BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2021

Steve Wojciechowski

Marquette Golden Eagles

Madison Square Garden

Postgame Media Conference

Georgetown - 68, Marquette - 49

COACH WOJCIECHOWSKI: I'd like to congratulate Georgetown. Patrick really had his team ready to play. They're a team that's improved a great deal. Obviously Wahab is a lot to deal with. But I think their other guys have really improved. And they outplayed us in every facet of the game. And they deserved to win. And my congratulations to Patrick and his program.

Q. It's been a roller coaster season for you guys. You had some big wins and suffered through some adversity. Clearly a lot of talent on the team. Do you view this season as a disappointment?

COACH WOJCIECHOWSKI: Disappointed in certain parts of the season. But as I told the team after the game, for our players to deal with a season that is not what any of them signed up for because of COVID and then, secondarily, because of injuries, that I was proud of a lot of the things that they did.

Certainly you can go back and look, and this afternoon would be one of them, where we had disappointing performances, but I'm proud of our guys overall because they handled a difficult situation without complaining.

They were asked to do a lot of things that are very difficult for grownups to do, let alone college students to do. And they did it without complaining. So there's a lot to be proud of and there's a lot to learn from.

Q. What was your message to your guys in the first half particularly, but pretty much throughout when you had a lid on the basket? Shots you normally make weren't going in. How do you keep your guys engaged and competitive and keep your guys fighting?

COACH WOJCIECHOWSKI: I thought our offense affected our defense. I thought we had some good looks in and around the basket and also from the perimeter. Those shots didn't go in.

So when that happens, you've got to be tougher on the defensive end. And the primary area we weren't tough is rebounding the basketball.

Q. Obviously Theo, Jamal and Koby didn't have the best offensive performances tonight, but talk about what those three players mean to you, especially working with Theo for the past four years and Jamal?

COACH WOJCIECHOWSKI: Those guys mean a lot. They've done a lot for me personally. They've done a lot for our program. They've done a lot for their teammates. And really 12 months ago at this time we were sitting in a hotel ballroom and we just learned our season was effectively over. And from that time to this, their senior season has been turned upside down. But those guys have tried their best. All three of them have improved as players. Obviously with Theo -- and you saw it this afternoon -- he's really struggling with his knee. And he has been pretty much throughout the season.

But he's never once complained. It's been very difficult for him because he's really just playing in games. But he's had a really, all things considered, he had a really good senior year. And certainly Koby has grown a lot as a person, as a player, and Jamal has as well. Jamal, Koby, Theo, they're great men. And I look forward to cheering them on as they move on to their next chapter.