By Fred L. Jones, Jr.

fjones@theoklahomaeagle.net

 

The NCAA Second round of plays gets underway just a few hours from now at the BOK Center in Tulsa tickets can still be purchased at www.stubhub.com first game starts at 4:15 central and your ticket is good for both games.

Below you will see yesterday’s complete press conference about today’s games.

 

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

 

HEAD COACH BILL SELF

#0 FRANK MASON, III, SENIOR GUARD

#4 DEVONTE’ GRAHAM, JUNIOR GUARD

Two questions, both of them for you, Frank. First of all, can you talk about on tape what you see differences in how Michigan State plays when Cassius is into the point and then when Tum Tum is and then when they’re together?
FRANK MASON, III: I think they play really fast when Tum Tum is in. He gets the ball up the court really fast. He changes pace really good. And when Cassius is in, he’s a great passer. And he’s not as fast as Tum Tum, but he still has great vision, and they’re both really good point guards.

Q.As a followup, can you talk about how your style will change depending on who’s guarding you?
FRANK MASON, III: My style won’t change. Our style as a team won’t change. We just play the way Coach wants us to play, execute our plays and just really guard on the defensive end.

Q. Devonte’, in terms of getting your momentum back after the TCU loss, did the game yesterday accomplish it not just the big win but the way you guys did it with style points, so to speak?
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: I think we got a lot of momentum out of that game. After a loss like that, you want to come out and play really well the first game of the tournament, and I feel like we did a good job especially on the defensive end. So I think it got us a little bit of momentum.

Q. When you were deciding to go to Kansas, how much of a determining factor did Coach Self have on your final decision? And then the second part, can you just talk a little bit about the connection he seems to have with former Kansas players from your perspective?
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: Coach Self had a big role in coming here. I feel like every player he had that comes here you just get a good feel from him. He’s a great coach and just being on your recruiting visit and talking with him and him talking to your family, you get a good vibe from him, and you feel like you can come here and he’ll take care of you. It’s not like he’s an act or trying to put on a show on your recruiting visit. He’s actually a real genuine guy. He cares about you and your family. He had a huge role in me coming here.

FRANK MASON, III: Yeah, same as Devonte’ said. Coach Self is a great guy. He teaches us a lot on and off the court. And we’re thankful for those things.

Other than that, the Kansas tradition and all the things he has accomplished since he’s been here and before Kansas really played a big role in me coming to Kansas. I’m just happy to be a part of this great tradition.

Q. You’ve been around long enough now. You probably have a pretty good idea of Michigan State’s reputation as somewhat of a giant killer. What do you know of what they’ve done as a lower seed against higher seeds in the tournament and how does that maybe help you prepare for facing them and getting ready?
FRANK MASON, III: Well, it’s Michigan State, you know. No matter how their season is, there’s a great tradition there. Great coaching staff. Tom Izzo is one of the best and I think he do a great job of preparing his guys for these type of moments.

I think the guys when they get to the NCAA tournament, they play their best ball and they really get up and down, and they defend. That’s when they really need to play their best ball, here in the tournament. I think they do a great job of that.

Q. Coach Self said before the tournament started that he was hoping for you guys to play free and easy, with an easy mind. But he noted that that can be a concern sometimes with young players who might be only playing one year at the school and that they may tense up in their only tournament chance. Judging by what we saw yesterday, looks like that’s not going to be a problem for Josh. But did you think that he was going to respond that way and have you been working with him on how to play free and easy like Coach wants?
FRANK MASON, III: Josh is a great player. He prepares for these moments and experiences. I think he’s handled it pretty good so far, and yesterday he did a lot of great things for us, and I don’t think he was nervous at all. I’m not sure if he had any jitters or whatever, but he did a great job and we will need that from him moving forward.

Q. What’s the toughest part of preparing for Michigan State?
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: They run so many plays and got so many sets that one day of preparation, you know, you really can’t get a good feel for all the stuff they run or try to memorize a lot of their plays. But we just had practice and we just went over the scouting report kind of in depth and we’ll go back to the hotel and do the same thing. So it’s just trying to get a good feel for a lot of the sets that they run.

Q. Frank, what for your position are the keys to beating this team?
FRANK MASON, III: I would say creating easy shots for my teammates, getting them involved early, playing great defense and making them feel me every possession because it starts with the point guard and just say getting out in transition, running and trying to get easy baskets before their defense setup, showing great leadership skills and just being coachable and leading our younger guys.

Q. Frank, one of Michigan State’s point guards Cassius Winston is a young guy, sometimes struggles on ball screens and has been sort of a project defensively this year. The other guy Tum Tum is a little better. Do you notice the difference when you see him on tape? And when you get a guy like that who’s still trying to figure it out defensively, do you think I gotta take it right at them?
FRANK MASON, III: It doesn’t really matter what year a player is. I just try to have the same mindset every game, stay aggressive, stay in attack mode and drive the ball downhill. So we’ll get back and look at tape and we’re going to try to figure out a few of their weaknesses on the defensive end and try to take advantage of that.

Q. Frank, you kind of mentioned this, but for either of you, is the approach any different knowing you’re going against a coaching legend in Tom Izzo?
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: Nah, we approach every game the same, you know. We gotta prepare for the team that we’re facing, focus in on our scouting report and come out and be aggressive and play the same way we’ve been playing all year.

Q. When Nick Ward is on the floor and out of foul trouble, he’s really made his impact in the last few games, had 19 points just last night. A lot of teams have started to double down on him. Is that a type of strategy you guys will take into facing Nick Ward down inside?
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: It’ll probably depend on if he’s dominating us down low or not. I mean, it’s really up to Coach and what he really wants to do, but hopefully we can contain him enough and keep him off the glass and make him take tough shots.

Q. For both of you, the media has made such a big deal about the fact that you’re playing more minutes and are you well rested. Has that been overblown this year? And then second question for you both, have you noticed, in playing in the NCAA, the extended rest time with timeouts and halftime?
FRANK MASON, III: Oh, yeah. Definitely. We hear a lot of people talking about how many minutes we play. I think as athletes and competitors, it really doesn’t matter how many minutes we’re out there. Once we’re off the court, we do a great job of taking care of our bodies and getting in the hot tub, cold tub, doing recovery booths and getting with our trainers and things like that to make sure we’re feeling a lot better for the next day.

And I forgot the other question.

Q. Do you feel more rest time with extended timeouts in the tournament and longer halftime?
FRANK MASON, III: Oh, yeah. You definitely could tell. It just feels a lot longer than the normal timeout throughout the regular season, and I think it’s good for both teams.

DEVONTE’ GRAHAM: Just like he said, you can notice it in the timeouts, getting rest and stuff like that. Halftime was super long yesterday.

But as far as being tired and playing a lot of minutes, at this time of the year you can’t really get tired. The best players gotta be on the court making plays and doing whatever we can to help the team win.

Q. Jackson knows a number of these guys on Michigan State’s roster. Has he talked much about either his relationship with them or the way they play?
FRANK MASON, III: He hasn’t said much about them, but we talked about it just a little bit. I think everyone in Michigan really wanted him to go there. And we’re going to go out there tomorrow and play for him, for our families, for our school, coaches and ourselves. So we just want to really get it done for him and make sure he has the best day possible.

COACH SELF: Well, obviously a quick turnaround for everybody that has a chance to advance. And certainly looking forward to the opportunity to play a terrific Michigan State team and program and coach, and certainly one that when I saw the initial bracket and I’m seeing Michigan State in the 8-9 game, I’m going what kind of joke is this. Because when they play like they did last night, they’re playing to a very, very, very high seed. They were terrific.

Q. Bill, you’ve got a veteran All-American point guard. The guy they rely on is a true freshmen who’s had some defensive struggles. When you see that sort of matchup does that become something you really try to exploit? When you look at Cassius, what do you see?
COACH SELF: I see a guy that can really see the floor. I think he’s one of the best passers in college basketball. He’s got more assists than Frank and he’s playing 13 less minutes a game than Frank. So to me I see those positives. And granted, you know, when you scout, you look at certain things that may be an advantage for you, them over us or us over them.

But the reality of the way that Tom’s teams guard, you know, the makeup is you guard your man but they’re always in strong help and always forcing you to play around the perimeter. So they do a real good job of keeping the ball out of the paint.

