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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 9, 2017James Blackmon Jr.Thomas BryantBloomington, Indiana Purdue - 69, Indiana - 64 Q. James, two-part question. One, how did you feel after the injury? And second, what was the key to their success down the stretch? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I felt good. I felt like I'm back out there to 100 if not close. Down the stretch I felt like they got us a little bit on the rebounds and just a couple plays down the stretch that we didn't make. Q. Thomas, what did you remember about the play that led to the double foul? THOMAS BRYANT: I don't remember really any of it, just getting to the rim, and luckily it just didn't go my way. Q. Thomas, did the refs give you any explanation? MALE VOICE: He's not going to talk about it. He can't talk about that, okay? Q. James, just how important was Thomas tonight, particularly -- everybody talks about their front court. How important was it having him so aggressive? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Very important. Tonight he was very reliable. We always could go to him at any point in time and he would bail us out. The rest of us just got to bring that fight that he did. Q. Thomas, what was working so well for you offensively tonight? THOMAS BRYANT: Just staying aggressive, just taking what the defense gives me. If they collapsed on me my teammates know that I'll find them. Q. James, you guys get a chance to play them in a couple of weeks. What did you learn and what were you able to take away as you guys get set for the rematch? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Just the mistakes we made. We've got to be better with the ball, taking care of the ball, knowing their tendencies now. So we'll be prepared for the next time we play them. Q. You guys were extremely effective against Haas. What was going well for you? THOMAS BRYANT: We knew what they wanted to do down low. Big Haas is a real big body down there, so we just had to try to take the fight to him, just try and meet him. Q. Thomas, what was the message from Coach tonight after you guys went back into the locker room? I know it's still a long season, but what did he tell you guys? THOMAS BRYANT: Just to stay together. We've just got to keep fighting through the thicks and thins, ups and downs. We just have to steady it and keep coming together and fighting for one another. Q. Obviously it's a long season and you guys still have a lot more games to go, but what's the frustration level when you guys lose to a rival like Purdue at home? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: It's definitely tough to swallow, but you know, we've got a lot more games left, and we've just got to have a short memory because we get a chance to play them again. We know their tendencies now, and we've got to just come out with more wins. Q. Just how big of an adjustment was it playing without De'ron after he went down with that injury? THOMAS BRYANT: It was a little difficult, but it just means that everybody else had to step up even more, including me, James, everybody on the team. Just had to step up that much more. Q. James, kind of talk about where you guys are record-wise and NCAA Tournament picture, do you guys feel like it's a backs against the wall situation? How do you approach it as a player? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Just approach it like we're trying to get better. We've got to stay together. We know the talent in the room is never going to be a problem for us, it's just going to be figuring out ways and just staying together throughout the whole game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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