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

March 17, 2017

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: Joined by Butler student-athletes, Avery Woodson, Kelan Martin, and Andrew Chrabascz. Questions, please.

Q. Andrew, watching the Middle Tennessee State game, they run a lot of 1-3-1. How do you go about attacking a 1-3-1, and how much of that have you seen this year?
ANDREW CHRABASCZ: We've seen a good amount of it. We saw it against Marquette for a little while, Xavier runs it a little bit. But, I mean, we face a lot of athleticism this year as well, and they have that. They're trying to cause havoc with that 1-3-1, tight pressure. But at the same time trying to slow you down a little bit. We just have to make sure we space the court well and just get the ball moving.

With the 1-3-1, there are going to be open opportunities. They do it because they defend it so well. So we just have to make sure we find the open guys and keep the ball moving.

Q. Andrew, what kinds of challenges do Williams and Upshaw, their forwards, particularly present to you guys, especially when they have the ball?
ANDREW CHRABASCZ: I mean, neither one of them is traditional big men. They're both very, very skilled. I mean, Williams dribbles the length of the court sometimes, Upshaw does the same thing, brings the ball up from the rim. Both can shoot 3. Like I said, very, very versatile. So, we just have the make sure we play team defense.

It's not going to be -- I mean, there's 1-on-1 situations, but at the same time we need to make sure we're in the gaps helping each other out. Rotation really good and stuff like that. We're -- it's going to be a challenge. Obviously, they're a very, very good team, but we're up for the challenge.

Q. Avery, Middle Tennessee is kind of in the spot where Butler once was of being the so-called upstart Mid-Major, trying to make a run in a tournament.
When you were following Butler, is that the way you perceived them, and do you think that has changed? Or does Butler almost still get perceived like a Mid-Major even though you're in the Big East?

AVERY WOODSON: Honestly, I didn't look at Low-Major, Mid-Major, or High-Major. I didn't see the difference. I thought Butler was a pretty good team and so was Middle Tennessee. I don't put them in a class as Low-Major, Mid-Major, High-Major. They can play against anybody and beat them.

Q. Avery, back to their 1-3-1, they do some different things out of it, falling into the 2-3, maybe trap a little bit. The Minnesota guys before the game described it as weird. How would you describe it?
AVERY WOODSON: Weird. I think they play really, really hard. I don't think it's weird. It's 1-3-1. Marquette plays it, Xavier plays it. We've seen it and are familiar with it. We just have to be sure with the ball, be smart with it, and not turn it over.

Q. Andrew, back to Williams in particular, does he remind you of anyone you've seen and how unique is his particular skill set?
ANDREW CHRABASCZ: Honestly, at the 5 not many people we've seen like that. I look at him more as a 4 man, other than the fact he's got the size, got the length to compete with 5 men. But at the same time, like I said, he's very, very skilled, very, very versatile. He's very consistent with his mid-range, get into that and get to the hoop and being physical.

So, I mean, we're going to all be up for the challenge for that one, and we just have to bring our hard hats with him.

THE MODERATOR: Kelan, to get you involved, how do you see this matchup tomorrow night and what's the key for you guys winning?

KELAN MARTIN: I agree with both of what they said, but it's going to be a tough matchup. It's similar to a Big East team. Going to be very physical, have a lot of guys that can play different positions. They have a lot of athletic guys. Their 1-3-1 matchup is something we've seen in the Big East. Their guards like to shoot pullups. It's going to be a fun game.

Q. For Avery, during the regular season when you happened to have a big game and you made a number of 3-pointers, did you notice in the next game or two right after that overcompensation by other teams to try and do more to stop you than maybe they typically would, and do you anticipate that tomorrow, given how well you shot the ball yesterday?
AVERY WOODSON: You know, each team is different. Most coaches like to stick to their principles defensively, and that changes from game to game, whether they help off of me or not.

It changes from game to game.

Q. Andrew, Tyler Lewis made a big impact the other day. When he plays like that and getting in the seams and getting other people involved, how does he change the dynamics of a game?
ANDREW CHRABASCZ: Huge. Offensively, he's such a weapon for us. Like you said yesterday especially, he was penetrating really well, reading -- coming off the screens really well, figuring out if he was going to get to the hoop or find the open guy. His aggression is very, very important for us. We have to make sure that, like we said, we have to find opportunities for him to find us.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes?

