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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISEMarch 15, 2018Bob McKillopPeyton AldridgeWill MagarityBoise, Idaho Kentucky - 78, Davidson - 73 THE MODERATOR: Welcome Davidson College. BOB McKILLOP: Congratulations to the University of Kentucky. They made life on both the defensive end and the offensive end difficult. I have such incredible gratitude to the Davidson players for the way they made this one of the most joyful seasons of my life. To see them cap off the season with a NCAA berth and then go toe-to-toe with a storied school like Kentucky gives me great pride as well as the great joy. And it's a memory I'll treasure forever. Q. John just said that he was obviously extremely concerned, as you expect, with the 3-point shooting. And he felt it was essential to use their length to get up on you guys, more than they might against a typical team. Could you talk a little about that and to what extent you thought that affected you tonight? PEYTON ALDRIDGE: Yeah, they're a very long team. And tonight I thought I got some open looks early on, even later on they didn't fall. They did a good job of knowing where I was at and trying to close out every time I saw the ball. Q. Looking back at the season and your careers at Davidson, how are you going to look back at this four years ten years from now? PEYTON ALDRIDGE: This has been one of the best four years of my life. I couldn't be any more proud of the Davidson community, Davidson College. It means everything to me. They're my family. I love each and every one of the guys, each and every one of the coaches. You'll never be able to take Davidson College away from me. WILL MAGARITY: I decided to come here from -- when I transferred in. The first day I was here I knew right away this was family. This is a different program. The way that Coach really instills trust, commitment, and care every single day. It's hard work, but we love what we do. And I think this season is an accumulation of everything and is really the peak of it. I'll treasure this for the rest of my life. Q. What sort of difficulties did Kentucky present defensively that you might not have otherwise seen this season, if any? BOB McKILLOP: I think the ability to defend the rim, to take away maybe four or six layups that we normally would have had. And with taking away the rim they were still able to close out on our shooters at the arc. So I would say in the first half there were four or five layups that came up empty. And in fact, led to baskets by them. I felt their break on the ball, which was very deceptive. They're not a denial team, but they have the ability to close space very quickly. And there were, I think, three occasions they closed space very quickly, got steals and baskets. When you add it all up, that's the game right there. This was a two-possession game, and we ran out of time. Q. Early in the game it seemed like your team was focusing getting back on defense. But partway through the game you were crashing the board. Was that a change in the game plan or what was the decision? BOB McKILLOP: It wasn't a change. A few more of the balls were going through the net. We did a much better job of tipping out long rebounds, and I think that was where the offensive rebounds occurred on the tip-outs, much more so than securing them and going back up with them. But I thought that the ball went through the net a little bit more the second half. Q. I'm more fascinated with this than anyone, but Kentucky did not make a three tonight. Did you know that? BOB McKILLOP: We sure did. And that was a point of emphasis. And may have caused us the problem of sending them to the line as much as we did. And having them score points in the paint as much as they did. The point of emphasis was on a couple of their shooters, but not to the point of not being connected. And I thought we had such a sense of urgency about covering their shooters that we didn't stay connected on penetration. And there were several penetrations that we should have had much more help, which we didn't, because we were concerned about the shooters. Q. Along the same lines, it's so rare, would you have almost always bet the house that if you held any team without a three that you would win? BOB McKILLOP: Well, when they send them to the line for 32 shots and they make 80 percent of them, you're putting yourself in jeopardy right away. And you give them a couple of undefended baskets with turnovers, you're talking about 35 points right there. And that 35 points in a 5-point game is very pivotal. I'd also like to make one comment. The fans in Boise, the hospitality here in Boise, the people that worked, the police department, the people in our hotel absolutely sensational. I could not be more impressed, felt more a sense of belonging here, welcomed here. And, boy, it's going to leave a lasting memory with our players, with our program and with our coaches because the people of Boise are just absolutely sensational. So thanks to them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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