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

March 15, 2017

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: Joined by Minnesota student-athletes, Nate Mason and Jordan Murphy. Questions.

Q. Nate, just wanted to ask you, going into the tournament, normally it would be a team like Middle Tennessee that people would be talking about looking over. Do you guys feel looked over with all the Blue Raiders talk this week nationally?
NATE MASON: We're really not paying no attention to it. We know Middle Tennessee is a great team. We got to be prepared to play.

Q. Both you guys, who do Middle Tennessee remind you of that you played this season?
JORDAN MURPHY: I don't think they're like any team we've played this season, to be honest. They have a unique team and unique defense. They're kind of in a category of their own, kind of to say it.

NATE MASON: Going off what Murph said, they got great players. They play a weird defense. We got to be prepared to attack it on our terms.

Q. Nate, this team obviously pulled off a huge upset a year ago. BIG TEN style of play against their style of play. What have you seen on film that might concern you?
NATE MASON: They're a great offensive rebounding team. We're a great defensive rebounding team. We got to come out and force our will and impose toughness right from the get-go.

Q. When you guys were going through that rough stretch during the middle of the season, what did you do differently to turn it around, and can you kind of describe what it was like in that locker room then compared to now?
JORDAN MURPHY: I think we had to look back mentality-wise. We have to get tougher and better and get back in practice and work even harder than we were to get back to what we were doing during the regular season. During that five game skid, between then and now, I think the locker room is a lot more optimistic. Guys have a lot of energy, really happy, too. I mean, I think we're -- we have a good confidence level right now and trying to keep that going.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes? Yes.

Q. Just one more quick. Nate, your fan base, obviously you can drive here, travel, can turn this building in a quasi home court. Yet Middle Tennessee fits that description of a team that if they've got a BIG TEN team like you guys down, the building can turn.
Do you think about that at all, about how this is kind of a double-edged sword, that this building would be a very good venue yet can turn on you if you're caught in the crossfire of an upset?

NATE MASON: For sure. We're definitely encouraging all our fans to come out. We sold out of all our tickets. It should be a pretty fun place to play. Hopefully all our fans made the drive down. Without them we wouldn't be what we are now. They play a big part.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. Good luck tomorrow.

Please welcome Minnesota Head coach, Richard Pitino. Questions, please.

Q. Coach, just to start, we were talking with Kermit earlier, he told a story about going to the Kentucky Derby with your dad. Were you there at all for that?
COACH PITINO: I was not. Sorry.

Q. Coach, congratulations on your season. Kermit said earlier to me that you are loving all of the attention that Middle Tennessee is getting right now. Are you, in fact, loving it?
COACH PITINO: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, it's funny, I don't need to be told to respect Middle Tennessee, probably because I was in their league and I know how good of a coach he is and I know how hard his players play and how good of a job he does recruiting and getting his players better.

I didn't need that, you know, but with your players, you never know. But I will say this, I don't think too many teams overlook guys in the NCAA Tournament, you know, so, we're excited about being the underdog, been the underdog all year. So, it will be another great opportunity.

But I think Kermit is a terrific coach. I kind of always, whenever people talk about coaches that people may not talk about, he's the first one on my list every single time. So I got a bunch of respect for him and their team.

Q. Coach, congratulations on a great year.
COACH PITINO: Thank you.

Q. Is this another typical matchup where the 12/5 just truly does not matter? I don't want to bring up Vegas point spreads. Do you keep your kids away from that 12/5 garbage?
COACH PITINO: We definitely don't talk point spreads with them (laughter). Yeah. 12/5 seeds, I don't think any of it really matters, you know. Maybe the 1 seed may have a moderately easy game. I think Middle Tennessee might be ranked. So, our guys know how good they are. They've got some players that were on last year's team who not only beat Michigan State but won a lot of games.

You know, so, I've got a bunch of respect for them. I think our players, when they watch the film, know it's a terrific team. You know, they're not in my opinion a Mid-Major team. They're a high level team. So, we know we got to play our best game to beat them. We're excited about that challenge.

Q. I know when you got there, Wisconsin had already built sort of a pipeline into Minnesota for some of the talent and still gets a few guys out of there.
What do you think this year can be for you in terms of that recruiting Minnesota, and also how hard has that been to build a wall around the state?

COACH PITINO: Our state is unique because obviously we're the only Division I school in the state for basketball. We get a lot of people from other states who work there because Twin Cities has a lot of great jobs. So, other schools have been able to come in and recruit the state.

You know, when it comes to us and recruiting the state, we've gotten the guys for the most part that we've wanted. We haven't gotten everybody, but you're not always going to need everybody. You only get a certain number of scholarships. The guys that we've targeted since we've been here, we've been pretty successful.

Jarvis Johnson was a guy who hasn't played for us, but he was a very good recruit for us. Amir Coffey was another guy that we really locked in on and wanted.

