Northeastern University Athletics

Coach Bill Coen on Northeastern’s selection to the NCAA tournament
"You don't really believe it until you see it, but I'm very excited for our guys to see our name pop up and get to compete against such a great program as Notre Dame. We couldn't be more excited.
 
"It's hard to put it into words because it's really a culmination of a lifetime of work, and for our guys, some of the older players just years and years of effort, and for some of our younger players, it's brand new. It's a lot of long hours in the weight room, a lot of hard practices and training, and it's making your dream come true.
 
For us who have been in the game a little bit more, it's all about the relationships that have helped us along the way and got us to this point, so I want to say thank you to everybody out the to help me get here.
 
"Hopefully we're ushering a new era for Northeastern basketball. I know we've gotten well wishes and support from former players across the country and across the world, really. Everybody reached out to this group telling them how proud they were, how much they've enjoyed what they've accomplished, wishing them well going forward. That's been very, very special to see this group reconnecting years and years of Northeastern Athletics, and really the Northeastern community."
 
Coen on the keys to winning game against Notre Dame
"They're an outstanding team, they have a Hall of Fame coach in Mike Brey, they have a couple of local kids, and it's going to be a tall challenge. They score the ball extremely well and are extremely well coached. If we can just focus on doing what we do and be the best version of ourselves come Thursday, try to prepare and make sure that we give our best effort.
 
Coen on what makes this group special
"I think just the closeness of this group. From the very start, they understood what team chemistry could do for a club. They were very adamant about sticking together through any type of adversity that might come their way. I think we are 10-1 after losses, so whenever we faced adversity, they got a little bit closer and tighter together, and I couldn't be more proud of them."
 
Coen on Notre Dame vs. North Carolina and how to prepare for them
"I did watch that game, and they're a really good team. Extremely well coached, great guard play, great ball movement, great three-point shooting team, so it's going to be a very difficult match-up for us, but our guys, hopefully we'll get them prepared by Thursday and be ready to give our best effort.”
 
Coen on the CAA Championship
"When you're in the one-and-done environment, it's just a different feel. Having gone through that experience and had some success, and I think that will bode well for us."
 
Quincy Ford on reaching the NCAA tournament
“We’re ready. We’ve worked so hard all season long, and it’s a great matchup. We’re going to be in Pittsburgh, so here we go.  We’re ready.”
 
Ford on making it the NCAA tournament the first time since 1991
“Yeah, it’s been a long time. It’s bigger than the last one for the whole university, the community, the alumni; I like our chances.”
 
Ford on what the Huskies did leading up to #NUMadness and what will they do to get ready for their second round game.
“We had practice this morning, a great practice. We got to get after it. Just relax, get rested, rest our minds and our bodies a little bit, get some sleep, and get ready for Notre Dame.”
 
Ford on what he thought when he saw the blank line to face Notre Dame
“I’m not sure. I’ve seen people have us as a 14 or 15 seed. We got a 14 seed. I had no idea who we would play or where we would go.”
 
Ford on whether or not he pays attention to the predictions
“Yeah, everybody wants that matchup. I think it’s all about matchups, who you match up well against. But at the end of the day, the team that plays the largest usually will win. “
 
Caleb Donnelly on the lead up to Selection Sunday
"This was a very long week. The suspense was killing all of us, we just couldn't wait to hear and see what was going to happen. It's a real exciting time, because you never know where you're going to go. I thought we were going to be announced and it could take 40 minutes, but it was right away so that was exciting."
 
David Walker on playing close to home
Being in the Midwest bracket, it's also close to my home so I have a lot of people coming and they're excited for me.
 
Walker on Northeastern’s selection to the NCAA tournament
We haven't been to the tournament in 24 years, so just seeing our name up there meant a lot and I'm excited to play. We have great fans, and we're going to try to do it for them and the alumni. We all love each other, we stand by each other.”
 
Scott Eatherton on Northeastern’s selection to the NCAA tournament
"It was exciting to see our name up there. We were excited for our team, our coaches, our fans. It was actually a great turnout today, and we're looking forward to playing on Thursday."
 
Eatherton on preparing for Notre Dame
“There's going to be a lot of energy at practice, a lot of talking, it's going to be really loud. It'll be fun, though, it'll be a lot of fun."
 
Eatherton on playing well against teams like Florida State and Georgetown earlier in the season
"That's helped a lot. It gives us confidence that we can play with teams like that. Notre Dame is obviously a different team than Florida State and Georgetown, but we're still excited. It's going to be a lot of fun preparing to play a team like that.”
 
Eatherton on Notre Dame's bigs
"I actually like playing against the bigger guys. It's more competitive. You play with similar styles, so you kind of know what's going to be thrown at you. It'll be fun to compete against these guys at a higher level."