MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2023

Niko Medved

Isaiah Stevens

John Tonje

Thomas & Mack Center

Colorado State Rams

Postgame Press Conference

Colorado State 67, Fresno State 65

THE MODERATOR: Coach will make an opening statement and then we will take questions for the student-athletes.

Joining Colorado State Niko Medved will be John Tonje and Isaiah Stevens.

Coach, go ahead. Opening remark.

NIKO MEDVED: There's not much more to say other than survive and advance somehow. We did here today.

I don't think we managed a lot of the game well. Give Fresno a lot of credit for staying with it there, but I'll give these guys a lot of credit. We managed the very end of the game really, really well and didn't panic when they took the lead late.

Got the stops that we needed, and then obviously, I mean, Isaiah just made some big-time plays like he always does.

We don't like to call timeout in that situation where we're holding for one. They might have an opportunity to take the ball out of his hands or run what we want to run, so the guys know what to do.

Showed a lot of calmness there. Stepped up and made a big shot, and we get to play tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Zai, never a doubt, right?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Maybe a little bit, but, no, those games are always fun to be in. It's always a battle when we play Fresno. Have a lot of respect for that program and those guys over there. A lot of them I've been playing for a large part of my career, so it's always fun to battle, and it was a good game tonight.

Q. John, can you address the three-pointer by the technical, the weirdness that ensues and how you guys kind of recalibrated your emotions to get to the end?

JOHN TONJE: Yeah, we just go play-by-play. No one lost their mind in that situation and we just stayed compose and kept playing.

Q. When you go from a half from the first half where there's not that many fouls and go to the second half where it seems like a foul is called every, you know, 30 seconds, does that disrupt the rhythm at all?

ISAIAH STEVENS: It can a little bit, but you've got to learn to play without fouling. They're the guys that are making the judgment calls on all these plays, so in a way you have to adjust to the way that they're calling it.

It can be frustrating sometimes, but we have some go our way as well, so can't really blame it.

Q. Isaiah, can you just kind of walk through your mindset and what you are thinking, what you are seeing when you are kind of dribbling the ball waiting for the clock to get down and start your move there at the end?

ISAIAH STEVENS: In a situation like that, well, one, we prepare for these moments almost every single day after practice, so this isn't our first time going through all this.

I think the main thing is when it's tied, you want to try to get the last shot. Maybe a little bit of time for maybe a tip-in if you can, but you don't want to leave too much time left for the other team to play with.

We just try to get downhill. We had a set that we go to pretty often. We were able to execute with me and John in there, so yeah.

Q. Obviously, you've had a few of these winners in your career. What is the feeling when you are able to do it again?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Man, feels great. Especially when you are able it get a win off of it. I'm just super excited we get to continue playing tomorrow. It will be another battle tomorrow afternoon, so I'm excited for it.

Q. John, you and Isaiah have obviously played together for quite some time now. You've seen him hit all kinds of game-winners in his career. What's kind of going through your mind when the seconds are ticking down and the ball is in Isaiah's hands?

JOHN TONJE: Just get out the way, to be honest. Yeah, that play is a read for both of us, but, you know, he opened up, and Zai got downhill and made a play.

Q. Kind of off what he asked, then never a doubt then?

JOHN TONJE: Never a doubt.

Q. Just to go back on that last play, you've been in those situations so many times. Everybody knows what you are going to try to do. But what are you looking for as the play starts to develop to know what you are going to do?

ISAIAH STEVENS: It was really just a read based on positioning, personnel, who is guarding me, who is guarding him, who will probably be likely to switch or double if something were to happen.

It's a lot of things that we're looking at and reading kind of as it's happening in the moment. So it all depends what the defense does, and then we have counters off of it.

Q. John, tournament is always a second season. Your approach as you guys head into San Diego State tomorrow?

JOHN TONJE: We have to be physical. We have to be ready tomorrow. We can enjoy this one today, but we have to move on tomorrow pretty quick. We know what this game is going to be. There's no question how physical this game is going to be, so we just have to be ready for that.

Q. Obviously, you guys are seniors, leaders. How are you able to bring your teammates up with you kind of like these guys have been saying, mindset with these game-winning shots? How are you able to bring your other teammates into play as well?

ISAIAH STEVENS: Go ahead.

JOHN TONJE: Just, you know, approach every day the same even though it is a playoffs. We just have to make sure everyone is calm and just doing what they usually do and just going together.

ISAIAH STEVENS: Just to doubleback on that, composure. Just trying to help guide some of these young guys through these moments, keeping them engaged, just keeping them as locked in as possible through all scenarios, because there were a lot of good learning moments right there at the end of that game for a lot of these guys.

Q. You played San Diego State just a couple of weeks ago and took a pretty big loss. How much did that sting, and how much do you want a piece of those guys again?

JOHN TONJE: You know, it sucks to lose any game, but San Diego State, we're familiar with them. Had many, many battles. We know what it's going to be, and we're just going to go out there and put our best foot forward.

ISAIAH STEVENS: I'm excited for all games. These games in March are super fun to be a part of. The more opportunities you get to step on that floor especially in the conference tournament against familiar opponents, it's going to be fun.

So I'm just excited to get out there tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you. We'll dismiss the student-athletes and continue with coach.

Questions for coach?

Q. When time gets tight, how comforting is it to know you have two seniors like that that had to wade through the muck through the years?

NIKO MEDVED: Whether they're tight or not tight or whatever, having a guy like that is pretty comforting.

But, yeah, he is so calm under pressure in those situations. His mind slows down. He gets it. He has done that since his freshman year. Boy, that's a joy to have as a coach.

Again, I didn't think we managed the end of the game very well. I thought the momentum really turned. They made a three, committed a flagrant foul. I thought that kind of -- they got back in the game quickly.