We've done a good job recruiting the state, but when you're successful -- there's two things, success and commitment are what are going to help you with in-state recruits. Now that we're committing to the facilities part of it, that's going to really help. And then obviously our team being successful, Amir being successful, Reggie Lynch being successful. Guys that are from the state that are playing well, that also really helps in recruiting.

Q. (Inaudible).
COACH PITINO: Mike likes to shout out. It's okay. Tonight we will stay in the hotel. No different routine than anything else. We will watch film after dinner, go over the scouting report, and then go to bed. So, nothing abnormal than any other game.

Q. What was it like when you guys went through the slump in the middle of the season and how -- what was it like for you as a coach and what did you tell your players or how did you get them back on track?
COACH PITINO: Well, losing five games in a row after last year, that was nothing. I could handle that one. We went two months without a win last year.

I think last year definitely equipped us for this year, you know, because we had lost a bunch of close games last year. And I think with Nate Mason, Dupree, McBrayer, Jordan Murphy, they were on the court for a lot of those games last year. So as hard as last year was, it helped us. And when it came down to that losing streak, there was really only one game where I thought we didn't play well and that was at Michigan State. The rest of them we had opportunities to win.

So, I think last year helped everybody stay pretty composed and poised and believing that we could go on a run. You know, fortunately we went on a big run. I'm not sure I anticipated an 8-game winning streak. I did think we would break through. The guys were very, very mature about it and level-headed about it.

Q. I was just wondering if you would speak sort of more broad-brush strokes of the Big-Ten, what it meant this year, couple of Cinderella stories with Michigan and Northwestern, some of your success, how that feels as a member of the BIG TEN Conference.
COACH PITINO: There's been a lot of talk that our conference is down. And I think a lot of that has to do with we may not have a lot of teams in the Top Five or Top Ten. But there's no easy outs. I wouldn't want to play a Wisconsin who is an 8 seed. I wouldn't want the play a Maryland or Michigan who is a 7 or Michigan State. Those are all tough outs. You know, to go along with us, Purdue is obviously terrific, Northwestern is terrific.

Our conference is full of great coaches, really smart players who know the game, don't beat themselves, and talented players.

So, I think we've -- if we're not in the best conference, we're one of the best. I think it shows when you get seven teams in the tournament.

Q. Coach, talked to Nate and Jordan and we brought up the scenario where you have a nice fan following. This building will turn on a dime if Middle Tennessee starts to beat you and take over a BIG TEN team.
You reference this as just being any other game. You know that as well as anybody, if this building turns, how are you prepared to have your kids handle that?

COACH PITINO: Well, I expect a pretty good Gopher crowd. Again, from everything that we've heard and read, I mean, I think everybody is expecting Middle to win. And I think Middle is really good. And I've -- again, I've known Kermit for a long time. He's one of the best coaches in the country.

So, I don't look at it like that. I don't think our team looks at it like that. We know it's going to be a hard-fought game. And if we do win, we beat a really, really good team.

Q. Coach, how impressed are you with Akeem Springs and how he's handled the injury? He's smiling, laughing. You can tell he still feels he has a pretty big role on this team.
COACH PITINO: Very impressed. He got hurt, it was kind of weird because he got hurt and then a media timeout happened right away. I didn't really notice it because we went right into the timeout.

Then, all of a sudden, I say where is Akeem? He's back with Ben Felz, our trainer. He comes back out and is on crutches. He knows he's done for the rest of the season. And I said, "Are you all right?" He looked at me and said, "I'm fine Coach, let's go win this game." Then after the game, we won, beat Michigan State, he was, "Let's go get a ring, don't worry about me."

The way that he handled that, I think is one of the reasons why everybody has been kind of able to move on in the right way and we battled obviously versus Michigan. He's been really, really mature about it. His family has been great about it. It's no surprise the way he's handled it.

Q. Richard, this is your first time to the tournament as a Head Coach. What lessons did you take from your dad and Billy that's going to help you your first time as a Head Coach here?
COACH PITINO: You know, I think more than anything, I mean, appreciate it, you know, embrace it. It's an awesome opportunity, but don't make it bigger than it really needs to be. The game is really what matters. Obviously, it's my job to prepare these guys to the best of their ability to go play their best game, you know, so, every tournament I've been around my dad, Billy, they get looser as the tournament gets closer, you know.

So for me, it's probably just making sure my players know that I'm confident in the game plan, excited about the opportunity, making sure they're loose but also understand they've got to execute, you know, and play freely and just don't be a whole lot different than we've been.

When you play in the BIG TEN, you're playing -- it's different in a tournament, but you're obviously playing in a high stake game. I think we'll be prepared for that moment.

Q. Coach, you've been a team of runs at times this year. Is there an element of your game that's particularly good that keys those?
COACH PITINO: I would hope it's our defense. I think we got a pretty good defense, pretty solid defense at times, you know, so, we talk a lot about defense and rebounding. In our league if you don't do that, you got no shot. You know, so if we do that, we're able to get out on the break, I think we can be effective. So, it all stems around our defense.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thank you. Good luck, Tom.

COACH PITINO: Thank you. Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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