INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 5, 2022

Race Thompson

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana - 57, Illinois - 74

Q. Race, it was -- at one point it was 46-42 and the offense got kind of bogged down. There was some chippies inside. It looked like you guys were trying to establish Trayce a little bit. But what do you think offensively was kind of misfiring there during that stretch?

RACE THOMPSON: Got to give some credit to Illinois. They played us tough. So I really think that it comes with the defensive plan on us. And, again, we got to slow down and focus on making our shots. And, I mean, that's really all it is, being confident in our shots and running our sets.

Q. Race, they seemed to want to run the offense through you a lot with that matchup on Williams on the block. Is that just a situation where there's a lot of shots you'd like to have back, ultimately?

RACE THOMPSON: Yeah, definitely. I missed some chippies. I wish I could have them back. I'm frustrated with myself. We got to get back to work I can't hang my head on that. So, really, that's all it is. I wish I could have them back, but it's late now. We got to go to Northwestern.

Q. Race, how aware are you of Cockburn when you're trying to attack the rim? And what's the most difficult challenge of stopping him at the other end?

RACE THOMPSON: I mean, you see him. He's a big body down there. I mean, I didn't really have him in my way tonight.

But, I mean, on -- on the defensive end, he's definitely tough. He's a big body. He's hard to get around. He's heavy, he's strong. So, I mean, respect to him. He's a good player. So...

Q. Following up on that: How did you slow down Cockburn, especially in that first half?

RACE THOMPSON: Me, personally, I was just trying to give him different looks. Just kind of running circles around him, really.

I tried to tell Trayce and Mike that. I mean, they were doing it, too. But overall, I mean, he's a good player. So he was tough coverage tonight -- or today.

Q. You mentioned the three-point shots you guys gave up. Obviously, it took them a while to get going. Do you feel you defended them well in the beginning and it broke down over time? I guess, do you feel like you started to fade against it as the game went on?

RACE THOMPSON: Yeah, the first half we were playing really good on the three-point line and then the second half we faded away a little bit. And that's where we got to be better. It's happened before in the past with us.

And we really got to put 40 minutes together. The game's not over at halftime. So I think that's one our main things, putting two halves together and continuing to play the game.