NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - LOYOLA CHICAGO VS OHIO STATE

March 18, 2022

Chris Holtmann

E.J. Liddell

Kyle Young

Malaki Branham

PPG Paints Arena

Ohio State Buckeyes

Media Conference

Ohio State - 54, Loyola Chicago - 41

CHRIS HOLTMANN: A credit to our players. They were locked in on the game plan at a high level. Great respect for this Loyola program, this Loyola team. The job that obviously Porter and now Drew is doing, terrific players, terrific system.

We knew we were in for a rock fight, and that's very much what it was. So our guys deserve great credit. They really competed on both ends and were able to break away just when we needed to. Players win games, and those guys did a great job with that.

MODERATOR: Questions for student-athletes.

Q. Kyle, obviously, can you just talk about the struggles to try to get back on the court and back for this tournament after missing last year and then also how many times you ended up on the floor tonight?

KYLE YOUNG: I spent last week trying to get my conditioning back up a little bit, having been out some of the previous games, to be able to be back on floor and play with them. That's part of my game, getting on the floor. So that was going to help me impact the game. I had to do what I had to do tonight.

Q. E.J., I know Loyola is probably not happy with the way they played offensively, but your defense deserves a lot of credit. Where did this defensive performance come from? Did you know this was the way you guys could play all season, or are you even surprised how well you guys played on that end?

E.J. LIDDELL: I'm not surprised. I feel like when we start out, the first four minutes, that determines the game. We set the rules. And I felt like we came out here and did a great job on defensive end, great communication.

And we played with an edge tonight. Played like the underdogs. We gotta keep playing like that because people have been counting us out big time. We've got to have that same mindset next game.

Q. Kyle, Coach referred to last week at the Big Ten Tournament some of the noise and some of those situations that you were back in the locker room watching. When did it become clear to you that you could play or you cleared the protocol?

KYLE YOUNG: It was a little bit around that time, maybe a few days after. But I made a big jump, just after waking up a few of those days, and I felt really good. And I was able to get through all the protocol. And I'm feeling really good, and the doctors cleared me.

So it was a tough process getting back into the swing of things in terms of conditioning, stuff like that. It feels amazing to be back out there with these guys and being able to play again.

Q. E.J., you talked yesterday about how you're a different team when you're healthy, and you thought people would see something different today. How big an impact is a player like Kyle when it comes to that, and what's it feel like to be sitting up there now having played the way you did and saying what you said yesterday?

E.J. LIDDELL: Having Kyle back is great. I felt like everybody who stepped foot on floor was determined, ready, had a mentality that we can't be beat and won't be beat.

So I feel like we keep that same mindset, we'll be good to go.

Q. Malaki, first ten minutes of this game, they were really bumping you and being very physical with you, and there were a couple turnovers that resulted out of that. But then you got into a flow and hit a couple shots and in some way kept your team in this game early, hitting a couple shots, ten points first half. Just what did you have to do after the first three or four minutes of them jostling you to take that contact and overcome that?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Really just adjusting, I'd probably say. Just adjusting to the physicality. They're a physical team. So they was blitzing the ball screen, so I had to get used to that. But after I got adjusted, it was cool.

Q. Coach called it a rock fight. When you go into a game, you know they're going to be physical, and those first five minutes were physical. Does that help you play defense, knowing what you're getting into and you gotta bring it?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Repeat the question?

Q. You knew going in they were going to be that physical. Does that help you defensively to kind of, even going into the game, ramp it up and match them?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Yeah, we was already locked in on the defensive end. We knew they was a great team shooting the ball. So we just planned very good and we executed it.

KYLE YOUNG: For us, that's our mentality going into every game. We try to hang our hat on being the more physical team, setting the rules. So when you have a team coming in that's going to do the same thing, it's just that much more of a challenge.

So we love that type of challenge, and we just have to respond. So it was just about who is going to play more physical and tougher with 50/50 ball and things like that.

E.J. LIDDELL: I feel like we're a physical team as well. And we came out here, we have some seniors, they have the older group as well. And I didn't want our seniors to go home yet. So I did the best I could, got on the floor a couple times, just giving extra-effort plays to go out there and win the game.

Q. Kyle, did you take any kind of moment before this game to just appreciate the fact you were available and able to play after not being available last year? How did you deal with the possibility that you could have missed out on other NCAA Tournament with another early-season injury?

KYLE YOUNG: A hundred percent. Just even putting on my jersey today, taking a moment to reflect on it. Because after the last time when I was out recently, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to come back or not.

And just being able to put the jersey on today meant a lot to me, being able to go to war with these guys. So definitely took a moment to reflect on it and be very appreciative of being able to be out there.

Q. Looks like your opponent came into the game allowing 61.3 point per game, and you did score 54. Do you think defense is as good as it says? And looks like the score usually 73.8 point per game, but you guys were -- you guys did manage to give them only 41. What was the difference in your play making ability?

