NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - WISCONSIN VS NORTH CAROLINA

March 19, 2021

Greg Gard

Wisconsin Badgers

Mackey Arena

Postgame Media Conference

Wisconsin - 85, North Carolina - 62

Q. Greg, we talked during the week about rebounding. I know you guys hit a lot of 3s tonight but how important was your work by everybody on the glass, on both ends of the court?

COACH GARD: Yeah, that was crucial. Obviously they're the number one offensive rebounding team in the country. And I thought defensively we were really good for the most part. They got some -- got to the rim a few times. But on the glass I thought, by and large, we were doing what we were supposed to do. And we got contributions from not only the 4s and 5s but the others that were able to get into the mix and clean up some of that. But that was obviously big. That was a big piece of our plan.

Q. A lot of people, the players have talked about getting away from the Big Ten. I think everybody loves to get away from the Big Ten this time of year because it's such a grind. But how do you think -- do you think Brad really thrived being away from the Big Ten and getting his game going the way he did tonight?

COACH GARD: Well, obviously he did. I think that. But I also think that part of it is a senior leader coming into this event. And really good players have a tendency to elevate their game at this time of year. As he mentioned he didn't get a chance or the team didn't get a chance to play in this last year when we were rolling along pretty well.

So I think that has added extra incentive that we've gotten to this point right now with postseason play and we've talked all along that, remember, we didn't have this last year. So let's embrace it, let's make the most of it and let's have fun with it. And obviously he was having some fun out there tonight along with his teammates.

Q. I was just going to ask about Brad and D'Mitrik, combined I think they had 50 combined for you guys out of the 82 total. What did they provide and what does that provide for you guys when the guards can score like that and shoot the ball from deep?

COACH GARD: Well, I mean, those are two experienced guards. So they've had a lot of possessions together. They've been in a lot of situations. And obviously with, given the fact that Carolina was so big at the rim, that we were going to have to have some scoring from the back court. And I felt that was important.

We were able to -- they got going early. I thought they got into rhythm. They were aggressive which we talked about a lot during the week, being aggressive. And as they've mentioned -- see the ball go in and that becomes contagious. And I think they were both, like I said, really determined tonight. You could tell just in their preparation and their, in the look in their eyes tonight that they were going to make sure we were going to take care of this thing once we got that lead.

Q. Even though there weren't a lot of fans, it was a very pro-Wisconsin fan base tonight, which is very uncommon for this venue. Could you kind of talk about playing in Mackey and the differences from obviously when it's a very pro-Purdue crowd and a tough place to win and today when it's not that many fans and a lot of Wisconsin fans that are here?

COACH GARD: I think Brad alluded to that. We played most of the year with little or no fans. I think that atmosphere, that part of the experience for the student-athletes is noticeably missing. So when you add just a few into the crowd, that makes a difference. That adds life to the building.

Obviously we've been in here earlier this year and had a tight game with Purdue. But I think it just adds to the experience, which these guys, all they've had to go through to pull this off and to navigate through the season in, by and large, lifeless buildings, I think this is another part of the reward at this time of year to get to play in that postseason play, but also have more fans, more noise, more atmosphere in a building. That's why they draw off of that. They feed off of that. That's part of that experience that unfortunately wasn't part of the season.

Q. What statement do you think tonight made for your team, coming in underrated, under-seeded? The mismatch was there in favor of UNC, but to come out dominate front to end and play better offensively in the second half, what was the statement made by your guys?

COACH GARD: You know, I never get caught up in the seeds, you know, really. As I told the team on Sunday or even Friday at the Big Ten Tournament, I've been part of teams that have been 1s all the way to 12s. And really once that comes out, that determines what color jersey you're going to wear, light or dark. You can erase the numbers then.

And everybody -- it's so competitive. There's a lot of parity. So for this I didn't really get caught up in where we were seeded or where we weren't seeded. We just need to prepare well and play. And these guys did a terrific job of preparing for the three or four days that we worked on on North Carolina and obviously played a really complete game.

Q. There were so many positives that came from this -- the hot shooting, the rim protection, protecting possessions. It was A complete game offensively. What will be essential to carry over two days from now, just two days when you take on Baylor?

COACH GARD: Well, I'm going to enjoy this for a little bit tonight before I start watching Baylor. And they're obviously phenomenal. So it goes from playing a really good team to playing one of the nation's best. So to be honest with you, I'll learn more tonight as I watch film about Baylor but obviously we'll have to play really well.