Q. This is for Andrew, I probably asked you about this before, but you were recruited in the Horizon, A-10. You played four Big East seasons. Have you detected any difference in the way that Butler is perceived? Seems like a lot of things have been the same, but you just kind of wonder if away from the Butler bubble, if Butler is seen any differently.
ANDREW CHRABASCZ: I mean, not for me. Like you said, when I was getting recruited or I wasn't getting recruited yet, still in the Horizon league. They made two runs to the Final Four, and that was a huge reason why I came here because of the Butler way and the Butler tradition of just being so good this time of year. By the time they were in the A-10, that was huge for me. And now being in the Big East, it's been just some of the best basketball I've ever been part of.

Yeah, looking forward to it, and hopefully we can come out with a great focus going into the game tomorrow.

Q. Avery, when you were at Memphis, can you describe the landscape of Middle Tennessee basketball? In comparison to the whole basketball picture in the State of Tennessee, where does Middle Tennessee fall into the casual fan's awareness for the State?
AVERY WOODSON: People were very aware of Middle Tennessee State. You know, I had one of my friends went to school there, and he was telling me how good the basketball team was. So, people in Memphis, Knoxville, we all knew that Middle Tennessee was a team to be reckoned with. And last year I wouldn't even call it an upset. They played very well against Michigan State.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else? All right. Thanks, guys. Good luck tomorrow night.

Joined by Butler Head Coach Chris Holtmann. Questions, please.

Q. How do you go about attacking the 1-3-1 that Middle Tennessee throws at teams?
COACH HOLTMANN: It's pretty unique in what they do and how they play it, and, you know, we try not to overcomplicate things. We want to stay aggressive. I think our spacing needs to be good and our decision-making with the ball needs to be good because they are great at turning you over.

And listen, I mean, there's no question, this is a Final Four caliber team we're playing. I heard people say that, but when you're coaching your own team, you don't have a chance to really watch other teams as much as you'd like to. Now that you've had a chance to study them, there's no question they're a Final Four caliber team. This is as good as any team we've played in the second round in my tenure.

Q. Chris, even though Butler is four years in the Big East, you're still relatively small private institution, do you sometimes get people referring to Butler as a Mid-Major? Does it matter? Middle Tennessee is obviously kind of in that role that Butler once was in. But I got to wondering that sometimes Butler hasn't completely shed that label or if it even matters.
COACH HOLTMANN: I don't know that it really matters. I don't get hung up on it much. I think guys understand how good our league is. And usually the league affiliation to some degree puts that moniker on you one way or the other.

You know, we're trying to play quality basketball. So it's -- I think when -- we've been ranked in the Top 25 the last three years. So, I think that that speaks for itself. But obviously, you know, two really good teams, which you'd expect in the second round.

Q. When teams often play one defense the whole game, there's generally going to be a set of guidelines about how each coach wants their players to attack that. What are the tenants or important elements when teams change defenses frequently throughout a game versus staying static for 40 minutes?
COACH HOLTMANN: You're relying on your principles at that point, sharing the ball, having good spacing, moving it. They're really athletic. I mean, they are a really -- and they play extremely hard. Kermit, they're well-coached, play exceptionally hard, and that allows them to be active defensively and do what they do defensively.

You know, I think that more than anything we're relying on our principles. We want to be simple in our approach and let our guys kind of play with free minds. It's a quick prep for a really complicated defensive team. So, for us, let's make sure our guys play with some freedom.

Q. Coach, as we watched yesterday's games play out, a lot of the lower seeds, while they may not have won, were very, very competitive. How much has the landscape kind of closed in in college basketball?
COACH HOLTMANN: You know, I think there's great parity, as we've seen. Most people are picking Middle to win this game. It says something when they won 31 games. They're terrific.

Before the tournament even started, I think people were picking Middle to come out of this pod, or whatever you want to call it, and I get that. You look at their body of work, and it makes sense. They're a Top 25 program.

So, I think when you get into this thing, you realize that -- we haven't had the kind of 2/15, 3/14 kind of upsets yet that we've had in the past, 4/13s that we had maybe last year. That's been a little bit unique, because you normally see that more this time of year. There's a ton of parity.

Q. Chris, JaCorey Williams in particular, how unique of a player is he? Have you seen anyone quite like him this year and what kind of a challenge is that for your bigs to deal with him?
COACH HOLTMANN: He's a load. Their bigs are outstanding and they are just outstanding and their mismatch issues for everybody they play against. And their team defense is so good that you can't really exploit -- it's not like they're small on the interior, but it's hard to exploit them inside because their team defense is so good.

