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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: WICHITAMarch 14, 2018Michael OguineFabijan KrslovicAhmaad RorieWichita, Kansas Q. You guys played Penn State earlier this year, obviously from the Big Ten. What kind of gauge did that give you for your game against Michigan, and how much have you changed since that? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: You know, that was early in our season, but it was a test against a Power Five conference, and obviously the same conference as Michigan. So we thought we got some good things out of that game, some things we did well, but it just got away from us down the stretch of that game. Yeah, as I said, that was the second game of our season. We've improved a lot since then, and we've tightened up some things, and we feel very confident. AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah. Penn State was a physical game. That's the main thing we took away from that game. Michigan is similar in that regard. They're real physical and they try to deny the passing lane. So we really learned how to play against that, and we tried to prepare for that tomorrow. MICHAEL OGUINE: That's the reason why we schedule these kind of games in November, to be prepared for moments like this when we match up with a team like Michigan, another Big Ten rival. We want to be able to take the things we did in that game. Like Fab said, it was our second game of the season. We're a lot better team. We learned a lot from that. I feel like we're going to be able to take those things and apply them tomorrow pretty well. Q. For you guys, getting here was not easy, having to know that you had to win all three games in Reno, as opposed to Michigan who's a team that could get an at-large. How much do you think playing pressure basketball the week before this gets you guys ready for this kind of an atmosphere? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: Yeah, I think it's -- it helps a lot. It helps us not get caught up in the moment too much. Last week we weren't thinking ahead too much. We're thinking, okay, we got a game Thursday, we'll take care of that. And then if things go our way, we'll think about the next one. So just the "one game at a time" mentality, trying to be focused on the game, not trying to get caught up in the moment and the environment surrounding it. That was big time. We had that very recently. So, yeah, everyone just focusing on the game and not getting caught up in the moment too much. So I think that helps a lot. AHMAAD RORIE: We had three tough games we had to grind out coming off the first one. Every game we came from behind in, so I think that really gave us like a tough test we actually needed going into March Madness. So that was like the main thing we could take away is that every game is not going to be easy and it's March now so anything can happen. I feel like we had a little bit of luck that we actually needed, you know, because playing against Northern Colorado, it's tied up with one second to go, they miss both free throws, and we ended up grinding out and winning in overtime. And that's the kind of things you need. So I think the luck's been on our side, and we're going to try to keep that going. MICHAEL OGUINE: Winning three games in a row in a "win or go home" tournament was the perfect setup for a game like this. A lot is on the line, like last week. So we know we can't afford to make mistakes. We were fortunate enough to come back from behind those games. We know that Thursday is going to be different, a team like Michigan. We're not going to be able to have a slow start and expect to be in a great position. So we're really going to have to execute well from the start, and I feel like we're in a good position to do that. Q. How have you guys been able this week to balance, to enjoy this process but also prepare yourselves for an opportunity to pull off maybe the biggest win in school history? And what's the support been like from friends and family all week long after you guys were announced? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: It's been absolutely incredible this week. We've been working for this opportunity since April last year, like two weeks after the season finished. We had our minds focused on this moment. So we've been looking for this for a long time and putting in work. And to be here is really cool. But as I said, we were in that "one game at a time" mentality, and the support from everyone in the community, from friends, from family has been absolutely incredible. And to be here at this opportunity, to be on this stage is once in a lifetime. AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah, I definitely agree with Fab. As far as being unreal, the cheerleaders, the band, family, just the fans, everybody in Missoula, across the country has been supporting us. It's been great. This week has been -- we got here yesterday. We had a lot of people traveling with us. So we definitely know we have a lot of supporters. So I think the main thing for us is just take what we know and try to take it into tomorrow and into the game. MICHAEL OGUINE: Yeah. Coach told us we've earned the right to enjoy this moment. And like these guys have said, it's been great. The support from the fans, the community, from friends, family has been amazing. We have a great travel party, the administrators, dance team, the band, they're all really excited to be here, just like us. At some point we're going to have to transition over to, okay, we have a game tomorrow to win. It's a lot of fun, yeah, but we're not just here to have fun. We worked hard, like Fab said, since April, and we're going to try to make most of the opportunities tomorrow night. Q. For years Michigan's been known for their offense, but they've been playing a lot better defense. I wonder what your impressions are of their D as well as Simpson, the point guard. FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: Well, yeah, they're one of the hottest teams in the country right now, coming off a great tournament win in the Big Ten. And they're doing that because of their defense, but we've seen some things that we're familiar with, similar defensive scheme we played for a couple of years, the pack. I think we have some things to attack, and we're going to have to execute really well to be successful tomorrow night. And, yeah, and Simpson, point guard, from what we've seen, he's a very -- he's a quick athlete and great finisher around the rim. So it's going to be a big test to try to slow him down, keep him out of the paint. AHMAAD RORIE: Michigan plays a pack line defense. They try to pack it in, allow you to shoot threes, contested threes at that. That's actually how we played defense last year. It's something we've seen before. So we're going to try to get the ball in the spots we need to get it to. And Simpson is a real good point guard. He's real good finding his teammates, getting in the lane, making plays for others. And like Fab said, he can also finish for himself. So we're going to try to keep him out the paint and go from there. MICHAEL OGUINE: My teammates said it best. They play the pack line defense. We're familiar with that. We know they like to speed people up, get them out of their rhythm. And the point guard, Zavier, from what I've seen, I like the way he kind of runs the show. He runs his team very well. Gets guys in the right places and like they said, too, he's a great finisher. So it's going to be a tough task to slow him down. Q. Who do they play most like who you have played, if not this year, sometime in your career? Who do you liken them to? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: Probably one team that is similar is like a Weber State type in our conference, at least, I think especially the earlier years where they played -- they execute really well, don't make mistakes, don't turn the ball over. Very well-coached team. And for a long time Weber State had a dominant big man in Joel Bolomboy who I think we've all played against. And he had that perimeter touch as well. Maybe not quite as lethal from outside as Vagnah (phonetic), but that's probably the one team that we've seen year in and year out that can sort of give us something that resembles a Michigan basketball game. AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah. I agree with be Fab. Probably like Weber. Like last year we played against an Oregon team that kind of denied in the passing lanes, and they had good guards and good wings that would just push the ball, try to get the ball up the court and just play fast. So probably like Weber and Oregon. MICHAEL OGUINE: Yeah. Same. Weber and Oregon. Weber for the reasons Fab mentioned. Oregon as well. They had Boushay (phonetic), who is a big who can kind of stretch the forward a little bit. He's also a great rim protector. That was what he did well. But in terms of running the offense, executing patience, that's a lot of similarities I've seen with Michigan, and I know Michigan plays at their own pace. They have long possessions and they don't really turn the ball over very much. So we're going to have to do a good job of speeding them up and getting them out of what they like to do. Q. Ahmaad, for you being the only guy on the team with NCAA Tournament experience at Oregon, is there anything you would be able to pass along to the other players or any sort of experience that you've been able to share? AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah, the environment is going to be real hostile tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of fans, especially Michigan fans here just rooting for them. We're going to have some fans are. Like I said, we're the underdogs, but we just gotta stay poised, stick with our game plan. The coaches do a good job of trying to give us a specific game plan. So if we just stick to that, I feel like we'll be fine. We played Penn State, pit. And they have big crowds so it's not like it's something we're not used to. So as long as we stick with our game plan, just play how we were playing these last couple of months, then I feel like we'll be fine. Q. For you guys that game against Eastern in the Big Sky title, that second half you had 18 stops in 19 possessions on defense. Do you feel like you're playing your best defense of the year right now, and would you say that's an identity of this team as a priority to play defense? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: 100 percent. We pride ourselves on defense, and I think that's how it's been every year I've been here with Coach Trav. And we always look throughout the season what our defensive record is, what our statistics are in the conference. It is the identity of this team. We work on that. As I said, when people are working on the skills and stuff in April, we're working on defense and our defensive schemes and how we can get better from there. It's how we win games. We know even when our offense isn't firing at 100 percent, we have our defense to rely on. And that second half kind of exemplified that and we just made life miserable for Eastern in the primitive plays in terms of bringing it up the court and being comfortable, and I think for us to have any sort of success we're going to have to do that. AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah, I agree. Coming off the half I feel like that was probably our best half of the season as far as defense goes. Like you said, 18 stops in 19 possessions, but it's just like Trav said, compete with desperation. That's been like our motto the whole year. We knew if we didn't do that we weren't going to win that game. We were just trying to stick with that scheme, competing with desperation. MICHAEL OGUINE: I think we're playing our best defense of the year. There was a point during conference where we kind of slipped up a little bit and Coach DeCuire pulled up some film of how we were playing defense in December. We had a good stretch. And I feel like that did a good job of reminding us of where we can be defensively. So that was a good little wake-up call for us. It translated well. We played great defense, like you said, last game, 18 stops, 19 possessions. That's definitely something we hang our hat on. Like Fab said, we put a lot of work in our defensive schemes. We really take pride in it. When our offense isn't clicking very well, we know we can rely on our defense to keep us in the game and eventually our offense will start working for us. So it's worked out pretty well. Q. Just for you guys, what's the message from Coach been as far as enjoying yourselves knowing that you've earned the right here, and of course obviously focusing on a business trip in trying to get a win? Do you get to at least enjoy the experience a little bit while still being able to stay focused? FABIJAN KRSLOVIC: It's something that we've been told that this game is like the same as every other we've gone into this year in that we expect to walk out with a win and nothing's changed. We need to have the right mentality to do that. Obviously this is going to be a big test against a bigger school than we're probably used to playing. Every game the same message is we expect to win and to do that we need to execute the game plan that the coaches put out for us and do it to the best of our abilities. AHMAAD RORIE: Yeah. Coach Trav has definitely told us that we definitely deserve to be here and just enjoy it, but definitely like Fab said, we are here to get a win. So we'll try and do anything we can do to get the win. Practice has still been tough, and we're still focused like guys staying focused, we're getting good rest, good recovery. So like nothing has really changed. MICHAEL OGUINE: Just on top of what these guys said, nothing's really changed. We're here obviously to enjoy ourselves. We've earned the right to be here. Just to make it to this tournament is a huge accomplishment in and of itself being from a one bid league and now it's our time to represent our conference. So we're going to have to come out. Like Fab said, every game we expect to come out victorious. That's why we game plan, that's why we practice, we scout. We do everything we can to prepare ourselves for the game. So today is kind of the last day. We'll have the open practice. It's going to be fun. We're going to enjoy it. But once we get back to the hotel, our mood is really going to shift to Michigan and try to do everything we can to be successful. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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