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March 19, 2015
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
NOTRE DAME - 69
NORTHEASTERN - 65
MODERATOR: We'll take an opening statement from Coach Brey, then questions for the student-athletes, dismiss the student-athletes, questions for coach.
COACH BREY: We beat a really good team today. A really good team. That's a great win for us. They were really hard to guard. But I thought we had really key defensive possessions to escape with a win and I'm really proud of our group. We couldn't get away from them. I think both teams kind of tried to -- did take the 3-point line away from each other. So it made for an interesting game. Both of us used that as a weapon. But I thought both teams defended that arc and made it a different kind of game. We were able to get stuff around the basket. We're thrilled to advance. I told them in the locker room, it's a lot like our first game in Greensboro, the Miami game. It was really hard. Let's see if we can get on a run like we did down there after a hard first game.
MODERATOR: Questions for student-athletes only.
Q. Zach, what's going through your mind when you're at the free throw line there with two second left?
ZACH AUGUSTE: I just needed to step up and knock these two down so we can be in a place where we don't have to worry too much. I got to the line. My brothers encouraged me, trusted in me, believed in me and I just knocked them down.
Q. Zach, there's been a recent history of dominant big men coming through Notre Dame, Luke Harangody and Jack Cooley and now you step up on the bright stage and perform so well. How are you able to do that?
ZACH AUGUSTE: It's not just about me. I give a lot of credit to my teammates and my brothers. I got great passers, great distributors. Got to my right, Demetrius did great with the ball in transition. They find me easy buckets.
Q. Zach, what's going through your mind on the final offensive possession outside on the perimeter, leading by two?
ZACH AUGUSTE: Had to lock in, do whatever it takes to win, get the stop.
Q. And the same of you, Jerian. You're digging in on the last possession. You've, I'm sure, watched the NCAA tournament for a long time. You know how the crazy upsets go at the end. What are you thinking there?
JERIAN GRANT: Just to make a play. You really don't want them to get a shot up at all. I've watched the NCAA tournament and crazy things happen. So I just wanted to be able to make a play and try to get the ball.
Q. Also for you, Jerian, close game like this, judge a book by its cover from afar, people will make assumptions maybe about the way Notre Dame played. How do you think you guys played, given the score, given the moment?
JERIAN GRANT: We played well. That's a really good team. They're coming off winning a championship. They play offense really well. I think we defended the way we needed to and we ended up getting the win.
MODERATOR: Anyone else for the student-athletes? Gentlemen, congratulations. Questions for Coach Brey.
Q. Coach, Northeastern had it hard on the pick and roll. Was that something you looked to exploit?
COACH BREY: That's what we were going to get, because they took away our shooters. They did a great job of taking away the 3-point line. That's a big weapon for us. When you have Zach rolling, that's why he had the night. I give our team credit to know let's keep doing this. We don't have to shoot threes tonight. I thought Jerian and D and Steve really hit him on rolling situations all the time. I also love how we drove the ball. That's a continuation of what we did in Greensboro, attacking the basket, driving the ball. We got to the foul line. That was a key for us, getting to the line too.
Q. Mike, how did their pace on offense change the way you guys had to approach your offense?
COACH BREY: That was going to be a hard game, because they're hard to guard, number one. They've got really talented offensive guys. They run good stuff. Now you're playing -- they're almost burning the clock a little bit. I said at halftime to my staff, it reminds me they're burning on us a little. So that's a real test mentally for your group, because you've got to play defense for 30 seconds and then you've got to come back down and if you quick shoot, you're going back and playing defense again. I thought in the second half we did a good job of also being patient and methodical and getting stuff and maybe even resting a little bit on offense. When you guard that over and over again in man-to-man, it's hard to guard. They really move well. You're showing on the ball screen. But for us, I thought a key tonight for us was we caused 16 turnovers. We thought our ball pressure could affect them, and that -- well, it saved us, obviously. We turned over the last possession to escape.
Q. Mike, Jerian made the two steals at the end and he did a whole lot of stuff he does every single game. How big is it to have him just make plays when things break down?
