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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 17, 2019Mick CroninJustin JeniferJarron CumberlandMemphis, Tennessee Cincinnati - 69, Houston - 57 COACH MICK CRONIN: Again, congratulations to Houston. I wish them all the best in the NCAA Tournament. They're an excellent team. Today showed us what we are capable of when we defend and rebound at an elite level. To hold Houston to 30.6 percent is an unbelievable job by the kids defensively. And on top of that, to be able to limit their second-chance points, that was huge. We tried to take the paint away from them as much as we could and made some adjustments with our game plan. The staff did a great job and the kids worked it out to perfection. We were able to control the tempo and make it hard on them. A lot of communication to play the way we played defensively. It's not an easy thing to do to play the way we play and also, you know, it's hard to beat a great team like that. But hopefully this shows our guys what we're capable of for next week. Q. Coach, what do you need to do better to go further and advance? COACH MICK CRONIN: You have to be able -- first of all, you have to realize everybody you play is a good team once you get to March. And it's been that way all week. What's helped us is our late season schedule was brutal. We were really back-loaded in the American, and it taught us a lot about ourselves, and it made us come together as a group. You could fall apart as well, but we got a lot of good kids on this team that have got great character, and they played with a lot of pride. You can talk about those things as a coach all you want, because really every coach talks about them, but you have to have guys on your team that have it, that play to win, that play for each other, that do hard things. But to really answer your question, you've got to be hard to beat, okay? You've got to be hard to beat. You can't give up layups, you have to block out, you can't make dumb fouls. And then you try to maximize your potential on offense. Cane Broome had it going yesterday, Justin Jenifer had a great game against SMU, Jarron closed it out, and obviously Jarron was off the charts today. But Cane had his moments and knocked down a few big shots from the three-point line; he's 2 for 2 from the three-point line. You have to try to continue to get better. The last thing I would tell you that we have talked about as a team is that we have to be unsatisfied. We've got to put this to bed. And we have a team dinner tomorrow night and we have to make a pact that we've got to be hungry, and we've got to be the hardest team to beat that plays in the NCAA Tournament. You can control that. You can't control where the ball goes in. You have to have guys that -- Justin goes 6 for 6, Jarron is superhuman, but you can control your effort. You can control your game plan and execution. It doesn't take any talent to set a screen or to block out. It takes a lot of fortitude and character when you are playing a team that plays as hard as Houston. So, hopefully, we learn what we're capable of. Q. Talk about Bearcat Nation today. COACH MICK CRONIN: It's always great to have your fans here. We appreciate. We have been on a great run as a program, and it's great to know that people appreciate it. That's my stand, my side of it. I'm sure for these guys, it's got to be motivating, right? JARRON CUMBERLAND: It meant a lot for us to have them there and hear them cheering for us. JUSTIN JENIFER: Having our fans here is always great. It's like a home game. At home games, they always give us goosebumps every time you make a shot, all the fans going crazy and stuff like that. Having our fan base there, cheering us on helped out with the win today. Q. Because of what left last year, you were written off before the season started. How much does it mean to be back-to-back tournament champs and to leave that stamp that you didn't -- there wasn't a letdown, you guys didn't slide back, this meant something to you? JUSTIN JENIFER: It's meant a lot. Like you said, a lot of people wrote us off in the beginning of the season. We always told ourselves we like being underdogs, we give it everything we have. Today, no matter who hit shots today, we focussed on defense and played with Bearcat toughness. We knew we were going to get the win today. Q. Any of the adjustments you mentioned that you are willing to share? COACH MICK CRONIN: Yeah, better job coaching. Didn't get the job done. You guys see me, what you only see is me on these guys on game day. They know how much harder I am on myself than I am on then. Thank goodness I have a daughter, so I have to soften up and let it go. I'm not like that 24/7. We did a much better job of team defense today, and I just always believe that although we might have had a good game plan last week, or whatever we stressed, we obviously didn't get it done. Sports is a get-it-done world. When you get into March, it is one-and-done. We tried to play better team defense. When you are playing great teams -- I learned this in the Big East. Sometimes you have to pick your poison. So, if you run around trying to stop threes and layups, you end up giving up both. And today we wanted to make sure we didn't give up layups and do the best we could at getting to their shooters and not let the court be spread out and wide-open for them. Because they got too many guys that can carve you up in a one-on-one. The last thing was not a secret. We trapped Corey Davis some to try to get the ball out of his hands. You already saw that one. Better coaching, to be -- that is how I look at it. So, fans get upset we lose a game, it doesn't bother me because I know I'm more upset at myself than they are. That's just how I look at it. I always look at what I need to do to do a better job and what the staff needs to do, so I always take responsibility. And that's how you become a better coach. That is how I try to teach these guys that is how you become a better player. And I'd like to add -- I told the guys yesterday, it is nothing against Memphis, we need to root for Houston, because that will make us a better team. If you win a title, you want to beat the best team. Q. Mick, did you consider wearing green today? COACH MICK CRONIN: Don't own any. I will say it had to help a little bit, right? Luck of the Irish -- they have no idea what you're talking about. (Laughter). Although Jarron's mom is from Ireland, just so you know. What's your mom's maiden name? Is Foster Irish? Jarron's mom's part-Irish. I don't own any of those, Scott, to be honest, with you, I don't think. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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