NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL: CREIGHTON VS GONZAGA

March 28, 2021

Greg McDermott

Hinkle Fieldhouse

Creighton Bluejays

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Gonzaga - 83, Creighton - 65

GREG McDERMOTT: Well, first of all, congrats to the Zags. Coach Few does a fabulous job. This is the third time in four years that we played them, and I just have the utmost respect for just how they go about their business, how they play the game. They play the game the right way. They're incredibly unselfish.

The names and some of the numbers have changed over the course of the years we've played them, but their efficiency and the unselfish nature and the way they play the game has not changed. So credit to them.

Obviously, the start of the second half was huge for us. We really felt like, for us to have an opportunity, we had to win that first four-minute time-out, and instead they were able to take that lead from 10 to 14, and then it's an uphill battle against a team like that.

Q. What did they do, Greg, to kind of keep you guys off balance enough offensively? Just in terms of not being able to score with them -- I know it's tough to do, but you had some stretches there where it was tough to get buckets.

GREG McDERMOTT: I thought we had some decent looks. I thought D.J. had some good looks at threes, Denz did, Mitch missed a couple that he's normally going to make. We missed a few around the rim. But we talked all week, like you have to score to play with Gonzaga, and we just didn't score enough.

I thought we forced 16 turnovers, and we tried to really protect the paint early in the game and kind of turn them into a jump shooting team, at least in transition. To their credit, Nembhard in particular really made us pay for that, him and Ayayi really did a great job hitting some of those shots, and that really kind of forced us to stretch out a little bit more. Once you get stretched out against them, you're asking for trouble because of Timme's ability to play on the block.

Q. Mac, when Christian got that second foul, what did you see in terms of how Gonzaga was able to get that separation that really ended up -- I mean, it kind of turned a one-, two-possession game into a ten-point game from there.

GREG McDERMOTT: I don't know it was so much -- obviously, Christian's presence on the floor is huge to us, but I thought Ryan went in and did some good things. We had a stretch in that period of time you're referring to in the first half where we settled for a lot of mid-range shots, and some of them were challenged mid-range shots. Instead of getting deep in the paint, setting our feet, and making some plays off that jump stop.

Gonzaga makes you do that. They force you into that, but they're not only a good offensive team, they're a really good defensive team.

Q. You said they're not only a really good offensive team, they're a good defensive team. What is it specifically that makes them so effective defensively?

GREG McDERMOTT: I think they have a lot of interchangeable parts, one through four certainly. Then when Watson comes in for Timme, then they switch you five ways some, and Watson moves his feet well enough to keep some guards in front.

But when Suggs and Kispert and Nembhard and Ayayi, they can switch screens and switch a pin-down and take something away, that can be very disruptive on the defensive end. Then Timme just controls that paint really well. Like I said, it's a different look with Cook because of his ability to get up under you defensively, and certainly Suggs can do that as well.

This is not a one-trick pony. These guys can play on both ends of the floor.

Q. Mac, when you guys first got to Indy, you talked a little bit about what this group has meant to you over these past two years. Now that this run has come to an end, can you just reflect a little bit about how special these players and this run has been for you?

GREG McDERMOTT: Yeah, that's what I told them in the locker room. Don't be sad that it's over, but smile because it happened. This two-year run with this core group has been incredible. You know, Big East championship and the celebration that went with it on the floor after we defeated Seton Hall to get a share of the league title last year, and then finishing a few percentage points behind Villanova this year for another championship, getting to the final, the Big East Tournament, and then really blazing a tournament for our program, getting to the Sweet 16.

That took the effort of a lot of people, but those seniors in particular, Jacob Epperson's -- talk about perseverance and fighting through adversity. I don't think anybody embodies that any more than Jacob has in my 32 years of coaching because of everything that he's been through, and he keeps coming back with a smile on his face and has been such a great teammate.

Denzel's willingness to play a totally different role, to embrace that defensive stopper role, that was so important in the first two games of this tournament, to get us here with the job he was able to do on McLaughlin and Preston. And Mitch, I recruited Mitch in eighth grade. It's hard to believe this is over in the blink of an eye.

While we'll miss Mitch on the basketball floor and in the locker room, because he's such a great teammate, I hope someone can fill the void in the community because he's engaged himself in our community with young people, with boosters, like very few guys that have played for us.

And then D.J.'s, he's been our heart and soul. His energy, his passion, his commitment to improvement has been incredible during the four years that he's been here.

So I know they're hurting right now, but I hope, when this is over, they can look back and appreciate and celebrate the magnitude of what they've accomplished the last two years.

Q. Mac, how much can a trip to the Sweet 16 help build this program to even greater heights?

GREG McDERMOTT: Just it shows what's possible. If you get a group of guys that will fight for each other and stay committed to a common goal, a lot of special things can happen. That's something that I talked with the guys as they were coming off the floor, the guys that are returning next year about we want to get back to this point. There's a lot of effort that goes into that and work that goes into that.

