NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - ARKANSAS VS GONZAGA

March 24, 2022

Mark Few

Drew Timme

Andrew Nembhard

Chase Center

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Arkansas 74, Gonzaga 68

MARK FEW: It's always, gosh, just so tough whether it finally ends. Especially short of the goal we all had, and, obviously, the groups we've had it's the first time we've lost this round in quite a while.

But, again, all the credit goes to Arkansas. Their defense was pretty just tough to get any rhythm against. I think we never really got any sort of rhythm in the first or the second half. To me that was the difference in the game, and I felt like we had stretches where we guarded them pretty good. We just couldn't get any rhythm on our offensive end, which is rare for us.

Q. Andrew, what did Au'Diese do to limit you tonight?

ANDREW NEMBHARD: I think his length was a factor. He is athletic. He did a great job just keep pressuring me the whole game.

Q. Hey, guys, was there anything, Coach, you noticed different from the jump? Something that Arkansas was doing that got you guys out of sorts, out of sync?

MARK FEW: No, not really. Like I told these guys after, the only reason we're in this position now to be in this game at this point of the season and being ranked No. 1 was because we got the ball to the right spots and the right guys, and they took the right shots, and that's the same thing we did tonight. They just, unfortunately, didn't drop, and we had some good looks, but these guys have put their incredible amount of work in, and like I said, don't really need to hang their head or second guess. Those were the shots we wanted. We just didn't quite knock them down.

Q. Coach, as you look back at the season, were there any other games that you played that were this physical and that were allowed to be played that way?

MARK FEW: We've been in a lot of physical battles this year. Heck, we just finished one against Memphis. A week or so ago.

Yeah, we certainly could have drawn off of that one, but, again, I actually thought we were able to get to our spots that we wanted and get the shots we wanted. We just weren't quite able to convert like we always have in the past. The length and the athleticism, obviously, factored into that, and it was maybe tougher to get to them initially, but pace of the game, I thought, was good. It started out good. It wasn't much of -- even though the score kind of indicated it was a grinder, both teams were playing with pretty good pace. It was just more of -- just needed to step up and make some shots.

We had probably three or four too many turnovers, and then also just a couple of defensive miscues in a low-possession game like that, and that was the difference.

Q. Drew, you huddled everyone up at the end of the game. I'm not asking you to say word for word what you said, but if you could paraphrase what your message was?

DREW TIMME: I just said that I was -- sorry. I just said that I was proud of us, and it was a hell of a ride. You know it didn't end up the way we wanted, but we came to play hard, and it just -- you know what, it was their night, and you got to give them credit for winning the game. You know, they won the game fair and square, and they made great plays.

But I told them just thanks for being my teammates, thanks for being here. They're my brothers to the end. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else, and take a moment to just thank your families and Zag Nation for all the love and support they've had through all the goods, ups and downs of this season. It's been a grind this season, and I'm not -- I couldn't be any more proud of these guys, and I know I'm not alone when I say this. I have no regrets about this season. We put it all out there. We came to work every day. We played our tails off, and I'm proud of each and every one of us for that.

Q. Andrew, just what is it like being out there tonight and seeing the shots that you normally make just not falling?

ANDREW NEMBHARD: It's definitely disappointing. As Coach said, I felt like I got to the spots I wanted to get to. I got shots that I usually get on a regular basis. Just didn't fall for me tonight. That's all I can say about it.

Q. For Mark: Kind of following up what Drew was saying. What did you tell the team, and what maybe three or four adjectives would you use to describe your team's season?

MARK FEW: Spectacular. Again, I think sometimes the outside people that aren't in our program are always label it with the, hey, National Championship or bust. I think we're more -- obviously, we wanted to take this thing all the way to the end and win it, but we understand just how hard that is and just how hard it is to make the Tournament, how hard it is to win a good league as good as the WCC was this year, and advance even to the Sweet 16.

I would say spectacular. Incredibly easy on a coach because, like Drew just said, they showed up to work every single day, picked up on things really quick, never -- was never an envious or jealous moment with all the attention and notoriety and NIL entering into the picture and all that.

It was just so easy to coach. So you praise them and thank them for that. Like I told them, like time will give them better perspective. We started this season No. 1 and ended the regular season number one. There wasn't anybody in college basketball that could hold onto it. We were the only ones that could, and they deserve a lot of credit for that. Took everybody's best shot, and we just couldn't get it done against Arkansas's shot tonight.

Q. I know you guys are in a raw emotional spot, but all three of you guys do have eligibility remaining if you wanted. What kind of do you think will come into factor with that trying to get this taste out of your mouth?

MARK FEW: I just think it's too raw to be dealing with stuff like that. Let's talk game. We'll come up with stuff like that later on. It's just not the time for that.

Q. Hey, Coach, they mentioned trying to get Chet in foul trouble was a big part of their game plan. Can you talk about how much of an impact that had on you guys, and if you had any reaction to any of the calls?

MARK FEW: I have no reaction to the calls, but it was a big aspect tonight. Chet I thought was playing good, and he was getting to his shots, and we were trying to call his number and get him some more actions when we could, but, yeah, that was hard. That was difficult because I felt it was one of those games where he was able to get his touches, Drew was able to get his touches, and we just needed to kind of, without wearing Drew out, we needed Chet to be able to stay in there a little longer.

Again, he is just -- we're so different on defense when he is in there with his rim protection.

Q. Drew, kind of the same question from a player's perspective, with him being in foul trouble, how did that impact what you guys wanted to do, and did it kind of contribute to sort of mucking things up?

DREW TIMME: Obviously, he is a heck of a player, but we've been in situations like that all year, and it's next man up. That's how this team operates. We don't win or lose based on one player, and, yeah, just it happens, and, yeah, that's pretty much it, where.

Q. Mark, you mentioned their speed and their quickness. How much was a factor of the 50/50 balls? It seemed like they got a lot of them that led to plays out there.

MARK FEW: Those were big, and we talked about that going into this week. There was a couple right down the stretch that were huge, and we cut it to two or three, and had a little bit of momentum going on the offensive end. We just could not come up with those balls. There was a couple of rebounds or there were a couple of balls that were on the floor right in front of the rim, and they were able to grab. I remember one they ended up grabbing and throwing out for a huge three.

So, again, they're very opportunistic, and they're quick-handed, and they're strong. They might not be the tallest, longest team we've played, but they're very strong, so they're able to cover ground. The physicality in the paint I think was a big factor.

Q. Coach, you had mentioned that a lot of the expectations are championship or bust, and I'm sure the players are feeling let down by that, but have you noticed in your time that as time goes on that players are able to look back and be more proud after the initial sting wears off?

MARK FEW: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Once they get around -- again, the moment is raw, very raw somebody just said. Then time gives you a much better perspective.

This was an incredible year, and these guys delivered night in and night out from the start. Obviously, we wanted to take this thing to New Orleans and bring home a championship, but only one team is going to be able to do that, and they'll be really, really good, and they'll probably have some good fortune smile on them in order for that to happen.

We didn't have much of that tonight. We had a lot of things rim out and had some issues with some foul trouble and things like that, so it just wasn't our night. They'll be able to get to that point eventually. That's what usually happens.