PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Tommy Lloyd

Christian Koloko

Bennedict Mathurin

Arizona Wildcats

Postgame Press Conference

Arizona - 84, Stanford - 80

TOMMY LLOYD: These first games in these tournaments, especially when you have a bye, they are like this. The other team has rhythm and a little bit of belief from a special game the day before where they kind of pulled a rabbit out of a hat, so to speak, but you give them a ton of credit. And they are a spirited group, a high character group. And I knew it was going to be a tough game today.

And I tip my hat to Stanford. They played great. They had a good plan. And then a lot of times you have a great plan, but you still gotta make the shots. And they made the shots. And Jones is on fire right now. He was -- starting our game, he had four threes, then I think he had six threes yesterday, and I think he made a bunch more today.

So to overcome a performance like that in an elimination game is pretty special.

Q. Any update on Kerr?

TOMMY LLOYD: It's a sprained ankle of some kind. I have no idea the severity of it or anything like that. But obviously it's a quick turnaround, so it will be tough. We'll just play it by ear.

Q. Are you expecting him to be out the rest of the tournament?

TOMMY LLOYD: I'm going to talk to my trainer after this and we'll see. I'm not making any of those calls right now.

Q. Coach, could you talk about your decision down the stretch to have Ben on the bench?

TOMMY LLOYD: Hey, we're a team. Ben is a heck of a player. And defensively we had a lineup I felt good about. At the end of the day, I gotta make tough decisions sometimes. And we had a defensive unit out there that I felt best, and I felt like we're going to have to get stops to win the game. And we did. But then on offense, we subbed him back in and called Ben's number, and he delivered. That's what -- basketball is a team sport, and luckily some of the calls we made worked down the stretch.

Q. Christian, you had a great game, 24 points. Do you feel like you're peaking at the right time right now, coming into March? Do you feel like you're playing your best brand of basketball?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: I'm just taking what the defense gave me. Coach drew up some plays. I was open, so I was just staying there. I just got to give credit to my teammate, they found me. Whatever the defense do, I'm just going to play to it.

Q. We don't know what's gonna happen with Kerr, but just in general, how much does mean to you guys and how much -- how important is he to what you guys do?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Kerr means a lot to the team he's a starting point guard and he has a great impact on the team. And we play well when he's here. But whatever happens will happen but we hope he's going to be back pretty soon because we need him.

Q. Tommy, can you talk about Koloko and how he handled today's pressures and got you through the second half?

TOMMY LLOYD: It's tough when teams are switching like that, the game gets physical inside, and a lot of times, when you're a bigger guy playing against a smaller guy, the smaller guy might have some advantages down low.

So he had to battle. And for him to go 10 and 12 with all that traffic in there, it shows how far he's come. And how he handled it, he did a great job slowing down, getting on balance and made some big free throws down the stretch too.

So I felt comfortable with our attack. I didn't think offense was our issue for the most part. But Christian, being able to play in those switches like that, was a really important piece of the puzzle today.

Q. Just a little more on Spencer Jones, back-to-back career highs for him. What made him so difficult to stop defensively? You guys were obviously doing everything you could.

TOMMY LLOYD: We might have had a mistake here and there. But when a guy is that hot, there's contesting the shot, and there's not allowing somebody to have a shot. He probably slid over to that category, and we gave him a couple and felt like contesting, felt like good defense. But he's got a quick trigger and a high shooting pocket, and he's tall. You put those together, he can shoot right over the top of defenses, and not many guys can do that.

Q. Coach, a little different scenario for you, but you have a standing appointment each March to cut down a net here in Las Vegas. So how comfortable does it feel to be here, and what is this like?

TOMMY LLOYD: It's great. For this group and for me, being a first-year head coach in this group, I think Selo [phonetic] probably played in a conference tournament game a couple years ago, one game, and then Ben has never played in one.

So we're a new group experiencing a lot of things. So it was good to get tested today. And obviously Stanford gave us everything we want and then some.

So, yeah, I mean, I love this time of year. I love coaching in these games, and they mean a lot. And obviously you want to win because if you don't win, you gotta go home. So it's a position I'm comfortable to be in, and I can't wait to get out on that court tomorrow.

Q. Question is for all of you, but particularly Ben. This is a neutral site, but it felt like, and fans are calling it, McKale North. How much did the fan energy bring to you guys? Did you feel it on the court? And what was it like to play in this atmosphere?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: It's pretty fun having a lot of fans coming to Vegas and he cheering for us. When you make a big play, a lot of people cheer your name, and it's pretty fun.

Felt at home in Vegas, so I'd say it's a pretty good experience.

TOMMY LLOYD: I'll add to that. Someone told me if we win today, wait until you see this place Friday night. So can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow.

