NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - COLGATE VS TEXAS

March 15, 2023

Matt Langel

Tucker Richardson

Keegan Records

Oliver Lynch-Daniels

Ryan Moffatt

Wells Fargo Arena

Colgate Raiders

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to have with us the student-athletes from Colgate.

Q. What are your thoughts about your group and returning to the NCAA Tournament?

TUCKER RICHARDSON: First things first, very excited to be back here. Obviously, it's any kid's dream to get to March Madness and to get here multiple times like we have over the years is super exciting. Just very excited for the opportunity. Hoping to have a great game tomorrow.

KEEGAN RECORDS: Same thing that Tucker said, excited to be here. I'm not quite satisfied yet so doing everything we can to pull out a win tonight, but excited to be here and to perform on a stage like this is a dream come true, lucky enough to have it a couple times.

RYAN MOFFATT: We're excited to be back. Special group of players and staff and can't wait for tomorrow night to compete.

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: I will also say that it's exciting. Every time is different so it adds to the diversity of it all. We should be excited to get out there and play a tough Texas team.

Q. First off, congratulations. Happy you guys are out there. I know it was Wisconsin last year that you went to. It's Des Moines now. Have you guys been hoping for San Diego? I know that didn't happen here.

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: Yeah, we've kind of been stuck in the midwest. But I think it's good for us. Obviously we wanted to maybe go to San Diego or someplace warm because we're from upstate New York and Hamilton. We're excited to be here, but those places did sound nice, I'm not going to lie.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I will second that. It's nice to be somewhere warm, but it's your neutral site game and last year was tough playing Wisconsin in Wisconsin. So hoping that it's more of a neutral site game for tomorrow.

KEEGAN RECORDS: It's not much of a switchover, used to seeing snow come down every day in Hamilton. Obviously, it would be nice to get some sun, but we're happy to be here playing in a competitive game tomorrow.

TUCKER RICHARDSON: It's nice to be here in Des Moines where you are focused on the basketball game and not worried about other extracurricular activities. So I think it's a blessing in disguise for us, so excited to play the game, to be honest.

Q. Looking ahead, between Tennessee years ago and with Wisconsin and Arkansas, there is no doubt that you guys compete with these big seeds, but what ultimately is it going to take to get over that hump and continue to be playing on Saturday?

TUCKER RICHARDSON: I have been fortunate enough to be here since that Tennessee game, and being in those games, especially towards the end of the game and realizing that if you make a few more plays or the ball bounces your way a few more times, there is potentially a chance that we win those games. I think that gives us more confidence knowing that we can hang with any team we are up against if we have the right game plan and we play the way we know we can. It honestly gives us confidence and it's nice to have that experience going going into tomorrow's game.

KEEGAN RECORDS: Tucker has had one more March Madness game than some of us, but this is something we have expected from ourselves at this point and it's what we expect tomorrow and we got together and kinda talked as a team and we all said what we thought would have to be different and how experiences have helped us and obviously we have a lot of guys with experience so we're excited.

RYAN MOFFATT: We know we can compete with these guys because years past we have. It's going to take a full forty minutes. I think that's one thing we have been stressing. In the years past, we have had a lull in the game where we haven't gone on a scoring run. So full forty minutes we're going to have a game plan and go out and execute that to the best of our ability.

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: Full forty minutes for sure and playing the way we want to play, don't let the other team affect how we're going to play. Arkansas, we had a good first half and then last year at Wisconsin, we were up for most of the game until, like, the final seven minutes when we really couldn't score. We just gotta play a full forty minutes and see how it goes from there.

Q. Guys, what's Matt Langel meant to every one of you guys?

TUCKER RICHARDSON: Yeah, you know, he's the coach that kinda took -- I don't know if I would say a gamble on me, but I didn't have any offers coming out of high school. So he put his faith in me coming into my freshman year and he's been the best mentor and leader I could have ever asked for ever since then. A true leader and great man in my life outside of basketball. So I know I'm going to keep that connection after this is all over.

