NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - TEXAS VS PURDUE

March 20, 2022

Matt Painter

Jaden Ivey

Trevion Williams

Ethan Morton

Fiserv Forum

Purdue Boilermakers

Media Conference

Purdue - 81, Texas - 71

MODERATOR: We will start with an opening statement from Purdue Coach Matt Painter.

COACH MATT PAINTER: Just the preparation on a one-day prep to face somebody like Texas is really difficult. They don't let you run a lot of your stuff, a lot of your offensive sets. They really put you in a bind. We felt like we had an advantage on the interior and we really wanted to go inside, but we also wanted to open some things up and try to get Jaden in the open court, try to get him in ball screen action and just make the right reads. I thought our guys were quick to the ball today. Obviously we got out-rebounded by 13. We lived at the free-throw line and you can't ask for more.

Our issue all year's been turnovers. So as long as we stay around 8 to 12 we've had a lot of success this year and we kept it at 12. Just happy for our guys, happy for our seniors stepping up and playing and making free throws and making plays. It got a little dicey there, but just an overall team effort. Everybody really helped us and chipped in for this win.

MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes, please.

Q. Jaden, can you just walk us through the three there with a minute to go and what does it say about this team that you guys were able to kind of see that 10-point lead get down to three and then respond the way you did?

JADEN IVEY: It's big time. We've been in situations like that all season. It just comes, you know, with preparation. I think we were ready for this game and to finish it the way we did is great. I'm super proud of all our guys.

Q. Trevion, just for you guys to get back in the Sweet 16 and for the seniors to kind of get you there, what's this moment mean? How's it soaking in for you?

TREVION WILLIAMS: Oh, man, I just -- man, I had a lot of fun out there, man. Just knowing what I've been through with those guys. I'm sorry, I have no voice, I've been screaming all day.

Man, just knowing what I've been through with those guys, it means a lot to be in this position. This is what we work for. As I said, we put ourselves in this position and we fought today. I think everybody -- obviously last year we lost in the first round, but I said it before, I say it all the time, it's good to have guys come back that's been through it. I think everybody's been through it and they knew what was on the line, they knew what it meant to our seniors. So everybody came out to play and we played our hardest and we got it done.

Q. Trevion, you have the most postseason experience of anybody on the stage. At this point, do you expect the other team's going to make a run that you're going to have to weather? Is that something you just know is coming?

TREVION WILLIAMS: I'm sorry, I didn't hear your question. Sorry.

Q. You have the most tournament experience of anybody up there. At this point, do you just expect other teams are going to make a run, that everybody that's in this tournament is good, it's something that you know is going to come at some point?

TREVION WILLIAMS: Definitely, man. Like I said, you've got to respect every team, understand that everybody's here for a reason and that's the good thing about the tournament. Anybody can get beat on any given night. So you've just got to be prepared and you've got to be locked in. It all goes to the small things, those little things, boxing out, rebounding, hitting free throws, that stuff means so much more this time of year. It's all about understanding what's on the line.

Q. For Trevion, I know you guys like to play inside out, but today, once you got going, did you feel like you had a particular advantage on the inside that your teammates were looking for you to score once you got inside the post?

TREVION WILLIAMS: They definitely were looking for me. I felt like I was a little more patient today. I kind of took my time and got to my move, you know, just doing what I do best, getting to my jump hook. I kept it simple more than anything. Sometimes we get out there, we get the lead and, you know, we try to be flashy or we try to do something cool on the court. Today was about being solid, it was about being solid down the stretch and like I said, we got it done.

Q. This is for Ethan. What does it mean to you to take advantage of the situation and play so well today?

ETHAN MORTON: I mean, it's really just a credit to my teammates and my coaches. They put me in position to succeed and it's just about being ready. I think that's what this team's embraced all year. When we're 10 deep like we are, you kind of don't know when your number's going to be called just because you don't know how the game's going to unfold. So today when they went small for stretches, that's something that I've had experience being in the game a little bit more this season.

But at the end of the day it's a credit to my teammates and stuff, these two guys on the stage with me and everyone else made my job so much easier, along with the coaches. Just excited to play in a game like this. These are the games you kind of dream about playing in growing up, and to be going to the Sweet 16, I think we're excited for the opportunity and we've still got games ahead of us.

