NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - WISCONSIN VS BAYLOR

March 21, 2021

D'Mitrik Trice

Mackey Arena

Wisconsin Badgers

Postgame Media Conference

Baylor 76, Wisconsin 63

Q. You talked about how this matchup between the guards, your guards and their guards, you and Brad did not shoot it well, their guards made some plays. How good were they defensively and how tough was it to get open looks or looks that you're accustomed to hitting?

D'MITRIK TRICE: Yeah, I think we got quite a few good looks that we normally knock down, but they did a great job of pressuring us, getting out of our comfort zone at times, and it just came down to making some plays, and they hit a couple shots that got them the lead back up to maybe double digits or whatnot, but at the end of the day we've just got to be able to make some plays happen and knock down some shots, and that's really what it came down to.

Q. With all you guys being seniors, what was the locker room like afterward? I'm sure it was a very emotional setting.

D'MITRIK TRICE: Yeah, definitely, with the older group and a lot of guys leaving as seniors, it was definitely emotional. There was a lot of tears being shed. But we know that this group is going to stick together after this. There's still a lot of basketball to be played between each of us.

We're going to hold our heads high. A lot of people doubted us throughout the whole entire season, so we're just going to come out here and hold our heads high and get ready for the next step in life.

Q. With this season as a whole, how would you sort of evaluate what happened on the court when it came to playing these better teams and kind of never getting over the hump? What sticks out to you when you think about these games?

D'MITRIK TRICE: Honestly, it's hard to tell. At times it was turnovers, at times it was not making shots. So it just varies depending on who you were playing. Tonight it was a little bit of both. Credit to Baylor, obviously they're a really great team, and every time that we made a mistake they capitalized on it.

It's hard, it's a tough way to go out as a senior, but the journey is not over still.

Q. Do you think this team improved this season over last, over the way you played, especially in that last stretch late last season? Do you think this team improved?

D'MITRIK TRICE: I honestly do, especially off the court. When you take into account everything that we've been through and then obviously playing after a pandemic and being in a pandemic, it's kind of tough, and a lot of factors factor in on the season. A lot of things that were perceived as normal last year weren't normal this year.

It was a whole new setting, whole new way. I know we came in one of the favorites in the NCAA, but there was a lot of factors outside of basketball that played a factor into the whole entire season.

Q. We do know that some of the guys, the young guys will be back next year. Of that group you know and maybe some of the young people who will be coming in the program, what do they have to do next year to, whatever it is, compete for a championship, get in the NCAA Tournament? Who has to step forward?

D'MITRIK TRICE: Yeah, obviously the guys that are here now, Johnny, T-Wahl, Steven and a couple other freshmen obviously got a little taste of it. Those guys are going to be the leaders of the team next year and the guys that got a lot of the minutes that played this year are going to have to step up in a major way next year with us losing a lot of seniors.

Obviously there's going to be good recruits coming in and a lot of hype around them, so all these older guys -- well, they're younger guys right now but they're going to be considered older guys next year, are going to have to step up in a major way in the off-season.

Q. Greg kind of subbed you guys out late in the game when it was basically over. What was going through your mind then knowing that that was it for you personally after a five-year career?

D'MITRIK TRICE: Honestly, it didn't hit me until I started shaking the hands of the coaches and the players and whatnot. It's just tough. It's tough to go out like that as a senior. Time really flies by. I know I've been here for a while and a lot of guys are probably tired of seeing my face, but it really felt like it was a blur. I was excited to be here. I'm still excited to be part of the Badger family, and I'll always be a Badger.

Q. I wonder, what will you remember most about the last two weeks where you had the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis and then you stayed here in a most unusual NCAA Tournament, and obviously I know you're leaving earlier than you would like to, but what will you remember about these two weeks?

D'MITRIK TRICE: Honestly, being in the hotel with the guys, we tried to make it as fun as possible, being out of Madison, Wisconsin, and moving out of that bubble and into this bubble. It's been a bumpy ride the last couple weeks, but I think our team and our managers and our coaches did a great job of making it feel at home and lightening the mood a little bit, whether that's playing games as a team or going outside and getting some fresh air. I think we used it to our advantage and made the most of it.