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STATE FARM MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2020

St. Louis, Missouri - Arch Madness

Valparaiso - 89, Missouri State - 82

THE MODERATOR: The victorious Crusaders are here. They have a date with Bradley tomorrow, 1:00 CBS, here in the Enterprise Center. John Kiser and Javon Freeman-Liberty represent the student body. Matt Lottich is the Coach.

MATT LOTTICH: Really proud of just the fight and the effort to play three games in three days, to have the intensity, the attention to detail, and really just the camaraderie of our guys. That's special. Missouri State is a fantastically physical team. We were worried about them rebounding the basketball. We challenged our guys in our shootaround to really take to heart. I mean, they were bigger. They were longer, and it's something that they emphasize, and I thought our guys did a good job with that.

Then in the second half, got the ball moving a little bit, got guys in spots where they could be successful. We were really able to throw some shots in. Wish we would have made some more free throws at the end of the game. It got a little closer than I would have liked, but proud of the fight and the effort. We've got one more.

From where we were two years ago when we entered this league, the 10 seed losing on the first day, to now, the program's going in the right direction. It takes a lot of people to do that. So very proud of the collaborative effort of our institution and our school to put ourselves in a position like this.

Q. Javon, what was the difference from one day to the next for you to go through the game you went through yesterday to go through the game in specifically the second half like you had tonight?
JAVON FREEMAN-LIBERTY: That game actually is out of my head. I knew I had to come in today and compete, so that's what I did. I had the mindset to go out there and give my all.

Q. Coach, you mentioned about three games in three days. Now tomorrow, they'll be playing four games in four days. Does that have any concern to you, and how do you want to prepare your players for that?
MATT LOTTICH: No concern. It's just what we are. We like to play, I'll tell you that. So we're going to have fun playing tomorrow.

Q. Question for the Coach and either of the players. You made history today. The first play-in team and first No. 7 seed to make The Finals. Your thoughts on that. And also, I'm sure you want to make a little more history tomorrow.
JOHN KISER: Coming into the tournament, I thought we were a hot team. It's just great to be where we are at this point. I wish we didn't have to play that extra game and have a little bit more legs for tomorrow. It's just a great moment for our program.

MATT LOTTICH: Yeah, it's -- 9-9, it might have been the first or second time ever they had to play the play-in game. I'm not sure about that. I thought we did enough work in the regular season. The one thing, we had five returning players. So we didn't have a lot of guys that have been in the system. So one of the goals is we've got to get better every single day. When you have teams like that, if they've got the right mindset, then you can do that.

We've gotten better, and I think we're playing our best basketball now, and that's what you want to do. Again, 4-4, we can't control that. We're going to go out and give a great effort, though.

Q. John, you're playing through injuries. Javon is coming off mono. What is it about this team? I saw Krikke with the gauze in the face, and Donovan too. What is it about this team that allows you to persevere to this?
JOHN KISER: Everybody on this team loves playing basketball. All of us coming together, if one of us gets hurt, the others see that doesn't affect him, and if they get hurt, it doesn't affect them. Just keep moving forward, survive and advance.

Q. This kind of has a feeling like an AAU tournament, four games in four days. Do you have any secrets or tricks where you can recover and bounce back in terms of your body?
JAVON FREEMAN-LIBERTY: I actually just said that to my roommate, Danny. Man, this is taking me back to my AAU days. I mean, just basically rest up a lot, drink a lot of water. Wake up in the morning, eat some good breakfast, and come out and be ready to play tomorrow.

JOHN KISER: I haven't played AAU in four years now. I don't really know what my tricks were then. I just know that we talked about it just being mental and not really thinking about being tired or sore, just keep on moving forward.

Q. Matt, you pressed with the lead. To me it seems kind of unusual. Do you do that a lot, and why did you do it tonight?
MATT LOTTICH: We just thought we want to be aggressive. When you have a lead, seven, eight minutes, you don't want to get tentative, so I thought we'd press. I thought we got a good rhythm with it. I thought they figured it out too and got some quick, easy baskets. It's something we'll look at, but I like our athleticism. I like how we can kind of dictate the game, and it gives other teams something to look at.

Q. Matt, you were talking about the rebounding, and Fazekas, in particular, was just a warrior inside for you guys today.
MATT LOTTICH: Yeah, he's been a warrior. If you watch him a lot, he's just not the heaviest guy, not the strongest guy. He's dealt with a lot of injuries, but he's got a lot of fight. He's got a lot of heart. For him to even be out there today dealing with just the stuff that he's had to go through in his career is a testament to his character and his toughness. We're really glad that he's with us right now for sure.

Q. Matt, your early thoughts on the matchup with Bradley?
MATT LOTTICH: Really good. Really well coached. Old, tough. I mean, they're a heck of a ball club, and they're experienced. So they've been in this moment, and it's going to take a valiant effort for us tomorrow for sure.

Q. Matt, can you touch on Javon? Obviously, to bounce back from last night, and what did you see throughout the course of the morning to get him ready for this, and then what he did in the game?
MATT LOTTICH: Look, I've known Javon a long time. I've seen him play well. I've seen him play great. The one thing that I know about Javon is he loves basketball and absolutely loves to play, loves to practice, loves to get better. So there's going to be good days, and there's going to be bad. With good character, you can take -- learn from the bad and try to put it past you, and I thought Javon did a great job of that. He was aggressive, but at the same time smart. I didn't think he pressed tonight. I thought he moved fantastically. You know, he was huge on the defensive end.

So Javon is who he was. Tonight he was the all league guard. He was the first team all league guard, and we needed every bit of it.

Q. For John and Javon again, you guys are one win away from going to the Big Dance. Looking back at that preseason trip to Canada, what do you think that rafting trip did for this team to get to this place?
JOHN KISER: Well, our -- during that rafting trip, we actually had a motto, one team, one boat, to row, and I definitely think this team has taken that motto and really sailed with it, I guess. It's just been a great year for us and building as a team.

JAVON FREEMAN-LIBERTY: Actually, on that trip, I think that's when we all like kind of came together because we were out there for so long, and we didn't have much to do but to spend time together. So I feel like that trip is what started it all, with us coming together, being with this group of guys, just loving them and the brotherhood that we have, and the one team, one boat motto.

Q. Matt, we didn't really talk about this last night, but you played John a lot at the five over the last couple of games. What have you seen from him against Prim and Krutwig in the last 48 hours?
MATT LOTTICH: Pretty tough kid. He's really good positionally. John's strong, and I'll tell you, it's genetic because, if you ever see his dad, he's about the biggest, strongest dude you're ever going to run into. He was a Big Ten champion? Six time Big Ten champion in shot put and discus. Give you an idea. So he's got good genes and a lot of fight and a lot of heart and a lot of experience.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations. We'll see you tomorrow, 1:00, CBS, against the Bradley Braves.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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