MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2022

Ryan Odom

Brandon Horvath

Thomas & Mack Center

UTAH STATE AGGIES

Postgame Press Conference

Utah State - 83, Air Force - 56.

RYAN ODOM: Ryan Odom. Odom.

THE MODERATOR: We'll have an opening comment from the coach, then we'll ask questions of the student athlete. We'll release the student athlete, and then we'll finish up with questions for the coach. So with me is Coach Ryan Odom and player No. 4, Brandon Horvath.

So Coach, opening statement, please.

RYAN ODOM: I just wanted to start out by saying, you know, Coach Scott and his team, I just want to share a quick story. I don't know if you saw me at the end of the game communicating with Max Shulga, one of our players who's from the Ukraine. And I just wanted to thank them. I was standing in the locker room, in the coaches' locker room before the game, by myself, the teams were out there warming up.

And one of their assistant coaches came in to deliver a gift for Max. And just offering their thoughts and prayers. There was some Ukrainian cookies that they baked. And what an amazing gesture.

Obviously, Max has been going through a ton individually. His family lives right in Kiev. And we all followed what's going on, you know, there right now. And it breaks our hearts.

He's handled it with grace. He's handled it, you know, as well as anyone could possibly do it. And his play has elevated. And I think -- I just wanted to say publicly that his teammates and his coaches love him. And, you know, it really did touch us, you know, that Air Force did that. They didn't have to do that. And I really appreciate them doing that.

As it relates to the game: I thought our guys were tremendous today. I thought the defense, you know, was excellent. Any time you're playing, you know, Coach Scott, you've got a bear in terms of preparation and how you're going to defend them.

And, you know, I thought our guys, you know, stuck to the game plan throughout. I thought our guys did a really nice job offensively, especially in the first half.

We had our worst turnover game of the season in the second matchup against Air Force. And they're really good at knocking balls loose. And I thought that really was a sign for us that we were here to play today.

We only had one turnover at halftime. We pushed through some drives and made some really good offensive plays. I thought Brandon, obviously, was huge. He wouldn't be sitting up here if he wasn't throughout. But it was a balanced attack.

And, you know, just appreciative of our guys' effort and their willingness to look for one another throughout the game. So that's -- I'll leave it at that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Brandon?

Q. Brandon, what got you going early in this game?

BRANDON HORVATH: I think my teammates were just looking for me. We knew going into the game we just scouted them and they switched everything on defense. So I just kept rolling the guards into the post and my teammates kept finding me, and I just got going.

Q. Just how comfortable did you feel offensively in that second half?

BRANDON HORVATH: We always feel comfortable going into the game. We prepare very well and we just stuck to the game plan. I was just, you know, keep setting screens, keep moving, keep passing the ball to one another and things will work out.

Q. Hey, Brandon, free-throws today. I mean, a lot better than what it's been lately. You started the game off making five of six. That's a good start, good sign.

RYAN ODOM: Are you ignoring the air ball?

BRANDON HORVATH: I did air ball one, so it wasn't that great. No, that's a thing I work on all the time. I keep battling with it. Some games I'm really good, some games I'm not very good. It was good to start off five of six.

Q. Brandon, something you told me last week was that defense -- your defensive effort is going to facilitate a lot of that transition and kind of getting into that rhythm. How do you feel you guys were able to do that tonight?

BRANDON HORVATH: For sure like Coach said, it's tough to, you know, game plan for these guys. They move a lot, cut a lot. You know, but I thought if we could hold them down on defense, you know, it could lead off into some transition plays.

Q. Just two things. I want your reaction and how you felt with that and one, that strong and one you had, and then to Bairstow's monster dunk?

BRANDON HORVATH: You know, both great plays. Sean's dunk was awesome. I see that athleticism all the time in practice. It was nice to see him do it in the game. He had one in San Jose State. I told him he should have dunked it, but he didn't. So it was nice to see him finally do that in the game. I was pumped for that.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about -- coach talked about Max. You were kind of sitting there nodding. What was it like for him to come and play like he did today? I mean, he's had a couple of really good games off the bench.

BRANDON HORVATH: Yeah, I got a ton of respect for that guy. Just what he's going through, I can't even imagine every day waking up, talking to his family, not the knowing what's going on. He's been playing great for us, like coach said, recently. We just need him to keep doing that. So prayers out to everybody in his family.

THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for our student athlete? Okay. Brandon, we thank you.

BRANDON HORVATH: Appreciate it. Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: Now, we'll entertain questions for our coach.

Q. You had a lot of guys in double figures today. You were able to rest, you know, being in Horvath there down the stretch. How does that play into tomorrow, being able to prep and game plan with Colorado State with such a quick turn around?

RYAN ODOM: Yeah, certainly it is a factor. This team has been through it before. You know, earlier in the season, we had a double overtime game in our first game against Penn down in Myrtle Beach. And then we had to turn right around and play at noon the next day against a really tough New Mexico State team.

And the guys just, you know, they just take care of their bodies. They do a really good job of after games, you know, really getting with Leah, getting with Jimmy, our strength coach, and really focusing in on what they can do to make sure that they're completely rested.

And part of it is legs, right, and your body, but it's also got to be your mind. This time of year, it's all about fresh legs and fresh minds, and being able to go for it. And so that's certainly our plan.

We know we're facing a team that's dynamite. Colorado State has had an awesome season. And we'll continue to do that, you know, hopefully in the NCAA tournament.

And we're matched up with them tomorrow. And so, we're going to give it our best go. We had two pretty close games with them. One just a week and a half ago where we had some opportunities. But they were, you know, experienced down the stretch. And, you know, really did a nice job of finishing us off. So we know it's going to be really difficult. But we're excited that we're going to have another opportunity.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, the second half, you guys weren't shooting well the first half and took off the second half. What keyed that in your mind?

RYAN ODOM: Just continued -- we were getting fouled in the first half. I think the free-throw line was helpful for us, obviously. And several of their guys got in a little bit of foul trouble there, which can, you know, impact things. And it certainly did for us.

But I think just the spacing and, you know, continuing to move the basketball and being shot ready. I think like Brandon mentioned, when you're getting stops and you're able to get out in transition, you know, our guys are pretty good and willing passers. And they look for one another at all times. And sometimes almost to a fault. Like that one shot clock violation, we had probably three open shots that we didn't take and we ended up with a violation there. And so the balance of that can sometimes be difficult.

But, you know, I think one of the keys -- you have to make the shots, right? It's one thing to get clean looks. But you actually have to knock them in. I was happy that our guys were able to put them through the hoop.

Q. Steven Ashworth, obviously, he's just coming back from an injury. How do you think that he looked today? He seemed pretty late comfortable to me.

RYAN ODOM: Yeah, he looked pretty normal to me. He practiced the last couple days, you know, right after San Jose. And, you know, he's -- you know, Steven's a warrior. You know, he's a tough guy. You know, he's committed, you know, to doing everything he can to take care of his body. And he's going to get in there and fight, you know, for position. And sometimes, you know, you end up getting hurt. And he actually got hurt in practice, you know, after the Colorado State game.

But it was great to see him back out there. Great to see Brock back out there, as well. I thought Brock made some nice plays for us. And hopefully he can build off of that going forward.

THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for our head coach? Okay. Thank you.

RYAN ODOM: Thanks.