	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOUR

April 6, 2019

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Texas Tech - 61, Michigan State - 51

THE MODERATOR: Texas Tech has arrived. We're joined now by Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard as well as student-athletes Matt Mooney and Norense Odiase. We'll ask Coach Beard to open up with a statement and then take questions for the student-athletes.

CHRIS BEARD: On behalf of everybody in our program, I just want to congratulate Michigan State on another Final Four berth, championship season.

I have so much respect for them. When you're in games like this and you have a week to prepare, I basically watched every game Michigan State played this year, every interview, every article, and you kind of get to know somebody. This is one of the class programs of all of college basketball. Coach Izzo's handshake and kind words to me after the game is something I'll never forget in my career. So personally, that was pretty cool.

In terms of our players, I'm just really happy for these guys. We knew we weren't going to out-tough Michigan State, but we wanted to try to match their toughness. In the basketball game, there were some things we had to get done. We knew it had to be a low turnover game. I think we had one or two turnovers in the second half, so that gave us a chance. Obviously the basket got big for Matt. His teammates did a good job finding him. Norense played like a warrior tonight when Tariq went down. We had some big-time individual performances when we needed it most.

Again, nothing but respect for Michigan State. We're excited to live another day and get to play on Monday night.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the Texas Tech student-athletes. If you have a question for Matt or Norense, please raise your hand, and we'll send a microphone in your direction.

Q. For both of you guys, just speak to what was so effective for you defensively, limiting their field goal percentage and then particularly the defense on Winston.
NORENSE ODIASE: I think it was a combination of them missing some open shots. They're a great team. And just what we do every day, our toughness, our grit to fight every 40 minutes, every possession. We just brought both.

They're a great team, credit to them. They missed some shots, and we were able to capitalize on that.

Q. Matt, what was it like shooting in an arena like this? And why do you think you had such a big night?
MATT MOONEY: Well, it's different for sure. We got here a couple days early, got to get used to it. I had a great shootaround today, and the basket just got big for me. All week I've seen this verse, scripture verse, Joshua 1:9 coming up all the time. It's "Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I felt that verse tonight. I felt He was out there playing with us on the floor. The basket just got big, and my teammates found me.

Q. Matt, Air Force to South Dakota to the national title game. What does that feel like?
MATT MOONEY: I can't explain it, man. It's been a heck of a journey. A lot of people have helped me get to this point, have helped me along the way. You know, this is -- I'm living the dream right now. I'm so grateful I got another opportunity. I'm so grateful for this coaching staff believing in me, and these guys, my teammates believing in me and welcoming me into this program. I love South Dakota. I love the people there, and I'm thankful for my experience at Air Force too. It's just been a journey.

Q. Matt, congrats on the win. Can you speak about the support from Texas Tech school from the fans. At the end of that game, it reached a pandemonium level from where I was sitting.
MATT MOONEY: It was a pandemonium for sure, man. It was crazy in there. Our fan base is electric. They've been with us since day one, since we got here. I know they were supporting last year, and they've been amazing. Just I know flights to Minneapolis and tickets and everything was so expensive, but for them to come out here a long ways away from Lubbock, I know a lot of people that drove like 16 hours, and it just shows the support we've got. We're just so thankful for that.

Q. Norense, they had no points from their post players in the first half. First of all, as well as you expected to play, did that surprise you to shut them down, and what was the key?
NORENSE ODIASE: They're great players, great interior players. They're tough, gritty. We just tried to do a good job on them, slow them down as best as we can. Not just me and Tariq, but our whole team since we switched. I thought our smaller guys battled. They really fought and they were able to help us keep switching the whole game, and it just helped us towards our game plan.

Q. For both Norense and Matt, when Michigan State made that 8-0 run, what did you say to each other, and how were you all able to still get it done?
NORENSE ODIASE: Stay poised, be tough. Everything that helped us get to this point, we can't just let it go to waste just because in this game they made a run. We know they're a great team, and great teams are going to make runs at this stage in their journey.

So we've just got to stay poised, hunker down, remind ourselves that we're here for 40 minutes, not just that 4 minutes they go on a run or 8 minutes, all 40. Stay tough, stay grinding, and it will come out in our favor, so that's what we did.

