NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - TCU VS ARIZONA

March 20, 2022

Jamie Dixon

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

Chuck O'Bannon

Mike Miles Jr.

Viejas Arena

TCU Horned Frogs

Media Conference

Arizona - 85, TCU - 80 (OT)

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by TCU.

Q. How much heartbreak is there right now in that locker room? And for you, Mike, specifically can you kind of take us through that last play at the end of regulation and how they worked the trap? And do you feel like there's pretty heavy contact there?

MIKE MILES JR.: It hurt. We deserve to win that game and we didn't win. But as far as the last play, they double-teamed me. I wouldn't say it was not a foul, but it was a foul. They didn't call it. That's what it is.

Q. I know just a lot of heartbreak for you guys. But could all three of you touch on what this season meant for you guys after all you went through and the accomplishments that you made for the school.

CHUCK O'BANNON: This season was everything for us because we weren't even expected to be here. And for us to win our first game and be that close with the No. 1 seed just shows that we have a bunch of guys with a lot of grit. That's all you can ask for.

EDDIE LAMPKIN JR.: For me, I'd just say these two guys right here, we talk about let's try to go to the tournament. And we did that. We was planning on going all the way. It was cut short. But I love this team. The team fought. About the last play, I feel like we just had to compete more in overtime. But we'll get it back next year.

Q. Mike, what changed? You guys were down eight there about the seven-, eight-minute mark and you came back. What flipped the switch?

MIKE MILES JR.: We just knew the game wasn't over. We got stops on defense. We went down and got buckets. Eddie had some of his plays. Chuck had a great night.

In overtime we didn't get it done. But it was a great season. Nobody was expecting us to get this far and we proved everybody wrong. We deserve to win this game, but we didn't. So it is what it is.

Q. Eddie, Christian had 18 points in the first half. What was the difference to kind of containing him the second half and the defense you guys played on him?

EDDIE LAMPKIN JR.: He's a pretty good player. I tell him he's a good player. He came up to me after the game and told me I was a good player, I really like his game.

We changed it. We was loading much more than what we was at the beginning. Everybody had everybody back at the second half. And I feel like we played good defense the second half on them.

Q. Chuck, how would you describe or characterize the last five minutes in overtime from just a physical and tense standpoint?

CHUCK O'BANNON: Right, everything was left on the line. A lot of guys didn't have a lot in the tank. But everybody put it out on the floor. This is the end of the season. You lose this game, you're done. So everything you've got in the tank, you've got to put it all out on the floor.

Q. Mike, I think Eddie's career high in minutes last year was like nine. He just had, really, the performance of his life on national TV. Could you talk about the progression he made this year?

MIKE MILES JR.: He made a lot of progress. Everybody knows he cut down weight. He's gotten so much better since the first time we stepped on campus last year. I'm proud of him. In the biggest game of his life he played the most minutes. And I think he had a career high in points, I'm not sure.

But he had a great game. We trust him. I believe in him. We talk to each other every day and that's what we wanted to do. And in the biggest game of his life, on the biggest stage, he showed up. I'm proud of him.

COACH DIXON: I don't know what was discussed here earlier, but as I told the guys in the locker room, how proud I was of this team, what they had become. Came together on June 1st. And a whole new group, guys from all over the place, all from different places. A lot of them knew each other too, and wanted to play with each other. And I think you can see why.

They became a team, a unit that was unbelievably close. They do everything together. And it's just a fun team to be around. Very outgoing. Love being on campus. Love the college experience. Love being part of the student body. And I just can't thank them enough. I'm so proud of them. And I think we just, TCU basketball, I just think I told them they made millions of fans tonight by watching this game. And the challenge now is to handle it the right way after this loss.

Certainly a lot of questions will be asked, but we'll handle it the right way and do the right things because that's what they've done all year long. So very proud of them. And TCU, I know, is proud of this team, and the fans and I think fans everywhere. So we still felt we should have won the game. We did everything. And we just came up short. So we'll look at the film. But I'm so proud of them.

Q. At the end of regulation, do you think about fouling there up 3, and then on Mike, were you surprised they used the trap, especially with Christian at half court?

COACH DIXON: They've been doing that all game. And you can't foul that early in the clock. They have too much time. So you just lengthen the game. You don't want to lengthen the game. No. They had plenty of time and came in, tough shot. Obviously we know what happened afterwards. I thought we guarded it well. He made a tough shot. It was deep. We had them going backwards. But I thought we guarded it well.

I tried to call a timeout as we made the shot but the referee wasn't looking at me. So then obviously we know what happened after that.

Q. You talked about how TCU maybe made millions of fans tonight. Feels like that's a microcosm of Eddie's year. Could you talk about maybe the progression he made especially from last year and culminating in the career high he had tonight?

COACH DIXON: I mean, if you play with enthusiasm and you love the game, good chance you're going to get better. That's what he is. That's who he is. And it's just been fun to watch him grow and get better.

And there's still so many things that he can improve on. And so we're just looking forward to watching him get better and better. And I think he was talking about that as well.

But he battled against two really big guys, good big guys, three big guys, I should say. And we all did. We adjusted our ball screen coverage. I think that's why we were able to slow down Koloko a little bit in the second half. We made some adjustments. But he made free throws. Give him credit for that. Got to the line. And he stayed out of foul trouble.

Obviously we had a number of guys in foul trouble. That was a challenge. But I thought Eddie was terrific both offensively and defensively and a great leader for us.

Q. On the last play, were you expecting there to be a whistle?

COACH DIXON: I think everyone's seen it, is talking about it. We're going to handle it the right way. And that's what we discussed. And because that's what these guys have done. They've been class all year long and we're going to handle it the right way. So we'll defer to -- we've got the best officials in the country working these games. And that's the situation we were in.

Q. You kind of mentioned how proud you were and making millions of fans. Everyone who played tonight could return. Have you looked at what you guys could be going forward?

COACH DIXON: Yeah, no, I mean, obviously at some point that's been discussed and looked at. Obviously you're always building programs, teams. We've got some guys that have some opportunities.

They have to look at their situations and we'll support them along that process and be involved in that. And see what occurs.

There's still a lot of things to plan, still some games left in the tournament. But I know these guys love each other. I know they love playing with each other. And they love TCU. So we're obviously in a different world now. But we're going to try to get through this loss here first and this disappointment from it. So that's where we're at.