Q. Trevion or Jaden, could you speak to what Ethan brought tonight, especially the way he guarded Marcus Carr?

TREVION WILLIAMS: Man, he did a great job on Marcus Carr. He stepped up. Obviously Eric guarded him in the first half and he had a couple tough shots. Everybody got a piece of him, but I thought Morty, he did a great job, he stepped up. Like he just said, you never know when your number's going to get called. He took pride in the ball, you know, he stepped and guarded him pretty well, and it helped us down the stretch. We knew that Marcus Carr was a huge part of their offense and if we can keep him off his right hand, which is what Morty a good job of, like I say, he stepped up, man. It was big time for us.

Q. For Jaden, just wondering what you think of Courtney Ramey and then to shake him loose and bury that three. In your mind, was that the dagger?

JADEN IVEY: All game he was chirping, just trying to get me out of rhythm. I just stay poised the whole game. That's what it comes down to. People are going to try to get you out of rhythm and try to talk to you. You've just got to stay focused on the main goal and I felt like I did that.

Q. For Ethan, you've talked about it a couple times this year, but just being in a position ready to shoot. You're not a volume 3-point shooter, but just the opportunities when they come, the fact that you're ready, was there just a higher level of readiness tonight from your standpoint?

ETHAN MORTON: Yeah, goes back to the game plan again, you know. We talked about how they do a great job of kind of swarming to the ball on drives, especially with Jaden. So just being ready to shoot in those corners and fill in behind I think was really important. Then just being ready to shoot, having my feet set and not missing short, I think that's always been my biggest problem. So just being ready to shoot and taking them, even if you miss, yeah, just shoot it basically. That's what the guys tell me, so that's my job.

Q. Jaden, to kind of follow up on that, how much confidence do you have in Ethan when you see him there in the corner and people are cutting you off from the basket and he's standing there open?

JADEN IVEY: I have the most confidence in Ethan. He comes in every day and puts work in. He's constantly working on his shots. I trust him to take, you know, a lot of shots during the game. When he's open, I can't miss him, I've got to throw it to him.

Q. Question for all the players. What are your initial thoughts about making the Sweet 16 and your thoughts about facing Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 here in Philadelphia?

TREVION WILLIAMS: Can you repeat the question?

MODERATOR: He's asking about Saint Peters and facing them.

TREVION WILLIAMS: Like I said, every team's here for a reason. We're going to dive into film, I'm pretty sure, when we get back. Just got to hit singles against them and be as physical as possible and just be ready, respect them as a team. They made it this far obviously, so we've got to respect them.

ETHAN MORTON: Yeah, I agree with that 100 percent. Like he said, everybody's here for a reason and they've shown us the past few days. Obviously we've been watching. You know, they can beat really great teams, and they are a great team, really well coached. They're going to come out with a chip on their shoulder and we, I think, have a little bit of experience seeing maybe a smaller conference team in the tournament last year and how -- not to say we underestimated them, but I don't think we were as ready as we thought we were. So I think we can definitely draw on that experience knowing we're going to need our best basketball not just in that game but from here on out if we want to go where we want to go.

JADEN IVEY: I would say we have to come out with the same intensity that we had today and just listen to what the coaches say and what we talk about pregame. It all comes into play in the game, so we've just got to stay focused. And, you know, obviously we're happy to be in the Sweet 16, but, you know, we've got to win the game.

MODERATOR: All right, student-athletes. Thank you. Good luck in the Sweet 16. We'll continue with questions for Coach, please.

Q. What does it say about Ethan that, A, he's able to make those big shots, but also he's able to do so much for you from a defensive perspective in a game like this?

COACH MATT PAINTER: He really helped us defensively coming in on Marcus Carr and we really wanted to try to keep him off his right hand as much as possible, get him to the left. He hit that three there at the end and he got back to his right hand. And, you know, Ethan has good size and he's really worked at it to be a good defensive player. But Marcus Carr, we have the utmost respect for him. He did us in a couple times when he was at Minnesota, so all of our guys have a lot of respect for him and we know how dangerous he is. So we were just trying to crowd him the best we could and try to get him off his right hand because when he gets to his right, he's a lot better as a passer and he's a lot better as a scorer going right, in my opinion. Ethan was great. You know, he made those two free throws there at the end, he made those two threes, he was just steady. You look at his plus minus, he just does a lot of winning things when he's out on the court.