But then when they took the lead we didn't panic, and that's what you have to do. You've got to stay with it emotionally and find a way to win, and that's what we did.

Q. Were you surprised at all at the pace in the first half, because Fresno typically kind of is a slow-paced, you know, bog it down type team? You guys were really going back and forth there for the first 15 minutes or so.

NIKO MEDVED: Yeah, a little bit. I thought as we were extending a little bit of three quarter court pressure, I thought they did a good job of attacking it. We kind of changed up a little bit what we did. I thought that kind of slowed the game down a little bit.

We probably deliberately slowed down a little bit too in the second half. I think what was interesting for Fresno tonight. They did a great job for whatever reason. The last two times we've played them they've really kind of played a combination of a matchup zone, man-to-man. They go zone, would end up in man after several passes.

They did a good job of really taking us out of rhythm and kind of mucked up the game a little bit. But, you're right, the pace was a little frantic early, but then it kind of settled down to where you would expect it.

Q. Given the style they play and the length and physicality they can bring to the table, is this an ideal matchup kind of going into a team like San Diego State who maybe plays somewhat similar, more refined but similar?

NIKO MEDVED: That's a good question. I don't know. San Diego State is so unique. I mean, they're older. They've been here before. Maybe there's some similarities, physicality, but the one thing about San Diego State tomorrow, I mean, there's not going to be a lot of gimmicks. We pretty much know what it is going in. We've just got to be able to meet it head-on.

Q. Zai has done this so many times that you can almost -- you almost feel like it's going to happen, but obviously, it's not quite as easy as he makes it look. Why is he so successful in these situations?

NIKO MEDVED: It's more than -- he is obviously an incredibly talented kid, but it's the mental piece. You know, I've said it since he got on campus. You can't -- it's hard to describe to somebody, but he just has "it." When you are out there every day in practice and you see how he just cognitively reads things and the game just slows down and he can see it before it happens.

He is like a Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady at point guard. So in those moments he is always visioned himself -- you know, had that vision of himself as being that kind of player, and he has absolutely no fear in that situation.

You know, when that happens, a lot of people, they get sped up and frantic. He just calms down. I think it's really what's between his ears that allows him to play in those moments.

Q. You get down three, but for you what was the bigger play that Zai made? Was it the old-fashioned three-point play, the strong drive down the lane that got you retied, or was it the game-winner?

NIKO MEDVED: Maybe that three-point play was huge. They had finally taken the lead, and then we come down and, boom, and-one. He makes it, and we come right back and tie it up.

I thought that was a huge jolt, you know, to our team as we had kind of let that lead slip away there down the stretch. So I really thought that was a huge, you know, momentum play, and you could tell just brought a whole jolt of energy to our team, and then somehow we found a way to finish it.

Q. If you were in the WCC, you wouldn't be playing San Diego State tomorrow. They wouldn't play until the semifinals. Do you think this conference needs to adjust its format to protect its top seeds, or do you like the idea of playing three games in, like, basically 40 hours?

NIKO MEDVED: I think it depends on who you talk to. I think sometimes there's people who have been in leagues that get double byes that don't like that either, and you have to sit there for two days and you are playing a team that's really firing on all cylinders.

I think it can work. It can work both ways.

But, you know, when you are talking about San Diego State, they've had a lot of success playing three games in three days too. We don't need to protect them anymore, right, than we do, right? So we're just excited for the opportunity to get out there against those guys tomorrow.

Really to answer your question, I think every coach would be all over the board, you know what I mean, on that. It's tough to sit and watch for a couple of days and then you are playing a team that's really in rhythm. That can be difficult too.

Q. Fresno State's leading scorer shot 2 for 15. What was the key to kind of keeping him quiet and just not letting him get those shots off?

NIKO MEDVED: That was a huge key in the game plan. Obviously he was coming off a 43-point game. He just went 10 of 11 from three on Saturday. We made a huge emphasis to really try to get up and to crowd him and to make him put the ball on the floor.

I thought we challenged a lot of his shots early, never let him get in a rhythm. I think Isaiah Hill is one of the most underrated players in our conference. He is shifty and plays with a ton of confidence. Even him, he got going there. We made him take a lot of shots to get the points.

We just didn't do a very good job with our interior defense today. I thought that was really, really poor. They outscored us, almost doubled us up in the paint. That's usually not a formula for success at all. We did do a good job I thought in their perimeter shooters.

Q. John Tonje is having one of his better stretches of games here of late. How much of an advantage is it for you to have him continue that into this tournament?

NIKO MEDVED: Well, I think it directly correlates. We're playing as well as we've played all season here the last three weeks, and I think it's a direct correlation between John playing some of his best basketball of the season.

He is a huge part of what we're doing. He can score, you know, in so many ways. When he is really playing at a high level we're a different team. I think that has been a huge key to us playing a lot better here down the stretch.

Q. Maybe I'm trying to correlate a bit too big a picture here, but Zai going back, I think Loyola, Chicago, his freshman year was the first one of these. Does that give confidence that has led to this career of, you know, successes in these situations where you can get some early? Obviously, he has the mindset, but early success.

NIKO MEDVED: I think so. I think so. I think he is just, again -- he has always had that vision for himself. He did that. I remember the one his freshman year against Nevada at home. That was a huge play too. Maybe hopefully he has some more, right, in him.

I know tomorrow is going to be difficult. They're going to put a lot of emphasis on stopping Isaiah, but we've got to play great team basketball.

But we're excited. I told the guys when we lost in Viejas, I said, hey, we're going to see this team again. We're going to see them a third time. We always seem to see them a third time.

If you want to have an opportunity to advance in this tournament and do something, you've got to go through San Diego State, and so we get an opportunity tomorrow at noon.

THE MODERATOR: Very good. Thank you, Coach.