NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - PROVIDENCE VS KANSAS

March 25, 2022

Bill Self

Jalen Wilson

Remy Martin

United Center

Kansas Jayhawks

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Kansas - 66, Providence - 61

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Kansas head coach Bill Self, student-athletes Remy Martin and Jalen Wilson.

COACH SELF: We're ecstatic that we're here. We played really well defensively and rebounding the ball the first half and didn't have as much to show for it, considering Providence couldn't make a shot. Of course, we couldn't really.

And the second half, percentages kind of prevailed. And the lid came off for them and really never came off for us, but we hung in there and grinded. And had some guys make some big individual plays when really we didn't have much offense going. Couldn't be happier that we get a chance to play on Sunday.

Q. We saw two 1 seeds fall yesterday. Is there any additional pressure that comes along with that? Do you feel that? Does it feel any different?

COACH SELF: I personally don't think so. Do you guys think so?

REMY MARTIN: Not at all.

JALEN WILSON: No.

COACH SELF: I think in sports, when things don't go your way offensively and the other team has momentum and they're playing with a freer mind coming back, I do think that sometimes that basket shrinks a little bit. And I think that did tonight. But we got some good driving baskets. I know Remy made a big one and J-Wil made two or three and David one big one there late. But there were enough individual plays taking place that kind of allowed us to get through it.

Q. Obviously emotional game, especially kind of late in the second half. What do you guys do to kind of remain in the element of the game and not look too far ahead or not try to make too many plays ahead and just take it one play at a time?

JALEN WILSON: Considering that we come from the toughest conference in the country, we've seen games like this almost every single night. And I think we're just so well prepared for anything, especially them going up one late like that. We just have to remain calm and continue to play our game just know we can't get too high or low.

Q. Bill, what did you see there late when you called the lob play for Och?

COACH SELF: We actually called it in the timeout before if they go zone, let's run our play. And sometimes when you're really struggling, you've got a guy that can go upstairs like that, sometimes that's the easiest basket you can get. And we've always liked throwing him -- they took away our back doors and our lobs all night long. But we caught them on that one because it was probably unexpected.

I think it was still a 2-3 zone. We screened the middleman. So I think -- even though it may have looked man, looked different, we went ahead and ran it because we thought they were still in their 2-3.

Q. What do you guys think when he calls a lob there, just at that point in the game? I think they were probably expecting a high-ball screen?

REMY MARTIN: We trust in our coach. We've got the best coach out there. So he's been through this and he knows how to win games. So whatever he calls, we execute. And CB made a great pass and Och got up there and dunked it. Och, he makes some big plays that people don't understand. He rebounds the ball. He makes some good plays defensively. But overall, really that play sparked us and really got us going.

Q. Jalen, they get the one-point lead and it looks like you were determined to go get it right back. Can you just talk about your mindset at that point?

JALEN WILSON: I saw how excited they were getting. They started to talk a little bit. I'm so confident in me and my team that I know that that fuels us just as much. And plus we never get rattled. Like I said, we've seen every single type of game and situation. I'm just confident whatever comes our way.

Q. Pass or shot on the one that Dave putback?

JALEN WILSON: Pass. (Chuckling).

COACH SELF: Yeah, right.

Q. Jalen just made reference to we never get rattled. How do you process that when you've kind of got control of the game -- appeared you did. And it doesn't feel like that anymore. What did you try to get across to them?

COACH SELF: I don't know that I totally buy in 100 percent that we don't ever get rattled. But I do think that, as Jalen said, I think our league has prepared us in a way, we play so many close games. And every game is a fistfight.

That game today, we didn't shoot a free throw the first half and neither team got the bonus. I think they only shot five. That was a really physical game and it was called a little bit -- don't you think -- a little tighter second half.

But I think our guys have enough individual confidence that when things don't go well as a team, they think that they can go make an individual play. And sometimes it doesn't work out that way, but tonight it did.

Like, they had the lead for, what, 15, 20 seconds. And that was big because they had all the momentum. But I think if I'm not mistaken J-Wil got a three-point play right after that to push it right back to two.

Q. Remy, looked like along with Jalen you had a couple moments where you could see you guys needed to turn it back. What did you reach for that enabled you to have those moments?

REMY MARTIN: Well, we just -- all the practices, everything that we've done leading up to this point, we revert back to that. We work really hard in practice. We do what needs to be done. We listen to Coach. And once we're in those type of environments, we just revert back to that and stay calm and let each other know that they're going to go through their runs. But as long as we stick together, like we've been doing the whole season, we'll get through this.

Q. What are you seeing from Ochai during the shooting slump that he's enduring?

COACH SELF: I think the way that we play isn't isolation. It's getting shots off of offense, getting shots off the catch. I'll be honest with you, Ed and his staff, they did a good job. They took away backdoors. They took away lobs. They guarded him with 6'6" with length, so you can play a half step off and still be close enough to contest.

