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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BROOKLYN

March 17, 2016

Brooklyn, New York

THE MODERATOR: Joining us here from UNC Asheville, the Bulldogs, Sam Hughes, Dwayne Sutton, and Will Weeks. We're looking for questions for the student-athletes.

Q. You guys played a bunch of close games, particularly in your regular season play in the big south. How do you feel that's prepared you for this stage now?
SAM HUGHES: It allows us to go out and play hard all the time no matter what the situation is. Close games is what we're used to, like you said. It allows us to play as hard as we can for all 40 minutes. I feel like, coming into this tournament, it's something we're going to have to do. It's play our hardest basketball, our best basketball for the entire 40 minutes.

DWAYNE SUTTON: Close games keep us together throughout the game. We know, when we get down, we definitely can come back. We've just got to make sure we stick together and stay the course and see what happens the last four minutes of most ball games.

Coming into this game, Villanova is a good team, a great team, and we're going to stick together and play as hard as we can and see what happens.

WILL WEEKS: Yeah, close games is good. It definitely will help you because every team in the tournament is good. So there's definitely going to be some close games. When you prepare all season for this, it just helps you get through it.

Q. Guys, any time you get to play in the NCAA Tournament, I mean, it's what you dream about. From the time you guys left Asheville until now, what's the experience been like just being here in New York?
SAM HUGHES: It's a great opportunity. Like you said, it's something that we dream about all our lives, playing basketball as kids. For it to actually happen, to actually be here in this moment, it kind of leaves you at a loss for words. I don't really know how to explain it. Just try to enjoy it and embrace the moment.

DWAYNE SUTTON: For me, a freshman being able to play here, it's a big deal for me and my seniors. We tried our hardest to get up here, and we did. We've got a big game coming up tomorrow. Personally for me, it's like a business trip. I'm enjoying the city, taking everything in, but also ready to play a big game.

WILL WEEKS: It's definitely exciting. Coming from a smaller city like Asheville to New York, huge, lights everywhere, everything going on, busy. It's just exciting. We all, as kids watching TV, NCAA Tournament, hoping one day that you'll get there and you finally get there, and it's just amazing, a wonderful feeling.

Q. For any of the players, when you draw a team that's a 2 seed, obviously, it's a good team, but when you look at Villanova's track record the last few years, they're very beatable in the early rounds of the tournament. Is that something that you guys talked about or can look at as inspiration for pulling off a big upset?
SAM HUGHES: In these kinds of situations, I don't think we look at the opponent too much. We just kind of focus on us and try to work on what we know, which is what got us here. Continue to play the game of basketball the way we've played thus far.

We pay attention to certain things, but in all, we kind of try to focus on us and just continue to do what got us here.

DWAYNE SUTTON: I think every team here is beatable, but we also know they're a great team. Jay Wright does a great job of getting the guys ready each and every year. We've just got to play our hardest and stick to the process and see what happens.

WILL WEEKS: As you know, if they're a 2 seed, they definitely have to be good. They were ranked number 1 in the country for a long while. You just prepare to do what you do and what got you here. They're another team. They lace up shoes just like us, five-on-five. So we're just going to play our game and hope for the best.

Q. If people haven't followed you guys and they look at the roster and they say, hey, there's not anybody over 6'6", and these guys don't have size. You guys play with an intensity, especially on the defensive end. You guys dive for loose balls. You get rebounds. Where does that hunger come from to kind of do the nitty gritty work to be successful?
SAM HUGHES: I think it comes from knowing that we are a bit undersized, that we lack size when we play against a lot of teams, so we have to bring that energy and that extra effort to try to win games. I think it's worked this far, and that's one of the things we're going to continue to do here this weekend.

DWAYNE SUTTON: Being small helps us because we've got to play a lot more aggressive even to have a chance. We've got to try to gain rebounds over bigger teams, such as Georgetown, and that paid off well. We just try to play as hard as we can for as long as we can, and that kind of helps, and it works.

WILL WEEKS: As my two teammates said, it's not always about size. We know that we're smaller. So we've just got to play even harder, use our speed. The things that we play to our advantage and just battle. We're a family. So we battle together.

Q. You mentioned the size disadvantage, I guess, that you guys normally have, but this is not a team in Villanova that is particularly big. I don't know, maybe they play somewhat similarly to you. When you see them, do you, A, see some similarities? And, B, do you think the fact they're not as big helps you?
SAM HUGHES: I didn't quite understand the question. I'm sorry.

Q. They're not a huge team either. Does that at all help the fact that you guys are a team that is a little bit of a size disadvantage often?
SAM HUGHES: Yeah, it's definitely easier on us when guys aren't as big. They do have one guy in particular that's a good size. Like I said in the beginning, regardless of the size, we're still going to go out and just play basketball like we know to play it.

DWAYNE SUTTON: Yeah, Villanova doesn't have overly huge guys, but they do have like a system that works to their players. They have, I think, five guys that shot over 100 threes, which is a huge number considering we only have one who did that.

We're one of the best teams in the nation to guard the three and they're one of the best teams to shoot it. Hopefully, they miss a few shots.

WILL WEEKS: Definitely, I think it helps to not have to go up against taller defenders and things like that. So it just helps us play more to our strategy. Like Dwayne said, they're a three-point shooting team, and we defended the three-point line really well this year. So that's just what we're going to have to keep doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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