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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DES MOINES

March 16, 2016

Des Moines, Iowa

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Khalil Davis, Chris Horton and Josh Robinson from Austin Peay. Questions for our student-athletes.

Q. Khalil, I guess all your team was excited during the Selection Show and when you saw the opponent. I imagine you had some additional emotions. Talk about what did you feel when you saw it was Kansas and take us through your background growing up in Kansas City and your thoughts about Kansas?
KHALIL DAVIS: When I was growing up my dad was at Kansas State and he played against KU and that was a big rival to Kansas State, so when I found out we were playing KU, it was like a dream come true.

So for my family to see that we was playing KU was a blessing because it's something that we always wanted.

Q. How did you guys manage to prepare a team that has as much history as Kansas does as well as being the number one overall? What do you go to get yourself in that mind-set?
JOSH ROBINSON: We just prepared the same way. We looked at it as any other team, I know I did. We just prepared the same way as we do for any other team. We went through each player and what they do best and what they don't do best and we prepared as if it was any other team.

CHRIS HORTON: What Josh said. We went over the normal scouting report. We know it's the No. 1 team in the nation, No. 1 seed, but we got to prepare for it like a regular game, not a regular game but a regular scouting report, regular routine because that's what got us here so we wanted to focus on doing what we always do.

KHALIL DAVIS: I feel the same. All year we prepared for every team no matter who it was just the same, just because we playing a ranked team doesn't mean we switch anything up. We go through the same scouting report and everything because we look at every team as they every team. We don't base the statistics or nothing. We just do everything regular.

Q. Chris, how's the ankle doing right now?
CHRIS HORTON: It's doing better right now. I'm getting better day by day, still sore. I'm still getting treatment. I'll be all right, though.

Q. I heard taping it up bothered you. What's the game plan for you during the game?
CHRIS HORTON: I'm going to try not to focus on it so much because that will affect how I play. But I'm definitely going to have it taped and cushion on it, but I'll be fine.

Q. Khalil, your dad being a K-State guy, what was his first message to you when he found out you guys were playing KU?
KHALIL DAVIS: He told me throughout the whole revealing he wanted us to play KU because it's somebody that we've been watching and somebody close, so he said when he saw that he was excited because that's something that he always wanted. And for us to play KU, all my family will be down here because it's a big game for us.

Q. Are we going to see the same kind of perimeter play that we saw in the Tournament?
KHALIL DAVIS: Yes, because Horton is a big focus down there, so if we get good guard play on the perimeter it makes us harder to guard.

JOSH ROBINSON: He answered it.

Q. Nothing else?
JOSH ROBINSON: That's it.

Q. Obviously the goal of the game tomorrow is to win. Do you have any personal goals that are involved with the play tomorrow?
KHALIL DAVIS: You know, of course our goal is to win. But, you know, another goal is just to come in the game and always give it our all and just leave everything on the court just like we come into every game. We have nothing to lose, so if we come in there ready and motivated, the win is up for anybody.

CHRIS HORTON: Yeah, just like KD said, we want to come in as a team and play hard and show we belong here and hopefully pull out this upset.

JOSH ROBINSON: I don't think we have any personal goals we just want to get the win and that's it, get the win.

Q. For Khalil, can you talk about the ride you had through the conference tournament and the how the momentum picked up through each round?
KHALIL DAVIS: We barely made the tournament. We had to wait for Eastern Kentucky to lose and we sat back and they finally lost. So we knew we had to come in as an 8th seed and play four games in four days, and we just played every game and we didn't worry about the future. We started off with Tennessee Tech, and once we started winning more and more we got closer to the championship. As we got closer, the momentum started building even more. And once we got to the Championship we all just looked at each other like, we didn't get here for no reason. Let's make history, and that's what we did.

Q. Chris, what have you seen watching the tape of Landen Lucas? He was impressed by your stat line when he talked about you on Sunday.
CHRIS HORTON: He's a good player, you know, big body, real mobile. I like how he gets off his rebounds and how he sets himself up into position to get those, and I like how he sets himself up for side lobs during the high-low, so he's a good player.

Q. Chris, no secret that a 16-seed has never beaten a No. 1 in this tournament. Why do you think you guys can be the first?
CHRIS HORTON: Passion, play together as a team. We have a great bond, and we running off a wave that already made history. So we just want to continue that and just keep bringing the positive vibes toward us and pull off the upset.

JOSH ROBINSON: I think passion and another thing with this team is we just love playing with each other. When I'm on the floor I play hard for them, and, yeah, that's it.

KHALIL DAVIS: I feel the same. It's just more about passion and pride, you know, we don't look at it as the No. 1 seed because we brothers and we're family. We was the underdogs coming into the OVC Tournament, and we feel coming in here. We made history as the OVC Tournament. Who says we can't make history as the 16-seed.

Q. Your team has gotten attention because of the rally for Rhyan, and I'm wondering if you can describe what that has meant to each of you and what it was like winning last weekend with your coach?
CHRIS HORTON: For me, it was special, you know. Her story is just real special to me, and it just proves that when you are put in a situation where you have to fight and when you fight you just come out victorious, you know, and it's just really special because we was put in a situation where we weren't supposed to win, nobody counted us to do anything regarding the OVC Tournament and we was put in a position where we had to fight and we fought and we won. With her it's the same thing, her story just really affected us in that way, where people counted us out and we fought and we won.

KHALIL DAVIS: Yeah, I can just remember the first day we all found out about Rhyan and, you know, we all felt for Coach Loos because he was down, and for us to pull him through and rally for Rhyan it was a blessing because it will make you not take anything for granted, make you want to live every day like it's you're last. And for us to win while this tremendous thing is going on it's just a blessing. And for us to see Coach Loos happy and for Rhyan doing better and her family it's just a blessing for all this to happen while she is going through her treatment and everything.

JOSH ROBINSON: I think that was the biggest thing for me. I wanted to make Coach Loos happy. After the game, I saw Coach Loos was really happy, and I just wanted to make Coach happy. That he all I wanted to do, and I think we did that.

Q. Chris, how much did the ankle bother you in the Championship game there?
CHRIS HORTON: A lot. Really I felt like I couldn't do much. I couldn't jump how I wanted to jump, couldn't run how I wanted to run. So I was just trying to set myself up in positions where I wouldn't have to use as much off that foot. So it just really affected me, and it hurt I couldn't do as much as I wanted to do. But they helped me out. So, I mean, it just -- it was just real bad with that right now.

THE MODERATOR: Okay, gentlemen, thank you.

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