NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA ST. VS PROVIDENCE

March 17, 2022

Ed Cooley

Al Durham

Jared Bynum

Ed Croswell

Noah Horchler

KeyBank Center

Providence Friars

Media Conference

Providence 66, South Dakota State 57

ED COOLEY: What a St. Patrick's Day, huh? Right? Lucky charm. We're still here. Really we talked to the players about our culture, and I thought this was a culture game versus style, and I thought our players were as resilient today. They did a great job. It also tells you that the strength of the Big East and the styles we have to play against.

Our preparation has a little bit of Villanova and Creighton in it, and that's what the Big East basketball is all about. It's about getting to this point and being prepared for it. So, again, I want to give my conference and our conference a lot of love because they prepared us for what we just went through. Talk to the student athletes. I'm excited for these men. We've earned the right to be here, and, again, I'll say this, tongue-in-cheek. It's St. Patrick's Day, and we're really lucky.

Q. I guess for any of the players, you were the team everyone was picking for an upset nationally. I'm wondering, since your coach talks about how connected you are how much that motivated you today?

AL DURHAM: You know, we hear the noise that everybody says, but we can't let that rattle us. We knew what we were capable of. We knew when we were coming in, we were going to have an edge, fire, and chip on our shoulder. And we came out and played our game, and we just proved the whole world wrong and what they were saying, so credit to my guys, credit to Coach, and we just know that is what we know.

Q. Jared, that last play you guys were up three, and you had to foul, and you got hit. Did he come under you? Can you describe that play a little bit?

JARED BYNUM: I was open, and Al had the ball, and I asked him for it back, and I went to shoot, and as I was shooting, I got hit, and then they called foul. I got three free-throws.

Q. (Off microphone) -- down the stretch, four down the stretch. Are you the closer now, or is Al still the closer?

JARED BYNUM: No. No. Al is still the closer. I learn from him.

Q. What did you guys see during the game that you were able to take advantage of and keep this team to 30% free-throw -- three-point shooting?

AL DURHAM: Our physicality, our physicality getting to the rim and our physicality on defense. We wanted to be real physical and run them off the three-point line, make sure we were defending. You know, get up in them, and we were physical at offense. We wanted to play at the rim and in transition. We wanted to play getting downhill. We executed our game plan and came out with a win.

Q. Ed, the reserves off the bench, you, Al Breed, Jared, can you talk about the impact the whole had on this game and this win today?

ED CROSWELL: It's been like this all season. We come off the bench and give each other energy. We're together. We're connected. And I feel like we keep this rolling like this. We did this all year, so it's normal.

Q. Al, Coach just said that this was a culture win. You've come into this program this year. How would you define the Providence culture?

AL DURHAM: Together. Real close-knit. Real tough. Real gritty. Also, you know, together as a family. We all came together today, you know, from top to bottom. From coaches to the last person on the bench, I feel like we all had an impact on this game, and I feel like we all had a hand in this win.

Q. Noah, for you, just how nice is it to see contributing to the offensive end? You struggled a little bit coming into this.

NOAH HORCHLER: Kind of just came in with a clean slate. We were preparing all week for this team. We knew everyone thought there was going to be an upset, and that kind of fueled the fire behind us, and we came out and showed we were determined to win.

Q. For you and Al. Just the way they got off to a great start, did you have a feeling that it was going to have to be more of a defensive approach, and that allowed guys like Ed and Alyn to come in and take over the game a little bit?

AL DURHAM: Oh, for sure. We wanted defense to feel our offense. When those guys came off the bench and they gave us a spark, Ed was on the boards. Ed was getting steals. Breed was sitting down, locking up. Those guys came in and gave us a tremendous spark. They played their behinds off, and it's a credit for them to always be ready when their name is called. We've seen what they can do.

Q. Jared, just I wonder what it was like the last few days sitting on that loss in the Big East tournament, and you know what you guys were thinking, how much did you want to turn the page and get to today?

JARED BYNUM: As everybody knows, we took a bad loss in the Big East Tournament. It's basketball. It happens. We knew we had another game to prove ourselves and to get back to work and go out and do what we do on a daily basis. We're playing in March Madness, in the tournament. It definitely fueled us to going into this type of environment where it's one and done. And every time you got to bring your A game whenever you are out on the court offensively and defensively. You know, that kind of -- that loss kind of fueled us, but we were prepared and ready to get back out on the court.

Q. Noah, another single digit win for you guys. Just a different location, different team, but same result that's been happening all season long?