MATT MOONEY: We've been there a couple times this year. Teams have come back and made runs. Playing in the Big 12 is great experience for moments like that. You can't quite replicate the Final Four atmosphere and stuff like that, but we played a tough schedule in one of the best leagues in the country that got us ready for that moment.

Q. Matt, you had referred earlier about the conversation the coach had with the team about you've got enough talent to play the last Monday in the season. What made you believe him, and what do you think about that conversation now?
MATT MOONEY: Yeah, he told us in the summer -- I don't know if it was the first day, but it was early. He said, We have enough in this gym, in this locker room right here to play on the final Monday night, and either Coach is psychic -- he might be psychic because here we are on the final Monday night. We just believed him and believed in each other all year long.

Q. For both players, Patrick Mahomes was in the building cheering for you guys. What was that like knowing he was there? I don't know if you noticed him or not.
NORENSE ODIASE: Oh, yeah, Patrick is a great friend of mine. He supports us all the time, not just our basketball team, but our baseball team, just everything that he is embodies a Red Raider. He's a great ambassador for our school. He always shows support. He's not fickle. He's grinding, grinding there with us, and it was a blessing to have him here, and it was really exciting for all the guys.

MATT MOONEY: Yeah, pretty much what Norense said. It was pretty cool to have the MVP of the NFL on our side pulling for us. He's a really great guy.

THE MODERATOR: Is there a final question for the student-athletes from Texas Tech?

Q. This is for Norense. Norense, you had an injury that's kind of derailed you a little bit to have to redshirt. Do you look back at that as a blessing in disguise now?
NORENSE ODIASE: Yeah, I think I planned it. I'm here now. It definitely is a blessing. At the time, I knew it was something at the end of the tunnel. I'm a big believer in Christ has a big journey for me, a bigger plan for me, so when things like that happen, you've just got to persevere and staying true to who you are.

You can't get down. Whatever situation you're in, you've just got to grind, grind, grind, and that toughness luckily matches our program and everything we are here. So I'm thankful.

THE MODERATOR: Want to congratulate Norense and Matt and thank them for joining us here in the interview room. They're going to head back to the locker room, which is still open with all of the Texas Tech student-athletes.

Questions for Coach Beard.

Q. Chris, Matt equaled a season high 22 points. For him to do that on a stage like this, what does that say about what kind of player and character he has?
CHRIS BEARD: He's obviously very, very talented, but the thing that really impressed me tonight was just his courage, just to be able to make those big plays and want to be in those moments. When Culver was -- I'm not going to say struggling a little bit, I think when Michigan State was focused on Culver so much, Matt had the courage to step up and take those shots. He's making plays on both ends. I loved his poise tonight. He's a special player.

Q. Coach, your team did so many good things tonight. What part of your game plan specifically do you think they best executed?
CHRIS BEARD: It was the first thing I said in the opening statement. Sometimes, from time to time, we like to think that we can maybe out-tough an opponent. In this game, that was not our objective. The very first thing I told the guys on -- would have been Sunday night, maybe, right when we knew that Michigan State was the team we were playing, we had a little team meeting, and I said, Guys, look, the objective is not to out-tough Michigan State. That's not going to happen. We're going to try to equal their toughness. We're going to try to compete in this game against Michigan State, one of the toughest teams in college basketball.

Once we do that, then it will become a basketball game, and there's some things that we'll try to do to give ourselves a chance to win. So probably that. The thing I'm most proud of is I thought for 40 minutes we went shot for shot with one of the all-time greats in college basketball, Michigan State.

Q. Congratulations, Coach. A two-parter, if you would. Number one, would you share with us the words that Coach Izzo said to you at the handshake? And then number two, in all your preparation, did you run into anything that surprised you for what you had to face, make adjustments, and it worked tonight?
CHRIS BEARD: Coach Izzo is just class. It was kind of a surreal moment. He just congratulated us, and he mentioned our toughness, and that word means a lot in our program.

In terms of the game, just adjustments. We knew that they've got a two-tone attack. They can go inside on you, and then obviously Cassius is special with the ball. So it was just finding, picking and choosing moments.

We threw a lot of punches out there tonight. We tried a lot of things on defense, and most of them worked. We were fortunate in that regard. I thought they missed a lot of shots they normally make, but I do think you've got to give our guys credit. We battled. We contested. Our objective was not to out-rebound Michigan State. It was just to be competitive and get our share.