Q. You talked about Michigan State playing over its seed, I guess, a little bit. What is it over the years you’ve seen other coaches that has allowed them to do that, and how does it make kick start your guys to make them a little more aware?
COACH SELF: I don’t know that there’s anything that will kick start our guys to make us more aware. I mean, it goes without saying that we’re aware. I mean, I had the chance to coach against Tom three years in the league and we play in the Champions Classic. We don’t play every year, but we probably average playing about every other year since I’ve been gone. And the thing about it, he’s a terrific coach, and I don’t know what he does the beginning of March that’s different than what most mortals do is he gets his team always ready to play. And our guys respect that and they know that, and certainly that’s not one that we have to remind our guys of because they’re very well aware of it.

Q. Going back into the matchups again, when you’ve got the Jackson against Bridges matchup, I guess, first of all, do you anticipate them matching up against each other? And secondly, when you have two guys that are friends going against each other, is there — I guess do you have to have caution for a little bit of emotional temperament?
COACH SELF: That’s a great point. I know that I’ve had that conversation with Josh. I don’t know if Tom’s had it obviously with Miles. But you know, they are close, and they are buddies based on what I’ve been told. And certainly I don’t see any way around them not being matched up against each other a lot. I’m not saying every possession the entire possession, but there’s — I really believe what’s best for both teams is that for them to guard somebody naturally they’re supposed to guard, and that’s each other. So it’ll be a fun matchup.

Q. Coach, going back to the Cassius Winston, Coach Larrañaga of Miami kind of compared him to Steve Nash. Do you see that and are there any other players on Michigan State that you can kind of draw parallels with either in the ACC or the NBA or any other level of basketball that isn’t the Big Ten?
COACH SELF: You know, I don’t know. I probably couldn’t do it in the ACC because I don’t coach in that league, but from the Big 12, I don’t know if I would say that anybody really reminds me of — you know, to me the big fellow reminds me of Zach Randolph. He probably doesn’t shoot it as often from the perimeter, but I think there’s a lot of similarities, hands and feet.

Miles is obviously a fabulous world-class athlete, so there’s a lot of guys you could probably draw comparisons to in the NBA. But I think on the perimeter — and of course, Cassius, I saw him play quite a bit in AAU ball, and the thing that does impress me is he knows how to make the hard play, but more importantly, he knows how to make the easy play. And he’s very good at it.

Q. Doesn’t have anything to do with tomorrow’s game particularly, but Brad Underwood, it was announced today has taken the Illinois job. Wanted to get your thoughts on how that changes your alma mater, and your thoughts on the Illinois job just in general.
COACH SELF: I just heard it ten minutes ago, so it shocks me. I think it would shock most people, because obviously, you know, Brad was on a roll, I thought, in Stillwater. And a lot of great things have transpired in the short time he’s been there.

So without knowing any details, I don’t know what else to say. I mean, if that’s — congratulate him, but certainly not discourage Oklahoma State from still moving forward, I mean, because certainly the program is in better shape than it was a year ago. So I’m sure that they’ll — I don’t even want to use the word recover. I’m sure they’ll respond very favorably to this. But it is a shock.

You see a lot of coaching changes across America, but very rarely do you see one after just one year. But Brad’s a really good guy and done a great job. But from the outside looking in, it looked to me like OSU and Brad fit very, very well.

Q. Find Illinois the sleeping giant maybe?
COACH SELF: Illinois is a great basketball job. I was there. There’s no other way to look at it. It’s one of the better jobs in the Big Ten. If you look at recruiting base and institution, location, exposure, budget. There’s a lot of things about it that is very, very attractive.

Q. This second round matchup is just — we don’t see this very often, and I’m sure that you and Tom when you saw this potential in the bracket you were like oh, no. Knowing him as well as you do, can you give us a coach’s scouting report on Tom Izzo and how you guys may have similar styles and maybe where you’re different?
COACH SELF: Well, I think having coached against him in the league, you know, they were the standard without question when we were in the league. I think they were No. 1 seed three years in a row, or something like that, in that time that I was in the league with him. And so they were the standard. So you always try to steal from other people that do it well.

And just in general, I mean, philosophically they’re going to take good shots. Philosophically, they’re going to try to steal extra possessions on the glass, all these things. They’re going to try to score before your defense is set and they’re really good at that. But the bottom line is they go from defense to offense historically as well as anybody in the country. And they rebound the ball offensively as well as anybody in the country historically.

And so just from a scouting report standpoint, I’m not saying anything that’s not obvious, but you’ve gotta eliminate transition and you have to do a great job on the glass.

Q. Coach, I’m kind of digging a little deep with this one but your second game at KU upset No. 3 Michigan State back in 2003, and you said you hoped at the time it would build credibility with your players. Looking back at that, what are your memories of that win and how important it might have been to setting a good tone at the time?
COACH SELF: I think that win will probably have a lot to do with how we play tomorrow, you know, 14 years ago (laughter). I can remember that. Michigan State had — I don’t remember all their guys, but Shannon Brown was a guy that was a high flier they had then. It was a great game. It was a fast-pace game.

But when I talk about credibility with players, you know, I followed a guy that was ultra successful, and that was kind of a signature win early in my career there that maybe the players could look at our staff and say, you know what, what they do also works, too. So you know, it probably was a signature win going way back, but I don’t remember enough about it to give you many details.

Q. This is a question I asked to Coach Izzo, too, but can you talk about maybe the biggest coaching mentor in your life and how humbling is it when you see your coaching tree, assistant coaches get head coach jobs?
COACH SELF: I think as a head coach it’s our responsibility to put our assistants in a position that they can do the same things you’ve been able to do, and certainly that was the case with me working for the guys that I worked for.

My biggest coaching mentor probably was Coach Sutton, and he lives right here in town. He’s a Hall of Fame coach, and I had a chance to work for him for three years, and I probably — I learned a ton, but I also learned how to run a program probably from him as much as anybody else.

And working for Coach Brown and Leonard obviously were unbelievable experiences. And with Coach Brown, I learned more ball in nine monthsthan I have any other period of time because I knew nothing. So there was more room to learn.

But not too many guys can say they’ve been mentored by three guys that have all been National Coach of the Year, and certainly that’s been the case with me.

Q. I’m going to take you even further back on the way-back machine to 1986, the game at Kemper Arena. You were an assistant, Tom was an assistant in that game. What are your memories of that clock game?
COACH SELF: Was there a clock issue in that game? (Laughter). You know what, I was assistant, but I was so far down in seniority that I was assistant that sat in the end zone about 15 rows up. So I didn’t make the bench during the NCAA tournament in ’86. But you know, obviously Scott Skiles and company.

But I don’t really remember much about the clock. I think in Kansas they thought it was — there was no malfunction and everything was handled perfectly in Kansas, and I’m sure in the state of Michigan they thought totally otherwise. But I know it was controversial and it was an unbelievable win, obviously, for Kansas. But I really don’t remember much about it.

Q. What’s the toughest part preparing for Bridges and Ward tomorrow?
COACH SELF: You know, I think the toughest part is you can tell guys what to do, but when you play against good guys that are hard to handle, the execution isn’t always what you tell. It’s hard to simulate athletic ability.

You know, Miles is — I don’t really know him personally, but he’s an unbelievable athlete, but he’s got unbelievable feel. I mean, just making the extra pass or just knowing when to cut. And they play through him a lot. I mean they play through him probably about as much as they play through well, I guess Denzel last year, but they put the ball in his hands a lot to make decisions.

And Ward is a load that you can tell guys, you know, don’t foul, but when two big bodies are colliding all the time, obviously there’s contact. So I don’t know how you tell guys to prepare other than just scouting report like we do with everybody else.

Q. You mentioned before the tournament started that you were hoping your guys would play free and easy, and there was a potential concern with young players or potential one-and-dones that they might play tight in their only NCAA. Did yesterday ease any concerns that you might have had about Josh?
COACH SELF: I don’t think I had more concerns about Josh than I did anybody else to play free and easy. He’s played free and easy under pressure all year long. I thought he handled the situation well, but I also thought our entire team handled the situation well.

Q. I asked Josh what Tom Izzo’s best recruiting sales pitch was to him during that whole process, and now I’d like to ask what you think your best sales pitch was, because obviously you won.
COACH SELF: Well, it’s just so much warmer in Kansas than Michigan, I guess (laughter). I don’t know. You know, he would have been an unbelievable impact player wherever he went, and I do know that it was not an easy decision for him. But hey, we’ve lost enough guys to Michigan State, we should win one every now and then.

Q. And Tom’s obviously battling some size issues due to injuries. I guess, from your vantage point, how aggressive do your guards need to be in getting in and creating that contact with their bigs?
COACH SELF: Well, you can say the same thing. They’re battling some size issues, but so are we in a lot of ways. So I think it’s going to be imperative for both teams to play aggressively but also to play smart on defense. And when you have two physical teams playing against each other, there’s going to be contact, and there will be fouls. But you don’t need to add to that by making dumb fouls, and certainly that’s what we’ll talk to our guys about.