So we'll -- obviously, we're going to lose some really, really good players, and we've got to regroup from that, but our expectation is that we want to compete for championships year in and year out.

Q. What was it like, Greg, this last week? I mean, it's such a tough challenge to prepare for this Gonzaga team, and you guys were going to dig into all the details. What did you notice from your guys as you kind of ready for this thing? Did you have a sense of how they'd come out and play?

GREG McDERMOTT: Yeah, I think you saw it. What was it, 28-25 ten minutes into the game. We were having a hard time stopping them, but they were having a hard time stopping us too at that point. I think our guys were focused and ready to play and understood what we had to do. We had to take some chances on some of their guys on the perimeter to try to plug some things up because of their ability to get to the rim in transition and get it to Timme in transition. We wanted to take Kispert away in the first half in particular. D.J. did a great job of that.

So our guys were focused. It's challenging because you'd like to be able to celebrate an accomplishment like this, in particular, with your family, but certainly as well with your friends and your fellow students, and that just wasn't possible this year. It was 32 of us on the same hotel floor for going on three weeks or four weeks, whatever we've been doing it.

But I think they'll look back and appreciate this and really enjoy the experience as they move forward.

Q. I know these questions are tough because the emotions are really raw right now and you probably haven't had time to process it. As the group as a whole, like when you look back on teams and try to take away things that you remember most about them, what does this group -- what are you going to appreciate most, do you think, about this group and just the waters that they had to navigate in kind of unprecedented times?

GREG McDERMOTT: Yeah, I think it starts with being picked seventh or eighth to win the league in our league standings preseason last year and the focus that they had to prove everybody that that was a mistake. And then this year we were picked to finish second, and many so times living up to expectations can be more challenging than exceeding expectations, and we were able to do that.

When the bell rang, they were ready to go, and I'm really, really proud of them for that. Obviously, we've had to navigate through some tough stuff the last month together, and those were some challenging times, but when you have good people in your locker room, you have a chance to get through those tough times. I'll forever be indebted to them for accepting me for who I am and that I'm a person that makes mistakes and that I'm going to continue to work to be a better person as a result of my mistake.

Q. What aspect of this Gonzaga team do you think will make them tough to beat in the next week, week and a half?

GREG McDERMOTT: The thing that jumps out at me is Kispert had two points at halftime and we're still down ten. He's so valuable to what they do, and obviously we committed a lot to take him away. There's so many ways that they can beat you. Obviously, their elite scoring at the basket and at the rim. They had 50 points in the paint on us again today, and that's with us trying to take that part of their game away.

I think it's their balance, and I've said it in preparation for this game. It's one of the best passing teams I've seen, one through five, in that starting lineup in college basketball in a long time. I just think, when you make a mistake, they have the patience, and they have the ability to make you pay for it because of their ability to pass.

Q. We've asked you about Marcus a lot this year and last couple weeks, but just if you can sum up sort of his tournament run, maybe his March in general, where he just seemed to be playing really good basketball and led the way for you guys down the stretch?

GREG McDERMOTT: It's no secret it's been a journey for Marcus this year because of going back to last March with the injury and really missing most of the off-season as a result of that, then having a setback that was of a different nature in October, where he missed significant practice time leading up to the season, and then he had a little setback during the conference season, where he missed a couple of games and we had to get him kind of back.

I think what you've seen the last month is the Marcus Zegarowski that built upon all the great things that he did last year. Without the injuries he had to fight through this year, the guy would have been a slam dunk All-American again, first or second team, because he's played at such a high level and impacted winning in so many different ways. He's back healthy. He's got an unbelievable competitive nature that everybody's seen. It's been an absolute pleasure to coach.

He's going to have some decisions to make on his future when the time is right, and we'll support whatever he chooses to do 100 percent because he's certainly given his heart and soul to the Creighton Bluejays. Whether he's back a year or not, we really appreciate the impact that he's had on our program.

Before I leave, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the NCAA and the city of Indianapolis for the job that they've done in hosting this event. Until you're part of the bubble and you see the coordination that goes into something like this, you don't fully understand or appreciate the planning, the organization that it has taken to pull this thing off in a safe way for everybody involved.

Obviously, it's been an incredible experience for us, and part of the experience being as good as it was is not just the organization and how well it was run, it was the people that we were interacting with. Some of our hosts that we were going to on a daily basis with questions and at the snap of a finger, they were there to help. They've taken an unprecedented, difficult year and created a very positive environment for these young people to try to enjoy what's been a tough year because of the time that they've put into this.

So hat's off to the NCAA and the city of Indianapolis for doing a first-class job with this tournament.