. We’re all going to keep rallying. Injuries are nothing new to our team so far this season, so we’re just going to keep rallying and keep figuring it out.”
#00, Otega Oweh, G
On the team’s confidence getting back into a winning streak …
“I think it’s built our confidence a lot. I think the biggest thing for us is our attention to detail and our intensity every single game, just bringing it. Every game is a new game and I think we’re doing a good job focusing on what’s in front of us.”
On Malachi Moreno’s statistics…
“He’s doing great. He’s really filling up the stat sheet with blocks, assists, and rebounds.
He’s doing really well, which helps us a lot when he’s being that efficient and that aggressive”
On the biggest difference from five games ago to this point …
“I think we’re really playing connected. We’re focusing on the defensive end and trying to get out in transition. I feel like when we do that it sets us up for our offense, even in the half court.”
Texas Head Coach Sean Miller
Opening Statement
“I thought tonight was a really good basketball game on both ends. I thought two teams fought really hard. I’m proud of my guys’ effort. I thought we really came here with a lot of purpose, played to win, made a lot of quality plays. I tip my hat to Kentucky. I know it was a big game, home game—coming off of couple comeback wins. A good basketball team that I think is only going to get better, and we respect them a great deal. They beat us tonight. It wasn’t that they didn’t get a real test from us. We came here with great purpose to try and win the game, and they beat us couple things on our end. I think when you play with eight turnovers in a game, which we did, you know that’s something to really be proud of. I think that’s winning basketball.
“I look at the rebounding, and certainly we gave up our fair share of second shots, but we also got the same amount. Both teams had 13 second shots. As a matter of fact, second chance points actually favored us 16 to 11. So, I’ll start with that right there, that if you can come to Rupp Arena play against Kentucky, take care of the ball eight turnovers, and keep it even on the glass, and actually get a few more second chance points. Heck, I would have signed up for that. What our team—this is a Texas problem—has, is we have a virus called fouling, and it has plagued us from the opening tip of the first game until tonight. It’s not the officials, it’s not Kentucky. We will foul a three-point shooter. We’ll foul at the end of the clock. We’ll leave our feet on drives. Kentucky was 30 for 35 from the line. It’s hard to win an SEC road game when the home team is 30 for 35 from the line. I’m not messing around on the officiating. The officiating was fine. It was called the right way. We fouled two of the last fouls in the last minute and a half, two minutes, one at half court, and one like under five seconds, where you just stay down, and if he makes the shot, he makes it. We have to be able to play defense without fouling. Our team isn’t really put together to turn you over. So, if you’re not turning them over and you’re fouling, it really makes it difficult on the defensive end. I mean, if we did a better job of playing not just in this game, but in some others, of not fouling, we would have a couple more wins under our belt, because we’re not that far off. So, my charge is to continue to work, to develop it, to teach it, to stay on it, and to demand it, and to be more disciplined as we move forward. Because I think if we could eliminate some of our fouls, we could break through, for example, in a big game like tonight, because we did some other things really well.
“Also, on our end, I thought this was—Dalen Swain—one of his best games. He was outstanding, 10 for 16 from the floor, two for six from three, seven for seven from the line. He had three assists and only one turnover, two steals, 29 points. He got fouled eight times. So, in his performance, I thought a big reason we were in the game is he was terrific.
“So that’s really my strong thoughts on what I know best, which is certainly our team.”
On Collin Chandler’s playing ability…
“He’s an important player for Kentucky because he comes in off the bench, and he can really change the game. The closer and the more you watch him—he can steal a basketball, he’s physical, he runs and jumps way better than you maybe give him credit for. I just think he’s a really good player. We went zone on him one possession late in the game. That’s on me. We aren’t a zone team. We are trying to mix it in and trying to give them a different look when you feel like they are in a great rhythm, and we left them alone in the right corner. I thought that was a big play in the game, just to give them a bigger cushion.
On fixing the amount of fouling going on in a game…
“I think coaching in the SEC reminds me of the NFL. What you love about the NFL is the amazing parity and how a team can go from one week to the next. They’re unrecognizable. Every night in the SEC seems like a test. You cannot allow the final score to break you. If we’re playing good basketball and doing a lot of good things in these 40 minutes, we have to learn, grow, and carry some of those good things to the next game. No doubt about it, I think being able to play better defense without fouling is worth two, four, or six points. Because of some of our fouls, the offense doesn’t have an advantage, and we are just giving them points.”
On his impressions of Malachi Moreno…
“Malachi is a terrific young player, I think he’s one of the best freshmen in the country and certainly has a big role in Kentucky’s team. I think he’s improving, most importantly. Everyone likes to judge these guys on one snapshot, but you forget he’s nineteen years old and from Northern Kentucky. He’s playing in games that he’s never played before. I think he’s only going to continue to get better. He’s a wonderful kid and comes from a great family as well. I thought he did a great job tonight. He gets fouled as much as any player in the country and does a good job. He [Matas Vokietaitis] was five for fourteen tonight, and back to your point on Malachi, I think Malachi influenced some of those misses.”