We can look at it as a shooting slump. And I guess it is. But when you only take eight shots I don't know if I ever consider that a slump. I know one thing -- the lid will come off eventually. And when it does it will be good for KU people.

But right now I think he's doing enough stuff to help us win and we've had other guys step up. So we don't put too much emphasis on that at all.

Q. It wasn't just the bucket after they took the lead but also the first time they tied it you took it to the basket and got a bucket. Was there something about both of those plays that had some symmetry as far as you having the mindset that you wanted to get the ball to the basket to try to break up those momentum plays?

JALEN WILSON: I think we figured out that us getting to the cup, us creating contact and getting to the free-throw line would be beneficial to us winning. I just saw different gaps that I could get into, create a foul or create some type of action. Just within the flow of our offense, find those driving lanes, really.

Q. Jalen, 14 boards against Creighton. Ten in first half of this one and you finished with 11. It's dirty work but it gets rewarded. Is that just kind of a thing you've taken ownership of, especially this run you've had so far in March?

JALEN WILSON: Toughest team will always win. I try to be the toughest guy on the court I can be. And also the toughest team on the court. We play with that mindset, and a chip on our shoulder and we can get through any situation like tonight.

Q. Wondered how you feel about your defense coming out of this one. I know you were asked yesterday if it had been getting better. How did you feel coming off this game?

COACH SELF: We guarded today. We guarded. We had some breakdowns the second half. I don't know that you wouldn't have breakdowns in the second half when you're kind of on your heels when they're coming back. We gave up 44 points the second half. That's way too many.

But overall, I think it's getting better. Our first-shot defense was pretty good. They hurt us on the glass a little bit the first half. I think we're more connected defensively than we've been all year.

Q. What did you think of Remy's defense in the final three or four minutes?

COACH SELF: I thought it was good. I wouldn't recommend fouling a 3-point shooter up seven. But I actually thought that Remy's defense has really improved as much as anybody's over the last three or four weeks. And he's trying to do what we want him to do and pressuring the ball.

And the first half, their offense was really starting high on the court. Second half not as high. But the first half is really high on the court in large part because of ball pressure.

So I think it was good. I think that where we struggled was off the high-ball screen the second half. And Durham was able to get downhill. Our bigs didn't really get up there plug it well, but give them credit. He's pretty good getting downhill and so athletic. That's certainly something we can tighten up.

Q. Jalen, how big was Remy the first half? And Bill, comment on David McCormack, his performance?

JALEN WILSON: This is the second game in a row where he's came in in the first half and just completely taken over. Playing with so much confidence. We love it. We love him playing like that. We need him playing like that. He's been able to save us out of situations when we need a shot late in the clock. He's able to create his own shot. That's something not a lot of guys can do, especially at his speed. So, we're just loving his confidence.

COACH SELF: I actually thought David struggled tonight. But I also thought we wouldn't have won the game without him. So it's not how you start, it's how you finish. I didn't think he rebounded the ball or defended his position very well early. And he had a couple of touches in there we came away with nothing that could have been points. But at the end of the day he delivered for us when it counted.

Q. Earlier this week you talked about how you guys were trying to adopt the mindset of making your opponent play bad as opposed to focusing on knocking everything down offensively. Both teams were in the 30s from the field tonight and the teams from the 3s, do you think you guys have adopted that mindset?

COACH SELF: I certainly hope so because that's how we're playing right now. I think the first half was about as well we could guard. So I told the guys at halftime, when the other team shoots it like they shot it and how we guard them only to be up nine, that's not a great sign. But we made them play poor. They made us play poor. But when the other team can't score, you're not going to lose very often. And even though we didn't guard them great the second half, I think the totality of the game certainly, that played to our favor.

Q. How comfortable do you guys feel winning these ugly games, especially when the offense isn't working?

JALEN WILSON: If it gets ugly, it comes to defensive rebounding and playing like that, if we win like that every game I'm tripping, that's how it is. When everybody's good on the floor, you've got two good teams, two good coaches, games will get like that. And like Coach said, if our offense is bad, we need to make them play worse than us, really.

Q. You guys went at 14 a lot, having Jalen going at 14. Was that in the game plan to attack him? And did you anticipate that Jalen would probably be the guy he would be guarded by?

COACH SELF: Jalen started on him. Just naturally 4 versus 4. So I don't think our game plan was necessarily to attack a player. I think our game plan was more we need to get the ball to Jalen because he was the most efficient guy we had driving down the hill.

JALEN WILSON: I would say with them playing the way they were playing and moving the ball get a closeout from the slot, it's kind of hard to guard especially with how fast they're moving like that. I took advantage of the offense and me finding different angles to get to the cup.