COACH BREY: He is the ultimate play maker. I'm proud of him because he didn't get off to a very good start. He threw a couple into their band, one into our band, a little bit of everything. He kept plugging. That's where he's really matured as a player. Then you have Demetrius Jackson. The thing that's evolved the last month is we have two guys who can make plays off a ball screen. Not just one like it was maybe the first three quarters of the season. So Jerian Grant is the ultimate, key, live in the moment guy. I got on him because I didn't think he was engaged defensively as much on Walker and they closed the gap on us. But he did make two big steals to kind of get us to escape.
Q. Mike, how much did you emphasize getting in transition because when you did, that's when things really seemed to pick up?
COACH BREY: Tim, that's a key for us. You're trying to sell your team. If you get stops, we get to run. You know, that's been a real weapon for us. I thought it was a weapon at a really high level in Greensboro, and it was today. We got to the basket, we drove it. We were in attack frame of mind. We must continue to do that to stay alive in this tournament.
Q. Northeastern shot 50 percent or better for the better part of the game. Did you think your defense was playing more effectively than that statistic indicates?
COACH BREY: I think when you look at the turnovers we caused and how we limited them from the 3-point line, I'm not -- and we kept them off the foul line, I'm not so concerned about that percentage, especially when you add the turnovers in there. I mean, our ball pressure really affected them at key times.
Q. Coach, you mentioned the transition game earlier. Specifically, Demetrius Jackson, the play that he made, but also following it up with a big three after that. What did you think about his game and specifically the play?
COACH BREY: I think Demetrius Jackson, starting with the ACC tournament, has kicked it to another level. So has Zach Auguste. Both are playing at a high level. Demetrius again an aggressive driver. We're running more stuff off of him off of ball screens as much as Jerian where we were kind of more predictable just with Jerian the first three quarters of the season.
Q. Coach, Steve had the four steals today. He's been contributing a lot offensively for you guys lately. Did you have a sense this game it was going to be his defense that was going to be more important?
COACH BREY: When we didn't have him on Walker, the game got close. I kicked myself. We should not have taken him off, even though we had three fouls because we had that one and then they closed the gap. He is such a position defender. For example, they come out in the second half and run a backdoor play and we steal it. He's so smart. His body position is so good. When he was on Walker, then they stalled a little bit more.
Q. Mike, you get one off a career scoring high from Auguste, a career assist high from Jackson, all manner of clutch plays from Grant, and yet you're defending for your lives on the last possession. What does it say about this event and your own recent experiences in this event?
COACH BREY: I am thrilled. I told them in the locker room, we weren't going to beat them by 15, okay, so don't anybody walk out of here feeling we should have won by 15. It was going to be a dog fight. But we've been in a lot of close games. That's what I talked to them about in the huddles. We've been in games like this. I want us to think about it like an ACC game. We made big-time winning plays to finish it.
Q. Mike, so Zach Auguste started the year, some inconsistent performances. When was the turning point for him?
COACH BREY: He certainly played through the roof against Florida State. I thought that was a real coming out party for him at our place right before Christmas. And then like any player, a little bit up and down through the ACC season. But starting in Greensboro and through today, I just think he's playing at such a high level, he's very confident, and his teammates, as he said, boy, they find him. He's a big, big target when we ball screen and have him roll. When we don't have him in there, Bonzie or Torres, they're not quite the big target rolling off the ball screen. As a matter of fact, Jerian got on me about having him out in the first half. He's like let's get him back in. I said you're right, I'll get him back in there.
Q. I don't know if you already know this, but a 14 lost already.
COACH BREY: A 3 lost, yeah. I told the people in the holding area, they took the bullet, not us. And I tell you what, we gave a show the first game of the tournament, didn't we? That was the first game of the tournament. Good for ratings, just like CBS wanted. I'm coachable. I'm coachable. But I'm glad that this 3 escaped and we'll go back and get some rest and we're thrilled to be playing here on Saturday.
MODERATOR: Anyone else?
COACH BREY: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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