PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2021

Evan Battey

Colorado Buffaloes

Postgame Press Conference

Colorado - 61, California - 58

Q. How much of a battle was it out there tonight? I know things weren't going the way you guys hoped them to, but you still pulled away and advanced.

EVAN BATTEY: Yeah, Cal's a good team and they compete and they fight and they're a physical team. So nothing easy is going to come in March and I feel like we did what we needed to do to win this game. Obviously we can play better on the offensive end, but we guarded and that's what, I say this all the time, but that's what our program is founded off of, and he gives us a chance to win every night, defend and rebound.

So you can, you take your wins anywhere you can get them. And we're not satisfied. We know we have a talented team tomorrow, talented, good, well-coached team. So we're going to be prepared and try to win that game. So it's March, it's, there's no really explaining it, it's just March.

Q. I know McKinley kind of leads the way for you guys, but it seems like when you guys are at your best you're getting contributions from across the board. Was tonight a good example of that? Dallas obviously had a big burst in the first half and then yourself and a few other guys made key contributions at times in the second half.

EVAN BATTEY: Yeah, you said it. Our team is the best when we get contributions from everybody. We have a lot of just solid guys. We have some quality depth. So when one guy is maybe not playing as well, other guys around him on our team can step up their game and I mean that, 1 through 18, we have 18 guys on our team and I have confidence in and I believe in every one of our guys. So I just, that just says the culture we have here at this program and it just, it's a beautiful thing to see when dudes might not be having the best night and we can stay in it and we can get behind it and we can ultimately drive it forward despite that.

Q. The last time you guys saw Cal, Matt Bradley dropped almost 30 point. Tonight for the vast majority of the game Eli was pretty much able to shut him down. From your perspective and just being in the locker room with Eli, how much do you think he was looking forward to that one-on-one rematch with Bradley and how important was it for Eli to win that battle for the majority of the game, just D'ing him up one-on-one?

EVAN BATTEY: Eli's a hell of a competitor and guys know Eli doesn't back down from nobody. He might not be the biggest, he might not be, or probably is the fastest, but he might not jump the highest probably does that too, but he's going to compete, and it speaks -- the First Team All Defense or the All Defensive Team that he made, that speaks for itself. He puts in the work every day, he guards McKinley every day, he guards Keeshawn, fastest guards, every day in practice, so he's prepared and he -- I have to give him a whole lot of credit because he can guard multiple positions and he can, if he's not taller than you, he can still battle you and still use his strength. So Eli's a really good player and I'm going to be excited for next year with him, for sure.

Q. Looking at tomorrow, you guys have done a pretty good job of at least making life rough for Evan Mobley in your couple matchups. Obviously you play a big part of that. What do you guys have to do to be able to do that for a third time?

EVAN BATTEY: Yeah, Evan Mobley is, he's Evan Mobley, you know? All the credit in the world goes to him because he's such a good player. You can't really stop those guys. When you have a guy of that talent and that level, you can't really stop those guys, you can only hope to contain them. So we're going to do the best we can to contain him and limit his impact on the game.

Q. How much reflection do you do on tonight's game or do you just flush it as soon as possible and start working on that game plan and what you guys are thinking going into tomorrow against USC?

EVAN BATTEY: I feel like everybody's different. Some people might flush it right now, some people might think about it for the rest of the day, for the rest of the night. I'm certainly going to look back on this game and realize stuff where I can get better. My post feed to Dallas, shitty pass -- sorry for the language -- it's things like that, little things. It's nothing big, but the little things is what matters in March. You just want to get better every day and that's, the teams that can get better every day and trend upwards, that's the teams that win in March. So obviously we have a short turnaround, so we can't harp on this game too much, but I think I'm going to give it some time to think about it, think about ways I can get better and come in tomorrow with a fresh mindset.