Coach Slessinger's Comments Heading Into Sunday's Game At Northwestern

ADVANCE | NEW ORLEANS NOTES | NORTHWESTERN NOTES

On both teams entering the contest with three-game winning streaks
"It's a great matchup. Northwestern is very good. Coach Collins and his staff has done an incredible job, and they're right on the cusp of breaking through in the Big 10 Conference and getting their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. We know we've got a great challenge ahead of us. It's the next game on our schedule and we have to do a good job of playing well in all facets."
 
On how the Privateers have played of late
"They're playing very well. They're played very unselfish basketball and they're playing very hard. They've got a good attention to detail, so I feel good about where they're at as a group. Finals is always tricky. Guys get are stressed in a different way than normal and you have to learn how to deal with that. I'm glad that that is over and now that we're through it, we have to sustain a good effort on Sunday."
 
On the Northwestern Wildcats
"They're a great 3-point shooting team, first and foremost. They shoot almost 41 percent from the 3 and they can shoot it at a high rate from just about anywhere with all five guys. They spread the floor very well offensively and they can execute. They also get to the glass pretty well."
 
On the opportunity presented in the upcoming game at Northwestern
"This is a huge opportunity for us to take another step forward as a program, the rebuilding of our program and the renaissance of New Orleans basketball. We know how big of a deal this is. The guys are excited for the challenge, but we know it's going to be a stiff challenge. We've got this one and then we have another huge one on the 17^th against an in-state rival."
 
On the different between this year's game and last year's matchup
"Our guys have a lot more confidence than they did a year ago. We've matured. Our forwards are a lot better and can match up with their forwards and their skill set. They can all shoot 3s. We don't really have 3-point shooters at our forward position, but we pass it very, very well and hopefully they can be a lot more mobile than theirs."