Q. You knew the swarms were coming to your big guys, the double teams. How do you think they handled that, the poise they showed and how much pressure did that take off of your guys on the perimeter?

COACH MATT PAINTER: Yeah, they really gave a lot of attention. Courtney Ramey's a very good defender. Jaden was talking about how he was talking or whatever, but he can back it up. He's a really good defensive player.

But with that being said, if you're going to take somebody out like that and give them that much attention and then you're going to throw the ball into the post, you're going to have some space to play and you're not going to be great in rotations at that time. So if you want to stay one on one and you can defend us, then that really helps you, but if you can't defend us and you're going to draw fouls, we're obviously going to really get into your bench like we did today. I don't care who we play and how they handle it, we try to throw the ball inside, but we also don't -- we try to have some balance and run some things for some other guys for shots or we try to get the ball in Jaden's hand as much as we can when it doesn't go into the post.

But Texas makes it so hard for you to run things. They deny passes, they disrupt, but if we can get the ball where we want and they're out-denying everybody, then we're going to be one on one at the block. So that's what really emphasized it. We had a lot of dribble-in passes to the post and then just tried to play from there.

Both of those guys, you just look at Zach's number, he does it all year. He gets 11 and 10 in 15 minutes, he gets fouled seven different times. Obviously Trevion was 22 and 7, and so together those guys were pretty good. But I also think we have a good system for them and our guys do a good job of delivering the basketball.

Q. Matt, I think five of the top 12 seeds have been eliminated already and Arizona, looks like they're going down to the wire.

Just the way this tournament's unfolded this weekend, I don't know, does it seem from where you sit as topsy turvy and wide open at this point as any you can remember?

COACH MATT PAINTER: Yeah, I think you're going to have some regions that have been that way before and then you have some regions where it just goes status quo and the top seeds win. Percentages obviously say the top seeds are going to win more often than the other teams, but that's what makes this tournament, you know, so unpredictable.

The thing about when you're not in the tournament, we look at it like you guys, but when you're in.

COACH CHRIS BEARD: The tournament, we don't look at it like you guys do. Like people want to talk to you about everything that's going on and you're not following everything that's going on, you're worried about your next game. So like that's -- you see highlights, you see things and people say what do you think of this, then when you don't have a good, you know, comment, people look at you like you're crazy. Well, I'm not following everything, I'm just worried about Texas.

Q. Coach, can you take us through Jaden -- the possession that led to Jaden's 3-pointer, what you saw on that and whether that was the shot that you wanted in that moment?

COACH CHRIS BEARD: Well, just putting the ball in his hands. Obviously we were going to Trevion a lot in that stretch and just trying to put the ball in his hands just to break people down. We were going to slip out of a ball screen because I didn't want to bring that five there because they were doubling and corralling his ball screens. We wanted him to turn the corner. But when he gets space and people back up and take his drive away, he'll just stop and bury it. He obviously has the freedom to do that. Just a great play. He's had moments like that in his career to where like it's kind of plan B is the best plan sometimes.

Q. Coach, I saw you kind of give Trevion a look when he talked about trying to do maybe something cool on the court. With his passing ability, maybe he tries to make the pass that's threading the needle a little bit too much, but has it been an emphasis of maybe exploiting his matchups? And you said he's being more patient, but for him to look to get his offense, instead of maybe being too much of a facilitator, has that been a emphasis?

COACH CHRIS BEARD: It's been an emphasis his whole career. Like sometimes he's a pass-first player and you can't be a pass-first player when you're one-on-one. If they want to come and double on you, they want to give you a lot of attention, now move the basketball, but when they stay one-on-one, like be aggressive and go and score. That's always been our rule with him. And then sometimes it's -- you know, he's a great guy to play with because who wouldn't want to play with someone who's looking to pass the basketball all the time.

So it can get contagious and it can really help, but you can't have predetermined thoughts. He has such good instincts when he just place off his instincts, and if you take something away, he delivers the basketball. That's when he's at his best.