UNIVERSITY OF IOWA BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 25, 2022

Keegan Murray

Men's Basketball Press Conference

Q. How excited are you to get a shot at --

KEEGAN MURRAY: Yeah, I was excited for the first time, but I held back. Just play them again at home should be fun. I'm really excited for the opportunity to be able to play this game.

Q. How tough was that night? You played (inaudible) --

KEEGAN MURRAY: It was definitely tough. Mackey is a great place to play, and it was a game-time decision, so when I finally figured out that I wasn't going to play, obviously, it hurt a little bit, but I just wanted to be on the bench and support our team. They obviously played really good that day. Gave them a tough match and ended up falling a little bit short, so just feel like for me I want to step up and play with them and just enjoy the atmosphere with them.

Q. You remember that atmosphere there. How much could that help you guys Thursday with a real strong home court, home crowd?

KEEGAN MURRAY: For sure. We know we can compete with them, and we know that's probably one of the toughest places to play. For us to get a good crowd there on Thursday night will be big for us, just like when we played there. That will just drive us even more to have the support of our fans to show up and root us on.

Q. Is there anything you can learn just sitting and watching that game that you can take into Thursday?

KEEGAN MURRAY: Definitely. Before the game I knew all the scouting stuff. I knew everything that they were doing just from our scouting report, so obviously, watching the game from a different point of view helps me a lot just seeing the ins and outs of what we're a little bit iffy on and what we can improve on and also what we are good at going against them. I feel like I can learn a lot from that. Obviously, being on the court you can learn a lot more gaining firsthand experience, but, obviously, I learned a little bit from being on the bench.

Q. As a competitor, would you prefer that Ivey skip another game, or would you rather go up against Purdue at full strength?

KEEGAN MURRAY: Obviously, I want to go against Purdue at full strength. They're one of the best teams in the country, and just getting their best shot at home is something I look forward to. He is a great player, obviously, in the Big Ten. He has had a really good season, and just, obviously, you want him to be healthy, first and foremost. If he is healthy and ready to go, it will be good for them, and obviously, we want their best shot.

Q. What's it like contending with a 7'4" guy around the rim?

KEEGAN MURRAY: It's obviously different. It's unique. He is really skilled too, so that creates a different factor in itself. Obviously, you have to game-plan around that on offense and defense, but, obviously, it's definitely a unique match-up.

Q. It presents a challenge on defense. You're going to be asked to guard one of the best three-point shooters in the Big Ten and two of the best big men in the Big Ten. What about that particular challenge stands out to you?

KEEGAN MURRAY: They're an extremely versatile team. They really don't have any weaknesses on either side of the ball, and, obviously, Stefanovic is a great shooter, and they have two really good big men in the athletic wing. That just presents a challenge for us. We're ready for the challenge. We'r not going to back down from any of that, any of them, and we're just going to go out there and give it our best shot. Our effort will be there for sure.

Q. Why and how is your team among the very best in the nation in fewest turnover margin, all that stuff?

KEEGAN MURRAY: I think it comes with our pace. We try not to get sped up too much in the game. Obviously, we want to play fast, but you also have to take care of the ball and secure the ball. Not just in relation to you our turnover numbers. We obviously have really low numbers, and that's helped us in a lot of the games to not turn the ball over late and just being able to hold the ball and keep possession of the ball really helps you win games.

Q. Coaches in this league are good at scouting. Have you noticed recently anything different the way you're being defended?

KEEGAN MURRAY: Yeah. There's obviously different stuff that coaches do to defend me. They're putting a lot more people in the paint when I catch, and I'm not trying to force as much, and you see like last game Patrick had a really good game, and just it's not about me scoring. It's about other guys getting involved and that helps us win games. If we're more spread out through our margin, other guys are hitting shots on the outside, getting to the basket and stuff like that, that only helps our team even more. Whatever I can do to get more guys involved is what I'll do.

Q. Are you having to learn how to counter what they're doing to you now?

KEEGAN MURRAY: Yeah. There are obviously things that you can do differently depending on what the other team is doing. Every game is not going to be the same, so you have to just get a feel for what's going on in the game, what their scouting report is and just learn from that during the game, and that's something that I'm still getting used to, but I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job at it.

Q. Is that something you do, or is that something the coaches are telling you, "hey, they're doing this to you now, so do this"?

KEEGAN MURRAY: It's everyone. It's me noticing stuff on the court. It's the coaches and also some of our players, some of our older guys that have been there before that are telling me different things that they're seeing on the court and what I can do and stuff like that to get open looks or try to get other guys involved.

Thank you.