NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - OHIO VS VIRGINIA

March 20, 2021

Jeff Boals

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Ohio Bobcats

Postgame Media Conference

Ohio 62, Virginia 58

JEFF BOALS: Just really, really proud of our guys. There were multiple times in the second half they could have broke. We always talk about bend but don't break. We got down 38-31, Ben Vander Plas made some huge plays in the second half. Jason Preston made some great plays, made big free throws down the stretch. Very fortunate to win the game.

I want to give Virginia all the credit in the world for what they went through. Tough to go through a COVID pause, not practice, flying the day before. They missed some shots they normally make. Feel very fortunate and very grateful.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. It got up to 38-31. After about the 10-minute mark of the second half, you matched that up to the total at that point, 31 points in the final 10 minutes. What did you change going into each timeout? What did you start seeing that Virginia was doing that you were able to start getting a lot more baskets?

JEFF BOALS: Thanks for the question.

I think when they went small, we got kind of discombobulated. When Huff came back in the game, we were able to do some things, put Dwight Wilson back in there.

I thought after every timeout our guys did a great job of executing. Even when the shot clock was running down, we tried to shrink the game a little bit. Ben Roderick had a great layup, Jason Preston was phenomenal off the ball screening. Our guys kept their poise and did a great job of executing.

Q. Maybe expand, style of play. You came up three games in the MAC tournament where you're busting 80 points a night. Tonight it seemed like both teams were playing deliberate on purpose. You didn't seem to try to push it at all. Talk about that. Evidently it's something you planned to do.

JEFF BOALS: Thanks for the question.

They kind of make you play that way. They don't send all the guys to the boards, they get back in transition. When you come to March Madness, NCAA tournament, halfcourt offense, defense, execution is going to win you the game. Just really proud of our guys. I thought we got some really big stops late.

Miles Brown, for him not to play in the first half, come in and play some great defense in the second half. The way they play, I mean, they were a 40% three-point shooting team coming in. We messed up the one handoff late where they cut it to two. But our guys made some big-time plays on both ends down the stretch.

Q. You said this week that Jason Preston's story was going to be a movie. Did it get a pretty good scene tonight?

JEFF BOALS: I told him this is where stars are born, legacies are made. Give them a lot of credit. Clark is a very good defender. But Jason in the second half was able to get around a couple of those, had some huge rebounds. What did he have, 13 rebounds, 11 points, 8 assist, 3 turnovers. Just a phenomenal effort.

He's the heart and soul of our team. The world saw today who he is and what he's able to do. Just really proud of him.

Q. What do you think really changed for you guys? I know Jason missed a few games, but you finished fifth in the league. Is there anything that kind of happened?

JEFF BOALS: Thanks for the question.

I think we had won six in a row, I believe, before the pause. It's a deceiving five seed, because we were 9 of 5. I think Toledo was 14 of 4. Akron and Kent might have been 12 and 5 or 12 and 6. Buffalo was like 11 and 6. We were all right there with the losses. We just didn't have the wins because we had so many games canceled.

We knew going into the tournament we felt really good about our chances. We knew we could beat anybody that we played. Coming off that pause, I mean, I don't think most people understand, we had three games in 36 days, then we played Thursday, Friday, Saturday in the MAC tournament. Give our strength trainer, Jared Azar, trainer Tyler Congrove, our staff a lot of credit for really hydration and massages and whirlpools, monitoring the conditioning. There's no blueprint when you come off of that long pause.

We had one practice five v. five with a GA, manager, before the three games in a five-day stretch. We had limited practice. So I want to shout out to our staff for helping us out.

Q. I don't know how familiar the team is with the Sweet 16 group of nine years ago. Is that something you've talked to them about, that it can happen? Is something that played a factor at all?

JEFF BOALS: We walk in, I do, I look at the banners every single day that I walk in. From my press conference two years ago to every single practice.

I think something like that shows that it can happen. None of our guys had ever played in a MAC tournament up in Cleveland before. They were loose, they had fun. They were talking, listening to music before the game. It showed in Cleveland.

I think coming in here, same way. They had confidence and they had a belief. I told them after the game: The power of unity, belief and confidence is huge. If you go all the way back to the Illinois game, we showed we can play with anybody in the country. No disrespect to Illinois, but I thought we should have won the game. That game really set the tone and helped us win this game from a confidence standpoint.

Q. You mentioned off the top how grateful you are for this win. For you personally, given your coaching journey being an assistant at Ohio, assistant at Ohio State, other school, how special is tonight's victory for you?

JEFF BOALS: It's awesome. When I took the job, I dreamt of this. Last year we got it taken away, like everyone else. This year coming in, that was our goal. Coach Amato was in the stands tonight. He's been a huge mentor for me. For him to see this, this awesome where we're at right now, hopefully we keep this thing going.

Q. Between the 5-minute mark and the 1-minute mark, you made five baskets. How difficult is that to do against a team like Virginia in this kind of setting? With the 2:40 to go coming out of the timeout, you got that layup. Was that a called play?

JEFF BOALS: That was huge. Give our guys a lot of credit for the offensive execution. Like you said, from the 5-minute mark on.

