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MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 15, 2019

Las Vegas, Nevada

Utah State - 85, Fresno State - 60

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Utah State head coach Craig Smith and student-athletes Diogo Brito and Sam Merrill. Coach, an opening statement.

COACH SMITH: On the record, I want everyone to know it's past Sam's bedtime.

SAM MERRILL: Way past my bedtime.

COACH SMITH: Like my parents would say, it's midnight in Central Time.

DIOGO BRITO: It's 5:30 in Portugal.

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Utah State head coach Craig Smith and student-athletes Diogo Brito and Sam Merrill. Coach, an opening statement.

COACH SMITH: Fresno State is a very, very good team. You win 22 games on a season in the Mountain West Conference, we have so much respect for them. And Justin's a really, really good coach. And they're a really, really good team. They have so many weapons and they just space you out.

They're so prolific on the offensive end where they just put a lot of pressure on you. And our guys played -- we played a great game tonight.

We played a very good team. And we played a great game on both ends of the floor. And we played well on offense but I thought we were even better defensively. To hold a team like that -- I don't have the final -- anybody have stats here?

Five-for-26 from the 3, and this is a team in the Mountain West that averages 11.5 3s a game at 39.5 percent. Those are big-time numbers. They only had six offensive rebounds, and we hold them to 35 percent in the first half. It kind of got away. They went on a 10-0 run there at the end of the game.

We had 23 assists. We're a top-10 team in the country in assists. You could see the way we move the ball, the ball had great energy and only nine turnovers. We handled their press very, very well all game long.

And so give our guys credit. We have five guys in double digits and it was just a great team effort by the Aggies.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes?

Q. Sam, from 24 turnovers a night ago to just nine, coupled with the defensive effort and the assists and what was at stake, would you say this was maybe your best all-around performance as a team?
SAM MERRILL: I think you could definitely make an argument for that. Obviously we turned the ball over a lot last night, but we weren't overly concerned about that. We felt it was more an aberration. But we played really well.

Like Coach said, it started on the defensive end. They're obviously so good offensively, and they have so many guys that can shoot and can create their own shot.

And when we're rolling like that defensively that ignites our offense. And I thought we did a great job moving the ball. We hit shots. We finished at the rim. Got a little sloppy there in the second half. But, yeah, you could definitely make a case for that being our best overall game this year.

Q. Diogo had a great game, but what did you think of his dunk attempt?
SAM MERRILL: He did have one dunk. That's more than I have in my career. So I had that same thing happen to me my freshman year. So I know how he feels. Hopefully they put that on "Not Top 10" or something.

DIOGO BRITO: Hopefully they don't put it anywhere, that would be better.

Q. You made 12 of your first 22 shots, (lost audio) from the 3. How much energy did that give you when you saw shots fall early on?
DIOGO BRITO: Definitely a lot of energy. But it's something that we work a lot in practice, which is stop and score. And today that was huge for us, getting stops and just being able to convert almost every single time. Coach telling us, three straight stops and getting a lot of open shots and creating a lot of shots for each other through just ball movement.

So, yeah, the ball energy and those shots falling all the time, or most of the time, definitely kept us with a good confidence.

SAM MERRILL: When we're guarding like we did from the beginning of the game, like I said, that ignites our offense. And vice versa, when we're making shots like that, that gets our defense going.

And our bench, especially in the first half, defensively, when our bench -- when we're defending by our bench, they really help us out and give us energy on the defensive end and that gets our offense going.

We were able to get stops and get out in transition and we felt like we had opportunities to do well in transition and we definitely did that tonight.

Q. Diogo, your first half against New Mexico was not up to your usual standards. But since then you've been on fire, basically -- 34 points, eight rebounds. You got four assists tonight as well. What's been the key to you kind of finding your groove again after that first half?
DIOGO BRITO: I've got to give some credit to the bald guy over there, our coach. Yesterday I was having a terrible first half.

COACH SMITH: You said handsome?

DIOGO BRITO: Handsome, yeah. (Laughter).

And I was struggling. And he came to me and we had a little talk and that really made me, like, just look forward, forget what's behind you. And ever since then I think just things kind of slowed down and that really opened my game a lot.

Q. You've both been here at Utah State for a couple of years. You know the history. You know everything, what basketball means to the fans. Now you've put USU back in a conference title game for the first time since 2011, first time in a Mountain West title game. What does it mean to you guys personally to be able to be a part of that resurgence of Utah State basketball?
SAM MERRILL: I was at that game in 2011. I'm pretty sure it was at the Orleans Arena. We've both been here the same amount of time. The last couple of years were tough for us, obviously not playing up to the standards of Utah State basketball.

