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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: ST. LOUIS

March 17, 2016

Chris Mack

St. Louis, Missouri

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the head coach of Xavier, Chris Mack. Coach, an opening statement.

CHRIS MACK: I'm excited our team's in St. Louis. Questions.

Q. Chris, last time we talked to you, you hadn't had a chance to check out Weber State. Now that you've had some time, what are your impressions of them and specifically Senglin and Bolomboy?
CHRIS MACK: I'm really impressed. I saw Randy at the coach's meeting. And they have a big-time front court. They put a lot of pressure on your front court to either double the post or crowd the post. Obviously it all starts with Bolomboy. But they've got other players that are very, very big. They present more size than I think Big Sky opponents are probably used to, and it forces you to make a decision whether you collapse, like I said, or trap. And then not only Senglin, but Richardson, guys on the perimeter can really, really shoot the 3. And so that's sort of the rub you're in. How do you want to play their front court, because their perimeter players really space you and spread you with their ability to shoot the 3.

Q. As a follow-up on Bolomboy, I think you said that maybe Senglin remind you of Kellen Dunham from Butler. Does Bolomboy remind you of anyone that you've seen this year or is he just a unique player?
CHRIS MACK: I don't think he reminds me of anyone. I don't think there's anyone that has his size, skill, athleticism. He's the reigning defensive player of the year. He's just a big challenge on both sides of the floor. He's athletic enough to play a 4. I'm certain he's going to guard Tre. He's just a very difficult matchup, a lot like James Farr for us. His development over the course of his career has been really impressive, from a guy that Coach Rahe talked about when he first got there, really wasn't, he was a young colt is, I think, how he described him -- didn't know what he was doing, was athletic, and couldn't really hold his position, didn't have any go-to moves. Now you look at him as a senior, he's going to get a lot of NBA looks and it's because of that development. So it's a big challenge for us.

Q. As you head into this game, what do you feel are some of the keys for your team?
CHRIS MACK: Well, I think anytime you play in tournament play you have to do a great job on the glass. You can't allow opponents to get second, third, fourth, fifth shots. You have to be able to take care of the ball, make good decisions on offense. And just be who you are. You know, it's a 40-minute game. You can't get caught up in a bad start, a great start. It's all irrelevant. It's a 40-minute game. And just continuing to be that team that you've been on the practice floor and in game night every minute you're out there. And things will take care of themselves.

Q. This is off topic, but I know you got to know Billy Donlon in recent years at the coaching or Coaches vs. Cancer thing in Cincinnati. Did you have any reaction to him losing his job?
CHRIS MACK: Yeah, it's a bad decision. I don't know their athletic director, but we're in a results-oriented business. Unless there was some scandal, which I know Billy and that's not the case, he should not have been let go. The guy wins 22 games this year, 13 conference games, which is the most in the history of the school. Goes to the championship game three years in a row in the Horizon League. He graduated his players. I mean, again, I don't know who Wright State is pretending to be or trying to be, but that's ridiculous.

Q. Preparing for a game like this, do you have to tell your players maybe get them a little more hyped up to avoid the upset?
CHRIS MACK: No. I think there was an article in our paper that said the hunted versus the hunter. Like we're hunting. We're hunting to get to April. Like we're not being hunted by anybody. When you're hunted you have no idea you're in the game. Like a deer has no idea it's being hunted. It gets competitive. It's a game. We're doing hunting of our own. Sorry, Shannon, I didn't like the headline.

Q. That's okay. I don't write the headlines.
CHRIS MACK: I know you don't. But you talk to the people who do (laughter).

Q. Chris, you won a second national coach of the year award today. I know you don't really like these kinds of questions.
CHRIS MACK: So why do you ask them?

Q. I have to get you on the record here.
CHRIS MACK: No, you don't.

Q. Do you want to talk about that at all or does it mean anything to you at this point?
CHRIS MACK: No. It means I'm really happy for our team. I've said this all year long. They've been an incredibly coachable group. Maybe the expectations were different outside the locker room. It's been a great team to coach, a fun team to coach. I am blessed with a tremendous assistant coaching staff who invests just as much as I do in our team and in our players. When we lose, they hurt just as much as I do. The chemistry we have between us as coaches, I think a lot of head coaches around the country call their colleagues and call other head coaches. And I just sit in my staff meetings with my staff because they give me the best advice on what we need to do in order to become a better team.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

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