BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2021

MaCio Teague

Baylor Bears

Postgame Press Conference

Baylor - 74, Kansas State - 68

Q. MaCio, what did you feel like the difference was this time playing K-State than the first two times? What were they able to do this time?

MACIO TEAGUE: They just made a lot more shots tonight. I felt like they got some open looks, and they made them. It's tough. They know what we're going to do the third time around. Playing them is really hard, beating a team three times in a row. So just going forward, we've got to still be locked in.

Q. How about the turnovers? It's a little unusual for you guys to have that many.

MACIO TEAGUE: Yeah, it just felt like we tried to make a home run play a couple times early in the shot clock and stuff like that. We've just got to be sharper with the ball going forward.

Q. MaCio, do you feel like there was maybe a settling in point? It kind of took you guys a while to kind of adjust to your new surroundings, and do you feel like by the end of the game, you all felt a lot more comfortable?

MACIO TEAGUE: Yeah, for sure. They played last night. If you watched the first ten minutes of their game, the game was like 13 to -- it might have been like 20-13, something like that. It wasn't really a high scoring game is the point I'm trying to say. There was a lot of turnovers and stuff like that. Guys just weren't shooting the ball well.

This was our first time playing on the floor tonight, so I felt like later in the game we got it rolling.

Q. Do you feel like this experience can kind of help you all eventually -- obviously, focusing on the Big 12 Tournament now -- but when you do get to the NCAA Tournament, adjusting quickly like that?

MACIO TEAGUE: Yeah, but we've got a game here tomorrow with Oklahoma State. We've got to take care of our bodies tonight and just be prepared for tomorrow. We're not worried about what's going on two weeks from now, or whenever the NCAA Tournament is.

Q. MaCio, how big was that little mini run you and Davion went on in the second half, where you had the long two, Davion followed it up with the three. How big was that to give you guys momentum to put this game away?

MACIO TEAGUE: You know, it was really big scoring points. We got out in transition. That was the biggest thing. It just happened to be me. Tomorrow it might be Flag, Mark, Jared, somebody else. So we've just got to get stops and get out in transition.

Q. What do you remember about Oklahoma State from last week that you guys need to focus on tomorrow?

MACIO TEAGUE: Just containing the ball. Not letting them get open shots. Just guarding the ball.

Q. MaCio, you all did a better job defending the paint in the second half. How did you all manage to do that?

MACIO TEAGUE: We just tried to be tougher. We just tried to guard the ball as hard as we could. We knew that they weren't going to go away. We know that they're a physical team and they tried to out tough us and things like that. They probably did win the toughness battle in the first half for the last 12 minutes, but we locked in defensively and were tough in the second half.

Q. MaCio, how -- how beneficial is it to have a game tomorrow right on the heels of this to wash out any bad taste that there may be in your mouth?

MACIO TEAGUE: In the postseason, the best thing is the fact that the games are back to back, and you've got to win, and the fact that we won and we're still playing tomorrow is a really good thing. So we're happy about that.

Q. 16 of your 24 in the second half. What was the difference for you in terms of how you were getting fed and looks that you were getting?

MACIO TEAGUE: Just being aggressive. A lot of my points came in transition, like mini transition, and just felt like I was really efficient scoring the basketball in that way. Guys looked for me. Guys found me. And in the late shot clock, I made a couple of tough shots. So just really happy seeing the ball go through the net.

Q. It seemed like your transition game off turnovers was a little bit better in this one than before you guys came off the break. Anything different today than what you had in the previous five games?

MACIO TEAGUE: Actually, I feel like I've been really efficient in transition since we came back from our pause, so I wouldn't say there's been anything different.