NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - HOUSTON VS ILLINOIS

March 20, 2022

Brad Underwood

Trent Frazier

Kofi Cockburn

RJ Melendez

PPG Paints Arena

Illinois Fighting Illini

Media Conference

Houston 68, Illinois 53

COACH UNDERWOOD: These days are never fun. It means, you know, the end to a great season, to a championship season, and we don't want to lose sight of any of that in that locker room.

Wish I had an explanation for 6 of 25 from three, our poor shooting. I thought for the most part we were really good defensively, they made some baskets late, but I thought we were very good defensively, played well enough to win on that side of the court.

But, you know, there's no doubt that -- we turned the ball over 17 times, got outrebounded, gave up a boatload of offensive rebounds which gave them a lot of opportunities. When you combine turnovers with offensive rebounds, and the fact that they got 9 more field goal attempts than us, it stretches your offense.

I thought their guards were terrific. Give Jamal Shead and Taze Moore a lot of credit. Those guys were very effective. They've got size and athleticism. For the most part we did a great job on Fabian, he was 1 of 8. But their guards were definitely the story.

Give them credit. Tough day, not a fun day for sure, but also a big tribute to these guys for being a championship-caliber team and winning a Big Ten Championship. Let's not lose sight of that.

Q. Trent, we can see the emotion on your face. Can you put into words the disappointment of getting to the Sweet 16 the second straight year?

TRENT FRAZIER: First I want to say, Coach tells us to stay off Twitter, but I read the stories and what everyone says about us, but I just want to say unbelievable from this team. No one knows how hard this season has been for us. Coach said in the locker room, from injuries to COVID, from my eye, we have been all over the place, especially -- Jake being out. He was huge for us late in the season.

But no one knows how hard this team has come. The hours we have spent is unbelievable. We have gone from fighting each other to beating each other up, competing at a high level. You see we have RJ up here, his confidence, Coach trusts him, he puts him out there, he makes big-time plays. No one knows how hard this team has worked.

Emotion-wise, it's been a long journey, obviously. It's been a pleasure to be playing for Coach, unbelievable competitor, fighter, and that's what I try to take on, is him. He's almost like a father. I've been here for five years around him, and I try to take on his personality.

We fell short, but to see where this program has come two years in a row, top 32 teams, you know, it shows we are headed in the right direction.

We're leaving, you know, me, Kofi, whatever his decision is, Da'Monte, Jake, Plummer, we're leaving this program in good hands, and they will be back here. Despite the loss, I'm still proud of this team and proud of this program for everything.

Q. Kofi, how do you process the finality of this again? Is there anything you can take from last season and understand both sides of the big picture and also now?

KOFI COCKBURN: It is what it is. I mean, you know, like Trent said, we fell short. Games like these you can't really -- there is not much -- you can't really put it in words. It's a hard feeling going through this for another year. Like you said, we went through it last year, before.

So it hurts really bad, especially for the guys that's leaving. We always want to leave with, like, with a good -- with a good feeling, you know? We don't want to leave the freshman and the younger guys with a bad feeling.

So it definitely sucks that we lost. We fell short. Can't really put it into words.

Q. RJ, what kind of explanation did you get for the tech after the dunk, and how much did that hurt you guys in the momentum that you were trying to get and come back in the second half?

RJ MELENDEZ: I didn't get no explanation from the ref. I don't know what was the problem with that, I was going full speed in that transition, so I always thinking about what happened landing on the mat, on the rim, so I just try to hang on, go a bit of rhythm, come back on both feet.

So I don't know what was the tech behind the fast break, but I tried to ask the ref what was it, he didn't want to explain to me what was the tech about.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it. Questions for coach.

Q. Brad, it seemed like Andre had something with the refs before the game, and then he didn't play the final 26 minutes.

COACH UNDERWOOD: The same stuff he had on Friday night -- or when did we play? I don't even know. Friday. And went through it with warm-ups, and there was a piece of gear, and then they told him he couldn't wear it. So that's all I know.

