Kevin Willard quote book: Marquette

On where this game ranks among his most significant wins at Seton Hall:
"That's a big one, just because of where we are this time of year and how good of a team they are. When you're looking at Big East seedings and the Big East tournament, and where everybody is, it's so jumbled up that getting a win like this, it just helps enormously, especially as hard as these guys have been playing. We've had some tough losses, like the Georgetown game -- I was so proud of the way they battled -- so for them to bounce back, get down by 13 and show the heart that they did, I think that's -- more than anything -- that's huge."

On Seton Hall's game-ending 18-0 run:
"That Myles Powell three -- when it hit the rim and backboard and went in -- I just think it kind of relaxed them a little bit, and gave him the opportunity. I kind of just saw it in his eyes that he was going to take over, and he was just phenomenal the last five minutes."

On Quincy McKnight's defense against Markus Howard:
"Q, he's been struggling a little bit offensively -- as we all have a little bit -- but he's been -- all year long, he's just been rock solid on defense. I thought he did a great job of really staying in place at Marquette. We lost him a little bit off pick-and-rolls, and I thought Q did a phenomenal job in that first half of really just kind of making it difficult for one of the best players in college basketball."

On pressuring Marquette more given its turnover woes in recent games:
"Not really. I think more or less for us, it was trying to create some points, trying to get some easy buckets, trying to get guys some confidence going, maybe get a turnover or a layup -- which I thought we did a good job in the first half -- we got some easy buckets, we created some easy turnovers. But more or less, I think we were trying to get after them a little bit just for the fact that we're trying to get some easy buckets for guys when guys aren't working the whole time."

On Michael Nzei:
"I can't say enough about Mike. I'm not looking forward to Saturday, but this year, I think he's just really embraced the fact of being a leader. The double technical, I was fine with that. It just showed the team what it takes to win against a really good team, against Marquette, and down the stretch, defensively, he did some really good things."

"Mike came in with that group, with Z (Isaiah Whitehead) and Angel (Delgado) and Deeno (Khadeen Carrington), Ish (Ismael Sanogo) and Desi (Rodriguez), and I'll never forget: Isaiah told me late their sophomore year, when we won the Big East championship, he said, 'The biggest difference between this year and last year is the fact that Mike Nzei can play.' And I remember Isaiah telling me that, and Michael has been an unsung hero on the court, but off the court, he has been nothing but phenomenal. He'll graduate with a 4.0, he's not only going to be a great ambassador while he was here, but I think he's a guy that -- Jerry Walker -- a guy that does so much, so good for everything and every time you see Jerry, you understand what Seton Hall basketball's all about, and how good people come out of this program. Mike Nzei's going to be that Jerry Walker-type person."

On perimeter defense in the second half:
"They were actually a little bit more difficult to guard when Markus went out, just because they posted up -- they were huge -- and really, I thought Sam Hauser played phenomenal. It was something that you don't prepare for. You prepare for Markus being out there for 39 minutes. I thought once we kind of adjusted to their physicality and their size, I thought we did a much better job of keeping them a little more away from the basket, and I thought Romaro Gill was really a big presence inside and gave us some presence late in the game."

On his confidence in his players:
"We had a great week of practice for Georgetown -- if we had made some shots in either half, we would have won that game -- I thought we played really well at Georgetown. We just didn't shoot the basketball well, and I told the team afterwards, I said, 'Guys, you've never been in this situation, you're not supposed to be in this situation. No one thought you would be here. Nobody did.' And I said, 'Now you're going through it for the first time, and I said, 'all you've gotta do is come into practice on Monday with the same attitude that you've had all year long,' and I said, 'you'll find ways to win games, I'm telling you. You have two great opportunities against two excellent teams, just keep doing what you've been doing.' And I think I have confidence in this team and confidence in these players because of what they've done on the practice court. I think I've had one -- going into the St. John's game at St. John's was the only time I thought we were a little bit loosey-goosey -- and that didn't even matter. They just jumped us and kicked our butts, so that didn't even matter. But for the most part, this team -- from June on -- has been focused, they've worked hard, they've had a great attitude, so I think my confidence comes from them, to be perfectly honest with you."

On Saturday's regular season finale against Villanova:
"It's difficult. Forget the week. Phil Booth has -- again, you talk about a fifth-year senior and guys who represent the program terrifically -- (Eric) Paschall and Booth have been two great representations of Villanova and this league. I think the way they started shooting the basketball before the break, it looked like they were starting to get their legs back a little bit. Jay -- I've said this -- I think Jay is as good a game coach and a preparation coach as there is in the country, he doesn't get enough credit for it, but I've coached against him now nine years, and I just don't think there's anybody better. So it's obviously a huge challenge, but it's also a great opportunity, and that's the way we've got to look at it."

On his brother praying down the stretch:
"Who's got the better beard right now? So, we're having a contest, and I'm a little -- I think he's Italian or something, because I don't know how he's growing that beard the way -- this is like now, two weeks, and it's terrible looking -- and then Tony Testa, our trainer, he just started two days ago, and he looks like Sylvester Stallone in -- what's that movie? -- Cobra. I can't do it, but we're calling it the playoff beard, so we're all going to keep them and we're all going to grow them. I'm going to lose, but as long as we win games, I don't really care."

On his awareness of Seton Hall's 20-0 record when Brian Custer does play-by-play for Fox Sports:
"Oh, yeah! Brian Custer's getting the biggest -- I have a bottle of wine that -- it's a monster -- that I bought a couple of years ago in Napa -- two years ago -- and I am gonna -- I'm actually sending it back to the guy, and I'm gonna get it engraved for him and I'm gonna send it to him. He deserves -- I don't know what it is -- he looked over at me with like, 12 seconds to go, smiling, and I said, 'I'm gonna call Fox and say, 'Why can't I get Brian Custer, why can't I get him on my game every time?' It's unbelievable, but I'll take it, man, I love that guy."