NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL: SYRACUSE VS HOUSTON

March 27, 2021

DeJon Jarreau

Hinkle Fieldhouse

Houston Cougars

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Houston - 62, Syracuse - 46

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by DeJon Jarreau.

Q. Can you just describe what this win means for this program, to this team, to Kelvin Sampson, to this fan base? You guys haven't had a win like this since 1984.

DEJON JARREAU: Just a great culture that Coach Sampson has built here. Just getting guys to come here and buy into whatever plan he has for us to be successful. And we just have a group of guys who buys into his plan and listens to him and just try their best to execute whatever he says. We love Coach Sampson very much and we would run through a wall for him.

Q. What were the keys to getting into their zone and attacking that as successfully as you guys were able to?

DEJON JARREAU: Our coaches came out with a great game plan to get into the middle of the zone, which it was flashing from the baseline, flashing from the opposite wing, and our guards did a great job of making the passes inside. And whoever caught the ball in the middle just did a great job of making decisions and whether it was shooting or making the right pass and we was able to follow the game plan they came up with. And we did it to a T tonight.

Q. I know you were asked about getting the first win there since '84, but do you have your arms around the history you guys are making here? It's been 37 years since this school has been back to the Elite Eight. Do you have your arms around that, what that means?

DEJON JARREAU: Not really. Obviously we know the excitement we're bringing to the city of Houston and to the university. We're very happy for that. But we have a business to accomplish. We have a mission to accomplish. And we're just trying to do our best to try to go as far as we can.

We know we're making history. And like I've been saying, we are just approaching it as a business standpoint, just going out, executing our game plan and playing to the great culture that we have here.

Q. What's it like fighting through your health situation to get to where you got today?

DEJON JARREAU: Like I said, I had a week off to rest. It was a great week. I didn't practice. I was getting treatment from our staff. They did a great job of icing me and rubbing me down. So shout out to them. But the week off really helped. And tonight I didn't feel my hip at all. And I was able to play to my full potential and help my team get this win.

Q. Early on, how you guys kind of got off to that start, you were patient, moving the ball around. Can you just take us through the approach you guys had to that zone and the success that you had and sort of how you fed off of that?

DEJON JARREAU: Playing in our conference we faced zone a lot this year. Why we're able to face a lot of zone that helped us get prepared for this game because we're very successful during the year. And that helped us a lot today.

Getting in the middle you have to be patient. You can't rush. And as long as you make the right play, everything else will happen for itself. And once the ball go up, against the zone you have a great chance of offensive rebounding because they're out of position. But we did a great job of taking the shot that they gave us, whether we made it or missed it. We got on the opposite glass very well and shared the ball and just believing in ourselves.

Q. One of those late timeouts, they showed Coach Sampson getting fiery on the sideline. I know it's not anything new. But did he say something to serve as a spark?

DEJON JARREAU: Same thing he always says about our motor, we have to play hard. We were playing hard but we weren't competing, is the words he likes to say. And once we started competing we kind of took off and the game ended as it did. We had a comfortable lead. Took care of the ball, took great shots. Able to offensive rebound. We made free throws and we were able to get the win tonight.

Q. You held them to only 46 points tonight. How much did your defense factor in tonight?

DEJON JARREAU: We have a great defensive team. We trust in ourselves. We trust in the system that our coaches have built here and just going by the system. Once you do that, everything else will happen for itself. Just being in the right position, following the game plan.

Our coaches, whoever have the scout for each game came up with great game plans. And we do a great job executing we usually come out with the win. That's what we did tonight and we was able to get the win.

Q. Last week the two-day turnaround from weekend to Monday, is there anything you guys could take away from that short notice and how you all played against Rutgers in the upcoming Elite Eight matchup? The short turnaround to Monday's game, is there anything that you learned from last week that you can take away for this upcoming game on Monday?

DEJON JARREAU: Like I said, just following our game plan, playing to our culture. If we do that, then most likely we'll come out with the win. Just believing what our coaches are telling us because they're usually right in what they're telling us. They watch a lot of film. We watch a bunch of film as a unit. Like I said, following the game plan. They do a great job of coming up with a game plan and our culture usually wins games. If we do those things we have a great chance.

Q. How important was it to, Marcus Sasser, seeing him come out and shoot the ball a lot better with confidence at the beginning of this game after he struggled a little bit, how important was that to really get him going tonight?

DEJON JARREAU: Very important. He's very important to our offense. Whether he's making 3s or driving and shooting, (indiscernible). He's a great player, has a lot of confidence in himself.

Last game he kind of got off to a rough start getting two fouls early. Ands that kind of shocked his confidence. But the whole week we were telling him you need to shoot the ball. Whether you make it or miss it, we need you to shoot. You're a great shooter. Tonight he did that. We believe in Marcus. And he's been doing it all year. So why go away from it now? As long as he plays his game we're all right with that. Tonight he did that and he helped us be successful.

Q. Seemed like you had Syracuse's offense, they were under duress all night long. Do you think that pressure defense surprised them?

DEJON JARREAU: I guess so. Yes, sir. We're a great defensive team. We do a great job of following our game plan that the coaches came our way. We played very hard. Once we do those things we put ourselves in great positions.

And tonight we were able to execute that and we put ourselves in a great position to get the win. And Syracuse is a great team, great offensive team, great shooting team. But we were able to take away the 3-point line tonight, kind of make them drive and make plays. Tonight they just had an off night, and we were able to capitalize on their misses whether it was on a fast break or getting into the middle of the zone and making the right plays. And tonight we did that.

Q. The run at the end, were you hurting some? Was that cramping at the end, you weren't hurt?

DEJON JARREAU: Just cramps. Just cramps. No, I just have to drink more liquids come Monday and not put myself in that position again.

Q. Buddy Boeheim was on a really hot streak coming into this game. What was the game plan for him and how did you limit him to 12 points and 1-for-9 from the 3-point line?

DEJON JARREAU: Just chasing him off of all of the pin-downs and the ball screens, not sliding him because a lot of teams try to slide him. He has unlimited range. He's a great shooter.

Just try and make him make plays off the bounce instead of just catching it and shooting it or coming off a pin-down and shooting it. I feel like I did a great job tonight. Whenever I wasn't on him I feel like my teammates did a good job tonight.

We followed the game plan and executed it and tonight he just had an off night. He's a great player, great shooter. Anytime he got the ball, though, I was scared he was going to make it. But tonight we did a great job and we were able to get the win.