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STATE FARM MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 4, 2018

St. Louis, Missouri - Arch Madness

Loyola-Chicago - 65, Illinois State - 49

THE MODERATOR: Illinois State Redbirds are with us. Phil Fayne and Milik Yarbrough represent the student body. Dan Muller is the head coach.

DAN MULLER: Obviously, first, congratulations to Loyola and their team and the coaching staff. They've had a special year. We got beat by a good team today. Obviously, we didn't play very well. But congratulations to Loyola.

Q. For both players, eight days ago, you guys played them up in Chicago. One-possession game in the final minute. What was the biggest difference today, do you think?
THE MODERATOR: Phil first please.

PHIL FAYNE: I would just say they came out ready. They were the more prepared team today. So they came out ready, more prepared.

MILIK YARBROUGH: They did a great job just executing, doing what they know how to do and just not beating themselves.

Q. Boogie hits that three to start the second half, and you guys are down six there. Did you think the momentum was kind of maybe a little bit on your side at that point?
PHIL FAYNE: Yeah, I would say we thought the momentum was on our side. Like I said, Boogie hit a great shot to start the second half. So they really came out in the second half more prepared and more ready to attack than we were.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Cameron Krutwig and the challenges he posed on either side of the floor.
PHIL FAYNE: Cameron Krutwig, he's a great big man. Freshman of the Year. He's big down low. He's big down low.

Q. Milik, you talked about it all year, how you guys live and die by the three. Is it frustrating when you can only shoot 20%, does it seem like you're only one three away from getting something going?
MILIK YARBROUGH: We took good shots. We didn't force anything. They all took good shots. But it just didn't fall today. Overall, we just didn't play our best basketball. So that just snowballed over.

Q. For both players, as hard as it may be to look forward to next year, is it kind of exciting to see that you guys are going to return everybody, and the big three will still be intact?
THE MODERATOR: Milik, lead us off, please.

MILIK YARBROUGH: Yeah, we listened to the whole thing while we were in the locker room, and we just told each other that we're not going to let this happen again next year. We're going to come out, be prepared for anything that comes our way. We're going to be back here next year.

PHIL FAYNE: Yeah, it's like a learning experience for us having no seniors and everything. As juniors being in this situation for next year, just knowing the feeling of hearing what it sounds like losing winning and hearing what it sounds like losing. So just knowing the feeling of everything.

Q. You guys were held to 31 percent shooting. Can you talk about some things that they did defensively that may have been challenging.
THE MODERATOR: Phil, start us off, please.

PHIL FAYNE: I think they were really in gaps really stunting and everything. Really good at boxing out when the shot goes up and everything. Everybody has those days when they have bad offensive days. I had a bad offensive day. I was missing a lot of shots I usually make and everything. Just a little harder today.

MILIK YARBROUGH: I believe that we just missed a lot of easy shots that we always make, like Phil just said. We're just rushing. I feel like we let the nerves get to us a little bit. After a while, that should have went away. We just missed a lot of easy shots that we always make and worried about the refs calling fouls.

Q. Phil, you obviously played in last year's game as well against Wichita State. Did you feel any similarities between this year's game and last year's game in terms of the second half kind of playing out how it did?
PHIL FAYNE: Yeah, a little bit. Really, I felt the similarities when we were down and we were fighting to come back. That was one of the biggest similarities that it reminded me of last year, how we were down and fighting to get back in the second half and everything.

Q. Dan, just kind of what I asked the players too, eight days ago, you guys were obviously really locked in up there. What did you think was the main difference between that game and this game tonight?
DAN MULLER: We probably missed seven layups in the first half. I mean, legitimately. Now, a couple might have been kind of contested, but we missed some point blank layups between Keyshawn, Phil, and Milik. And you make those, obviously, it's a completely different game. Not only that, but they had two transition threes out of those missed layups. I think when we missed those shots, we even got a little bit tighter. I certainly didn't help as much as I could have. I'm not sure what I would have done differently.

I thought we were going to play really well. I really did. Was Phil tired? I don't know. He was one missing a lot of those, didn't have some explosion. A little bit of nerves maybe, but I thought we guarded them well enough throughout the first half other than some transition baskets. I just thought we missed some opportunities, and if we make those, it open things up. We weren't making those. The second half we missed a couple. We just couldn't open up their defense. They were really, really good defensively today, though.

