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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: LEXINGTON

March 23, 2017

Kevin McGuff

Lexington, Kentucky

THE MODERATOR: Our head coach is on his way to the podium. Thank you for joining us for the press conference for the Ohio State head women's basketball coach, Kevin McGuff. Again, if you could please check your cell phone and make sure the ringer is turned off and raise your hand prior to asking any question and please identify your name and which organization that you represent as well.

We will open it up with questions for the head coach.

Q. Kevin, obviously, this is a very different team you're coaching this year, but what do you take away from last year's Sweet 16? Is there a certain sense of hunger you feel it created with this team?
KEVIN McGUFF: I think last year we were happy to be there. We had just had a tough injury with one of our starters, kind of like what happened with Notre Dame. We showed up. We played really hard. We didn't play particularly well against a very good Tennessee team.

But I think we're certainly a different team with a different mindset. I like the way we've been playing. So I think it will be a different situation for us.

Q. Hi, Coach. Brianna Turner injury, does that change your approach at all, either offensively or defensively?
KEVIN McGUFF: You know, I feel really bad for that kid. It's just terrible, like you hate to see an injury like that at any point in the year, especially right now. She's such a great player. It seems like to me she'd been playing her best basketball here late in the year. So it's really tough.

It doesn't change a whole lot. I think Notre Dame obviously will be very well prepared. They had this week of practice to prepare themselves without her. They may play a little differently, which may force us to play a little differently in how we guard them and so forth. But I know they'll be ready, they'll be prepared, and they'll probably have a real sense of urgency to prove to everybody that they're still the great team they were before she got hurt. I know they'll be ready, and we have to make sure we're ready for them whether she's playing or not.

Q. Kevin, you've been deep all year, but now your production with your depth seems to be kind of at another level. Could you explain maybe what you've seen in that.
KEVIN McGUFF: We've got some kids coming off the bench playing really well. Obviously, with the injury to Steph(anie Mavunga), Tori (McCoy)'s been playing really well. We've had more people have an opportunity, and they've stepped up and been real productive. We're at our best when we spread the ball around and spread the scoring around. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow night.

Q. You talked a lot about wanting to play your best basketball and this team to play its best basketball towards the end of the season. Throwing out the Purdue game, do you feel that's been the case these last couple of weeks?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, I do. We played really well in February, and things started really coming together for us. Towards March is when you've got to play our best basketball. We had a really good week of practice so far, and hopefully that shows up tomorrow night.

Q. With the kind of game that Linnae (Harper) had last week, was that kind of -- I don't want to say the pinnacle game, but was that the kind of game that you know she was always capable of?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, Linnae's a great player. She's a very unique player because for a 5'8", quote, unquote, perimeter player, she rebounds and plays around the basket as well as anyone I've seen for her size, and she does some things that most kids her size can't do. We saw it all come together from her against Kentucky. We needed a game like that from her, and she delivered.

Q. I guess it's one thing when it's against a former team, but maybe my question was more, had you kind of seen her building up to that kind of game?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yes, yes. She's had -- you know, she's had games where she's had double-digit rebound games. She's had games where she's had a lot of assists, and she kind of put it all together with the points and the assists and the rebounds in that Kentucky game. She's shown that she could do that, and certainly that was great to see her put it all together.

Q. Kevin, we've seen a couple of better defensive performances for the team, especially the last couple of weeks. What do you think in particular it is about the team that's allowed the defense to get better around tournament time?
KEVIN McGUFF: Our preparation has been a little bit better. We've been a little more focused and sharp in practice and showing up in the games. That will be one of the big keys tomorrow night. Notre Dame is one of, if not the best teams in the country in terms of offensive execution. So we'll have to be really on point defensively if we want to give ourselves a chance to win.

Q. I'd asked you this last week, I guess, about travel and adjustments and everything if you had gotten to this point. I guess it's one thing when you're just a couple of hours away, or three hours away, but how has your routine kind of been affected by being back in the same venue within a week?
KEVIN McGUFF: I think it's great. I think just some familiarity with -- we're in the same hotel. Heck, I'm in the same room I was last week. So it's been -- we had a good week so far. We got back. We got a little bit of rest. We started practicing. Got the same bus driver, same bus, came back down. So I think our kids are comfortable with that.

Among all the other things, there's certainly going to be some nerves and some jitters, but just hopefully that will at least give us a level of comfort that we otherwise wouldn't have.

Q. Kevin, you talked about the team last year being happy to be there given the circumstances. Did you notice earlier this year that this team kind of had higher expectations of itself, and what do you think played into that?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, I mean, we added some really talented players. So I think our kids from day one have had high expectations for what we could accomplish this season, and we should. We've got a good team. We've got a lot of talent. We've got a chance to do something special. It's going to be very difficult here. There's great teams, starting with Notre Dame, but you get to the Sweet 16, and you've got to play somebody good.

But to your point, we've had high expectations from day one.

Q. And I know we saw her practicing earlier this week. Is Steph still a game-time decision at this point?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, she's been good so far this week and further along than she was last week, but I would say that would be a game-time decision.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for the head coach?

Q. I guess in kind of facing a former mentor of yours, any kind of emotions in that? Or is it just a thing where it's just a basketball game at this point?
KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, I have great respect for Muffet (McGraw). She's a close friend and her family. I had a wonderful, wonderful experience working there, both personally and professionally. It was a real important time in my life and my career. I couldn't say enough positive things about that experience.

So it's no fun to coach against somebody you're close with, and I root for them every game except for when they play us. So we're going to go out, and we're going to compete, and one of us is going to win, and one of us is going to lose, and we'll both move on.

Like I said, I have great respect for her and her program and wish them nothing but the best except for tomorrow night.

THE MODERATOR: The press conference has concluded. Thank you very much.

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