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

March 15, 2018

Wichita, Kansas

Kansas - 76, Penn - 60

THE MODERATOR: At this time we'll take an opening statement from Coach Self. Congratulations.

COACH SELF: We're obviously very, very happy we won, but it wasn't a 16-point game. It was much closer than that. We got off to such a bad start and they were so much better than us early. We were forcing it. We were only down I think 19-11. We felt like we could have been down, you know, 12 or 15 easily at that point.

But after about the five-minute mark of the first half in the last 20 I thought we played much better, and certainly we didn't settle as much and drove the ball downhill.

So it was a great first win. Of course, any win is great this time of year.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for our student-athletes, please.

Q. Devonte', would you just comment on what you did in the second half of the first half to try to get momentum back?
DEVONTE' GRAHAM: Just trying to be aggressive. One of the assistant coaches told me that I needed to attack more off the ball screen because they were really -- they weren't really hedging it. They were just kind of like bluffing and falling back, so he told me I could get to the paint.

And I was just trying to get it downhill and either get a layup or throw it up and let the big man go and get it. So just being aggressive.

Q. Devonte', how much have you thought about last year's performance in the NCAA Tournament that ended your season?
DEVONTE' GRAHAM: As far as --

Q. Just your struggles in that game, how much has that motivated you, carried you?
DEVONTE' GRAHAM: I really haven't thought about it at all. You know, it's a whole new year. You gotta focus on what you can control, and can't control anything that happened in the past.

So I'm just focused on what the present is presenting me and focused on my teammates and going out and trying to compete.

Q. Coach, can you talk about your team's composure early in the game when you got down about 10 and came back really quick after?
COACH SELF: Well, I didn't think we showed a lot early. I thought we bailed them out by shooting some contested shots, and, you know, you look at it and you think we're not playing good defense, but usually if you hold a team to 19 points in 13 minutes, you think it's not your defense. It's probably your offense.

But the problem is we only had 11 in 13 minutes. But the lid came off a little bit late, and Devonte' got us going in the first half.

But if we were poised at all, it's just the fact that we didn't panic, but I don't think our execution was good by any stretch.

Q. Malik, Penn is one of the trendy picks to upset Kansas. Did you guys come to the game thinking about that at all?
MALIK NEWMAN: I mean, it was in the back of our head, but it wasn't the main focus. We just wanted to come out, execute our scouting report and just go out and have fun, play hard. It was in the back of our mind, but it wasn't the main focus.

Q. Devonte', was there a moment or a specific play in the first half where you knew the team wasn't making the jump shots but you kind of took over? Was there a specific play that kind of triggered you to kind of take the lead?
DEVONTE' GRAHAM: Not really. You know, I just kept telling the guys, keep shooting. We can't keep missing, so -- but just focus on defense and we'll start making shots. Not at any specific, you know, play that happened. Just being aggressive and talking to my teammates.

Q. After watching them on film and then watching them up close, did that really feel like a 1-16 game to you guys, and do you think that's a good way to start the tournament by getting pushed?
MALIK NEWMAN: I think those guys are -- they were better than a 16 seed, if you ask me. I mean, the same way that they played on film, we knew that's how they was going to come out -- shoot threes, backcutting, and things like that. I mean, they did everything that was on the scouting report.

DEVONTE' GRAHAM: Just like Malik said, I think they was better than the 1 seed -- I mean 16 seed. And the way they played, it's hard to guard because they backdoor you and you're so worried about not getting backdoored and they pop back in and they shoot the ball so fast. They run a good offense, and they got a lot of good, skilled players that know how to move and run the ball and just play real fundamental.

You gotta give them a lot of props. They played real well and real hard.

Q. Devonte', you were going at will, just not finishing your shots early. Did you just think it would just be a matter of time before you got it going here?
DEVONTE' GRAHAM: Yeah. That's exactly what I told Malik earlier. I was like, man, I'm just not finishing, not making my shots that I usually make. Just told me keep being aggressive. I gotta be aggressive for us, especially offensively, getting downhill and trying to make plays for myself and the team.

So I just stayed aggressive, and I knew that it'll fall.

Q. When you recruited Devonte', I mean, there's a difference between aggressive and effective. Did you know he could -- did you have a feeling he could do something like this at these kinds of times?
COACH SELF: When we recruited him?

Q. Yeah. Way back.
COACH SELF: I knew that he would be a good player. I didn't know that he was going to be a First Team All-American. We didn't know Frank was going to be National Player of the Year when we recruited with him. He signed with Towson. We've been so fortunate to have these guys each for four years and watch their development. And certainly I don't think Devonte' was his best today, but he was terrific when we needed separation the most and made some timely plays the second half.