Q. I saw you were on Coach K's radio show. Your thoughts on being part of that and him complimenting your team?

TOMMY LLOYD: It was an honor. The first thing I asked him is how far down line did your producer have to go to land on me, the Monday after your last game.

It was an honor to be on there, and obviously he's a program that I have a ton of respect for and he's a coach that's really built college basketball into what it is today, and I look forward to trying to continue to build on what he started.

Q. Ben, was there anything in particular that Stanford was doing with their defense to try to keep you from being able to drive toward the basket and focus more on shooting outside?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: I noticed a little bit. They were a little bit more aggressive when I was driving to the paint. But I took advantage of it and stayed away, and my teammates were able to drive to the paint and make plays.

So it was a little bit different, but I got -- I got the chance to involve of my teammates in driving to the paint.

Q. The Gonzaga coaching tree this year has had a phenomenal year, and I know the four of you were able to get together on Tuesday. What has it meant to you to have all four of you having the years that you're having?

TOMMY LLOYD: It's cool. I'm like the brother in the group. I was with those guys, all of them, for a long time, and they're all kind of similar age, and I was here 15 years younger. So, yeah, they've been great mentors to me. And more than that, our families are all really close, and you're talking vacations and birthdays and weddings, whatever. We do all that stuff together.

So I'm happy for those guys, and I know they're happy for me. But there's no time to reminisce now. It's about winning games and trying to get to the next one.

Q. Looking ahead to tomorrow, what do you think about both potential matchups? Is there a matchup that you would like to have?

TOMMY LLOYD: Well, obviously I'm going to say they're both really good teams. Whichever one we play is going to be a hard-fought game. And, come on, I mean, I don't know. I respect both programs.

And both of them obviously played us tough. Colorado gave it to us last time, and Oregon gave us -- it was a game very much like today's, everything we needed.

So a lot of respect for both programs, both coaches, and whichever one ends up winning today, it will be an honor to simply them in the semis.

Q. Tommy, what's your outlook on conference tournaments? Obviously you're seeding seems to be very secure for the next tournament, but you do have a young team just getting postseason experience?

TOMMY LLOYD: I think the media narrative is the seed is secure, and the coaching narrative is I really don't care. I think we'll get a decent seed. And in the NCAAs, it's probably not secure. So I think there's a lot of speculation up there.

So I'm a competitor, and I want to win the next game. So I love these tournaments. And for me, I have had to recalibrate because I'm used to being at Gonzaga for 22 years, being at home today watching this game on TV, team resting, coaches kind of tinkering with what's coming next, what do we need to work on. You almost get a four- or five-day training camp with your team to clean things up.

This is different. And I'm going through it for the first time, and I'm gonna learn as much as I can.

Q. Ben and Christian, you guys haven't had a whole lot of close games this year in general. The Oregon game a couple weeks ago, Wichita State here a long time ago. How did it feel to play down to the wire in a game like this, and do you think that could help you?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: We have a young team. So I think we need those kind of games to get ready for what's next for us. And I think we did a pretty good job just executing the game plan and following everything Coach told us during the game. We need those kind of games, and lucky we won today. Just gotta prepare for tomorrow.

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Christian said it. It's all about preparing for the next game, game after games, and just sticking to the plan and getting the win.

Q. Question for Tommy and Ben. Harrison Ingram's performance, what made him so difficult to stop tonight? This was his first double-digit scoring performance since Oregon State. Talk about what he did well?

TOMMY LLOYD: He's a talented player. He's a McDonald's All-American, Freshmen of the Year in the conference. And I thought he maybe had just been trending downwards a little bit, just maybe freshmen wall or whatever reason kind of.

But today he kind of came out. You saw he had little bounce in this step. And he made a play or two early. And like their whole team. Their whole team rose to that occasion. They are spirited. Their locker room was too far from ours, and they were excited to play, excited at halftime.

They're in the same hotel as us. I was in the elevator with a bunch of them today, and they're great kids. High character coaches, high character program, and they gave a great effort today.

Q. Tommy, you talked about defense briefly. Are you concerned about the defense, one; and, two, do you think it's a one-off that you guys just didn't play to your expectations?

TOMMY LLOYD: I'm going to give them some credit. They made some shots, made some shots normally you would live with. And then they started making enough of them, so we had to make some adjustments in our coverages.

And that's how these games go. It's single-elimination game. It's not the NBA where it's 1 of 82, make them today and, well, we'll get them next time. It's a make or miss deal. You can't coach like that in these because these are -- these games mean a lot, and I want to make sure I'm giving these guys every opportunity possible to come out on top.

And so our defense has been great all year. It has been far from perfect. And we'll get back and watch the film and ratchet it down, and hopefully the ball will bounce our way a little bit tomorrow.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

TOMMY LLOYD: Thanks, guys.