PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2022

Bennedict Mathurin

Christian Koloko

Arizona Wildcats

Postgame Press Conference

Arizona - 84, UCLA - 76

Q. Bennedict, was there a point where you thought you had to take over at some point in the second half or whatever?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: The defense was playing me a little bit different the entire game. I adjusted. I spoke with my coaches. They told me some reads I could have made through the game in order for me to get to the paint and get fouls and get to the basket.

Q. What was the conversation like, for either one of you, in the huddle when you guys are down by 10 right before you guys go on that run?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: The main thing is we came from Tucson all the way to Vegas. We called it McKale North. But in reality the court is just us. So even though we're down 10 or up 20 we have the same mentality of just playing, playing hard until the game -- there's more time on the clock.

Q. Christian, playing three games in three days and the NCAA Tournament next week, how does the short prep between all these games get you comfortable and ready for next week?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: I think it's really going to help us. Preseason we had the tournament here, I think we played two games in two days. This time we played three games in three days. I think it's just going to get us ready for next week. And you just gotta take care of your body, take care of your body, drink a lot of water and just stay hydrated. That's what we did. We're in pretty good shape.

Q. Christian, how did you guys have to adjust the way you played both offensively and defensively based on the way the game was being called in terms of maybe the tight calling? Did you have to change anything?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: No, we didn't change anything. We just played our game, just play our game, pressure the ball. Do everything Coach wanted us to do, just follow the game plan and we did it. Sometimes, like you said, the calls didn't go our way, but we stayed together. We stayed together. We played our game. And we did a good job.

Q. What's the most important thing Tommy Lloyd did to get you guys on this path to a regular season title, to a tournament title when you look back on the entirety of the season? What's the most important thing he did to get you guys to do this?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: I'd say the most important thing he did for us was trusting us. Obviously he's the head coach but we're the players on the floor.

So we're able to talk to him. He's a player --

(Missing audio).

We didn't have any expectations toward us. But it was just about getting better every game, every practice counts. So just about getting better every day and trying to be the best team we can be.

Q. Ben, in the big picture, you win tournament MVP, you guys won the conference by three games. What kept you going this week to kind of do it again? Was it hard to keep the motivation and play at that super high level?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: No, I always have motivation to play at high-level games. It was my first time playing in the Pac-12 Tournament with all of my teammates. And I'm really happy we have a great team -- shoutout to all my teammates.

I would just say it was pretty fun to come out here in Vegas, play a few games back to back. It was a challenge but at the end of the day it's about us. I'm pretty happy with the results we got.

Q. How are you guys able to pull this off, no Kerr. And Justin was in foul trouble, you guys managed to find a way. How did you find it?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: I mean, like we said, we talk together. We talk, we've got your back, we've got your back. When Justin got in foul trouble, next man up. Adama checked in in the first half, he hit two big 3s. It's just next man up.

We trust each other, we love trust each other. Whoever is on the court we're going to play hard. We're going to fight together and try to get a win.

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Also I want to give a little shoutout to Dalen Terry. He stepped up big. He was the backup point guard. And he was able to make a lot of plays and make the simple plays and the right play every single time. I just want to give him credit.

Q. If you could compare the two, what would you say was a sweeter feeling, cutting down the nets at McKale Center or cutting down the nets in front of McKale North, as you called it?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: We cut both nets. That's the most important thing. We cut nets.

Q. On the court you were saying one down, implying there's one more title to go. Is there a shared sense of belief in the locker room that you guys can really win the national championship this year?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: Most definitely. As I said before, everybody is ready to sacrifice themselves for the team. We're going to go back to Tucson, practice on things we could have done better at the games. And it's all about winning it all. We won the Pac-12 regular season, Pac-12 championship. Now we're going for the big thing.

Like I said, we're grateful but not satisfied. We've got to keep on going.

Q. Everybody says they want to win a national title before the season, but what were the realistic expectations for each of you of this team going into the year?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: It was to win. We believe in ourselves we knew we had a good team. We had a good couple of players coming back from last year. (Indiscernible) our starting five. We played together last year. And we were hungry.

Last year we didn't get a chance to go to any tournaments. Coming up this season we wanted to win everything. We wanted to win everything. And we worked hard. We work real hard and we sacrificed a lot of things. And I think right now we're on a good path. We're going to continue to work hard and try to accomplish that goal.

Q. Ben talked about Dalen's performance. You and Dalen combined for 14 assists. What's it like for you as a big, knowing you'll get the ball in the post?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: It's amazing, amazing. Every time you take a screen and you're rolling, you have to expect the ball. Have to expect the ball. It's not something that happened everywhere.

You have those kind of guards. They're willing to pass the ball. They want to pass the ball. They're going to tell you, be ready. They'll pass you the ball. It's just amazing to play with those kind of guys. Gotta give credit to them. They did a really good job today as well.

Q. You talked a lot about Dalen but I couldn't help notice how just his energy in transition, he's smiling and clapping at the bench. What does that kind of moment do you for you? And when Coach is waving his hands in the air, what does it do for you guys on the court?

BENNEDICT MATHURIN: I feel it motivates all of us. When we're down, one time we were down 11 or 14 and I was like, I just needed motivation. And I feel like DT is always the right time at every moment. When we're up 20 or down 20 he's always the same guy. Having him waving to the crowd and the crowd going with us. And Tommy as well, going to the crowd. Just a source of motivation.

Q. All year you guys have not panicked. Where does that come from? Tonight one of those nights where you did not panic and found a way. Where does that come from?

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO: We're used to it. I think we had a lot of games this year where we're down by 10, 12, we came back. (Indiscernible) our game. Even the Tennessee game, even though we lost that game, we came back and fought hard.

Like I said we believe in each other. We believe in each other. And every time we're down we don't panic, we don't panic. We know how good a team we are, and we know what we can do. So, we just need to stay together and play our game and we know we're going to come back.