Q. Bill, you talked about playing free and easy. What is the difference in your mind between players who can and players who can’t? What are some of the things that allow guys to handle that pressure and relax?
COACH SELF: You know, I think there’s a lot of players that can play free and easy that may be under certain situations, may not at that moment. I think there’s a lot of different things going on, you know. Seniors, this is it. So you want to go out and you attack and you say you don’t wish it to happen; you go make it happen. But the bottom line is there’s no more safety net. So sometimes guys play not to lose as opposed to playing to win. I think that’s natural in any sport, anytime.

But the biggest thing is if you’re going to succeed this time of year in the basketball tournament, you gotta go take it. And the only way you can do that is being ultra aggressive and playing with confidence. And you know, I would like to say that our guys do that all the time, but I don’t know that that’s true, and I bet Tom would say the same thing, too. I certainly hope it’s true tomorrow, though.

LOCKER ROOM

#33 LANDEN LUCAS, SENIOR CENTER 

On playing Michigan State… 

“I would say that every game in the tournament, we can get excited about. When it is a team with a name like Michigan State, I think it just makes it even more special. From the tip, I think it is going to feel like every possession is the most important one.”

 

On the role of coaching this time of year… 

“I am sure that we are going to see a very well-prepared team. They are going to understand what we do well and try to take it away. It is probably not going to be a game where a team just goes away. They are going to be there all the way until the end. They are going to be fighting and they are going to know what we like to do.”

 

On if it’s an advantage having Coach Self… 

“It is, and it is an extension of him all the way down to the assistant coaches for getting us ready. It’s always nice to have that on your side and they definitely have the same advantage.”

 

On the impact of playing a big name team… 

“I think so. You saw how it worked out for us last year, so we are hoping to do the same thing. I think last year was the first game that I can think of that year where we jumped on somebody defensively and set the tone. I am sure we are looking to do that again this year.”

 

On what he and other seniors will tell the team before the game tomorrow… 

“Really treat the beginning of the game very serious, almost like it’s the last couple possessions, because it is going to matter a lot. And then, understand that it is a long game. There will be ups and downs. You saw yesterday how Michigan State got down early and came back, so take every possession seriously, no matter if you are ahead a lot or down. Try to either extend your lead or come back, whatever it is, just take each possession seriously.”

 

On his thoughts on Michigan State… 

“They have some great size and they play very well to it. They have a lot of plays that could take advantage if you fall asleep at all or aren’t in a pretty good defensive stance and ready for someone to be ducking in on you. It’s tough, but you just have to be aware. We have faced teams that are like that, so that is an advantage that we have. It is nothing new for us.”

 

#2 LAGERALD VICK, SOPHOMORE GUARD

On the role your bench played in the win against UC Davis…

“Our bench was important in the win yesterday. We had players come in a play a lot of minutes and contribute on both sides of the ball. We are looking to do the same thing against MSU. We have a lot of talented players who bring different skills to the table.”

 

On who the team looks to for leadership on the court…

“There is not one player in particular who we look to. We all get hot on different nights and in different situations we look to different players. Some of the younger players look up to Landen and Frank, but we are all a team so we all just look to each other for leadership.”

 

On their confidence level going into tomorrow…

“We are very confident going into the game. We had a good practice today. So we just have to go over some stuff but we will be ready to play tomorrow.”

 

#11 JOSH JACKSON, FRESHMAN GUARD
On the emotions going into today’s game growing up an MSU fan…

“Well I grew up a State fan, but I believed I had a better chance of winning a national championship at Kansas. But I am here with Kansas and that’s who I play for. I love to win so I am going to go out there and do my best to win.”

 

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

HEAD COACH TOM IZZO

#22 MILES BRIDGES, FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD

#11 LOURAWLS “TUM TUM” NAIRN, JR., JUNIOR GUARD

#3 ALVIN ELLIS, III, SENIOR GUARD

9. Miles, were you aware before you came to Michigan State, I guess, of the school’s reputation for winning these games as lower seeds, and what have you seen now that you’ve been a part of it? What’s your explanation for why it happens so much under Coach Izzo?
   MILES BRIDGES: I think we play better as the underdog. It just gives us more fuel to our fire. We play with more intensity, more energy, and we’re not satisfied with anything. So that’s why I think we play better.Q.Miles, Josh Jackson said you guys have known each other since fifth or sixth grade. What do you remember about when you first met? He said he wasn’t a very good player yet. Is that true?
   MILES BRIDGES: I wasn’t a very good player back then. He was. I mean, we’ve been friends all our life. We played with each other, played against each other. This is probably going to be one of the toughest games that we’ve played against each other. But yeah, I’ve known him all my life.Q. Miles, can you give us a scouting report on Josh and what he does well and what you guys think you can maybe take a little advantage of?
   MILES BRIDGES: He has a high motor. He never stops playing, plays with a lot of energy, stays on the glass. We just have to keep him off the glass. That’s what gives him a lot of his hustle points. He’s just a dog on the floor. That’s basically what he does.

   Q. Guys, you kind of got off to a slow start last night, but it seemed like out of nowhere something changed. Can you tell us a little bit about maybe what exactly it was that changed for you guys?
   ALVIN ELLIS, III: You know, it started with our turnovers. They sped us up. They got us going, and they got easy transition buckets. Once we stopped turning the ball over, they didn’t score that easily, and we went on a run.

   TUM TUM NAIRN, JR.: Exactly what Alvin just said.

   Q. Can you talk a little bit about Coach Izzo’s connection not only with the current team roster but former players that have come through the Michigan State program?
   TUM TUM NAIRN, JR.: It’s just a special thing he has with his players. He pushes them so hard to be the best you can be. And when you tell him your dreams, he want it for you just as bad as you want it for yourself, sometimes maybe even more than you want it for yourself.

   So back at school, a lot of guys come back and always helping us out and showing us the ropes and how to do things in this program. And I think the family environment that he has created and the players have created is what makes Michigan State so special.

   Q. At times you guys had four freshmen on the floor at once. I’m just curious what some of those timeouts were like and what sort of things Coach Izzo was saying to all of you as a group, and how he was trying to use that time to teach and to coach but also to get you guys through that game?
   ALVIN ELLIS, III: He was just saying we gotta just keep staying solid. When we were up on the big lead, we just have to keep stepping on their necks. We couldn’t let up. We had to finish out the game. We had a little trouble in the past with finishing the games, and we just had to keep stepping on their necks.

   MILES BRIDGES: Yeah, like Alvin said, we had trouble finishing games. That just shows how mature we are now. Our freshmen aren’t freshmen anymore. We just really grew up because back then I don’t think we could have finished that game out but yesterday we did.

   Q. Tum Tum, you’ve had to play against some really tough point guards recently in Derrick Walton, Jr., Nate Mason, Melo Trimble. What is different that Frank Mason brings to the table and how are you prepared to guard him?
   TUM TUM NAIRN, JR.: He’s a lot like those guys. I want to say he shoots it better than most of those guys. He’s shooting like 50 percent from three. He’s really aggressive in transition. So I just gotta stay solid on him and make him take tough shots. With a player like him, you can’t really stop him. All you can do is contain him and keep him take tough shots. I’m going to have a lot of help from my teammates in guarding him.

   Q. Alvin, Kansas likes to play fast. Are you going to try to slow them down or do you guys like getting in a track meet as well?
   ALVIN ELLIS, III: You know, that’s our game. We like the fast pace of games and we don’t get tired that easily. We got a lot of depth on the floor and on our bench, and we’ll be ready for that matchup.

   Q. Guys, even though a lot of national people look at this as a game, a very close game, seed line suggests 1-9. Does that kind of give you a mental advantage, kind of frees you up being able to play freer and the fact that the pressure is usually on the 1 seed?
   MILES BRIDGES: I mean, it’s still a lot of pressure on us because it’s win or go home. Both of the teams we have to have a sense of urgency because I’m pretty sure they don’t want to go home either. So we’re not free at all. It’s a lot of pressure on us.

   TUM TUM NAIRN, JR.: This tournament is all or nothing, man. You just gotta go out there and play this game like it’s your last game because it could be. So for us we’re not focusing on the seeds. We’re just focusing on doing whatever we can to get a win.

   Q. Speaking of former players, Coach was talking about you being embarrassed after the Minnesota game, being out-toughed and that not being acceptable. Have you heard or gotten any feedback from former players with regard to that?
   ALVIN ELLIS, III: No, I haven’t gotten any comments about that game.

