MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2022

Niko Medved

Isaiah Stevens

David Roddy

Thomas & Mack Center

Colorado State Rams

Postgame Press Conference

Colorado State - 53, Utah State - 51

THE MODERATOR: We welcome to the platform, the Colorado State University Rams. We will have the opening statements come from the coach, then we will ask the questions from the student-athletes, they will be dismissed, and then we'll finish up with the questions for the coach.

So with that, we ask Coach, please, your opening statements.

NIKO MEDVED: You know, proud of our guys for finding a way to win. You know, we -- kind of parred for the course, right. You look at the first two games today, it came down to the last possessions. We just didn't want to feel left out, right, today.

And you got to give a lot of credit to Utah State. That's a terrific team. And you look at the depth of our league, and they've got really good players, they're well coached. And we knew they came ready to play today.

But our guys dug in. They found a way to make enough plays down the stretch. And they've been in these games all year and they never got rattled. And, hey, sometimes in this time of the year, you've just got to find a way to make one more play than your opponent. And that's what we did. Survive and advance. And we look forward to the semis tomorrow night.

THE MODERATOR: We have questions for our students athletes, Isaiah Stevens and David Roddy.

Q. Isaiah, you had gotten two big buckets on drives down the stretch. When you went back the third time, were you thinking pass, thinking that Utah State would close on you harder?

ISAIAH STEVENS: I was just trying to be aggressive and get downhill. Once I started to see the defense rotate over, we have a designed cut when that happens, and I was just able to find an open man for a layup.

Q. David, is that one of the biggest charges you think you've seen one of your teammates take this year, when Kendall got that on Justin after that turnover?

DAVID RODDY: Yeah, it was huge. Actually, I think two guys were trying to set a charge. When I was chilling back, I was just thinking in my head, someone set a charge, set a charge. It didn't seem like they wanted a three. And they had a lot of time left on the clock. So that's a huge charge for Moore. We need him to take a lot more. It's taken about four years for that.

NIKO MEDVED: Even he took one today. How about that? What's going on?

Q. What's it been like to go through this season with as many close high level games as y'all have endured?

DAVID RODDY: Man, it's great. It's what we needed for, you know, this moment right here. You know, a similar one-possession game. You know, we won some, we lost some. So for us to be in those big games over the season in the nonconference, as well as the conference, it definitely prepares us well for this tournament and whatever tournament we'll be in next.

Q. Roddy, you could really see the frustration on your face tonight. How did you alter this energy into the final stretch of the game?

DAVID RODDY: Yeah, try to go with the next play mentality. I'm a very passionate guy. Sometimes it bleeds out. I need to do better on that. I just wanted to have that next play mentality and just make winning plays. Get rebounds as much as possible, as well as directing my teammates wherever, you know, they needed to be.

Q. Steven, you had 14 points going into tonight's game. How do you plan to use that energy in tomorrow's matchup?

ISAIAH STEVENS: It's a whole new game, whole new game plan, whole new opponent, so can't really dwell on this one. Even though we won, it's on to the next game. And we'll come with a -- hopefully, a better approach.

Q. Niko, I think they outscored you in the paint 16 to eight in the first half, but came back and played them even in that regard in the second half. Did any specific adjustments lead to that?

NIKO MEDVED: I don't know. This was just a game where really neither team had anything going from the perimeter. It's funny, like different games take on lives of their own, and this was just one of those games.

And they were really aggressive, I thought. And I don't think defensively we were very good to start the game. They're a tough team to guard, and they put you in difficult situations with both their bigs being able to shoot that way, and they put you in tough coverages. They were just really aggressive getting downhill.

So I don't know if there's really was any adjustments made. I just thought we got a little tougher regarding the ball, a little tougher in the interior. And, you know, we rebounded a little bit better. I think they had eight offensive rebounds early. I don't have it in front of me. And I thought we got enough rebounds down the stretch to get the job done.

Q. Isaiah, you had played these guys twice, two close games. With that in mind heading in, were you preparing for another tight one today?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Absolutely. Utah State is one of those teams that can compete with anybody in the top of the league, night in and night out. We knew it was going to be a dogfight going into it. Shout out to them. They're a phenomenal team. I feel like this game is going to make us better down the stretch.

Q. This is for both you guys. Chandler Jacobs had kind of a tough sequence where he picked up his second and third personals on one possession after a couple offensive rebounds by Utah State. He had to sit for a while. What does it say about his character, that he can then come into the game, make his first shot of the game with one second left?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Next-play mentality. I feel like it speaks volumes to who he is as a person, who we are as a program. What we try to be as a program is move on to the next play. As long as there's time on the clock, you still have a chance to make something happen. And he came in and came up with the biggest bucket of the night.

DAVID RODDY: Yeah, he's super resilient, he bounces back every single time. He's a big-time kid. Big-time dude. Because he gets upset when I tell him he's a kid. No, he's a great guy. And man, I couldn't be more prouder for him.

Q. You guys have played Utah State six times now in the last two seasons. Do these feel like they're becoming -- every game is just almost, like, a rivalry. Obviously, you're not direct rivals like Wyoming. Does it got that feel to it now?

DAVID RODDY: Yeah, I would say so. They're a great team, a tournament team for the past three years. We want to be at that level. And I think we can be. So, yeah, every time we play them, it's always a dogfight. And, you know, they give us our best and we give them, you know, their best. So, you know, it's -- they're a great program.

Q. For either one of you guys, when a game's played defensively like this, did it almost feel like every basket you went on a run, even a single basket?