But I want these guys to enjoy this tonight, as I told them. We'll give them all the Baylor information they want starting tomorrow with practice. And we know we have to play well.

We have great respect for North Carolina. Coach Williams has been a phenomenal coach through his career, Hall of Famer. He had great things to say before and after the game about our program, which I completely -- I really respect and appreciate his comments that he made to me. And obviously Baylor coming next is going to be a huge task.

But I know our guys are excited. They're ready for the next one, and we'll have that on Sunday.

Q. A guy like Brad Davison (indiscernible) emotional for you guys, when someone on the team cannot miss. (Indiscernible) Brad goes off as opposed to maybe anyone else on the team if it sparks a little --

COACH GARD: I don't know if it sparks it more. I think the team rallies around Brad. Rallies around anybody. We've had other guys that have had those type of games where the basket looks like the ocean. But they support him. He is our emotional leader. He's our cement between the bricks, so to speak, and the epicenter of what we do from that standpoint.

But I know our guys would appreciate anybody having those type of games, which they've shown during the course of, whether it's been this tear (indiscernible) through other players' careers. It's a very connected group and a very together group. And they enjoy -- there's a lot of happiness when teammates have success.

Q. You said a couple times in the past couple of weeks that you thought the movement was better, the movement on offense was better, the cutting was more sharp. Tonight, I think it looked even as good as it's been the last couple of weeks. Would you agree with that? Did you like the way they moved on offense?

COACH GARD: Yeah, I did, and obviously it helps and makes it always look better when the ball goes in. But I thought we did. We handled -- I thought we took care of the ball, for the most part, pretty well. I thought we kept our spacing. We didn't over-dribble, which was obviously an emphasis coming in because of how they can trap and do some double teams and things like that. We wanted to make sure we had good spacing and screened well and cut hard.

And our players did a good job of sharing the ball. We found teammates at the rim off cuts at times and we were able to handle some of the pressure that they applied and were able to capitalize on that at times. So, all in all, obviously making shots helps that. But really happy for our team because they played very unselfish.

Q. This is the first time you've been able to take your upperclassmen to the NCAA Tournament. Last year there was no tournament. Now you have your seniors, especially the ball handlers, is that still essential at this time of year, or is it just really just about talent and scheme? I mean the poise and the veteran, you play the pace you want. It seems like it's an advantage.

COACH GARD: Well, you hope it's an advantage. And obviously you still gotta go play. You can throw -- experience does matter, but you still have to perform in the 40 minutes. And that's really all we focused on was really 20 minutes. Before the game we talked about the first half, how we wanted to play that. And I said we'll talk about the second half and make adjustments when I come back in here next time.

So let's just focus on the 20. And I thought our guys did a really good job. Everybody stepped on the floor even young Steven Crowl for the couple minutes he got in the first half. Everybody was locked in and connected and played well together.

Q. Momentum can be fleeting sometimes because you always say it's all about the next 40 minutes. But is it too simplistic to say this was a little bit of a carry-over from what happened in the last four games when you guys said you felt better about the way you were playing?

COACH GARD: Yes, definitely. I think we definitely -- I sensed it with how we were playing. I sensed it how we were practicing. Obviously our league has been phenomenal. And it was such a grind to go through specifically the schedule we had down the stretch. Obviously the schedule maker must not like me or us, but it prepared us and it tested us as we came down the stretch of the Big Ten.

And thankfully it prepared us for this and being ready to take steps forward at the end of the year. Even though maybe we didn't get the results we wanted, I thought things were trending the right way if they would just stick to it and stay the course. And obviously I'm happy that they did and proud of them for how they have continued to battle through, you know, a strenuous schedule and get to this point and have an opportunity to play here. And really proud of how well they played.

Q. As I mentioned earlier about with Brad shooting and the hot hand he had, it will be tough for him and the rest of the team to replicate the clip that you made shots tonight. I'm curious what you liked that you guys did well that you could carry over to Sunday even if you guys aren't shooting as well?

COACH GARD: I thought we defended pretty well. I thought we rebounded well. We took care of the ball. We don't really talk about making shots. We talk about defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball. The other parts of the game have a tendency to fall into place. But if we can be consistent with what we can do defensively, and obviously minimizing second shots, which we did tonight pretty well, and then obviously evaluating possessions taking care of the ball. Those are really the three primary foundational pieces we talk about the most.

And because shooting can be fleeting. As we've seen through this year. There's going to be nights that you have a hard time scoring and there's nights like tonight. But to making sure that we can -- making sure we have or are consistent in those other areas of defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball.