BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 12, 2023

Micah Shrewsberry

Jalen Pickett

Myles Dread

Camren Wynter

United Center

Penn State Nittany Lions

Postgame Press Conference

Purdue - 67, Penn State - 65.

THE MODERATOR: We're going to go ahead and get started. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Shrewsberry.

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Just proud of our guys. Unbelievable fight and effort. They caused challenges for you with Zach inside, with Trey Kaufman-Renn inside, and other guys. We didn't do a great job on the offensive glass, and I think that's what got us and did us in. They got some timely offensive rebounds.

Sometimes when you're the smaller team, sometimes there's not stuff that you can do about that. We fought and we battled. I'm proud of our guys. We're ready for what's next.

Q. Jalen, how was that comeback kind of representative of who you guys are as a team?

JALEN PICKETT: We're fighters, man. We got down, but we didn't want it to end. We wanted to raise that trophy at the end, and we just kept fighting. Made our way back. We started pressing a little bit, causing them problems. That's us gonna be us. We're going to try and figure something out and we're not going to give up until the end.

Q. Myles, Coach called timeout with 6:18 left when you guys were down 17 and the run started right after that. What was it like in that huddle, and how did you guys kind of reset before that last stretch after that timeout?

MYLES DREAD: It's nowhere we haven't been before. We're a gritty team, and we've been in multiple different down and out situations. We're down, but we're never out in any game, the way we shoot the ball and the way we defend.

We just locked in on the focus of defending, running good offense, and rebounding, and we started chipping away.

Q. Myles, can you just walk us through what happened on that last play?

MYLES DREAD: I believe Zach Edey tipped the ball. I tried to just grab it and make something happen as soon as I could. That's about it.

Q. Jalen, how do you balance the positives that happened here, exceeding expectations from a lot of outsiders, with the difficult way that that game ended? Because I'm sure it was tough for you guys.

JALEN PICKETT: Yeah, we lost by two points. I mean, when we play with that energy and that urgency at the end, we're a much better team. I think we've got to play like that for a full game, not just the last ten minutes or whatever it was.

Q. Camren, as a team, you guys were 7-23 from beyond the arc, which is a little unlike you guys. Was it the shots not falling or the looks weren't good? Just kind of talk me through that.

CAMREN WYNTER: I think we had some pretty good looks that didn't go. I mean, can't make every one, but I thought we had some pretty good looks. If we get those looks, nine times out of ten we're going to make them.

Q. Can you guys just describe the feeling in the locker room right now? Obviously not the result you wanted, but you do have light ahead of the tunnel and stuff to look forward to in the next coming weeks. What's going to be your approach following of course the emotions after the game?

MYLES DREAD: We're going to gather together. We're going to go in that room over there, hear our name called, and we're going to get back home, focus up, and get ready to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Q. For all three of you guys, what's it like to have to play against Edey? He's getting a lot of traction as a potential National Player of the Year Award. What are your guys thoughts on if he is maybe the best player in the nation?

MYLES DREAD: He's a big, strong, finishes well. I mean, he's a great player. We did the best we could. We tried to put him in actions on offense and did our best to fight as hard as we could on defense.

Q. Cam, can you take us through how that final play unfolded from your eyes? We were able to ask the other guys, but you were obviously right in the middle of it.

CAMREN WYNTER: I just saw the ball got tipped up. Originally supposed to go to Funk, gets tipped up to Myles. I kind of just fell behind, and he flips it to me, and I kind of lose it a little bit, and I try to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.

THE MODERATOR: I need to dismiss the players to get back to the watch party. Questions for Coach.

Q. Micah, the uncharacteristic day for you guys from three-point range, do you attribute that to missed shots? How much of that -- I guess, how much of that is legs, at this point, playing three straight days?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Yeah, it probably has a lot to do with it. They're a good defensive team, too. They make it tough on you. They've done it all year, they try to run you off the line and really funnel you into Zach.

We had a lot of good looks that we just missed. Like we're playing extremely hard on both ends of the court. We've played three, including this, four straight tough, close games, and we're putting out a lot of effort. So it's hard to make shots like that, especially on day four.

Q. Micah, we can tell you're emotional right now. What are you feeling in this moment?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: I told our guys we were disappointed, but not like in their effort and how we played. We didn't finish the job of what we came here for. We wanted to come here and win the championship, and we didn't get a chance to do it.

But this is a really unique position for us where we're going to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show, and we're going to hear our name called. At the beginning of the year, probably nobody, other than me and those guys in our locker room, in our staff, was staying this was going to happen. So I'm proud of our team for what they've done all year.

Q. Micah, you know Paint as well as anybody. You've been part of some of the heartbreaks, '19 and some of the others. Obviously your team is paramount, but when you look at Purdue, do you see them as a team that could really make a lot of noise in this tournament?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Yeah, I think so. I know like towards the end of the year they've had some ups and downs, but like everybody has throughout this year. It's not untypical of any team in college basketball, and they came here and got some other guys going.

I thought Brandon Newman played really well down the stretch of the season. David Jenkins came here and shot the ball really well from three. Now if they can get Fletcher going again, if they can get Braden and those guys playing well around him, they at least have alternatives now. Brandon Newman is playing well. David Jenkins is playing well. It's still threats that are around Zach, which is an issue. Mason is just a warrior crashing the glass, getting possessions back, where they end up scoring on almost all of them.

So they're going to will themselves through some games when they don't shoot it well because of how they defend, because of how they rebound.

Q. Micah, I asked the players about it, but what exactly were you looking for on the last play to Wynter? Did you kind of feel fortunate, since it seemed the ball was tipped, that you at least got something there?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: Our team, man, they came in the huddle, and they said let's go win it. Let's go win it. They want to go three in (indiscernible). So I drew something up for them. Zach's 7'4". It's hard to pass. Can't back up because of the scorers table right there. He tipped the ball, and we were in scrambled mode from there.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Evan Mahaffey's aggressiveness? Especially with the steal to get it within one?

MICAH SHREWSBERRY: He's an energy guy for us. Sometimes I make mistakes by not playing him more because we need him. We could have used his energy earlier. That's what he is. That's what he does. He's got a lot more game than he's showing right now. He's going to be a really good player for us because he can handle the basketball.

He's kind of pigeonholed into a position of need right now for us because we've got a bunch of older, really good guards. But he's going to be a good player. He's aggressive. He can handle the ball with his athleticism. He came in and helped spearhead that comeback with his energy and his effort on the defensive end.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you so much. Congratulations on a wonderful tournament. Good luck on the NCAA Tournament.