Postgame comments from UNI's NCAA tourney win over UNLV

Random quotes after Northern Iowa's 69-66 NCAA tournament first-round win over UNLV Thursday night in Oklanoma City:

Ali Farokhmanesh: "I had no idea that (final) shot was coming to me. If it was your shot, you're going to take it. It wasn't planned or anything."

On how the game-winning shot ranks in his career moments: "I can't even put it into perspective."

Lucas O'Rear on Farokhmanesh's shot: "I was underneath the basket and as soon as it went up, I thought 'That looks like a game-winner right there,' and you know it went through."

On UNI breaking its four-game losing streak in NCAA first-round games: "I was watching earlier, and BYU had seven consecutive (NCAA losses) and they broke that, and then we come out here, you know, we finally win a game and it just feels so much better."

Freshman guard Marc Sonnen on Farokhmanesh's shot: "Right when he shot it I thought it was long at first, but right when I saw it I was like 'Oh, that's going in," and I just went crazy after that. It was an amazing shot.

"I've always dreamt about being in the NCAA tournament, and having something like that to win our first game in the NCAA tournament is crazy. I think I'll always remember that shot and always remember this game."

Kwadzo Ahelegbe on sitting out the last eight minutes of the first half after collecting his second foul before his 10-point second half: "I think it kind of happened for the best. It made me really focused and made me relish the opportunity."

Johnny Moran on playing Kansas in the second round Saturday: "Once we saw the bracket come out, there wasn't much else to hope for. You've got to win the first game and we took care of that, and now we get to play the best team in the country."

Coach Ben Jacobson on UNI's first NCAA win in 20 years: "It (the win over Missouri in 1990) gets talked about a lot around our place and in a positive way. It's something that our program is very proud of ... And so it gets talked about, it gets written about, and it should.

"And so being able to win a game in the tournament now after 20 years is -- I think it's significant. I think as you continue to build your program, it's a big part of that."

On Iowa State Coach Greg McDermott (the UNI head coach who brought Jacobson to Cedar Falls as his assistant) being at the game: "There's no bigger supporter or fan of this basketball program than Mac. He's been on the recruiting trail and watching a bunch of games, and to be able to sneak away to be here, that continues to mean a lot to our program.

"As I've talked about, this started nine years ago because of what Greg McDermott did with our program. He changed a lot of things about this basketball program in five years. Because of that, we're in the position we're in today."

A note: I encountered McDermott outside the Ford Center two hours before UNI tipped off. He told me he had been recruiting at the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., a three-hour drive from Oklahoma City. Last year, McDermott was in Portland, Ore., for the Panthers' first-round NCAA game against Purdue.

McDermott recruited Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch to UNI. His son, Doug, will be a freshman in the Panthers' program next season.

UNLV Coach Lon Kruger: "They (UNI) did a good job in the second half of getting the ball into the low post and playing from there. I thought that dictated to us a little bit when they couldn't score inside. We fouled them a few times. They did a nice job of moving the ball back out to the perimeter and made some shots from there, but they're a good ballclub. Coach Jacobson does a terrific job, and it was a good game. Both teams really fought hard, and they made the shot late."

UNLV forward

Matt Shaw: "They played good, solid defense and congested the paint pretty well. They tried to force you to take contested shots, so overall they were a good defensive team."