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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: KANSAS CITY

March 23, 2017

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas - 98, Purdue - 66.

THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by the Purdue Boilermakers, head coach Matt Painter, student-athletes are Caleb Swanigan and P.J. Thompson. Coach, we will ask you for an opening statement.

MATT PAINTER: Obviously, Kansas played really well in the second half. Congratulations to them. We felt like we should have been in a better spot going into halftime. I thought we had some opportunities in the first half that we kind of let squander away from us and should have been in a better but they were really good.

In the second half, their guards made some tough shots and just got into transition too much. We've been able to dominate the boards in our first two games and they did a good job on the glass. Seemed like every time they got an offensive rebound they made us pay and every time we turned it over they were so fast in transition of going the other way and converting. Hats off to them. They played a great game. We obviously wish we would have played better. We felt like we could have definitely gave them a better game but give them credit they were really good tonight.

Q. Coach, the preview was supposed to be your bigs against their guards and they outrebounded you by seven. Does that surprise you? What caused that?
MATT PAINTER: I would say if you look at the threes that were taken, 55 3's were taken in the game, so it ends up being longer rebounds and a lot of times it's being quick to the basketball and opportunistic. A lot of times when you see a team that has bigger people and quicker, faster guys, quicker to the basketball longer they're going to get those rebounds. We've been good at that all year though, our bigs, obviously Biggie has been one of the best rebounders in the country if not the best rebounder. We have done some good things, but our guards have done a good job of getting around the basketball and today they were better than that.

Q. You've seen what KU can do. They have averaged 30-point wins. Can they be stopped?
MATT PAINTER: On a game where you get in a neutral site anything can happen. They're going to play a good Oregon team and it is here in Kansas City and they have earned that right. If they play like they did the second half they can't. You cannot let them get in transition. They're going to keep getting those opportunities and shoot the way those guards shot then they can't be stopped. They don't shoot like that every single night.

Q. P.J., how difficult is it when Frank Mason and Devonte' Graham are shooting the way they did throughout the game?
P.J. THOMPSON: We knew going in they were going to be a touch match-up and obviously one of the best back courts in the country for a reason. I think they proved it all year and I thought tonight they had a great game. They really were good from the start of the game. I thought they set the tone for their team and they did a great job.

Q. Caleb, did you think when Lucas got his third foul early in the second half, did you feel like you guys could have taken better advantage of the back-up bigs that came in?
CALEB SWANIGAN: Yeah, but when the game is moving so fast it's hard to take advantage of size opportunities. It comes down to speed with so many long rebounds. It's faster too and not really who is bigger. So they played well and we lost all the nonnegotiables. We had more turnovers. They won the rebounding and free throw war. Can't win the game like that. Only way we could have won this game is if we shot 80% with losing all three of those.

THE MODERATOR: Okay, guys. We will let you go back to the locker room. Congratulations on a terrific season. Thank you for being here with us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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