   COACH IZZO: A date? That’s what you call it. I’ve had some bad dates in my days, but this could be the worst. Yeah, you know, we’re really excited.

   I mean, there’s no question Kansas might be the best team in the country if you look at the experience they have, the guard play which usually wins for you in a tournament, very well coached, lethal fast break.

   And I think the one advantage, you know, that we’ve had is this will be the fourth team that was at one time or another was ranked No. 1 in the country. And I think Arizona was as high as 3, and Wisconsin just beat one of the No. 1s and we had a chance to beat them at the end of the year. So at least I think we’ve played — we can tell our team we’ve played against a lot of these teams that are ranked high.

   And on any given Sunday, it’s about the 40 minutes of ball that’s being played. And there’s no question we might have played 30 of the best minutes of basketball we played all year in that stretch. There’s no question we might have played some of the worst and dumbest basketball of the year in the first 10 minutes of that game, with the turnovers and fouled two seconds into the game which set a Michigan State record, maybe North American, to be honest with you (laughter).

   So we can go both ways with our youth. You’re talking about a very experienced team against a very young team, but one thing about youth, you win a game and there is an excitement, there’s an enthusiasm. There’s a new feeling. And that’s helped me even — you know, when you win a decent amount of games in this tournament, like we have over the years, it’s just — I won’t say it’s ho-hum, but it gets to be. There was nothing ho-hum about yesterday for me or for them, and that’ll, I hope, propel us into playing well tomorrow against a good team. And should be a few Kansas fans here, I would think, and it’ll be a great situation for us.

   Q. Coach, you touched on it a little bit last night about Eron Harris and his importance through this run. Can you expand on that a little bit and talk about what Eron’s really meant to this team, especially all the youngsters you have?
   COACH IZZO: Well, Eron is the best defensive player we have, and I would like at least to be able to put him on Mason, which I don’t think will happen now. But I told him right after the game, you know, you gotta have some film sessions with those guards yourself and explain some things to them. Number one, to try to keep them involved; number two, to try to use his knowledge.

   Sometimes, as I always say, a player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team and he can talk about things he had to deal with in guarding Trimble and guarding this guy and that guy. And I think he had to guard him some last year when we played him. So that’s what we’re trying to use Eron as, keep him involved. He’s been unbelievable. He could have just hung his head. He’s been with us every meeting, everything that’s happened. Really appreciate what he’s given this team.

   Q. Coach, what’s your explanation for the success you guys have had as an underdog in the lower seed in the NCAA tournament, and over the years when did it become something that maybe you embraced or even talked about with the kids?
   COACH IZZO: Yeah, personally I don’t like it. Somebody told me that yesterday and said, you know what, you tied somebody’s record or broke somebody’s record. I said, For what?

   And they said, Well, NCAA wins.

   And I said, Are you kidding me?

   And then they explained to me that as a worst seed, we upset — that means we’re a bad seed a lot of times. So I don’t feel as good about that as maybe I should.

   But I do think that, you know, when I had the Flintstones and that group of guys back in ’97, ’98, that started this whole thing. It was just a bunch of blue-collar tough guys that nobody gave a chance to in a lot of ways, and we just kind of earned our way. And that was the culture that we developed. And thank God those guys are still part of that culture because they all come back, they all text and call these guys. And they inform Bridges on what it’s supposed to be like. If you’re a Flintstone, you better be doing this, this and this. And I think that’s helped.

   I really think it’s the culture we’ve developed that we’re — and the schedule we play, I don’t think we’re afraid of anybody because we’ve already played some of those teams. Doesn’t mean we’ll go beat anybody, but it means that you can knock that off the list. You know, it’s not like some teams will say, well, we’ve never played that kind of schedule, we’ve never played those kind of teams. We’ve played them all. So maybe it’s the lack of fear of that that’s given us some success over the years.

   Q. Coach, I asked Coach Self the same question, but can you talk a little bit about the biggest coaching mentor that you’ve had in your career and how humbling is it when you see your own assistant coaches kind of evolve into your coaching tree?
   COACH IZZO: It’s awesome. The best thing I get to happen to me, when anybody in your program gets to kind of live his dream. Because that’s what I tell my guys every day coming from Iron Mountain, Michigan, and being the coach at Michigan State and winning National Championship and some of the things that have happened to me. That’s more than my dream. I live my dream. How many people get to live it? And I think when you watch a coach or player move on, they’re getting to live their dream.

   And my biggest mentor was Jud Heathcote by far. You know, my father. But as a coach, it was Jud. Now, I’m a little different because I grew up in that area where there’s 11 months of winter, one month of poor sledding up in the UP. So I grew up 95 miles from Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers. I’ve read every book that Vince ever put out. So I kind of had that football — I grew up idolizing a lot more of those football guys than I did even basketball guys. And so I’ve had a lot of guys that have influenced my life.

   But Jud Heathcote, not only did he give me the chance, but he kind of — it was the perfect guy for me, you know. I mean, where I’m from, you just kind of work when you’re young and that’s what you do and that’s kind of the same way Jud was. I said he’d never ask me to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. And he gave me one piece of advice for all of you for the media that I’ve kind of used, and I think it’s been great for me. And when I used to ask him why he’d treat you guys so nice, when there was times they wanted to fire him, and there was sometimes they’d be writing articles, he gave me that piece of advice that I remember, everybody’s got a job to do and everybody’s got a boss to answer to; everybody’s got a family to feed.

   I agree with that most of the time. Once in a while I don’t. But for the most part, I think that’s been good advice.

   Q. You mentioned Cassius was improved yesterday. This is a whole different animal a little bit in Frank Mason. What do you tell him before this one? Is this a real test of his improvement and the gap help defense and all the stuff that’s around him trusting that and everything working?
   COACH IZZO: I called some coaches last night that played against Frank Mason that the common denominator of advice was remember, now, you’re not going to stop him. Don’t try to game plan to stop him because it’s not going to happen. You know, you hope to somewhat contain him and make sure he doesn’t let everybody else get better because of what he can do in his penetration and shooting. And just Byron Nelson, a great story in that kid, where he came from and where he started out, where he almost went to school and where he is now.

   If I wasn’t playing against him, I’d be his biggest fan. When I’m done playing against him, I’ll still be his biggest fan. But yeah, we’re not going to guard him with one guy. I’m thinking of going untraditional, playing a box and one, putting a box on Frank and the one on the other four guys. He’s got that big of an impact on the game.

   And they’ve got other good players. Josh Jackson, kid we recruited hard has just gotten better and better and better. I know how good he is. But Mason is the straw that stirs the drink. He’s the guy that seems like every big shot he’s involved in. What he’s shooting, what he’s doing is phenomenal. I mean, if he isn’t — you know, we’re prejudiced that we’ve got Swanigan in our league who’s a Player of the Year candidate, but I could see either one of those two guys getting it and I think it would be a good choice.

   Q. Just wondering what your initial reaction was when you saw the potential matchup with Bill Self and Kansas on Selection Sunday?
   COACH IZZO: You know, it wasn’t that big — when I first saw it, it wasn’t that big because I was just trying to survive Miami. And I don’t think I realized who we were playing until after we won. And I’m saying that a little bit fooling around.

   But Bill and I have been through a lot. He was at Illinois. We’ve played each other in the NCAA tournament. We’ve played in the Tournament of Champions more than a couple times. I think there’s great respect. We’ve been friends for a long time. When he was here at Tulsa, we played them over in Maui in a hell of a game and his team was good. I think that was the year his team went to the Sweet 16. Might have been the year we won it. So it’s been a long history. Great respect for what he’s done.

   It’s not Allen Fieldhouse, but it’s probably Allen Fieldhouse, what is it, east, west, north. I flunked geography. South. Somewhere. And not that far from there. But you know, I do think they’re one of the best teams in the country and they’ve proven that. I saw him at the first game of the year when we played against Arizona out in Hawaii, and they haven’t lost many games since then.

   Q. Along the lines of playing Kansas, how would you describe the similarities and the differences in style between you and Coach Self?
   COACH IZZO: Well, he has — this is not a traditional Bill Self team either, in my humble opinion. He’s always had the two bigs inside and playing a lot of high to low, you know, that two-man game that he’s so well known for, and this has been just a race-horse team that has four perimeter guys that can run and do things not as deep as some of his teams.

   Lucas is a load in there. It’s not that he’s scoring a million points, but he’s got his body on somebody every single team and he’s big and he’s gained a lot of weight since the last time, a lot of strength. He’s done a nice job with himself.