But just a tremendous coach and someone who really just understands and gets it on the court and off the court. He gets it. So him and the other coaches have put us in a really good position to go make something happen tomorrow and have another chance.

KEEGAN RECORDS: Similar story, I didn't have many offers coming out of high school and Coach Langel took a chance on me and it's working out so far. But like Tucker said, on and off the court, I've learned so many things these past four years from Coach that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life, whether it be basketball or not. And I will be forever grateful for that, that he took a chance on me and I've been able to learn so much over these years. It's just been incredible

RYAN MOFFATT: Coach Langel also gave me my only offer, so definitely appreciative of that. I think the basketball speaks for itself, but all the life lessons you get through the game that he teaches I think I will definitely take with me those and that makes him special as a coach.

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: I had a little different experience because I transferred in. So I got to experience one environment and came into a second. And it's changed my life. Not only Coach Langel as a coach, but also just a mentor. Something that I wanted was to be pushed every single day. He did that on and off the court so I can't be more thankful for that.

Q. Texas has a lot of length on their perimeter and in their defensive scheme and a lot of athletes. What's it going to take for y'all to overcome that?

KEEGAN RECORDS: It's definitely something we talked about. Gotta focus on our game plan and what we think we can do best. I think we have a really good offensive attack. We can score from all over of the court. Basically it comes down to making the right decisions. We have a lot of guys and we trust each other when it comes to that. So I would say making the right decisions.

RYAN MOFFATT: I think attention to detail is going to be more important. Obviously way bigger, faster, stronger than any teams we see in our league, so understanding that and realizing that going into the game and having that mindset will help prepare us for that.

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: I think it's just not getting sped up or letting the length and athleticism affect us. Just playing our game and maybe the first option might not be there for us, but it's making the passes that we're capable of making and keep moving the ball and stuff will open up for us.

TUCKER RICHARDSON: It's something that's hard for us to replicate in our league and in practice because we don't go up against guys like that in our league every day. So settling into the game is really important and figuring out the game that we are in and how they are going to guard us and attack us is really important. We haven't played a team like them, but they also haven't played a team like us for most of the season. I think it goes both ways, and like Keegan said, we are ready to execute our game plan and if we do that I think we will have a chance.

Q. Colgate is the Patriot League Champion. For those that aren't familiar with the Patriot League who are going to be watching tomorrow, how is it the Patriot League different from so many other leagues in basketball?

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: I think it's a high IQ league with Princeton-type offenses, a lot of shooting and a lot of movement without the ball, I would say, from my three years within the Patriot League. A lot of guys that have gone on and played at high-major schools. So good competition within the Patriot League.

RYAN MOFFATT: Definitely you see a lot of good shooting within the league, kind of what Oliver just said, high IQ players. Not as much length as what you will see in the nonconference and stuff like that. Definitely a good brand of basketball, I think.

KEEGAN RECORDS: Building off those, a lot of good shooters and a lot of guys have left the Patriot League to be successful at those higher DI schools, and there are a lot of great players but there is not as much one-on-one or isolation play. It's more team basketball and I think that's represented in the league.

TUCKER RICHARDSON: Same thing the other guys said. I think teams in our league scout really well and are well prepared for what other teams run because you see a lot of similar stuff around the league. A lot of good connected team basketball in a lot of those teams and luckily we have been at the top of that for the last couple of years.

Q. Y'all have one of the best three-point shooting offenses in the country. That's going to be a big part of your game plan. On the other end of the floor, what are some of the other factors you are going to keep in mind to stop some of Texas's perimeter scoring and their two big men down low?

OLIVER LYNCH-DANIELS: I'm going to say we've got to contain a lot of dribble drive and try and play more so one on five, not one-on-one. Which if they're playing one-on-one it's not going to be a good day for us. So we have to be connected, everyone playing defense, on the same page and gapping up drives.

RYAN MOFFATT: Couple things that are easier said than done, but I think we've got to stop them in transition to start and finish possessions. I think we will be able to get them to take tougher shots, but getting the rebound will be a huge key to this game. Once we get the rebound we can get out and play a little bit, but that's the first thing we have to do is secure the rebound.

