BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2022

LaVall Jordan

Bryce Golden

Aaron Thompson

Madison Square Garden

Butler Bulldogs

Postgame Media Conference

Providence - 65, Butler - 61

COACH JORDAN: Yeah, listen. Obviously a tough one -- it's always tough. End of the, end of the season, or end of the tournament, it's always tough when anything comes to an end with this team, team 124.

So it's hard to look at all those guys in the locker room and know we don't get another practice and we don't get another road trip together. They won't -- you know, a lot of the experiences that they've enjoyed throughout the -- throughout the year they don't even involve basketball. They're going to come to an end and guys will move on.

So that's always a hard part of every single team and every single year. But I'm proud of -- I think them showing who they are, especially to be close, close, close, obviously close again today. But to continue to come back every day, stay the course, believe in each other, believe in Butler and Butler basketball and what that stands for, and do everything they possibly could to show, when they got new life, that they were going to represent in the way that they did.

You know, it's March, so the ball bounces one way or the other. A lot of things change. A lot of credit to Providence. They've been doing this all year in close games. They've had guys that have made the shot or made the play. They've been surviving and advancing way beyond now. But proud of our guys for the effort and the fight. And a couple plays go a couple different ways, you know, we're talking a different subject at the press conference. But it didn't happen.

Q. LaVall, so much back and forth. Did you feel this game had a turning point at all? You had a six-point lead for a bit and then three pretty late. Did it really have a turning point aside from the Durham shot?

COACH JORDAN: I don't know. I thought, you know, the way the game's gone when we've had -- the three times that we played against them this season. It's been right there, one or two possessions -- get a stop, make a shot. And somebody's going to have the ball and have to get the stop or you're going to have the ball and get a good opportunity to get a shot.

I thought we did, the same as we did at home. Bynum made a couple free throws; we had a good look. Today, Durham hit a shot; we responded. That's what you do when you're competing.

So I don't know if there was any defining moment in the game. I thought we had a couple opportunities right at the rim that we didn't put in. Put those in and now they have to respond. And, you know, that might have changed it. But our guys responded the entire night, or the entire day.

Q. Bryce, you only had one point last night and you really had it going, a 6-0 run by yourself. What changed for you offensively? And it's not an easy task going up against a guy like Nate Watson. What was working for you today?

BRYCE GOLDEN: Yeah, I mean, nothing special. Kind of just started driving and kicking. And they were helping uphill. So got a couple easy dump-offs and stuff like that.

But other than that, I just try to play with a will. I knew this could be our last game. And I was just trying to give it everything I had for the dudes that don't get any college experience after this, so --

Q. I think you guys did a tremendous job. Bryce, I just want to ask you, somewhere around 1:11 left, you were boxing out, did a great job boxing out. Watson was behind you. You reached over the top. You went flying forward. They were touch fouls throughout the game and there was nothing. Were you surprised or what actually transpired? I mean, it's the game. But at the same time, they went down and they scored at that stage. And it was a big turnaround, a five-point turnaround?

BRYCE GOLDEN: Yeah. I mean, that's Big East basketball. Late in the game, they're not going to call those. It's a fight down there, especially against these guys. I knew that going into it. And they got the best of me on that one. But they're not going to call those ones late in the game. Just too much momentum and too many things riding on it so --

Q. This is for Aaron Thompson. Aaron, how will you remember your five years at Butler? And what do you see for the future of the Bulldogs?

AARON THOMPSON: This place is special to me. It's a place I can call home. I just remember all my teammates, everybody that's helped me while I've been here. And I can't -- I can't thank all those people enough that have helped me throughout my process at Butler. So just pretty much the people, for the most part.

And for the future of the Bulldogs, this place is special. It's been special. It will always be special. That won't change no matter what's going on, win, lose, it's always going to be special. So it's always going to have a -- the players here are always going to have a fight to them. They're going to come back and get up off the mat, win, lose, or draw. Come at it the next day, like we did all year.

Wasn't easy coming into practice the next day. But we found a way to come in and compete against each other, compete against the team that we played against the next day. Like Coach said, the result wasn't there all the time, but you could feel the fight in us every single night.