   As I said, you know, I have a great appreciation for those two guards, and I think Josh Jackson was one of the more coveted recruits, if not one of two most coveted recruits, in the country.

   So I think it’s a different Bill Self team than he’s had. I think the fast break is as good as I’ve ever seen. But it’s not quite the pounded inside which they’ll probably do tomorrow especially if our center finds a way to get a foul in the first two seconds again (laughter).

   I’m thinking about not starting him, for a little bit of breaking news, just to keep him out of that. I think Bill has done a great job. It’s amazing, amazing that they’ve won, what, 12, 13 Big 12 championships in a row.

   That is what all coaches aspire to do is not win big games, but have consistency, and I don’t know of anybody who’s been more consistent than Bill.

   Q. Coach, last night, for those of us that has not seen your team, you looked like a No. 1 seed. I know you’re young, but what are some of the things that have arisen in the past season that has caused you problems with your youth?
   COACH IZZO: Which part of us looked like that No. 1? The first ten minutes or — (laughter).

   You know, we have made no — listen, I got a talented bunch of freshmen. What we’re lacking in some of these — Kentucky has a bunch of freshmen. They have some seniors that play. Duke’s got a bunch of guys that play, even though they’re playing their freshmen. This is new territory for me, too.

   But I love my freshmen. I love my guys. They’ve been unbelievable this year, with the things we’ve put them through with the travel and the schedule and the losing and the pressure of not making the tournament and all the things. But they have gotten better the last ten games. We are getting better, but getting better, we got some deficiencies, although, you know, Kansas is not as deep as they’ve normally been.

   I mean, that’s what makes the job he’s done so incredible because they can’t afford to get anybody in foul trouble either, you know.

   So I don’t know, you know, we’re a good team that — I’m anxious to see how we respond to having some success, and I say that, you know, we beat Wisconsin late in the year. We were playing better then. They just beat Villanova. And but last night the biggest thing we did, I mean, we didn’t get punched in the nose. It was we got knocked out in those first eight minutes. When you’re down 17 to 5 with all those young guys, I mean, you could lose it. And when they came back, that was a giant step, and even though we don’t have the experience, now we have some enthusiasm that young guys have that older guys, you know. It’s just another day, do your job, get it done. These guys I think are excited, you know. How far that’ll carry us, I’m as anxious to see as maybe a lot of our fans are.

   Q. Do you have any stories from your days recruiting Josh Jackson? What do you remember? How good was your sales pitch? Obviously Bill’s might have been a little bit better, but what were some of your better lines and experiences with him?
   COACH IZZO: I just got on my hands and knees and begged him. That’s what I did, and that wasn’t as good as Bill’s. But hey, you know what, I love Josh Jackson. He’s a great kid. Recruited him since like ninth or tenth grade. Even though he went to prep school out in California, you know, I think he has what all of us appreciate, you know. You can talk about his ability to put the ball on the floor and run the lane and this and that, I think he plays as hard as any player I’ve seen in a lot of years.

   And when star players, I mean I think I have a special guy in Miles Bridges. When star players play that hard instead of the just go through the motions, that sometimes you see makes it special.

   Was it sad and disappointing? It was, because I think it was — I think it was a close fight to the finish. But talked to Josh after it, unlike some guys, he had the courage and the respect to call and tell me. A lot of kids don’t do that. I’ll always be a Josh Jackson fan, except for tomorrow night for 40 minutes. You know, other than that — and he’s pretty good friends with a lot of our guys that he played with. So it’s all good, you know.

   What you hope for in competition is to hate your enemy but respect them, and that’s kind of the way it’s gotta be, like the respect I have for Bill and his program. But Josh in particular since I was close to him is off the charts, but I think he has some of that similar respect for some of my players, too.

LOCKER ROOM

#14 ERON HARRIS, SENIOR GUARD 
On his injury…
“Yeah, it was dislocated. I felt it as soon as I hit the ground that it was dislocated. It’s a torn ACL, partial tear over here, but I’m going to heal quick. I’ve made such great improvements in rehab, and the surgery was promising because we have great trainers and great doctors.”

 

On today’s game against Kansas…
“I’m feeling great about tomorrow. We got all the tools we need. We just got to keep these guys hungry at all times. Keep them humble. We’re not worried about anybody in our path. We want to get to the same place everyone else wants to get to. It’s going to be who wants it the most (who wins). We just have to keep in mind how important this is.”

 

#0 KYLE AHRENS, SOPHOMORE GUARD/FORWARD 

On Eron’s role as a leas…

“Yeah he has taken on a role as a very vocal leader. He’s basically like a coach for us. He watches extra film, he’s letting us know extra information on everyone, so he’s doing a great job at what he’s doing. Especially as his roommate, I mean, every night he’s letting us know what we need to do. Like I said, he’s being a great leader to us.”

On today’s game against Kansas…
“We feel great, ready to go, ready to practice, ready to get things rolling”

 

#20 MATT MCQUAID, SOPHOMORE GUARD 

On what makes Kansas a dangerous team…               

“They have a lot of quick guards that are good in transition and they can shoot really good, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge. They also crash the boards, every one of them. Like I said, transition, rebounding, those are going to be key things from their guards.”

 

On if he is playing his best basketball of the year… 

“Yeah, I feel like I’m playing good right now. I just need to continue to stay aggressive and keep trying to get to the rim and free throw line and taking my shots and playing what the defense gives me.”

 

On how Coach Izzo prepares his team in tournament situations… 

“I think it’s the little things we do. We do a lot of mental stuff. Of course we practice, but the walk-throughs, the film and all that, I think that plays a big factor into it.”

 

On facing another nationally recognized program in the Round of 32 and if this a “Why you come to Michigan State moment”… 

“Yeah, I’d say that. Any tournament game is a big game. This one is going to be looked at as a bigger one, just because it’s Kanas-Michigan State. We’re just going to treat it like we do every round. We’re going to prepare a lot and get ready for it.”

 

#5 CASSIUS WINSTON, FRESHMAN GUARD 

On his relationship with Kansas’ Josh Jackson… 

“Yeah, we met in the second grade. We were young, we played AAU. We grew up together, played together all the way until like seventh or eighth grade. I watched him grow. He watched me grow. It’s been great.”

 

 

More on what tomorrow will be like facing Josh Jackson… 

“That’s my brother, and I wish the best for him in every aspect of the game in the future. I want to see him go far, that’s just how it is. But tomorrow we’re playing against each other and it’s us against them, so we’re going to do the best for us to win the game and they’re going to do the best for them to win.”

 

On what it’s like playing a big-name opponent early in the tournament… 

“Like I said before, it’s great. In order to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, that’s just how it is. You don’t want to shy away from anybody, you don’t want to step down from any challenge. You want to play as many teams as possible, so when you get on top, it makes it that much sweeter that you didn’t shy away form anybody. They’re a great team, they have great players and we’re ready for that challenge.”

 

On getting used to the team’s defensive system throughout his freshman season… 
“The gap defense takes a lot of pressure of one-on-one defense. In this game, at this level, it’s hard to check anyone one-on-one, it’s one of those things that’s very difficult. You know you got your help there, you can press up into him, all types of things like that, it makes it easier on the defensive end. We’re going to be in our gaps and we’re going to be there to help our teammates out.”

 

BAYLOR BEARS

HEAD COACH SCOTT DREW

#3 JAKE LINDSEY, SOPHOMORE GUARD

#20 MANU LECOMTE, JUNIOR GUARD

#24 ISHMAIL WAINWRIGHT, SENIOR GUARD

351. Jake, have you had much of a chance to look at USC yet and do they look similar to anybody you’ve faced?
     JAKE LINDSEY: We had a chance to look at them last night. They had a scout prepared for all of our possible opponents, so we hopped right into that and went over some of their stuff today. So we’ve gotten pretty familiar with personnel and some of the actions they like to run.As far as being similar to anybody, maybe Iowa State because they just have a lot of guys who can really shoot it, but they’re a little bit bigger. Bennie Boatwright is a matchup problem. Jordan McLaughlin is a really good player. They’re a good team, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.Q. Other than Xs and Os or schematically, what jumps off the film when you watch how USC plays, how they manage to do what they do? You know, what stands out maybe intangibles or however you want to describe it?
     MANU LECOMTE: They’re a very talented team. They play freely. They have a lot of talents. They have a lot of shooters and good post players, so it makes it hard to guard them.

     ISHMAIL WAINWRIGHT: He said what I was going to say. They have a great point guard. Boatwright, I know he’s NBA. Everybody’s saying he’s the NBA guy. He’s a great player.

