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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: ORLANDOMarch 16, 2017Steve ForbesA.J. MerriweatherT.J. CromerOrlando, Florida Florida - 80, ETSU - 65 THE MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach Forbes to make an opening statement, and then we'll open it up for questions. STEVE FORBES: Congrats to Florida. I thought we played an outstanding game. They turned us over, and I was really worried about that going into the game, live-ball turnovers. They turned a lot of those into points, and that's really hard to defend. I thought their length and athleticism gave us problems pretty much the entire game. They hurt us on the offensive glass, and those are big things. Then we just got beat badly at the free-throw line. I think they're like 24-0 when they shoot 27 free throws, and they shot 27. My hat's off to them. They played a really, really well-played game. I'm really proud of our team. To get here, they battled all year long. It's a testament to these guys up here, how hard they've battled. We battled really hard in that game. Going into halftime, I felt good because we were only down one, and I don't think we played great. Came out in the second half, ran a play, T.J. banged a three, we took the lead, and I felt like we were in good shape. But to their credit, they answered the bell, and they made some big threes. They didn't make a three in the first half and made seven in the second. That was the big separator, the threes and the free throws. But we're proud of what we've accomplished, 27 wins this year. Nothing to hang our head about. Q. What did they do different after you guys finally got the lead and they made a bunch of threes in a row? Was it just a difference of them going in? STEVE FORBES: Yeah, they got out in transition. They got some really good looks at it. I thought we did a great job guarding them in the half-court, especially when we settled down. They started out the game 7-for-8, and then they were like 5-of-24 or something like that to end the half. Their threes, really, a lot of those came in transition. Q. When you talk about the difference at the free-throw line, whose fault was that? Is that your fault for not getting there? STEVE FORBES: Well, I think we were trying. We were driving the ball. You know, they did a good job, obviously, of not fouling us. We didn't do a great job of that. That's always an issue. Especially in big games, you've got to get to the free-throw line. I felt like they did a really good job of getting there. Then we got to the basket a lot of times, and they blocked shots in transition, and we didn't make the right plays, and those things add up. Q. For both players, how difficult are they in that they've got so many options? T.J. CROMER: Like you said, they're just a great team, well-coached team. They made a lot of shots, and they bothered us with their length. Like I said, just a great and well coached team. A.J. MERRIWEATHER: Just piggy-backing on what he said, they're a well-coached team. They're fast. They can spread the court. You can't foul them. We put them on the free-throw line, and they made plays. STEVE FORBES: I think we did a good job on Allen, but like you said, Robinson really hurt us, and he hurt us in a lot of different ways. He hurt us with his length, in transition. He made some threes. He got to the basket. I thought he played a really good game. I was impressed with him, but I thought we did a really good job on Allen. You can't just stop one guy. They've got other options. Q. This is for the players: You guys were all excited about getting into the NCAA Tournament. Did it live up to what you expected, all the excitement and the actual game? A.J. MERRIWEATHER: Yeah. I just played in an NCAA Tournament, you know what I mean? When I was a freshman, we didn't get there. Sophomore, we didn't get there. Junior, we didn't get there. To end my run here at ETSU in an NCAA Tournament, and to play Florida, the way we played them the first part of the game, what else can you ask for really? T.J. CROMER: First off, I'd just like to say it's just a blessing to be here at the NCAA Tournament. Like me and my teammates say, we just try to enjoy every moment because none of us have ever been here before, and it lived up to the moment. We had the time of our lives here. THE MODERATOR: Guys, you can be real proud of a great season. Thank you for joining us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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