But we've seen this many, many times with him, and I don't know if anybody could ever predict the guy would go from an unknown to a First Team All-American. But he is one terrific guard.

Q. Could you give me your impression on Penn? I mean, you had given them so much respect coming into this game. Just what did you think after playing them?
COACH SELF: I think they were probably even better than what I thought they would be watching on tape. I knew we'd have a hard time guarding them. And if you told me before the game that they'd only get 60, I would say that we had an unbelievable defensive game.

They can all pass, and then they play well without the ball, like the guys said. And defensively, they don't pressure, but they make it hard to get all the way to the basket, and then they do do a good job of contesting the three-point line.

So we had to make a lot of shots in between. We got to the basket a few times. I think they're really good. You know, I don't study this like some may, but I look at their RPI, and they're 111. I look at their BPI, and they're 100. There's teams in our league that are about that equal, and I know how hard we had to play and how much we could struggle against teams in our league, and I don't think they disappointed in how they played.

I bet Steve would say that they missed some shots in the last ten minutes, but I would think he said they played extremely well.

Q. Coach, you got Udoka in there a little bit early in the game, but Mitch Lightfoot stepped up huge for you guys. Can you just talk about his success today?
COACH SELF: We only had five to six minutes with Dok. That's the max we could have. So using three the first half. And really I was -- if you watched him, he didn't move very well. And we would have put him in the second half if we would have needed to, but foul situations didn't dictate that.

So we decided to go ahead and hopefully we can get him at 80 percent, 85 percent tomorrow for full practice and then have him available to us on Saturday.

But I thought Mitch and Silvio both struggled the first half, in large part because the angles of our screens were so poor. But the second half I thought Mitch played great. I thought defensively he was good. He rebounded the ball. He had low hands on every backcut, which there were some guys open, but he just couldn't throw it because our hands were in the right spot. And then, of course, he made some timely baskets for us, too.

Q. Coach, what are the dynamics among good, proud athletes? The halftime box score was pretty dramatic. I don't know if I've ever seen one where your leading scorer has 19 and then the next has 5. Does everybody beyond Devonte' take that to heart and say change that around a little bit?
COACH SELF: Do I say change that at halftime?

Q. Do the guys look at that, do you think?
COACH SELF: I don't know that I told anybody he had 19 at the half. Maybe they knew. We didn't play very well offensively the first half at all. We stunk, and it's hard for us to play well offensively unless we make shots, because we don't have a big guy that we can play through right now.

I mean, usually we have Dok throw it in there and he can get you four or five baskets a half. And we just didn't have that.

So he obviously took it on himself. But the way they defended us we needed a guard to take it on himself to get downhill. Yeah, he was terrific in the first half. There's no doubt about that. We played K-State the other day, if I'm not mistaken, and Malik had 20 at half. He was basically our only offense.

So this time of year when you don't play well, you need one player to kind of carry you, and he certainly did today at the end of the half.

Q. Coach, you said yesterday you hoped this would be kind of a home away from home for you guys down here in Wichita. What did you make of the fan support today, and how does it compare to other venues you travel to?
COACH SELF: It's as good as it could be today for us. As little as we did to excite anybody for a long period of time, I thought the fans were terrific. And then the second half, obviously, we played better.

But it was great. I don't know what the place seats, 15 or 16. There had to be 12, at least, that were pro KU. So that certainly didn't hurt us today.

Q. Coach, your thoughts on Lagerald Vick today, 14 points, 5 of 7 from the field. What did you like from his performance?
COACH SELF: Well, he's played better of late. And he was more aggressive today. I still wish he'd drive the ball more. But, you know, he was good today. He was good on both ends. And he made two big threes for us.

But the biggest thing is he's playing off of other guys. He's not forcing it, but still, yet, he's being pretty aggressive. I thought statistically without question you'd say he had probably the best game of the day, he and Mitch, you know, because it took Devonte' a lot of shots to get 29. But I thought Lagerald was really solid.

Q. Today obviously you mentioned the crowd, and Saturday all reports it's going to be another huge Kansas fans everywhere. How much of an advantage do you think that is today and how much of an advantage do you think it will be Saturday?
COACH SELF: You know what, I do think it's an advantage, in certain stretches. I don't think it's always an advantage. I think sometimes playing at home can create a situation where there's added pressure. Last year we played in Kansas City, and we had it rolling the first game. And it was jumping. And the second game we couldn't make a shot, and it was -- I think the guys felt like that every fan was holding their breath every possession.

So, you know, it's definitely more positive than not positive, without question. But I don't think it plays a huge role in certain segments of a game. But when you get rolling or you get on a little roll, it definitely gives you momentum, the fans do.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon.

COACH SELF: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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

March 15, 2018

Bill Self

Devonte' Graham

Malik Newman