     They have a shooter, I believe number 30, that’s extreme. He can shoot anywhere on the court. He had big shots last game to win the game.

     They’re just a great team. We watched the game and had film, walked through a lot of their sets. I know they’re going to add more wrinkles to it, so just go do whatever we have to do, execute.

     Q. Ish, what does it mean for you as a senior to still be alive and still be moving on in the NCAA tournament? And is there a load off your shoulders having won that first round game yesterday?
     ISHMAIL WAINWRIGHT: I’m going to start with that last question. The load is off. We’re not worried about the past two years or three years or whatever people are saying.

     And me being a senior, it’s just a blessing. I’ve seen a lot of seniors leave recently, which is tough. And just having guys like Manu and Jake by my side to take me — take us a long way. Yeah, just excited I’m still playing. My career’s not over yet. I want to end this with a win.

     Q. Ish, kind of to follow up on that, how much of those early exits weigh on you all heading into this tournament?
     ISHMAIL WAINWRIGHT: Just motivation. I mean, I know we’re young. Our generation is on social media, and that’s all we were getting. And that’s all they were preaching to us is no first round. They were saying this two months ago. And we took it to heart, and we have a lot more to do. We’re not done yet. Our confidence is up and just continue to play with a chip on our shoulder.

     Q. Manu, yesterday was your first start back. How was it getting in the rhythm and how you’re feeling and the ankle and everything?
     MANU LECOMTE: It felt good to come back with my team, start again. It was fun. I was pretty excited. My ankle was okay, not 100 percent, but mentally I was good.

     And man, our bench did a great job. I didn’t play my best game, but Jake came in, did a great job, T.J., Al, Nuni picked us up, gave us a huge spark off the bench, so that helped me a lot.

     Q. You know how people talk about like tournament destiny or magic or whatever you want to call it. I’m just curious to get each of your thoughts on does USC come across as one of those teams that you kind of have to be weary of because of their two improbable wins now? Just curious about your thoughts about whatever you want to call that.
     JAKE LINDSEY: I feel like, I mean, we had a few comeback wins early in the season in the Bahamas. And when you have a few wins like that, it definitely sparks a sense of belief in your team. I remember when we came back, down 22 to Louisville, it really boosts your confidence. And I mean credit to them, I think 12 of their 26 wins, something like that, has been down — either down or double digit deficits, something crazy. So I mean credit to them, and that shows they have some resilience, some fight to them and they don’t get down when the chips are down. So that’s an awesome accomplishment for them.

     But as far as we look at it, every game is going to be different. If they started the game off on a huge run or we start the game off on a huge run, the narrative would shift pretty quickly as to whose tournament magic, per se, would be going at the time. So I don’t think that’s weighing too much on our mind.

     MANU LECOMTE: Yeah, like Jake said, it’s a great team, but I think we’re the team to have to worry about. I think in the beginning of the year nobody would have thought we would even be in the tournament. So it’s March and anything can happen.

     ISHMAIL WAINWRIGHT: My turn? We just can’t overlook anybody. Like they say, this is March, anything is possible. I know a lot of teams that looked over — looked past other teams and prepared for teams that they were supposed to play the next round, and they’re no longer with us. But we can’t overlook anybody, and they can’t overlook us. It’s going to be a great one.

     Q. Manu, you ended up — Baylor ended up in a regional with Miami. What was that experience like for you and did you end up talking to any of those guys? What were the interactions with you and some of the guys you might have played there with?
     MANU LECOMTE: I haven’t seen any of the guys here, but I talked to some of them on the team. We have a still great relationship. Obviously, it was a great experience for me, two years at Miami, gave me the chance to come here, Baylor. So I’m very grateful for that. I saw they lost against Michigan State, but it’s still a great team. It was fun watching them play.

     Q. Jake and Manu, what does it say about your team this year that guys like Al and T.J. can come off the bench and have the kind of games that they had yesterday?
     JAKE LINDSEY: I think I would start off by saying that Al and T.J. are two of our most talented players. And if you had the opportunity to come watch us in practice, there would be some days you’d Wacha way thinking Terry Maston was the best big guy in the gym. And when you have two NBA big guys as your teammates, that’s an impressive thing to say about anybody. So his performance yesterday didn’t surprise us.

     And Al yesterday, too, Al was two-year starter, been a big part of what we wanted to do, faced some adversity this year, rebounded from it. And as a credit to him, he’s come back even better, been shooting the ball great, been a great teammate, and we’re all really happy to see him really pick us up yesterday and make some big plays.

     Those two have both rebounded from some adversity this year and we’re proud of them, happy for them.

     MANU LECOMTE: Yeah, they both had a great game yesterday, but like Jake said, didn’t surprise anybody, I think, on the team. Because you can come watch practice and they can go off like that anytime in practice. So it’s always great to have people like that coming off the bench and give you a spark when you struggle, too, so it was great.

     COACH DREW: We’re excited to be here to answer questions today. I know the benefit of playing the early game yesterday is we got to be able to relax and get some rest and watch all the exciting games as far as SC goes. Anyone that advances to the second round is obviously a very good team. Andy does a great job X and O wise and poses a lot of challenges especially in short turnarounds because their offense is a little different. They run a lot of different sets.

     As far as our team goes, the good thing is I think after yesterday’s game and being able to get the jitters out, hopefully we’ll be able to be a little more efficient in the beginning of the game and not turn it over so much. So that’s all I got.

     Q. Coach Enfield said you guys know each other fairly well, I guess. And I guess, also, do you see similarities with his team at USC to maybe Florida Gulf Coast?
     COACH DREW: I think shooting the three like they do, their offense, the way they run it, they get a lot of opportunities at the rim, and with the great athletes that he has, that usually leads to a lot of the dunks. So you see similarities as far as that manner goes, threes and dunks.

     Q. What stands out to you, what jumps off the page about USC and how they do what they do? Not necessarily the Xs and Os, but what do you see when you watch them play?
     COACH DREW: I think it’s their resilience, to be down double digits 13 times and come back and win. I remember at the beginning of the year, for a while there, we led the nation in comeback wins from being down at halftime. So I don’t know who wants to be up at halftime. Maybe it’s better if you’re down in this game. But I think their resilience, and because they do shoot so many threes, they’re never out of a game, even if they find themselves down.

     One thing that is interesting, both of us started out the year so hot. They didn’t lose their first game until, I believe, December 30th. And us and Gonzaga were the last two teams before we lost a game. So I think both of us did a great job in the nonconference, and then I know they got a little banged up. We got a little banged up, and I think both of us are peaking right now again.

     Q. They played in that first game the other night. Is that an advantage or disadvantage? They’ve got some momentum going.
     COACH DREW: Well, if you think about fatigue, you would have thought yesterday, second half, that’s when it would have showed up, but they shot lights out.

     And nowadays, I think with exempt tournaments, three games in three days, conference tournaments, three games in three days, AAU basketball, three games in one day, these guys can go all day long. I think it’s us adults that need rest.

     Q. Scott, you’re connected to one of the all-time great buzzer beaters in NCAA tournament history. We haven’t really had that through the first two days. Do you have any thoughts on why that’s been the case, some of these finishes?
     COACH DREW: Well, when you’re preparing your team, that’s the only bad side of things. You don’t get a chance to watch many other games because you’re watching so much film of your team and the opponent.

     I would think — I know there were some games where, especially early on, from what I’ve heard, there wasn’t a lot of separation until maybe later in the game. And there wasn’t for the first time someone that won by, what, more than 20 in the first day? I know someone had mentioned that.

     So my point is I think we’ve had close games. We just haven’t had a lot of buzzer beaters. As long as, if we do have one, we’re on the right side of it, I’m good with it. Otherwise I’d prefer not to. And the thing about March is if you’re in it long enough, you’re going to have great experience in tough ones. My brother’s probably my all time favorite memory and us coaches’ sons are always partial to other coaches’ sons. So I’m happy for R.J. Hunter hitting that buzzer beater against up, but obviously that was a tougher side of things for me.

     Q. Scott, in some ways is maybe a second game a little easier to prepare for once you kind of get over that hurdle of the first game?
     COACH DREW: Well, I think in the first game, you do so much more prep work, and there is more jitters in that first game.

     I think the second game coaches don’t have as much time to mess up their guys, so they get to play more and they’re a little more relaxed. So I think players always like the second game better.

     Q. Al said yesterday that the way the flow of the game went for him without having a whole lot of complex things to do kind of opened it up for him. That’s obviously not going to happen all the time, but how do you recreate that and still have the structure of the plays calling and all that stuff?
     COACH DREW: I think more it was the flow of the game. It was an up-and-down game. We were in transition a lot. And you’ll find more of that with teams that you’re not as familiar with. But at the same time that’s because New Mexico State liked to play an up-and-down game, and rather than a half-court game.

