ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Mike Brey

Prentiss Hubb

Cormac Ryan

Barclays Center

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Postgame Press Conference

Virginia Tech 87, Notre Dame 80

MIKE BREY: Well, we dug ourselves a heck of a hole, and I think you've got to give Virginia Tech credit. I'm very impressed with them. They've been a tough matchup for us lately. Those two big guys just set an unbelievable tone and play well together.

Second half we found a little bit better rhythm, but just couldn't really defend well enough against a really gifted offensive team.

Q. Obviously they shot 59 percent from the field against you in January in Blacksburg, 57 percent tonight. What makes that Tech offense such a tough defensive matchup for you?

MIKE BREY: We sit there every time before we play them, and I remember I think you were sitting right in front of me in Blacksburg and brought that up, 60 percent. If you're helping off their shooters and you give up double-digit threes, then I don't think you really have a chance.

We at least, I thought, would be -- had a shot because they only made seven threes. But those twos are just -- they're kind of spirit breaking a little bit when they're so deep. I've never seen two big guys pass to each other as well as they do.

But you're going to have to score. Like we scored 80. Now, I think we turned it over too much in the first half. We kicked it around. We're usually pretty good with the ball. You're going to have to outscore them a little bit. You're not going to just shut them down. Scored 80, but they're just -- they were too efficient.

Q. How do you explain the start? You knew coming in you had to play well and just to start off like that really put you behind the 8-ball.

MIKE BREY: Yeah, yeah, I don't know. I thought their defense had something to do with it. You know, they're really physical defensively, and they take away a lot of stuff, and that eventually -- you're putting your head down and driving.

I thought some of our drives were forced, and the other thing is we had some lay-ups. We missed some lay-ups, even after forced drives, that are just deflating, and now you're in a hole.

Against them, it's too deep to get out of.

Q. What was your thinking changing the starting lineup and bringing Dane off the bench for the first time?

MIKE BREY: We just thought with their two big guys, can we have a little more size when they start backing down because we didn't really want to come off shooters and help. As you saw in the second -- it's tough when Dane is guarding a big who's just going to back down.

It was a little bit of, let's try something different. Obviously that experiment wasn't great, and I'm responsible for that one.

I'm not sure who will start next week, but we've got time to figure that out.

Q. The second half you guys, it seemed like offensively, were doing so well, but you couldn't get the lead under seven or eight and then it was hanging there for a while. Did you feel like you weren't quite doing enough to get in the game?

MIKE BREY: Yeah, I thought we were in a pretty good offensive rhythm. We drove it more. We got into our motion a little bit more. We just could never put together enough stops in a row. It was like every other. That was a hard hurdle to get over.

Q. I don't know if you remember back in Charlotte in October, I asked you about Virginia Tech to get your thoughts, and you said, they're the one team in the ACC we don't really have any answers for. Their defense, what makes them so hard to score on? And like he just asked, you guys did much better in the second half but that first half set you guys back.

MIKE BREY: You know, Mutts is almost a one-man show. He switches on guards, and it's really hard to get by him. He certainly can get big guys. He's really an amazing individual and team defender. Thoroughly impressed with them.

But you could tell in October I knew how good that group -- really give credit to Mike Young and this team. They were 2-7 in the league. It still blows my mind they were 2-7 in the league, but the run they've been on, I think they're an NCAA Tournament team. They're really good.

Q. You mentioned they only hit seven threes, but those two threes late by Storm Murphy, both at the end of the possession, one of them he double clutched, both of them rolled around the rim several times. What do you make of those two possessions where you guys guarded them for most of the shot clock?

MIKE BREY: Well, he's a winner, he's a big-time winner, and he has led them. He made a big one last night, and when he made the one up top against our zone, that's the one that kind of said -- now, the double pump one, that's the nail in the coffin, basically. Then you know, not tonight for us. But he's a fearless, physical, tough, emotional leader, and he makes them go. Very impressed with him.