But it's been such a fun ride this year being able to finally get back to where, almost to where Utah State belongs. And we're so excited and grateful for our fans who were awesome again tonight. We're hoping to have a lot more tomorrow. So it's not that long of a drive, it's only six hours. Coach will pay for your gas if you need to.

COACH SMITH: And your speeding tickets. Well, let's not get too carried away.

SAM MERRILL: We're so excited for the opportunity to play for a championship tomorrow and try to cut down some nets. And hopefully we have a huge crowd like we did tonight.

Q. Sam, you guys are obviously going to be playing San Diego State tomorrow. You had 35 points in that first matchup in San Diego. What do you think you did well there and that you could hopefully translate, or repeat that tomorrow?
SAM MERRILL: They guarded me differently in the first game than they did in the second game. And I was able to get a few open shots early on. And that kind of got my momentum going. I don't remember scoring as much in the second game, but obviously we won. So that was more important. But our defense was really, really good in the second game.

But our entire offensive system is predicated on just taking what comes and not forcing things and moving the ball and sharing the ball.

Me personally and as a team, we're just going to play our way. And if that leads to me having open shots and making shots, great. If not, then we'll focus on getting other guys shots.

Q. What do you anticipate most in this rubber match, just playing them for the third time?
SAM MERRILL: We know they're very physical. They've been here before. They played in this game last year and won it. So they're very talented. They defend well. We have obviously all the respect in the world for San Diego State. So we expect it will be a battle for sure.

Q. Are you already anticipating who will be guarding you, stuff like that?
SAM MERRILL: They've had the same guy on me for the last two games. I'm sure it will be Hemsley again. But we'll see.

Q. Sam, can you tell me what some of the thoughts were going through your mind in that first half when you were -- you started within the first 15 seconds, you made that 3, and then the last two seconds you made that 3 as well. Tell me what thoughts are going through your head when you're having that good of a game?
SAM MERRILL: To be honest, we don't take a lot of time to celebrate. We are -- I think that's part of what makes us a good team is when we hit a 3, we're immediately yelling at each other, hey, we've got to get a stop, we've got to get a stop. Or when we have a dunk, we're celebrating but we're just trying to focus on the next play.

To be honest, I didn't even know we'd scored 50 points until we were in the locker room. I just knew we were up by 20-something. That's our goal is to continue to focus on the next play and that will be how we try to do things tomorrow.

Q. You guys had not beat San Diego State since joining the Mountain West until you did it a couple of weeks ago. How much of a mental hurdle was that? Does it give you more of an advantage tomorrow?
DIOGO BRITO: It's something we've been told that every single game we play San Diego State we've never beaten them. We've never beaten them. You do have that in your mind that you've got to beat them sometime. When we did, it felt good.

But I thought the main difference was that when we beat them, we just believed -- we went into the game knowing that we could beat them. We studied them really hard and just that mindset that we can beat these guys and when we did, you know, it just felt good, I guess.

Q. Sam, we've been hearing for the last couple of weeks that Mountain West is a two-bid league. Do you guys feel like you have to win tomorrow to get into the NCAA Tournament? And San Diego State really doesn't have any pressure on them. So how difficult is it to prepare for a team in this game of this magnitude when you're playing a team that doesn't really have any pressure on them?
SAM MERRILL: I feel that we want to cut down the nets tomorrow. And I'm sure San Diego State feels the same way. So I know technically they have nothing to lose or whatever, but if I were them, I'd feel the same way. We want to win a championship.

We don't know what's going to happen on Sunday. But fortunately we have a day in between. So we'll just focus on tomorrow. And, like I said, our main goal is to cut down some nets tomorrow. That the would be pretty fun. So we're going to play like it.

Q. Diogo, you've really excelled these last two games in the tournament coming off the bench. What is your approach when you're coming into the game off the bench in terms of your contributions and what you're looking to do for the team?
DIOGO BRITO: That's something that it started all the way in Montana State, just embracing your role. Of course, before the year starts you're fighting for the starting role, for that starting spot. But you know, things just happened the way they happened.