     So with SC and us, both of us like to play in transition when it’s there. But why both of us have won games is we can play in the half court as well. So I think you have two teams that have a lot of similarities, a lot of great athletes and a lot of good players.

     Q. Scott, do you maybe see USC as a little bit of an underrated team as an 11 seed that had to go through a play-in game?
     COACH DREW: Well, one thing I know about the NCAA tournament, going into this year I think since the tournament expanded to 68, 5 and 12 are even as far as win-loss record. To me I say that every year, it doesn’t matter the number. If you’re in the tournament, you’ve won a lot of games, you’ve got talented players, you’re well coached. So I really don’t look at the numbers as much. I think everyone that’s in it is more than capable of winning any game, especially with the parity.

     But you look at USC, they were one of the best teams at the beginning of the year. Then had some injuries. And when you do, it affects everybody. And now they’re healthy and they’re back to being one of the best in the country.

     Again, to go undefeated until one of the last six or how many teams, that’s quite a tribute out of 351.

     I know you guys don’t have a lot of questions today because it’s nice out and you’re trying to get out of here.

 

LOCKER ROOM

#25 AL FREEMAN, JUNIOR GUARD

 

On what they worked on in practice today…

“Just keeping up the hard work. We got the win yesterday so we need to focus on our opponents tomorrow. Tomorrow is just another game, so we are going to give it everything we have.”

 

On USC’s shooting, and the…

“We are going to have to fly around and take away the three point shot. USC likes to shoot from outside so we are just going to have to get out and contest the shooters.

 

On USC’s perimeter defenses…

“We are just going to do what we do and execute. Get out in transition and try to make simple plays. We are not going to switch up our game plan on the offensive side, and on the defensive side we are going to pay attention to details.

 

On getting over that first round hump, and their confidence going forward…

“I think we are playing with a lot of confidence. Nobody has been thinking about how we haven’t made it out of the first round in the last two tournaments. We are just focusing on one possession at a time, and one stop at a time and focusing on the game in front of us.

 

On the Baylor Bear mentality…

“Gritty. We try to grind it out. We defend, try to play the full forty minutes and win every loose ball. As a team we try to play with as much heart as we can.

 

#5 JONATHAN MOTLEY, JUNIOR FORWARD

 

On what Baylor needs to do to finish the game to let USC come back like did against SMU… 

“Just playing to win instead of playing not to lose. We kind of started doing that in the New Mexico State game. We just made sure that we just kept attacking. You can’t get complacent.

 

On what it takes to make it through… 

“Aggression. For sure. Determination and just following your game plan. Just making sure that you are executing in the game to a ‘T’ because at this time in the year, people are going to have their runs and we are going to have our runs. We just have to make sure that we make them do the things they want us to do.”

 

On disappointment that they will not be facing in-state rival SMU… 

“I wouldn’t say disappointment. One of my old teammates from high school actually plays for SMU, so it would have been fun to play against him. But this is what happens when you can’t handle your business. Anybody can be beat in this tournament and SC did a good job of coming back. I credit them and I can’t wait for the game tomorrow.”

 

 

#31 TERRY MASTON, JUNIOR FORWARD

 

On coming off of just one day of rest… 

“I feel pretty good. We have a really great strength and conditioning coach that knows how to get our bodies right and help us to recover faster. So I feel good.”

 

On the matchup against SC… 

“I know they play a lot of zone and they have some really great shooters. I think with our zone, if we can close out on our shooters, we will be in really good shape.”

 

 

 

USC TROJANS

HEAD COACH ANDY ENFIELD

#22 DE’ANTHONY MELTON, FRESHMAN GUARD

#30 ELIJAH STEWART, JUNIOR GUARD

15. What you’ve seen of Baylor so far on tape, what jumps out at you? And what are they really good at and what are you hoping you can possibly exploit a little bit?
    ELIJAH STEWART: They’re a good team at all positions. They really don’t quit. So I seen that they blew out the lead in their last game. It was a close game all the way through till like the last 15. And we just gotta come out ready to play.DE’ANTHONY MELTON: I think it really depends on who plays harder. It doesn’t matter who’s better because sometimes the better team wins, the better team loses. So it just depends on who can play harder and who can get stops at the end of the game.Q. Elijah, what’s it like to play for Coach Enfield? What’s the atmosphere like? Seems like he’d kind of be maybe a players’ coach.
    ELIJAH STEWART: I mean, we’ve been together for like three years now. It’s just been a fun opportunity. He recruited me to come change the culture, and as you’ve seen we’ve done a pretty good job progressing year after year. And I just always try to do what he tells me, play with an offense and just be a good teammate.

    Q. Okay. So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty here. You guys are really becoming like the comeback kids. I don’t know how many times you’ve been down this year in games where you look like there’s no way you’re going to pull this off. So where is that coming from? How is that happening? How do you guys describe it?
    DE’ANTHONY MELTON: I would describe that as shows how much we want it and shows we’re never out of games. Because like I said before, if you play hard and just trust what the coaches are telling us, then the ball is eventually going to go in. And we just trust our defense, our defensive principles and we’re eventually going to get stops, too.

    ELIJAH STEWART: No team I’ve ever played for has ever allowed quitting to be an option. That’s since high school. He just put that mentality in the team. We’ve been down 20 points and came back and won by 20. It’s just like a different monster in people. I feel like we just don’t accept defeat very well. So if we’re down 15, 20, we’re always going to try to make a comeback. There’s just no quitting. Quitting is not an option.

 

8. But how are you getting down in the first place? I’m just curious about this whole roller coaster, how this happens that you’re trailing and then you find a way to come back. Have you even discussed that amongst yourselves, like why are we getting down in the first place?
   ELIJAH STEWART: A lot of games I’ve noticed where we take a huge hit in the first half is that the other team is just usually hitting a lot of shots, uncharacteristic plays. We try to stick to the scout — to the — like to the key. And sometimes, you know, this is Division I basketball, sometimes people just step up and make those plays that they don’t usually make.And once we do that, we always come back in the huddle in the second half and just congregate and get the new scout, new assignment, new game plan, and we just try to execute it.DE’ANTHONY MELTON: Sometimes we can’t control if people make shots. We can just try to alter them as best as possible. But if people are hitting shots and we’re not hitting shots, then we just gotta focus in on what’s working for us and we try to exploit what’s not working for them or what’s struggling for them. So we just want to keep struggling or making a struggle for other teams and just keep playing hard.

   Q. De’Anthony, it sounds like you had a pretty good conversation with Coach Hart in the middle of that game yesterday. What did he say to you that got you going?
   DE’ANTHONY MELTON: He just gave me a little confidence booster, kind of got into me talking about some — a lot of J. Hart stuff, some of the stuff kind of just stays in the huddle. But he just really helped me and just getting my confidence back, always attacking the basket and just being a lot more active.

   ELIJAH STEWART: He said during the Providence game, got us going, he was like, we supposed to be at the crib keeping one thousand. I mean we wasn’t even supposed to like make the tournament. So we just kind of keep that chip on our shoulder right now and we’re just riding with it.

   COACH ENFIELD: We had a great game against SMU. That’s what March Madness is all about. We were fortunate to be on the right side this year at the buzzer instead of last year where we lost at the buzzer. We’re excited to move on and face a very strong Baylor team that has 27 wins and is one of the better teams we’ve seen all season.

   Q. Coach, what impresses you about Baylor? Just kind of their overall game.
   COACH ENFIELD: They’re a lot like us. They started out the year undefeated. They had some injuries like we did, and then they finished strong. They have a lot of length, shot blocking. Their guards can shoot, very physical. They’re just a very well-balanced team and do a lot of things offensively and defensively to make you work. So we’re extremely impressed with them.

   Q. How many years do you think this group of players has taken off your life this season?
   COACH ENFIELD: Well, they certainly make it interesting. When you go back and watch our game films and we study and see what we can improve, it’s amazing how streaky we are for the good and for the bad. But really enjoy this group of players because they keep playing for 40 minutes, and sometimes they don’t know what the score is. And they’re fun to watch, but they’re also a little — it’s a little challenging to coach at times because we’re bad enough to get behind and good enough to come back.

   But we play for 40 minutes, as you saw the other night. It was fun and exciting. And at the end of the game, you like to have a lead, but you just have to — when you’re going into the last minute of certain games you just have to make plays down the stretch, and the other night we were able to do that.