I'm not sure what we were total, but it seemed like every time we did something, our guys ended up making a positive play.

Out of the timeout, that was a designed play. They started trapping that ball screen. It was a wide open pass down low. That was a huge bucket for us.

Q. All season long from the Illinois game to now, it seems like the team knows where to find that place of respect for an opponent but still being confident. As a coach, how did you approach this week of still being able to play the defending champs, but you're just as good if not better than they are?

JEFF BOALS: I think you saw the growth. Thanks the question. We started out really well, playing really well this year. Then Ben Roderick got hurt against Marshall, Jason Preston got hurt and missed four games. We had some ups and downs. We got beat by Kent State by 10 at home. That was kind of the turning point for our guys.

The long pause and our guys coming back, we're playing like we did early in the season. I just tell them all the time to play with confidence. We played that first game of the three-game-in-five-day stretch against Akron. We were without Jason Preston and Dwight Wilson. Man, I didn't know what to expect. We were off 21 days. Like I said, we practiced with nine guys on that Sunday.

Our guys came out with a great focus and intensity. Different guys stepped up throughout the course of the game. At that point we just kind of kept it going. These guys, they love each other. They got a great bond. Like I told them, confidence is huge. That's one thing going into the Akron game we talked about, play with über superior, ultra confidence. Our guys have been doing that.

Q. You are the only team even in the broader area still alive in this tournament. Do you get a sense of the bandwagon getting pretty big for you guys? Does that matter to you and your team you're the only game in town now?

JEFF BOALS: I think we're just happy to be moving on. We're very grateful. Our guys came in expecting to win a game. The fact that we're the only one left, I think that's great for social media and fans. But our bandwagon, keep coming. We want everyone to support us that we can. I think this is great for our university.

I talked to a group of people about an hour and 15 minutes before the game. Really thank Dr. Nellis for hiring me. He was huge in the process, believing in me, to come back to my alma mater. This is what I envisioned.

Hopefully we'll keep this thing going and we'll take every Bobcat fan that we can get.

Q. I don't want to make too much of this, but did tonight feel a little bit for you personally like righting a wrong? So many players get one chance in the NCAA tournament. You got one chance as a player, didn't work out for you. Getting it done as a coach with this team, is there some redemption, relief in being able to go back and correct the course a little bit?

JEFF BOALS: Thanks for the question.

I don't think for me, I don't think like that. I just think how happy I am for our players, this university, their families. What they've sacrificed throughout the course of the year to get to this place. Every student-athlete, male and female. I think it's awesome for our university. I know I probably got a million text messages, Bobcat Nation throughout the world, great for everybody, our university and great for our program.

Q. Obviously you go into your next game, moving on, I'm sure your focus is going to shift there fast. What about this team is built to make a sustained run?

JEFF BOALS: I think this tournament is about guard play. We have one of the best guards in the country. You look at Ben Vander Plas, a tough inside-out matchup, Dwight Wilson, a transfer. We just got a lot of great pieces.

If you look at our roster, five guys averaging double figures, a sixth guy averages nine points a game. We got great balance.

Certain guys, different guys step up on different nights. I think you can tell by watching them play, they love each other, the bench is awesome, the energy level is awesome. They play for each other. So I think with a guy like Jason Preston, Ben Vander Plas, anything can happen in a 40-minute game.

Q. With your guys' win today, you busted every bracket in America now, which means there's no more perfect brackets. But seriously, today obviously there was only a limited amount of fans that could come. Really seemed like the OU fan base was really loud, a big part of how you were able to be successful. What is it about Bobcat Nation that is so fun to play in front of?

JEFF BOALS: I thought our fans here were awesome. We talked about that in Cleveland. If we would have made that run with fans there, there would have been 13,000 Bobcats in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Like I said, Bobcat Nation is proud. I know they stand up and cheer for old Ohio. Hopefully we keep this thing going.

Whatever next venue we have, we'll have some more tickets and we will invite every Bobcat to the arena.

Q. How much preparation were you able to do for Creighton? Did you even do any kind of advance prep? What do you know about them?

JEFF BOALS: I don't know a whole lot. I know they're really good, got some really good players. Our assistant coaches have done the prep work. So we'll head back to the hotel, get our Chick-Fil-A, and start prepping for Creighton tonight.

Our guys have done a really good job throughout the course of the year, when we had three games in three days at Illinois, then the MAC tournament, then even the three games in five days of taking game plan film to the court. So our guys will be locked in.

Q. Shouldn't you be going to Dairy Queen instead of Chick-Fil-A?

JEFF BOALS: Touché. Maybe we should get some ice cream for the boys. Most definitely (laughter).

Q. What does a win like this do for the Ohio basketball program? How does it continue to help draw fans in, build the program up?

JEFF BOALS: Thanks for the question.

I think it's huge for a lot of reasons. Recruiting, fan base, alumni, university. It's something that every school like ours dreams about. With social media the way it is right now, I can imagine what Court Street is doing. Our goal is to represent Ohio University the right way on the floor, off the floor. We got 15 great kids to do that. I know they're proud of them.