I thought tonight there were some times where we couldn't get the rebound, but we at least tipped it away from them. We just battled, was what I was most impressed with.

Q. Coach, I'm curious, just your initial thoughts, not breaking down Xs and Os, but matching up with Virginia, two of the top three defenses in the country. Is that a victory for coaches that preach defense?
CHRIS BEARD: I'm not sure. I have a lot of respect for Virginia. I watch them on TV all the time, and we study the things they do defensively. I think their offense is really, really efficient and good too. I've always thought like they're related. You know, like you can't play great defense unless your offense contributes to that.

We would be a great example tonight. When we take care of the ball and we play at the right pace and tempo, it allows us to do the things we want to do on defense. I think Virginia is very, very similar. I think their offense is explosive, but it works together with defense.

They're just like all other college basketball fans, from the heartbreak of last year to be playing in the National Championship on Monday night, it's a story that you pull for. The coach is first class. I don't know him that well, but we were at a Final Four banquet, I guess two nights ago, and it was pretty cool hanging out with him. Everything I hear about him, he's like one of the best guys in the whole business.

Q. Chris, the way Culver was struggling offensively and he's in foul trouble and he looked like his body language was -- you know, he was a little down. What did you say to him to kind of keep him engaged? And then your confidence to kind of want the ball in his hands down the stretch.
CHRIS BEARD: I just told him to stay the course and trust his teammates. He's got guys out there that are ready to hit shots and guys that are out there to relieve the pressure. I thought in the first half I didn't do a very good job coaching. He wasn't getting the ball back much on the second touch, but against a good defense like a Michigan State, you're not going to score on the first touch.

I didn't think it was one of my better halves coaching offensively. Tried to make some adjustments in the second half to help him. But the real message was to stay the course and trust his teammates.

Q. Coach, when Michigan State went on that run at the end of the game right before the final media timeout, what did you say to your team in that media timeout?
CHRIS BEARD: We work on four-minute games every day. It's something we believe in. We talk about there's ten four-minute games in a college basketball game, and we want to try to win our share. So that's what we wanted. We wanted a chance to beat them in the last four minutes.

So regardless of what had happened up to that, we just cleared our minds and showed some poise and just said, hey, this is all we could ever ask for. On the first day of practice, this is what we prayed for and hoped for, and here it is.

So next-play mentality. Let's try to make some adjustments. And when they were making that run, I felt like maybe calling a timeout -- because with Tariq out, we were down to a six-, seven-man rotation, but I thought I might need the timeouts later in the game for a press break or something.

I'm just glad it worked out. That's one of those things coaches have to live with. If that run would have got us, then it would have been a long summer for me personally.

THE MODERATOR: This will be the final question for Coach Beard.

Q. You understand the history of Texas Tech basketball and the unlikelihood of you guys playing for the national title. I'm curious, for you guys to get to this point, did it have to be a group like this of underrecruited guys and scrappers and a team that really buys in on that sort of defense mentality?
CHRIS BEARD: Why do you think it's unlikely?

Q. Because you guys aren't considered a blue blood, picked seventh in the Big 12. I wouldn't say this particular group is unlikely, but, you know, given the history that Texas Tech's never made a Final Four before.
CHRIS BEARD: Well, I've only been the head coach of Texas Tech for three years. History is something you respect and study, but when you're in athletics and you're in competition, it's the team at hand. Last year we lost in the Elite Eight to the eventual National Championship, Villanova, so this year I think we're back on this stage.

I respect the question, but basketball is a team sport, you know, and you get guys believing they can do something. So Texas Tech has a great tradition. We won the Big 12 regular season championship this year. We tied it with K-State. We had some bad injuries down the stretch, or they could easily be on this stage.

I'm not sure. I respect the question, but why not us? We've got good players. We've got a great university. We play in arguably the best league in the country. We won the Big 12 regular season title. We're a good team. We've got good players.

Yeah, I think we deserve to be here, as do a lot of other teams. You've got to get fortunate, but we did. I'm looking forward to coaching these guys on Monday night.

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to congratulate Coach Beard and thank him for appearing in the interview room. Coach, we'll see you again tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297