PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2023

Jerod Haase

Brandon Angel

Harrison Ingram

Stanford Cardinal

Postgame Press Conference

Stanford - 73, Utah - 62

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Stanford to the interview room. Coach, we'll start with an opening statement and then take questions.

JEROD HAASE: An exciting start to the tournament for us. I thought as the game wore on we got a little bit smarter in terms of defending personnel and defending actions. Branden Carlson's a heck of a player and we weren't able to limit his numbers, but I thought defensively we stayed locked in throughout the whole game.

Offensively we were pretty efficient and we when only have four turnovers that's a heck of a sign that good things are going to happen. So I thought the guys valued the basketball, shared the basketball. I really feel like we've continued to improve throughout the season and I think guys have a lot of confidence for good reason and with an understanding if we play for each other and share the basketball and play our hearts out on the defensive end you never know.

THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll open it up to questions.

Q. This was a huge advantage in points in the paint tonight. Was that something you guys game planned for or was that something you guys kind of found as the game went on?

HARRISON INGRAM: For me personally anytime I get a big switch on to me I used to settle for a step-back three or dribble dribble and just not really get anything, but Coach has talked to me about going downhill and I just kept attacking and they really couldn't stop it.

Q. Harrison, this is the two lowest turnover totals you guys have had this year have been against Utah. What about this matchup make that's such a good matchup for you guys?

HARRISON INGRAM: I think they don't really pressure the ball that much. They kind of play inside the paint gap defense, so it's a little bit easier to move the ball around. Coach was telling us that we have the best shooters in the country. If we get shots up every possession it's going to be hard to beat us.

Q. Talk about facing Utah a third time, just what changed schematically seeing these guys a third time and any differences you made versus the previous two meetings?

JEROD HAASE: They battled through some injuries. They have done a heck of a job staying together and really had a tough schedule coming down the stretch. It's a good basketball team. They have really played well for the entire season. Their backcourt had some injuries, and so trying to put that together and acclimate guys back in is always challenging.

But all three games it was a learning process. The early January or late December, whenever we played them the first time, we weren't the same team we are now. We struggled in a lot of ways. I think they had us down 15 or 20 points at home and we made it a little closer at the end.

But we've continued to work and grow, and I've said it many times and I'll continue to say it, I'm very proud of the guys in terms of the way they've stuck together and improved and they're excited to keep going.

Q. You're about to play Arizona. What do you remember about the last matchup and specifically Azuolas Tubelis on the other side?

JEROD HAASE: We did a nice job on both ends of the floor that game. They're a very, very talented team, a very well-coached team. We're going to have to be really effective defending the interior. Tubelis is awfully talented, awfully good, and can score in so many different ways. We're going to have to do different things with personnel, with the defensive game plan, and then guys are going to have to play their hearts out, and then we're going to have to rebound the basketball as well.

But we understand he's a heck of a player, but they also have a team full of talented guys, so it's going to be a combination, again, of our personal, how we matchup with people, really understanding the scouting report and having a game plan, and we'll develop that over the next 22 hours, and then we'll be excited from there.

But, look, for us, that was a big win and we're going to continue to try and build off of what we're doing.

Q. Want to get your thoughts on, one of the things you guys seem to have improved on is going up against the press, teams trying to press. You guys have done a better job breaking the press and getting baskets in transition. What's been the key to growth in that particular area?

JEROD HAASE: We worked on it and the guys have got more and more comfortable. We practiced it a ton, you know, live situations, not live situations, film, all those kind of things.

Our mentality's become a little bit more aggressive as well. Rather than just try and survive and get it across and try and get organized, we're trying to be a little bit more aggressive with it, and as we've had a little bit of success, that's increased confidence and then once the confidence is a little bit higher, I think our guys, when we see the press, we have a plan and I think they have a lot of confidence going.

Q. You had a career high 12 rebounds, including five offensive. Can you talk about your ability to get to those 50/50 balls?

BRANDON ANGEL: Yeah, I mean it's definitely something I think about each game. The last couple games I haven't been particularly effective on the glass. I should be getting more rebounds than I have been. So tonight this same thought before each game, let's go compete. Part of competing is going and making the tough plays, the 50/50 balls and, yeah, sometimes the ball bounces your way a little more than other games. But I felt I was going after the ball pretty comfortably.

Q. Just to the players. Back to that Arizona game. Curious your thoughts on the way you guys kind of dominated inside in that game and do you expect that whatever adjustments they're going to make what kind of challenge will you face tomorrow?

BRANDON ANGEL: We know we're playing a very good great team tomorrow. I think the thing we saw and everyone else saw last game is how hard we competed in that first Arizona game. We were flying around on defense and we really took the game plan personal to protect the paint. We're definitely going to have to do that again. Obviously the stakes are even higher this time. So anything less than a hundred percent is unacceptable tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you very much guys.