NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - OREGON ST. VS OKLAHOMA ST.

March 21, 2021

Ethan Thompson

Hinkle Fieldhouse

Oregon State Beavers

Postgame Media Conference

Oregon State 80, Oklahoma State 70

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Ethan Thompson and we will take questions.

Q. With all the fouls piling up out there, did you kind of sense that you wanted to get to the line? It looked like you were trying to get on guys so you could get to the line.

ETHAN THOMPSON: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you kind of just kind of see how the game is being played. There was a lot of fouls called. Just kind of looking for contact, but also trying to be as strong with the ball that I can.

They had a pretty aggressive defense, so kind of just feeding off of that.

Q. There's a lot of people who are I guess surprised at the Sweet 16 run you guys are making. I know inside that locker room there's no surprise. Where did you get the confidence that you could come in here and have the run that you're having?

ETHAN THOMPSON: I think we've always had that confidence, but it kind of took us -- we had to take a further step to kind of believe in ourselves and believe and trust in each other. As you can see, these wins that we've been having have been great team efforts. There's been a lot of contributions from (loss of audio).

Q. Certainly you have shown to be a resilient team at other points of the season. This was so much bigger than that. With Oklahoma State coming hard there in the second half, what was it that allowed you guys to finish this one off?

ETHAN THOMPSON: Kind of just the same thing that's been getting us through all these past couple game, past few games. Just leaning on each other, again, believing in ourselves. We believe that we're capable of doing great things. Whether that be getting a much-needed stop on defense, breaking the press, taking care of the ball, just take it step by step. If we take all the right steps, they're going to lead to wins.

Q. You've seen a lot of these Beaver games. You know how pumped Beaver Nation is, you weren't even alive back in the early '80s. The significance for you guys as a team, but the whole group of Beaver Nation that's really in need of an uplift right now.

ETHAN THOMPSON: Definitely. We love Beaver Nation. It's been tough not having them in Gill Coliseum this year. We know they love and support us no matter what, no matter what we're going through in the world as a team. I'm glad that we're able to share in this success together.

Q. In the first half you got in foul trouble. I think you sat on the bench for about 10 minutes. What were you seeing from other guys out there that were coming off the bench? You seemed to never run out of guys that could give you a lift.

ETHAN THOMPSON: Oh, yeah, definitely. Maurice was hitting a lot of big shots. He kind of got that ball rolling for us offensively. Kind of got off to a bit of a slow start offensively. Then guys like Julien, Gianni were giving us a push on the defensive end as well, as well as making plays offensively. Tariq was hitting some big shots early in the second half as well as the first half.

That's something that we've been talking about. We kind of put it on to show tonight our depth as a team. It's always next man up if somebody goes down, no matter who it is, we trust and believe, again, that the next person is going to have our back.

Q. If you look back to the beginning of this season, you lost to Wyoming, lost to Portland State, what would you tell yourself if you knew you were going to the Sweet 16?

ETHAN THOMPSON: I would probably just say just stay positive. We did that. We did stay positive. We knew it was in us, this success. We pictured it from the beginning. Being able to believe, again, and just take it day by day, staying positive every day, even with the tough losses early.

Honestly, I'll take the tough losses early because I think it taught us a lot of lessons on how to close out games, and we're closing out games at the right time.

Q. Certainly you guys defensively have been on a good run down the stretch. These two tournament games in particular you really kind of clamped down. What has been the key to success these last couple games on defense?

ETHAN THOMPSON: I don't want to go too much into the strategy. But I'm going to say just having each other's back out there, helping each other, being in gaps. Ultimately finishing the possession, whether it be with a steal or a rebound. But focusing on those two things.

Q. You hit some clutch buckets down the stretch, really cashed in from the free-throw line. Were you in one of those rhythms where you felt like everything you put up was going to go in?

ETHAN THOMPSON: Definitely, I was playing pretty confidently. That's what happens when you see the ball go through the basket a couple times. I was kind of put in situations where I had to put the ball up just all the time in the gym, the trust in my teammates, I'm comfortable shooting shots like that, so yeah.

Q. What does it mean to you to still have basketball to play, to advance to the Sweet 16, to make history with this team?

ETHAN THOMPSON: It means everything. I'm extremely blessed. All glory to God for our team as well as myself, Zach Reichle, our last year as seniors on the team, to be able to continue our season as far as we can.

I'm grateful for it. I just got a feeling that I don't want it to stop, so yeah.

Q. 10 days ago you're in the Pac-12 tournament, down 16 the first half. Now here you are less than two weeks later in the Sweet 16. Do you have to kind of pinch yourself at what's happened?

ETHAN THOMPSON: A little bit yes and a little bit no. As I was saying earlier, this team had some big goals going into the season. One of them was winning a Pac-12 tournament championship, a Pac-12 regular-season championship as well, of course, but we didn't do that. We got the tournament championship. Ultimate goal is to win the NCAA championship.

Q. Talk about the total defensive effort required against Cade Cunningham tonight. Talk about him himself.

ETHAN THOMPSON: Yeah, no, he's a very talented player. I think our coaches had a pretty good scouting report on him. But, yeah, he's a very talented player. You can't guard him really one-on-one, but as a team. I think we did a pretty good job of that, just knowing where he is on the floor.

Q. Have you been able to check your phone, conversations with your dad? What does this mean to your family knowing you've all spent your time here at Oregon State?

ETHAN THOMPSON: Yeah, no, it means a lot. Growing up in a basketball family, we had a lot of, lot of prayers, a lot of dreams. A lot of them are coming true in these last couple weeks. Just being able to share this moment with my dad on the sideline is amazing. I don't think it's really, like, hit yet. Probably in a couple months maybe. But we're not trying to look too far down the road. We're trying to enjoy the moment. We're doing that so far.

As for Steven, I don't know what time it is where he's at right now, but he's for sure going to get a FaceTime call.

Q. I think this is the start of spring break at Oregon State, isn't it, this week?

ETHAN THOMPSON: Yeah, yeah.

Q. You're spending your entire week in Indianapolis. Can you think of a better place to be?

ETHAN THOMPSON: No, I can't. I'm very fortunate to be here. Our team is extremely blessed. We just want to keep playing. The games are happening out here, so hopefully we stay out here.

Q. What is your focus now this week keeping yourself from getting distracted, getting ready for the task at hand with Loyola of Chicago?

ETHAN THOMPSON: Kind of just having fun, enjoying the moment with my teammates. The time we get to spend together, whether it be the hour we get outside, on practice, at meals, and stuff like that.

But just spending time in the moment, not trying to think about other things outside of where we are. Just staying locked in. Pretty soon we're going to have to turn around and prepare for Loyola Chicago, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.