Listen, there's a reason he posted the numbers he posted this year. He and Upshaw are just tremendous talents, and they're not the only ones. They've got obviously other very good players, and it's the reason they're sitting at 31 wins.

Q. Would you mind recounting again what kind of impact Woodson and Savage have had since joining the starting lineup?
COACH HOLTMANN: Certainly a needed one. I don't think it's just been them. I think that our guys that have come off the bench have helped us, Kelan Martin and Tyler Lewis have helped us in a lot of ways as well. You saw that impact yesterday.

But our guys understood there's seven, eight guys that could start. We went in the year knowing that, and guys accepted that and accepted their role. And I think our guys are very comfortable in the roles that they're in right now, whether they're coming off the bench or starting.

Q. Down the stretch yesterday when Upshaw was having some of his success against Minnesota, a lot of times he wasn't dunking into the post until later in the shot clock. How does that tax a defense differently than if he just started out there every possession and fought for position?
COACH HOLTMANN: They're really physical in what they do. I think they're the most physical team we play, and that speaks to their duck-ins and just their whole mentality. They're the most -- we play a lot of physical teams in the Big East, but they're certainly one of the most physical teams we played all year. And they play as hard as anybody we played all year. I think you can put them up there with anybody we played the entire year, the elite teams we played, and they're as good as anybody. That's why I said they're a Final Four caliber team, and their physicality has a lot to do with their success.

Q. Chris, Coach Davis was in here last night, and he mentioned that his goal was to get his program like Butler's, in terms of the stability and particularly the post-season accomplishments. I'm wondering if you guys know each other and whether he said anything like that to you?
COACH HOLTMANN: We know each other just from being on the road. I got a lot of respect for Kermit. He's been a really good coach for a really long time. I think people, when you post the kind of seasons he's posted, look at his last five years, goodness gracious, I think he is getting the recognition that he rightfully deserves and has earned. It's been very impressive.

You know, I played him when I was an assistant at Ohio. We played one year, and that was when I first kind of got a better understanding of how they play, how physical they are, how tough they are. And we've seen each other on the road a little bit, but we haven't spoken much.

Q. Coach, when you say that most people are picking Middle Tennessee State to win, what are you basing that on? Something you've seen, read, what you've been told?
COACH HOLTMANN: I've read plenty, yeah. I've read plenty of -- some of it has been sent my way. Your head is to the ground here, and you're not necessarily reading everything that's out there because -- but people -- I've had friends that have sent me plenty of stuff. It was before -- honestly before the tournament started, people were picking them. And like I said, I think it makes sense given what they've done. So, it's going to be a great challenge. We understand that.

Q. Chris, with all that being said about Middle Tennessee, did they kind of get snubbed with their seeding this year?
COACH HOLTMANN: I don't think there's any way in the world they're the seed that they were. I didn't think that going into it -- I don't really know how all that works, and I don't pay attention to it, and I think the committee does a difficult task very, very well. There's going to be some seeding issues at times for sure. They're as good as any team I've seen at that seed in a long, long time. That's clear.

Again, you don't win 31 games without being the kind of a caliber team they are, and I've said they're a Final Four caliber team and I believe it.

Q. Chris, when you have faced the 1-3-1 against Marquette and against Xavier, what kind of success did you have, what did you like about the way your team attacked it, and what concerns you moving forward?
COACH HOLTMANN: We didn't have any success against Xavier last year when they ran it. It bothered us a lot. Now, our team was a little bit different at that time. But we really struggled against it.

And, you know, Marquette has run it similar although their defense is different. I think their athleticism and length and how hard they play make them difficult to attack.

But I think we've had some good moments against it this year. To be honest with you, we haven't seen it a whole lot, Bob. We've seen other defenses, but we have not seen anything similar to this the entire year.

Q. Did you know Tyler Lewis when he was at NC State at all? Did you have any knowledge of him, or were you just given a tip about that he was looking to move or --
COACH HOLTMANN: Yeah. I knew he and his dad a little bit. I was an assistant at Butler my first year, and someone had said that he was leaving. And once it became official, I pursued it and -- I did know him a little bit. More than anything, I knew people who knew them pretty well. Obviously his dad is in the business, runs a scouting service. So, I had spoken to him a few times but didn't know him super well.

But Tyler came to our program when it was needed. We had struggled our first year in the Big East, and to get him on a transfer was kind of a shot in the arm because we had struggled with some point guard play and we knew we were going to lose one, a really good one in Alex Barlow. He was an important recruit for us.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thank you. Good luck tomorrow night.

COACH HOLTMANN: Thank you.

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