NOAH HORCHLER: Yeah. That's our identity now, I guess. Everyone talks about how we win close games, so we're just coming out and ready to win. So, I mean, we'll take any win we can get.

Q. For Jared, the defense right before the half, you guys were able to get the ball out of Scheierman's hands and force him into a difficult shot. How key of a defensive sequence was that going into halftime?

JARED BYNUM: Definitely gave us some momentum going into halftime, you know, getting some stops. And obviously he is their best player, so we call that the known, so you got to know the known. And at the end of the day, we just wanted to get stops, and that was a way to get stops. And then going into the half, we had a good lead and coming out in the second half, we wanted to build on that lead, and we had a pretty good first four minutes and got out to another big lead. Credit to them. They're a good team.

Q. Question for Al. How do you feel about the runs that you made in this game? You guys ended up being up 14. I know this game is about runs, making runs. What was the feeling like? How did you feel?

AL DURHAM: We don't get too revved, so we all know basketball is game of runs. It's going to be highs and lows, but you got to be able to weather the storm, weather the punches, so we were never too rattled. We never got shooken up. They went on their runs, so it's our time, our turn to make a run, get stops and get out in transition and score. We never look at these runs as, oh, my God, they're making runs. We look at them as, okay, we took a few punches, now let's punch back.

Q. Coach, can you talk about the total team effort you got from everyone who played in the rotation today?

ED COOLEY: Yeah, I think this is one of the few games we've had where the entire roster actually scored that played in the game. I thought Croswell and Breed's energy changed the game. I thought their physicality, I thought their athleticism, and I thought the physicality and athleticism over across 40 minutes was a big factor in this game.

The team we played is as good as any team we've played this year because of the preparation and how much they spread the floor, and I think they have one of the best players in the country that we had to play against. He was a very, very hard person to guard.

Q. That's actually my question. How difficult were they to prepare for, and how talented do you think Scheierman was to deal with and Minaya on Scheierman.

ED COOLEY: First of all, he can play anywhere in America. The preparation was simple, yet difficult, and what I mean by that is you got to talk about the complexities and the simplicity, if that makes sense -- that was a great line. They're very simple, and they do what they do, so you had to be disruptive with what they were trying to do, and simple has worked for them, and that's what our players really concentrated on. You know, trying to stay body to body.

Our philosophy is always tough twos, no threes, and, again, he took a couple of shots today. One that went in that was late, and, wow, nothing you can do about that.

Q. Coach, speaking of great lines, you had a great line in the beginning when you said the luck today, the lucky charm, St. Patrick's Day. At the end of the game, though, there was a little bit of controversy with the Al Durham shot going up. Do you think that the narrative of the luck of Providence is going to continue after that?

ED COOLEY: I'm always a positive person, and I appreciate your question. You know, we use that luck. I think in life, we're all lucky. Look where we're at. We're at the greatest stage in college basketball, and that just has been a phrase that we used, and I run with it, but in order to advance in these tournaments, there has to be some luck, and I think we're crazy if we don't think that, and our players are kind of driving off of it.

If luck is the narrative that continues to keep us connected and winning, we'll take it. It just so happens it's St. Patrick's Day, and I kind of have been joking about it, but it's real. You know, you have to be lucky in order to be successful, no matter if we're in game or in life.

Q. You've spoken about past teams maybe taking some games like if they lose, they go to the gold bracket in AAU, and it's maybe not life and death like maybe it should be. I wonder where this team compares to the others that you've had at Providence in terms of how serious they are every night, how dug in they get when they're challenged like they were?

ED COOLEY: This was a major challenge, and I said this yesterday, this is the most connected group I've been around in 28 years of coaching. And I think we responded every single time after a loss. We responded with a win, and I thought the response was great. This team has an "it" factor, and I remembered your question to him. We didn't talk about the game against Creighton coming out of the Big East Tournament. It happens. We had a bad day. That's not going to define the season of which these young men have earned. In the locker room, they're fun to be around. At training table, they're fun to be around. It's an adult group. The personalities are just -- it keeps us young as a staff. It keeps us motivated, and it makes you want to come and just be around them more. This win is all about what they've been able to put in over the last three months.

Q. Congrats on the win, Coach. How would you assess how your team handled the pace? Seems like especially that first stretch in the first half of the game was at a really fast pace. South Dakota State maybe tried to speed you all up a little bit. How would you assess how your team handled that?

