INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

December 16, 2023

Trey Galloway

Postgame Media Conference

Kansas 75, Indiana 71

Q. Trey, the first non-conference game this year where you lost but were close. What needs to be done differently to close out opponents of this caliber?

TREY GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean I think down the stretch we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. I mean, a team like that, who's that talented and skilled, just poised, you can't let 'em hang around. We got to extend that led at the 10-minute mark because they kept cutting into the lead, eventually took the lead.

If you let them stick around, they're going to be in the game. They just came out on top. We got to put them away when we have a chance.

Q. You had an ability to get to the basket quite a bit today. Was there something you'd seen on film during the week with them or is that how the game played out? Were you at all surprised they were never bringing a second guy over?

TREY GALLOWAY: Yeah, I think the biggest thing for us was the guards to be aggressive 'cause we saw what they were doing to our bigs. They wouldn't let them play. We had to step up and do some things.

I mean, we were moving with pace, so I was able to get over ball screens, on the DHLs, get downhill. I had shots and certain reads. But I thought overall there's many things that could improve on, as well.

Q. Big picture, what was the biggest difference for you guys Auburn game to this game?

TREY GALLOWAY: I'd say just our competitiveness. I mean, we got out-toughed against Auburn, and it showed in the second half, late in the first half. I think we took the right step forward.

Obviously we didn't get the job done today, but they're a great team right now, they got a lot of experienced guys that have been there for a while, have championship DNA.

I think for us to learn from this 'cause, I mean, it hurts and stings, but there's a lot of good things to take away from it, too.

Q. 25 seconds left, down two, you shot that three, what was your thought process in that moment? Looking back, would you shoot it again?

TREY GALLOWAY: Of course. I mean, I thought it was good. I mean, not all shots fall. Next opportunity I get, I'm going to shoot it again and make sure I make it.

I got to keep trusting my work 'cause I work hard for this. I know I'm going to be able to make shots. Next one I get, I'm going to make sure I knock it down.

Q. After Auburn Mike mentioned he was unsure how you would respond. What did you learn about your team in the past week?

TREY GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean, we got fight. I know we got guys that are willing to compete. We showed it for 40 minutes today.

I think the biggest thing for us, those kind of games, down the stretch you got to be the more poised team and make winning plays down the stretch. They did that. They were able to make winning plays. They came out on top.

I think just continuing to get better and learn from each other 'cause we're starting two freshmen right now, so we're still kind of getting them to come along. I think they're doing a great job.

We're only going to get better from here on out. I'm proud of my team.

Q. Mike talked about the defensive intensity lacking down the stretch, maybe fatigue set in. Was that a factor? What do you think contributed to it?

TREY GALLOWAY: I mean, no, I think down the stretch it's all about just really honing in on what they're trying to do. I mean, there's many plays I can think of down the stretch where there were some times we messed up assignments. I got to be able to get through that assignment. When Kevin hits that three, that was a big one, put them up three. Obviously the low-post catches for Hunter, you can't guard that. He's going to score that.

I think there's a lot of things we got to clean up down the stretch because those are the guys they're going to. We got to know that.

Q. (No microphone.)

TREY GALLOWAY: I mean, it is. We're going to watch the film and learn from it. I mean, the great thing is we have another opportunity Tuesday to bounce back. We got to learn from this. Like I said, it stings. We got to bounce back, learn for the next game Tuesday.

Q. You guys shot 33% from the field in the second half. What did Kansas change or do differently to take you out of your offense?

TREY GALLOWAY: You could tell they were more urgent in their defense. They were kind of really more focused and in a stance kind of doing more things to disrupt us, maybe trapping the handoffs, doing certain things to take us out of our rhythm.

I think we just got to find ways to keep flowing in the second half and keep playing our game. We can't let them affect what we do if they change up certain stuff.

I think for us, just really lock in on our game plan and stick with it.

Q. How much was fatigue a factor for the last five minutes?

TREY GALLOWAY: I mean, you could say that. We can't really focus on that because, I mean, their starting five is playing a lot of minutes as well. They have a lot of guys playing down the stretch with foul trouble. They'll still playing. They played a lot of minutes.

I think having our bench be ready whenever their name is called is going to be huge for us because it's not always going to be my night or someone else's night. It's going to be someone else stepping up, too. We have guys that are going to step up in big-time moments.