Q. Seemed like you couldn't find the right combination of guys on the court that would give you the balance offensively and defensively, would you say that's a fair assessment?

COACH UNDERWOOD: Yeah, guys, we miss Jacob Grandison. He is our maestro. And Jacob makes everything go for us on the offensive end from his position. It's not only do we miss his shooting, we miss his passing. He's an elite passer. Look at his assist totals and look at those passes and where they go. Most of them go to Kofi. We miss that. Then his versatility because he can play multiple spots.

So it's been juggling. And Luke and RJ were terrific. You see RJ's talent and his spontaneity, his ability to make a play. You see Luke's ability to jump up and make shots and compete.

But, yeah, you're fighting it. They didn't guard Coleman, they let him shoot it, and that's an area where he's got to -- he's a really good shooter, but he's got to believe in that.

All of the sudden Luke jumps up and starts hitting it, you gotta play him. So we missed Coleman on the defensive side, and we needed Luke on the offense. So it was a juggling match all night long, but that shows how much we miss Jake.

Q. Coach, obviously RJ with the huge play, and then the tech. What do you tell your team after that, after all that emotion after that play?

COACH UNDERWOOD: Yeah, it's deflating. You make a play, it changes the momentum of the game. And have that called in the moment? I can't wait to see it. He told me he shouldn't ever have called it, but in the moment he calls it. Maybe it's personal, I don't know. When a kid has a full head of steam going 100 miles an hour, and we all talk about safety and well-being of student-athletes, come on. And then to kill momentum like that? Horrible.

Q. What went into Andre not playing in the second half?

COACH UNDERWOOD: Coach's decision.

Q. Playing freshmen, did that begin with you casting a line to see if you could get some nibbles, or did you decide we can't win unless I put these guys out there for real?

COACH UNDERWOOD: Both. Both. We got great shots, we just couldn't make them. We weren't making them. It frustrating to put yourself into a position to make wide -- we made really good plays. We just missed shots. You're looking for anything that will spark you. I made up my mind that we had to go a little deeper in this game anyway but, you know, RJ's spontaneity and his athleticism, I knew we would need in this game. And then Luke just jumps up and makes two like he's been doing it his whole life.

Yeah, we needed that. It was both of those. You're looking for that spark and you love playing veterans, but tonight it was a night that the freshmen were great.

Q. Brad, you mentioned not letting this game erase all that this season was. How do you get 19 to 23-years-olds in that spot and maybe not let this be so huge?

COACH UNDERWOOD: We won a Big Ten Championship. They're going to hang a banner. We're going to get a ring, and it's a Big Ten Championship. We happened to have fewer points than our opponent today, and that happens.

We didn't play very well. We didn't shoot it very well. We played well enough; we didn't shoot it very well. You look at our two games here, and we just -- we just shot it terrible. Jacob was a big part of that reason. He makes us flow. Trent having pink eye. What Trent said, the -- I've been through -- I've been through more things this year with this team than I have my entire career put together. And that's 35 years.

That's going back to being a junior college coach, the stuff that we have dealt with, not practicing at Christmas break when you get teams gritty and tough and want to fight and not practicing. We're probably 20 practices light of what we were last year.

And at big times and without players in any constant flow. So on one hand I'm disappointed, and on one hand I'm ecstatic as heck that we have a group to stay together, to stay connected and be able to win a Big Ten Championship, and unfortunately we had a couple of things -- couple injuries and Trent played through it, and Jacob's shoulder was pretty severe, and he tried.

Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, and you don't get the break that you need. Last year we were blessed. But at the end of the day, we've got to be better in this game. And we will continue -- like you said, one thing to do is to keep getting back here. We will keep getting back here. You've gotta have match-ups, you've gotta have a good team, and doggone it, today wasn't our day.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.