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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISEMarch 15, 2018Sean MillerDusan RisticParker Jackson-CartwrightBoise, Idaho Buffalo - 89, Arizona - 68 THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Arizona. SEAN MILLER: Well, we knew we had a very tough draw. We knew we were playing an excellent basketball team. And the team, quite frankly, that we didn't necessarily match up well with. We prepared hard but we ran into a team that played well on a night where we didn't. They certainly had a lot to do with that. But it's difficult to exit the tournament the way we have because it doesn't shed light on a lot of the great moments, a lot of the things especially these two guys have fought hard to establish on a season that represented 27 wins and the Pac-12 tournament, regular season championship. All that goes away when you lose in the tournament, but in particular lose in the first round the way we did. It wasn't a lack of effort, certainly wasn't a lack of wanting to advance. We got beat. And we got beat by a good team. A well-coached team. A team that was tough. And the second half -- we didn't play well in the first half to be down 2. I think we felt like we had been in that situation many times, but they overwhelmed us in the second half. We struggled on offense and on defense. And clearly all credit to Buffalo. They did a great job. Q. You guys represent two of the winningest players that this program has ever had. Could you take me through your emotions right now in what's got to be a particularly disappointing time? DUSAN RISTIC: Like you said, it's a disappointing time for us. We didn't expect to lose this tournament. And the last four years, like, doesn't feel good right now. It's frustrating. It's something we didn't expect. PARKER JACKSON-CARTWRIGHT: It really doesn't seem real right now. And for our team, just disappointed. Give them credit. They played really well. Did a good job. Q. The Buffalo coach talked about how part of his plan was to pressure the guards and he felt that was an effective strategy. Did you notice more pressure, like defensive pressure than most teams had played on you this year? PARKER JACKSON-CARTWRIGHT: Yeah. They were physical from the start of the game, which kind of got us out of rhythm, particularly on offense. The pressure on not just myself but all our guards made it tough on us. Q. Can you just take me through your emotions in terms of the course and way you took this season, the ups and downs, and for it all to come to an end tonight? PARKER JACKSON-CARTWRIGHT: We endured a lot from the beginning. People kind of wrote us off. And I thought we responded every time that happened. We kind of fought through everything. People were writing about us or tearing us down. We felt like coming into tonight we were playing good basketball, and for it to end like this is just really disappointing. Q. Deandre just now said that the biggest thing he got out of the season was a real appreciation for you, for how hard he had to play game in and game out. He said that he really didn't think he understood what that represented until he came here. Could you talk a little about where he was versus where he is now? SEAN MILLER: Yes, you know, Deandre superceded any expectation that I could have ever had for him. He was an incredible teammate. Worked hard every day. Played for the win. The way our team is made up and we've fought all year with this, when you play two 7-footers, one of the two 7-footers has to do some extraordinary things on defense. And that's part of what I saw Buffalo play. I knew it was going to be a tough draw for us because Harris is so good. And it's what they do every game. They exploit that matchup. But with Deandre as fine of a kid as we've had and an extraordinary player, I hate to see him go out in the first round. It's not his fault, really. He had 13 and 14. I thought Buffalo pressured us and took us out of some things and negated some of the things that he's done all season long. But for anybody to not remember Deandre as the greatest freshman that ever walked through Arizona, they weren't paying attention, statistically and just the type of kid he is. He's destined to go do some great things. When you get someone like him, you want to go all the way, right? And when you lose in the first round that's a tough pill to swallow. But he was fantastic. He's one of a kind. Q. Deandre has looked superhuman at points this year. You mentioned that you knew it was going to be a tough draw, because of how Buffalo plays. Were you surprised at how well they were able to slow him down? SEAN MILLER: Yes. Even him. He might not have had his A game. But I thought their pressure decimated us. It was 40-38 at the half. And kind of the way our team played this entire season, we've been more of a second half group than a first half. And a lot of times, in the first four minutes of the second half we really get going. The opposite happened tonight. And that's to Buffalo's credit. The stat sheet is one that you don't oftentimes see in that they had two players had 20 made field goals. They were 15 of 30 from the 3-point line. We were 2 for 18. Their guard play, their pressure defense, you know, they really took it to us. The other thing is, Perkins can make a couple of 3s in addition to what they already have, especially against us. That means their 5 and their 4 are making 3s. UCLA gave us problems with that. That was one of our losses. And the way they utilize their bigs, I mean they're very difficult to defend and yet at the same time they play tremendous defense. They did a great job. They beat us hands down from start to finish. Q. Two years ago Wichita State kind of came out similarly to Buffalo. Besides losing the first round, can you explain your emotions going through the course of the season and what you're feeling right now? SEAN MILLER: This game feels a lot like Wichita. Wichita, they had those guards and they pressured us, and they were physical and an excellent team. Buffalo, excellent team, physical, pressured us and both of our first-round exits had that in common. You know, in terms of my emotions, I'm not going to change. I'm taking things a day at a time. Obviously this is a tough day. And we have to move forward. My thoughts are more with our players right now. It's not easy to win the Pac-12 Tournament in the regular season, overcome a lot, get here to the tournament finally and not play well and get beat like we got beat. But that's part of sports. Q. Along those lines, how do you think this season will be remembered two or three years from now? SEAN MILLER: I don't know. I can only go on what we've done. We're 27 and 8. We made the tournament. We got beat by I think a really good team. Didn't play well. They had a lot to do with it. Let me just say this: We worked hard to be ready for the game. The guys practiced hard. When you go three games in three days in a conference tournament you're a little bit banged up. So we tried to be smart in our approach. But our intention was good. We just didn't have it tonight. And Buffalo deserves a lot of credit. Q. There were a lot of stretches where Deandre did not touch the ball. And it resembled when they lost in Oregon. How do you guys not give him the ball? SEAN MILLER: Buffalo did a great job. They did. They pressured our guards. They took us out of a lot of things. Deandre in the first half had zero offensive rebounds, so that was part of the story. Obviously he came alive in the second half. He had five offensive rebounds. We as a group didn't get him the ball. But it wasn't like we didn't know that. I think sometimes you have to give the defense and the other team the credit. They were able to pressure us at a level that hasn't happened very often. And Deandre's averaged 20 and 10, 20 and 11. I think in the last two or three weeks he's probably closer to 26, 28 points, 15 rebounds. So we've established that we can get him the ball. Tonight it wasn't as if we got away from him; it was just that the other team did a great job. I'll use the analogy of a great wide receiver. If the pass rush and the blitzes just continues to get to the quarterback, then that receiver is not going to get as many catches or opportunities. And tonight in the basketball terms their ball pressure, taking us out of our ability to get him the ball, and it certainly played to their advantage and they deserve a lot of credit. Q. (INAUDIBLE.) SEAN MILLER: He's frustrated because his career is ending. He wanted to keep playing. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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