Q. For the players, how disappointing is it to get knocked out of the tournament so early when you were the second seed?

PRENTISS HUBB: I mean, I think that, yeah, it's not the outcome that we expected, but I think that the fight that we gave in the second half and even like at the end of that first half, I think if we just came out with that same intensity from the beginning of the game, it would probably have been a closer game. They hit some shots. They hit some tough shots, a lot of tough shots, and we just -- I think we just didn't come to play, ready to play at the beginning.

CORMAC RYAN: Yeah, I would agree with that.

Q. For the players, what do you think of the turnovers? What do you attribute that to in the first half? Was it you guys not quite being ready or their defense?

PRENTISS HUBB: We can attribute that to me. I'm the point guard. I feel like I started the game off with that crazy turnover, and I think that it just spiraled down from there. Being a point guard, I've got to take care of the ball and from the jump, too. And I think that just -- yeah, the turnovers, that started with me, so I'll take that blame.

Q. Cormac and Prentiss, something that I think is really cool about the way you guys play is how unselfish the backcourt is in terms of zipping it around on the perimeter and mixing up who gets the ball screens called for them. How much do you attribute that to the chemistry you guys have to be willing to share the ball like that, and what do you guys think is the biggest strength of your backcourt?

CORMAC RYAN: Yeah, I mean, that's what we've done all year to be successful. Like you said, we're a group that shares it freely, and we've got tremendous chemistry on and off the court. That's what makes us go. In the times when we're struggling, we're not doing that. And being connected as five on both ends of the court is paramount for our success, even more so than other teams, because that's just who we are.

That's in our DNA. That's our identity. The more we stick to that, the better we are. And when we do, we're a heck of a group.

PRENTISS HUBB: Yeah, I just feel like we've got a lot of guys that can attack off the dribble and make certain reads, and I think that we've got faith in all the guards that come off the ball screens. And when we pass the ball to each other, we've got confidence that the person that we're passing it to can make a good play and help our team.

Q. Cormac, in the second half, we saw you really start to communicate and trying to bring the focus back. What were you saying in those moments and where was your head trying to get everybody's head on the same page?

CORMAC RYAN: I just think we played a little bit better in the second half. I'm not exactly sure what point you're referring to, but throughout the second half, I think the talk between us was we've got to focus on getting stops and sharing the ball. We did that at times. We made a run. We threw a punch back, which this group will always punch back.

But bringing energy and toughness is a key for us, and we dug ourselves a hole, like Coach said. And you're playing good teams and you're playing them in March, so it's hard to kind of dig yourselves out of that. We gave it our best shot, but we've got -- we know what we have and we've got a special group, and we look forward to kind of doing it for a full 40 going forward.

Q. Mike, what's kind of the message here as you guys regroup a little bit and where do you go from here?

MIKE BREY: Well, I've got them coming to my house Sunday night, and we'll see what our destiny is. I'm excited about us moving forward. I think we're in pretty good shape. I guess we'll find out Sunday. I've got the food ordered, so we're all going to be over there Sunday.

I think what's great for this group is after tonight and maybe not getting off to a start and playing well early, which we have done for most of the year, that they still get another chance to do that is a good thing. I think they'll bounce back really well next week.

Q. I wanted to ask you, when you've lost in this event in recent years, you've kind of known that the season is over. How much different does it feel and how confident are all three of you that not only is your season not over but that the NCAA Tournament awaits?

PRENTISS HUBB: Yeah, I mean, I think that we can't dwell on this game. The only thing we can really do is learn from this. We've just got to come out ready to play, and I think that it's not -- we've got to think about whoever we play when we find out on Sunday and stick to what we've got to do. And I think that we just need a good week of practice, and however long we get to practice before that game, and just flush this loss and try to get another win.

CORMAC RYAN: Yeah, I think we're going to be focused and hungry, and it does make you feel better that you will have another crack at it. And we're going to -- I think obviously it's a very tough loss, but if anything, it'll definitely put a little fire in our belly, which I don't think is a bad thing.

MIKE BREY: I'm extremely proud of this group because Selection Sunday a year ago, they were at my house and we watched the show, and that was kind of a miserable day, and it was a 365-day countdown to get back to be part of Selection Sunday. And that they've done it is pretty cool.