ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2021

Aamir Simms

Clemson Tigers

Postgame Press Conference

Miami 67, Clemson 64

Q. What happened there in the second half? It looked like maybe with about nine minutes to play, they really turned up that defensive intensity and made it hard for you guys to get shots?

AAMIR SIMMS: First off, hats off to Miami. Like you said, they played really well and down the stretch they performed their best. I just think we kind of got sped up a little bit and let their pressure bother us and take us out of our offense. A situation like that you get frustrated and you have mental lapses and then you start to make mistake after mistake. And I think that was just the thing with our game late down the stretch was just making mistakes. The pressure really wasn't bothering us too much, but we let it get to us mentally and then we just started messing up from there.

Q. I know y'all were hitting a lot of threes in the first half, but were you surprised by how lopsided the scoring was in the paint today?

AAMIR SIMMS: No, honestly not. We didn't step up to the challenge and guard them one-on-one, and that's as simple as it is. We've got to be a lot tougher in that area. And when it comes to guarding a man and you're on an island, we've just got to do a better job staying in front, keeping them off the paint. With smaller guards, a lot of teams will try to shoot over us and we let that happen a little bit too much today.

Q. I kind of felt like that last play, that last offensive set for you guys would maybe run through you. Was the play supposed to come to you or was that designed for Nick?

AAMIR SIMMS: I don't think it was exactly supposed to be a drive and kick situation, but Nick thought he had a shot and he took it, and that's really about it. I don't think it was designed for me specifically, but Nick got a pretty good look coming off that screen. He thought he had a good shot, so he took it. You know the rest.

Q. You had two close games, you defeated them earlier this year. What did they try to do different in the third game today?

AAMIR SIMMS: Just a ton of pressure. I noticed a lot more physicality, bumping, and trying to knock passes, and just bother us a little bit, and I think it definitely affected us in our offense.

And on defense, they were just as physical. I think they did an unbelievable job of doing that on the defensive side, just trying to bother us and shake up our offense a little bit more, more than they did the first two games.

Q. That last play, it looked like Trapp was looking for you at half court to try to make a buzzer beater three. Was that the case and how often do you all practice that?

AAMIR SIMMS: We practice that a little bit. I think that's a play we just put in recently, but he threw a pretty good pass, I just couldn't finish the play and execute. I just let it get through my hands.

Q. Despite the loss, you guys were really effective from three. How do you carry this into momentum into the March Madness tournament?

AAMIR SIMMS: It's definitely going to be a lot of momentum for us. We've just got to regroup and get back on our feet and figure out what's going on with our defense, I think. The offense is fine. We're just having too many mental lapses on defense. We've just got to come together as a team and figure out how to get back to our defensive roots.

Q. What are your thoughts going to Indianapolis? The tournament this year is going to be new to everybody and kind of in a bubble, all playing in that area. What are your thoughts going into continued postseason play?

AAMIR SIMMS: Honestly, just looking forward to improving ourselves, first off. We did not perform well here today, and that's the only thing that's on my mind right now. I'm really not looking at Indianapolis as of right now, but I definitely think going into that week, we've definitely got to refocus and figure out what's the problem on defense and just focus on that and just try to make improvements. We're definitely excited to go there, to say the least, and we're looking forward to our matchup come Sunday.