   Q. How have your messages to your team evolved over this season based on how many times you’ve fallen behind and had to come back? Just how has your approach I understand of ebbed and flowed with this group?
   COACH ENFIELD: Well, early in the season we used to get really mad at our players for falling behind, especially with teams we thought we were equally talented or had more talent than.

   But now, at halftime the other night, we said, hey, this is great, we’re only down 8. We were down 15 the other night. This is great. And our players started laughing. But that was our halftime speech, hey, this is awesome (laughter).

   Q. Do you see some similarities in your season and Baylor’s season with your 14-0 start coming from behind to win so many games? Do you see some similarities there?
   COACH ENFIELD: Yeah. I think both teams have had similar seasons, if you look at the records, our wins early and then we had the injuries, and then late. So I think the teams are similar as far as their size and length. We have big guys shot blocking and we steal the ball. They’re big shot blockers. Their zone gives a lot of trouble. We play zone as well.

   So I think it’s two very good basketball teams that have similar strengths, and I think the game is just going to come down to who can execute what they do better.

   Q. Most teams don’t have it in them to stage comeback after comeback after comeback like the Trojans have this season. So what is it emotionally about this group that’s different?
   COACH ENFIELD: It’s hard to figure out. We don’t try to get behind. And our players have great team chemistry, so it is nice when you’re part of a team that has that type of chemistry. They rely on each other. They talk to each other. They can motivate each other. So it takes a lot off the coaches. Sometimes we have to do the motivating as well.

   But they’re able to stick together at times and they don’t hang their heads. They just keep playing, and they have some kind of confidence about them that if they play hard enough for 40 minutes that eventually they’ll be back in the game and have a chance to win. We’ve seen it so many times this year. We certainly don’t try to get behind, but unfortunately at times we do. There’s no formula.

   Q. I read that you have 18 school records at Johns Hopkins and I was wondering which of the 18 you’re most proud of?
   COACH ENFIELD: I don’t like to talk about myself because it’s really about our players here. But I guess my NCAA free throw record is probably the record I was most proud of, at 92 and a half percent for my career. I think I had it for 17 years. It was broken by Blake Ahearn of Missouri State who was a better shooter than me. But it was something that I took a lot of pride in, and it really made my career as a shooter. And then I was able to break into the basketball business and coaching through that shooting ability.

   Q. You had a play-in game to get here. Do you see that as maybe playing that extra game was beneficial because you all have kind of gotten on a little bit of a roll here.
   COACH ENFIELD: The play-in game into the NCAA tournament, that was great. We enjoyed that, to go to Dayton and have that atmosphere and compete against the team from the Big East in Providence. It was ironic. We played them last year but they’re a totally different team and so are we. Wow was that exciting. And we were able to come here.

   The NCAA tournaments are the same all over the country, the anxiety, the anxiousness. You walk out and the crowd, the excitement. You saw, we’ve had two kind of epic March Madness games here this week, so hopefully it’ll be a third tomorrow. But that’s what this tournament is all about. You win, you stay in it; you lose, you go home. And that’s why you see all the emotions of the players and the fans and the families who attend. It’s just a special, special event.

   Q. Coach, what are some of the more important nuances or aspects of the low-post game that you see in facing Baylor with Motley and Lual-Acuil, and how do you think you can kind of attack that?
   COACH ENFIELD: They love the high-low action to use their size, so we have to be prepared for that. Motley has great footwork in low post, and he can also step out a little bit. But they’re one of the best low-post scoring teams we’ve seen. I think last night they only had 4-3s in the whole game, 4 for 8, I believe they were. So they can dominate the low post. They had 50 points in the paint in the first round game. So we can’t give up 50 points in the paint and expect to win. We have to do a good job of playing man and zone and hope they miss some shots.

   Q. The Pac-10 has had three teams that have spent a lot of time in the Top 10 this year. How is going against those teams and some of the others prepared you guys for this?
   COACH ENFIELD: It’s the Pac-12. Pac-10 is — the three teams in the top of our league, all ranked in the Top 10 and we played those teams seven times. We also played SMU twice now. So we’ve played nine games with teams that have 28, 29 more wins. I think we’re the only team in the nation that has done that. Our league prepared us for this NCAA tournament because of the talent perspective and the toughness and the talent across the board in the Pac-12. This is no different than our league games, and it’s a different stage and it means a lot more here than in a typical Pac-12 regular-season game because this is the biggest event in the country.

   But from a preparation standpoint, we feel like we can compete with anybody, and I think you’ve seen that. We just have to play well tomorrow.

 

LOCKER ROOM

#4 CHIMEZIE METU, SOPHOMORE FORWARD

On if the play-in game helped them…
“Kind of. We had a good second half against Providence. We were making more shots in the second half than in the first against Providence, and late in the second, we found a rhythm defensively and that translated offensively.”

 

On getting the defense going early…
“Just be focused on the game plan. It starts before the game even tips off. Just stay focused on the game plan, go out there talking, being active, and that will help break the nerves a little bit. We just have to settle down offensively and make open shots and just play basketball.

 

#31 NICK RAKOCEVIC, FRESHMAN FORWARD

On the match up against Baylor inside…
“I do think that we have the size to compete with them. We have four guys in the 6’11” – 7’0” range, so I definitely think we have great size on our team. They’re a good team, we’re a good team, so it should be a good matchup.”

On pushing through the late play-in game and travel delays getting to Tulsa…

“I think it’s mostly just running on adrenaline. Getting in here and playing in my first big time game and beating Providence coming back from that deficit that we had, then being able to come in and beat SMU, so we’re super hyped. We’re ready to go far and make a run in this thing.”

 

#25 BENNIE BOATWRIGHT, SOPHOMORE FORWARD

 

On being injured part of the season and how he feels now… 

“Yeah, I feel like I’m back. I don’t think about my leg anymore. I just have to keep maintenance on it and work on it every day.”

 

On facing Baylor’s zone defense… 

“You know, they have a lot of length and they’re very active in the zone. We have to be patient and drive – we can’t settle. We have to drive the gaps and get in the middle. Just play high/low. Just play together.”

 

On Baylor’s great ability to rebound and his responsibility on the glass… 

“It’s going to be tough because they’re extremely long. Like I said, they have a lot of length. We got to box out. It’s going to be a team rebounding game. Me or Chimezie (Metu) might be locked in boxing out two bigs and the guards may have to have 10 rebounds. It’s going to be one of those games, so we just have to have a team effort.”

 

On what it’s like today to relax a bit after a crazy week of travel and schedule… 

“It does, it does [feel nice to relax]. We’ve taken advantage of the day, just eating a lot of food, stretching. Just taking care of our bodies and resting out minds mentally.”

 

#2 JONAH MATHEWS, FRESHMAN GUARD

 

On talking with his friends that picked USC to lose in their brackets… 

“Some of them were like, ‘Yeah, we had you guys out.’ You guys don’t believe in us—that’s cool, because we believe in ourselves and the coaches believe in us, so that’s fine. They thought since we were supposed to be out, that once we were in, we weren’t going to make it far. Obviously I don’t know why, but it’s his fault his bracket is busted.”

 

 

On his defensive assignment on the final play of the game vs. SMU… 

“Basically he put me in, and if I had an open shot to shoot it, first and foremost. My defensive assignment was to stop Sterling Brown, because that’s where they’re going to try and go because he’s been hot the whole game. My job was to stick on him and not let him get any shots off, so I stuck with him and Bennie and J-Mac (Jordan McLaughlin) took the point guard to make him shoot a tough shot for the game.”

 

On playing in de facto road games vs. SMU and Baylor… 

“We’ve played in tough rough environment before in the Pac-12—Oregon, Arizona—anybody in the Pac-12 is always a great environment. We knew coming out here we were going to play to two teams that are in close distance, so it’s going to be like a home game for them. SMU’s fans were on both sides and we only had one section and they (SMU’s fans) were throughout the whole stadium. It’s going to be fun. We’ve played in tough environments before, so it shouldn’t affect us anyway.”

 

On what the team’s crazy week and schedule has been like… 

“Just hectic, going from different time zones to like eating on different schedules, different playing times, different weather. It’s just been hectic, but we’re adjusting good. It’s been all-around fun for me because I’ve never done it before—I’m a freshman. I think all of the four freshmen are treating it good. It’s really fun for all of us.”

 

On today’s schedule being a little less hectic… 

“We got to get some sleep, watch film. Usually the past couple of days we would have shoot around, practice, media, but today’s is going to be pretty chill. After practice we’ll be able to go back to the hotel and get some more rest.”