ED COOLEY: I thought their early pace was in their favor, and during that timeout -- again, there was not a lot of stoppage, and both teams were gassed around the 11 minute mark. Both teams were tired, and I said, guys, this game is going to slow down. It's going to slow down, and I said we still want to -- we want to score early if we can. If not, let's make them defend, but I thought the overall grind of the game played to our tempo. It really did play to our tempo, so it was a credit to the players. It's a long game that goes fast. Right? Within the game, there's going to be runs, and I thought our players were emotionally and mentally focused to get to the finish line.

Q. Can you talk about Jared Bynum's finish in this game? Especially that three pointer he hit when it seemed like the crowd was coming back into it for the fans?

ED COOLEY: That's what March Madness is all about. There's going to be runs and big shots and layups and flippers and kickers that go in. You just got to be able to stay locked in, stay dialed in, continue to inspire your men to say, hey, as long as there's time left on the clock and it's a one-two possession game, we pride ourselves as a coaching staff saying, hey, if you give us an opportunity with less than four minutes to play, I like what we do, and I love the players that we're coaching in there, so it's just a matter of conversation and keeping your men inspired and driven to try to get to the finish line.

Q. Down the stretch the last three minutes or so, what was your thought process between kind of switching A.J., Nate, and then alternatively Justin and Ed kind of offense-defense there?

ED COOLEY: Justin is an elite level defender. His knee was bothering him a little bit, and, again, we want to keep A.J. on the floor on the offensive end. It's like special teams. You want to put an offensive unit on when you have the ball, and it's a dead ball, and you want to put a defensive unit on both Croswell, Minaya and Breed are some of our better defenders, so you have to do a good job trying to balance the stoppage in play and get your offensive and defensive unit on and off of the floor.

Q. How are you enjoying Buffalo as a host city, and I guess, all the atmosphere that comes here with March Madness?

ED COOLEY: I appreciate Buffalo. We had a great meal. Got a great meal as a team at the Chop House. Had an opportunity to sit with our president and Father Sicard and Bob Driscoll, what a retirement gift with the season that we've had for them.

I've been up here as a head coach when we're at Fairfield and played Canisius and Niagara. Canisius has been very great to us allowing us an opportunity to use their gym. As always, I got some wings in me now. I definitely got some wings in me. Those wings were big-time, and I may have the same routine. Chop House, we may be coming back, and for that plug, I want a decent meal.

Q. We talk about scoring the options second, third. Just how big was Noah today on that -- along that level?

ED COOLEY: It was great. Noah Horchler has gotten better every year he has been here. He doesn't say much. He is not a vocal person, but his activity on the glass. He is a weapon all over the floor. You got to recognize him in transition in the half court. I think he is an elite level defensive rebounder, and he is loved by his teammates. Again, it comes back to that chemistry. When you have good chemistry, man, anything is possible.

Q. I want to ask one of your players about the amount of single digit wins that you've had this year, another one today. To what would you attribute that to throughout the season, and how critical that may be at this point of the year where you are playing good teams every single game?

ED COOLEY: Well, my entire career, you know, we -- I'm not the sexiest guy coaching with respect to style. Our style is win, and if it's by one, it's a W. If it's by 30, it's a W.

All we try to do is get to the finish line, and we talk to our guys about embracing in our preparation close games, and you have to talk it into existence, and in my 16th year, I think I've been in more close games than not. The practice over the years has helped us. I appreciate our players for executing coming out of time-outs. I would be remiss if I said I have a Big East mask for you when I go in the locker room. I appreciate you.

Q. I'm probably going to just follow up on what you just asked about the close games because we talk about the luck thing, and it sounds kind of fun, but what is it about this team that sort of -- it seems to come down to making big plays, winning plays late. What about this team makes them make big winning plays late?

ED COOLEY: I think we've done it all year. I go back to what Coach Skinner said when we were in the locker room. I think we just played a really talented St. Peters team. We played a talent the Vermont team. I came in, we only won by two or four. He says come January, February, you're going to get better because of these close games. Now, and that's what that preparation is all about.

I bring our players back to that. We want to be in a close game if we can. It beats the alternative. If we're in a close game, I believe in our players, and I believe what we do as a staff.

Q. You mentioned the timeout at the 11 minute mark in the first half. What clicked after that because you only allowed six points for the rest of the half?

ED COOLEY: The guys said, hey, our feet are underneath us, and they really controlled that timeout. Our feet are underneath us. Everybody just look where we're at, March Madness. We have an opportunity to advance. We'll have a second half. Really that was the player's huddle.

As a leader sometimes, you just got to get out of their way and let them do their due. They've been there. I have a really old group, really old group, that I really enjoy coaching because the older they are, the better they are because they listen more than some of the younger cats.