And if Coach wants me to come off the bench, bring energy, just do things right, do things the right way and I'll just try to follow that lead. And it's been a long year. It's been -- I can say -- sorry, you know like it's been a long year but once I embraced that role that really opened my mind, just do your thing. And it doesn't matter who starts the game. It's about who finishes it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. How do you get a team or how do you go about getting a team that shoots 39 percent from 3 to go whatever it is, 5-of-26 tonight?
COACH SMITH: I thought we defended really well. No secrets at this time. We played them twice. They played us twice. They know us inside and out and backwards. We know them inside out and backwards. And so you have that.

You go back to that experience of playing them twice. And you have a good feel for their personnel. And you know their scheme. And they know our calls and how to defend it. We know most of their calls and how to defend it. And shooting is contagious. And obviously they missed some wide-open shots, too.

We defended well, but they also missed some open looks. And sometimes that happens. And that's the beauty of sport. You just don't know -- you have an idea what to expect. You game plan like crazy. You go through the whole routine. It's a quick turnaround. They played last night at this time and they were up here at this time. We played obviously the one game earlier.

So it's a quick turnaround. You're throwing your guys a lot of information. But shooting's contagious. And we were fortunate tonight to be able to hold them to that percentage. And we didn't let them get out in transition.

They are fast and electric in transition. And I thought we did a really good job getting back and eliminating, for the most, part easy baskets in transition.

Q. Coach, you talked late in the season about being exhausted emotionally and physically. You got that bye at the end of the season, a nine-day break. You seemed to be the fresher team tonight. Justin Hutson said you were quicker to the ball, how much did that help you having the break?
COACH SMITH: It didn't help us last night but it probably did help us tonight. It's a hard thing. You've all been around the game a long time. When you don't play a game for nine days, that is a -- that is -- that's like three weeks in football, honestly. And so we needed it at the time. I think we had 12 or 13 straight games.

So we were tired -- and both physically and mentally. And so we needed that. But you could tell last night, we weren't -- and a lot of credit to New Mexico, like I said last night. But I didn't think we were as on point and as sharp with some stuff that we normally are.

But obviously that second half we were clearly better than the first half last night. And then we carried that momentum into tonight. But our guys have had a great focus, great concentration. And it's a determined, hungry group that really wants to represent Utah State in a great fashion and, of course, the Mountain West Conference in a great fashion.

Q. About to play your third game in three days. You probably haven't had time to reflect at all. But have you had a moment to kind of pinch yourself and say this is really happening in my first year at Utah State, this kind of success, this kind of speed?
COACH SMITH: Not really. It's been obviously incredibly exciting because from day one -- I mean, I can think back to our practices in April. If I would have had any hair it wouldn't have been left. And in the summer -- but you just remember, it's the journey.

And I vividly remember where we were. I'm a history major. So where we were, where we are, where we're going. And our motto, because we're so young -- I know I've talked about this some. It's almost helped us in the process kind of in a distorted or weird kind of way, that we've really, what, seven, eight months ago we were like the toddler. Then we were kind of -- or the infant. Then we became the toddler and we were just kind of crawling.

You just go through all -- then we started walking. And then we started running. And I said about three weeks ago, I think we were up to ninth grade. And now we might be a senior. I don't know.

But it's been really fun to see the progression with the team, first and foremost, but with individual guys. You can just see the progression guys have made.

And you have kind of an unsung hero with Abel Porter and Justin Bean. Those two guys earned a scholarship shortly after Christmas. And just seeing their progression, and how they -- Justin, we were playing 10 guys regularly in November and December -- 10 of our 12 guys that we dressed.

Alek Johnson wasn't even on our team for a while. We did walk-on tryouts, sent a mass email to students. And Alek shows up and Alek is a good player. But Bean wasn't even in the top 10 rotation. But we leave practice every day and I'm, like, I tell the staff, why aren't we playing Abel Porter more? Why aren't we playing Justin Bean more? Because practice has got to mean something. And it does.

And you've got to give those guys credit for staying the course, just showing up every single day when they weren't getting a lot. Now they're playing fantastic basketball for us.

So we'll reflect after the season. But every day for us has been about let's keep getting better. Let's get better today in practice. Let's get better over the next two weeks. And that's what's exciting. We can still keep getting better. That's what's been exciting. I think we've gotten better now than we were three weeks ago.

And so sometimes when you have a five-and-a-half-month season, you just, some teams will just kind of flatline. And these guys have just showed this energy and this enthusiasm to come to the gym every day and let's keep getting better. And that's what's been exciting.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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