ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2023

Tony Bennett

Reece Beekman

Isaac McKneely

Virginia Cavaliers

Postgame Press Conference

Duke 59, Virginia 49

Q. A night ago you guys were so efficient offensively. What did Duke do defensively, particularly to cut off the rim, that made things hard tonight.

TONY BENNETT: I think they're a good defensive team. They've really come together that way. Their length and their athleticism was real, and I think at times it sped us up, and we were at times a little bit uncharacteristic or a bit rushed.

I think they sat down and guarded, we sat down and tried to guard hard, and there just wasn't a whole lot there.

Then had a few -- I thought we just missed some close ones, but I think their athleticism and length put some pressure on us, and at times we got sped up.

Q. You know how hard it is to win ACC Tournament championships. For Coach Scheyer to do it in his first year, what impresses you about what he's been able to accomplish in a short period of time?

TONY BENNETT: I think they've improved as the year went on and that usually happens with that kind of talent and those young guys get used to it. I told him after the game, you really had your guys ready to play, and you could see they were trending in that direction. And he and his staff have done a good job, and obviously those players, they're disciplined and they're guarding hard, they're buying into that end and playing both ways.

For him to -- yeah, to get that team to do that in his first season, well done.

Q. Reece, you guys had as many turnovers tonight as you did in the first two games combined. Was that a product of Duke's defense, or were you guys just sloppier with the ball than you typically are?

REECE BEEKMAN: I feel like it was a little bit of both, some on us and some on the defense, as well. We didn't take care of it as we usually do, and I feel like that was a big impact in the game. Some of the stuff was on us, and we've just got to take care of that for the postseason.

Q. For both the players, not the result you wanted tonight, but a strong showing here in Greensboro. How do you keep the momentum of what you were able to do here as you head into the NCAAs?

ISAAC MCKNEELY: I think we just need to take our rest. Obviously we wanted to win that, but we're playing for something bigger. So we'll take the next couple days to rest up and then get right back at it. I'm really proud of our effort tonight. Shots weren't falling like they have in the past two games, but I know once we get into the postseason we're going to be ready, so I'm excited for that.

REECE BEEKMAN: Yeah, kind of just what Mac said. Just use the momentum from the first two games and just the positive things from this game and take that into the tournament.

Q. Tony, it looked like Jayden especially had difficulty getting his shot with Filipowski shadowing him. When you talk about their length, was that emblematic of what they were doing?

TONY BENNETT: Yeah, they did a good job on Jayden, and when you drive at the rim, both of those areas were good. We tried a few things, we just -- when we played them at our place, we spread them out a little bit. And we're obviously a little bit different without Ben, but we've got to adjust to that. But I thought they keyed on Jayden, and when Reece or Kihei or Armaan got in the lane, they were there. And then you've got two seven-footers, so I think couldn't quite get Jayden going the way he was so good last game.

Q. Tony, you've learned over the years that your team's performance in the ACC championship game is not necessarily a predictor of how it will play in the NCAA Tournament. Is that something you have reminded the players of, or does that come later?

TONY BENNETT: Yeah, I just said that. Like I said, the effort was there, and this was a good experience to be in, and let's use it, absolutely learn from it and get ready to play. But I didn't particularly say that. But like I said, I told them I was proud of them for getting to this point, and we had some chances.

Kihei had a chance to cut it to four, who knows what happened. They made some plays, and you have to make those plays in these settings. And they made some tough shots that were well defended late that just separated enough.

Q. Reece and Isaac, the turnovers, 12 today, for the first time in double digits in 11 games. Was it Duke's pressure or could you address that a little bit, the reasons behind that?

ISAAC MCKNEELY: I feel like Reece, like he said earlier, it's kind of a little bit of both. Duke got Mark Mitchell and the two seven-footers. Their length is real. So when we were driving in there, they were getting their hands on it and stuff like that. But we've got some stuff to clean up and work on in the next few days in practice for sure.

REECE BEEKMAN: Yeah, just the same. Coming into the other games I felt like we did a great job taking care of the rock and just playing through the offense. They kind of sped us up a little bit, and that caused a lot of turnovers.