E.J. LIDDELL: They play good defense. They're a top 20 defense nationally. And felt like they came out there and competed, and we did as well.

So this is a great defensive game, not a high-scoring game, not a big highlight game. But, I mean, we just had to make those extra-effort plays on defensive end, and I feel like we did that tonight.

Q. E.J., Malaki, both of you guys spent portions of the game being guarded by Williamson. He's a guy who's known for defense. What was it like going up against him, and just what was working for both of you offensively?

E.J. LIDDELL: First half he gave me a hassle, poked my ball loose a couple times. And he was the Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. He was a really good defender. Uses his body well. And, I mean, that's what they are known for. He leads their defense. He's the older guy of the group. So as he led their defense, everybody else followed. So he's a really good defender.

MALAKI BRANHAM: He has active hands. So when they was blitzing, I was throwing in, and he had his hands on the ball. So he's a very good defender. We just had to adjust, which we did.

MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. Start with questions for coach.

Q. Chris, I'm curious at what point or did you see kind of a life defensively because what Kyle Young was able to provide, whether in the back court with Jamari, Malaki, seemed like that was more life defensively?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: We've said it every game he's been out. Versatility. Without Justice in particular, and Kyle, we lacked versatility. And Gene has done a good job helping with that.

He just provides a bunch, so much on both ends. And a lot of it's versatility. And been saying it for really two years now. So it's evident in a game like this.

Q. Chris, about having Zed and Kyle, defensive versatility, clearly you're a different defensive team with them, but more than that, psychologically, emotionally, when you get in the locker room, they're available. Did you notice a change in your team? Did you notice an attitude adjustment? How did that factor in?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I think it just elevates the confidence of your group when you know we're not at full strength, but we're at closer to full strength. So I think it just elevates the confidence of everybody.

Listen, we talked about it. We've been a very good team when we've -- we haven't had the team we thought we were gonna have all year, but when we've had the group that's helped us win games, we've been a really good team. We've had really good wins.

And I'm not putting all of our losses on injuries, by no stretch. We played poorly at times at full strength. But they make a difference, and I think that elevates the confidence of our guys.

Q. Coach, given the way that some of your guys's games went down the stretch, and obviously you've critiqued the defense on several occasions, what gave you the confidence you could go into this game with that type of game plan and the confidence to win a rock fight, like you said, given the fact that the defense hadn't necessarily played up to the standards leading into this game?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I mean, listen, I watch every game. But the whole -- this whole -- I think narratives get played on social media and all that that is just not really accurate.

We just focused on winning the next possession. And we felt like our defense really -- we could hang our hat on our defense right now. And we did that. And when we've struggled closing games, and I answered that question last week, it's because our defense has not been sound enough for long enough.

Q. Chris, you met your guys out at mid court about 15 minutes to go, Loyola had just called a timeout, and your first message to them was settle down. You guys had just taken like a 10-point lead. How important was it to make sure -- I asked you about the roller coaster yesterday. How important was it to make sure that you guys knew not to get too high in that moment?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: They're a good team. They're really good team. They got great spirit to them. They're a legitimate, one of the best teams in the country. There's no question.

So I think the focus needed to be on winning this possession out of the timeout, and that's what I said to them.

Q. I think with seven minutes left, I looked to your bench, you guys were defending, and everyone on your bench was standing, coaches and players, maybe as in to it as I've seen you guys this season as your guys were on the floor defending. Just how much of a constant conversation has that been with team all year, to get to the point where you defended as consistently as you did today?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I think it really comes down to ownership with them. And obviously as coaches we're constantly seeking ways we can do a better job at putting our guys in position defensively.

But I think ultimately the effort piece comes down to ownership on their part. And they were as bought in and as owned as they've been all year for sure on that end. It was the best defensive performance we've really had in a couple years.

Q. A moment ago two of your guys used the same phrase, set the rules early in the game. Is that a mindset, you guys want to set rules early in the game so the team knows what they are up against?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, it's one of our core tenets we talk about. It's one of our four things we talk about. It's what we try to do every game. We don't always do it as well as we'd like to. But we try to do every game.

Q. Chris, you just mentioned narratives on social media, and obviously there was pressure coming into this game given how the end of season had gone. I know you had internal confidence you would be healthy and that would make a difference. But what were the 48 hours leading into this game like for you, and what did it feel like to come out of it with a win?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: For me, personally, you really have tunnel vision as much as anything during these times. Listen, it's -- it's not pleasant when people say negative things about you, and I never got into coaching for any type of notoriety, positive press or negative press. So it's always an adjustment for you when you have the criticism.

But it comes with the territory. And I understand that. Pressure is a privilege. And we certainly as a group felt pressure to perform at a more consistent level. We felt confident we could do it at full strength.

I told them I've been to seven of these things. My first experience was here. And we played a good Texas team, beat a good Texas team, and then lost in a really close game to Notre Dame. So we've got good memories of a place like this.

But it's really tunnel vision right now when it comes to those kind of things, and now it's moving on to whoever we play next.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.