ISAIAH STEVENS: It definitely started to feel like that. It was a slugfest from start to finish. Just knowing that each and every bucket, that we were going to have to really work for it on the offensive end. It just wasn't going to come easy. I think that just screams March Madness at this point of the year. Both teams had each other scouted pretty well. Our typical actions don't get you the looks that we hope for anymore. Every basket was huge for us and we were just able to make that one last one.

THE MODERATOR: Do we have any final questions for our student-athletes? Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. Now we'll proceed with questions for our coach, Niko Medved.

Q. Niko, the more you've watched Isaiah play, do you just grow more and more comfortable with the ball in his hands in the final minute of a game?

NIKO MEDVED: Well, I mean, you've watched him here for three years. I've seen it enough, you know, and he had that look in his eye tonight. Just very, very confident, you know, swagger. He was able to get in the paint and I think we, obviously, needed to get in the paint tonight. It was just one of those games.

I thought they did a great job on David tonight of making his catches tough, and bringing help to the post. And so it was kind of his night. So I've always had that trust in him and he's been that way from day one. And tonight was just another example and the stage gets bigger and bigger, but it's never too big for him.

Q. You mentioned early on the defensive, you know, called time-out, I think, after that runout dunk. They were getting a lot in the paint. Was there anything they had tweaked to get that, or did you feel some defensive lapses that were leading some of those?

NIKO MEDVED: Sometimes it was interesting. It's like in the first four minutes, I thought it was going to be like a 91 to 89 game. It was just bucket, bucket, bucket. Nobody was stopping anybody. And then both teams, I think, really dug in.

I don't know if it was a change in scheme. I thought it was just kind of a change in both teams in mentality. The game got a lot more physical. And, again, because nobody really had it going from the perimeter tonight, it was just, you know, one of those games you're going to have to do a lot of dirty work.

So I think it was just that. Both teams just kind of ramped it up, kind of brought a little more physicality to the game. I don't really know that it was anything that change in scheme. It was just maybe a friendly reminder of what this game was going to be and what we needed to do.

Q. There was nearly 10 turnovers and 10 lead switches tonight. How do you plan on changing that tomorrow going into the semifinals?

NIKO MEDVED: Just turn it over less. (Laughing). No, I mean, again, I don't have the possessions in front of me, what it was. Usually you can live with 10 turnovers in a game. And that's one of the things we've been a lead at, this year in the country, we haven't turned the ball over.

The bigger issue is, we didn't share it enough. We probably didn't have enough assists tonight. And a lot of that was them. They were switching all of our action and really kind of got us standing around a little bit, which is, you know, atypical for us.

But, you know, what happens is in those games when it's, you know, a low possession game, half court, every turnover is magnified. And we had a lot of key ones down the stretch and they did, too, you know? And so, I don't know that turning over the ball was a big issue, I just think we didn't get into enough of a flow offensively.

Q. You just mentioned about Isaiah, the look in his eye and the swagger. How important is that in a tight game, and especially at this time of year, that confidence?

NIKO MEDVED: Oh, it's everything. You know, and you got to have it. And, listen, I'm fortunate. I coach some great guys, some great players and guys who work really, really hard in putting the work.

David's a player of the year. Isaiah is an all-league guy. And the quality of this league this year to do that, you have to be a tremendous player.

Isaiah is that guy that's just come in from day one freshman year, has been that guy. He loves it. This is what he's dreamed about his whole life.

He's not coming in here nervous. He's coming in here, let's go, let's play and let's compete. And he's always brought that to our program. So it's absolutely huge. You can't win without it.

THE MODERATOR: Okay.

Q. Chandler Jacobs is a guy who's played a lot of high level basketball in his career, but this is his first season, obviously, at the D-1 level. Talking to him yesterday, he just talked about how excited he was and getting to live this moment. What is it about him that's been able to be just such a seamless transition? I mean, it's hard to change roles like that.

NIKO MEDVED: It's just really who he is as a person. You guys have gotten to know him and spend time with him. He's just such a selfless young man. You know, as a graduate transfer, to come in here and not only accept, but willing to take any role just to be a part of this team. And he's helped us throughout the season win so many games.

I thought there were some nerves for some guys tonight, a little bit. You know, I know these guys enough to sense it, you know, kind of fumbling the ball a little bit. And this is a little bit of a -- even though we've been in a lot of the games, this is a different stage. I think we'll play a little bit loser for tomorrow.

But it is a huge, it's a testament to him and it all starts with his character of staying with it. He made a great cut to the basket and didn't hesitate at all and finished. And I think it's fitting that he made the winning basket.

Q. Utah State, obviously, the last few years, you know, instate tournaments, won a lot of games in this tournament. Do you get a sense from your guys that they kind of view Utah State as a team they kind of want to match and surpass because of the success they've had?

NIKO MEDVED: Yeah, and -- but I don't think it's just them. I think it's everyone. You know what I mean? I think these guys have a lot of confidence, but they have a ton of respect for all these teams. They know how difficult it is to win any of these games.

And, yeah, Utah State is a team that has been at the top of this league and we've happened to play them in this tournament the last two years. It's very difficult to beat any of these teams one time, let alone three times. And especially after Utah State got such a convincingly win last night.

And so, but yeah, I think this is one of the teams these guys look at. Like, hey, if you want to get where we want to get to, you have to find a way to beat these guys. And we're fortunate to have done it three times this year.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Do we have any further questions for our coach?

RYAN ODOM: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.