Q. Coach, what do you think the mindset will be going into next year with everybody returning?
DAN MULLER: We've got to get a lot better. We really do. We got individuals that have to put weight on, individuals that got to get better, obviously, as every team does. Certainly, we'll be excited about next year when we sit back and think about it, but right now it's just pretty disappointing to play the way we played today. We've been playing some really good basketball for a few weeks, but we had a bad day today.

Q. Coach, what have you seen from Milik now that -- through a full season. He sat out last year obviously, but he's become a pretty important player in a short time for you, and he has more time left.
DAN MULLER: We talk about it a lot. He's so good and talented. Teams game plan for him. Sometimes that makes it tough. Other guys on the team have to help him out a little better than they do sometimes. He's almost never been in foul trouble this year, and all of a sudden, three games in a row he's in foul trouble. That's tough.

But he's one of the best players that I've coached, and he's really just tip of the iceberg as far as where he can go.

Q. Coach, same thing I asked the players. With Phil, Milik, and Keyshawn all returning next year, it's got to be pretty -- you've got to have optimism heading into next season, as hard as it may be to look forward already.
DAN MULLER: Again, we're excited. We will be excited about next year as we get towards it and understand where we have to improve. But we're somewhat -- I'm hopeful we're still playing. I don't know what will happen but I'm hopeful that we'll still play this year.

Q. Tinsley hits a three-pointer coming out of halftime, cuts it to six, and they respond with an 8-0 run. Do you think that was the difference in the game?
DAN MULLER: Tough to say the difference because the same thing happened the first half. We tied the game close, and they went on a run. I'm not sure which run was worse. But we hit the bucket, and we go down and just have a complete breakdown defensively. I mean, just a complete breakdown after what we talked about out of halftime.

The positive feelings we felt went away within 15 seconds. Obviously, from that point on, it wasn't much of a game at any point. But we didn't handle it very well. We just didn't handle the game very well today.

Q. Dan, how healthy is Keyshawn? Obviously, you sat him a little bit. I know you were disappointed in one of the shots the first half. Was that kind of a combination of both of those things mainly?
DAN MULLER: That was mainly the shot, to be honest. I've been talking to him about which shots to take and which not. I was disappointed at that time at the shot he took. Once I took him out, I did decide to give him a little bit of rest too.

How healthy is he? Three games in three days are hard for him with his leg. More his knee. He tweaked his ankle a little bit, but it's his knee. We give him a little more breaks in practice than most guys to rest him throughout the week. And he played the most minutes on the team too, unfortunately. So certainly not 100 percent.

Q. How close or how far away were you guys from maximizing what you thought this year could have been?
DAN MULLER: Maximizing based on talent, pretty far away. Maximizing based on experience and where we started at the beginning of the year, close but not close enough. Had a lot of guys mature and get better throughout the year, and I think you saw that in consistency. Obviously, injuries kind of threw our rhythm off a couple times, but this team has a lot of talent that I think we'll see as they get another year older.

But if this team was healthy the entire year, I think we might be as good as the team, maybe not, but might be as good as Loyola, or right around there is what I thought we could be if we stayed healthy.

Q. Coach, can you talk about the struggles of getting to the free-throw line tonight.
DAN MULLER: Sure, absolutely. Pretty frustrating. Very, very frustrating. My best player's been in foul trouble every game and some tough calls. Not sure if they're right or wrong, but some tough calls, but we get there, and they foul five times. It was a very physical game. It was a very, very physical game. So it's tough not to get any points on the foul line.

Q. Dan, like you said, you're hopeful maybe an NIT bid comes. What's the plans then for the rest of the weekend?
DAN MULLER: Luckily, we're not on spring break this week, as we usually are. It's a lot harder in that situation. So they'll go. They'll certainly have two, maybe three days off. Then just maybe try to get a little feedback, if we can, from the committee, if possible. I'm not sure if that will be possible. But if we feel like we have a chance, get back on the court a little bit and kind of practice. Stay in shape and sharp and yet keep a little bit loose just in case.

Q. Coach, is it disappointing to play on Sunday for the third time in four years and come up empty.
DAN MULLER: I mean, they're all disappointing, certainly. I'm not thinking much about last year right now. We just didn't play well, and that's just -- if you play one and you get beat, it's a little bit easier to take. I told the team, I'm not quite as emotional this year because we don't have seniors. It's not like a career has ended today. Hopefully, we're still playing this year, but I'm more just disappointed right now that we just -- I couldn't help them better to just play well today and see what happens.

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