KEEGAN RECORDS: I agree. I think playing team defense, all five guys got to be connected out there, no matter what they're trying to do on offense. And coming down the rebound, we can't give them second-chance opportunities.

TUCKER RICHARDSON: Our best defense comes from our offense, so if we take good shots and don't turn the ball over, they're going to have less opportunities on transition. So I think it really starts on the offensive end and having good possessions on offense, and another key is rebounding in a game like this.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.

Welcome Coach Matt Langel. Head Coach of Colgate Raiders. Coach, welcome to Des Moines. Your thoughts on the game?

MATT LANGEL: My thoughts on the game. I'm proud of our group. They have continued to accomplish great things and set marks for our school and in our conference. They're an absolutely joy to coach. Quite often this year, I have tried to stay out of their way, their experience, their camaraderie, their togetherness. It's what every coach should have a chance to coach.

Specific to Texas, we have a great challenge in front of us. They're a really good team. They've been through their own share of adversity this season. They have responded like the champions that they are. They get after you on the defensive end. We will have to manage. Obviously, they are a handful to guard themselves. We will have to be a team of defenders if we're going to be in a competitive game like we have in the past years.

Q. Before you came up here, Tucker and Keegan were talking about the opportunity you gave them to play at Colgate. For a few of them, you gave them their only offer. I know they are all their specific style of player, but is there an attribute that they all have that you look for in your players when you're recruiting?

MATT LANGEL: It's a great question and I think they do share something that is really important. They're all winners and they're all workers. So do they all have individual aspirations and goals and dreams that are different from one another? For sure, but I think how they go about their work and being a teammate and how much they value their opportunities, their chances to be students at Colgate, to be a part of the academic life, to go to practice every day, to get workouts in. Two of them were up early this morning watching film before everybody else. We learned that about them in the process from their coaches, from their families, and those things impact winning. So we're lucky to have them as part of our program.

Q. Your seventh our eighth year you won the league for the first time. What was it that you felt like changed? What was it that helped you turn the corner there several years into your tenure? And also speak to the patience that sometimes it takes to turn a program around.

MATT LANGEL: I think we're a process-driven program and organization. So winning a championship is a result of the process. In year four, if I got my years correct, we finished in second place. We got upset in the semifinals. We had an old team and those guys graduated and we took some steps backwards the next couple of years, but the same foundation was in place, the same culture. The same characteristics that I was just talking about in those other guys. So it took us a few more years. We got a little lucky along the way -- Rapolas Ivanauskas transferred from Northwestern. Jordan Burns turned us down to go to a DII school in Texas before he changed his mind and decided to come. Both of those guys ended up being Player of the Year; Will Raymond. So we got some guys that maybe ended up taking us a little bit higher in that hierarchy of what it takes to kind of get over the hump in champions. Now that has continued to grow. We have had some really good freshman who have continued to grow into really good players to have been now Player of the Year in Tucker. And so that cycle has continued itself.

But to answer the question about the patience, I'm so grateful to Colgate for our leadership from our President on down. We have had a few different Athletics Directors, but because of the institutional mission of doing things the right way and being on the right path and student-athlete experience and growth and development, all mattering as well as winning, I think that allowed me as a young coach at that time to grow and develop and build those things that we're all getting to see out there now on the court.

Q. (No microphone.) What do you tell your guys about his pump fake? What have you thought of watching his pump fake?

MATT LANGEL: I played at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 2000. I didn't play with him, but we had a big guy named Tim Krug who had a similar pump fake. He didn't even really shoot that many three-point shots, but everybody would go for his pump fake. I think it's one of those things you can't adjust to it. We talked about it, showed it on film. It's really impressive, but what's more impressive is his IQ as a basketball player is really good. He makes great decisions, when to shoot, when to pass, he facilitates. He comes off the bench, one of their most valuable players if you ask me, and you can only play so many minutes when you come off the bench. He can he can affect the game offensively and defensively, and I think he's talented and a really smart basketball player, and his shot fakes and his ball fakes are probably just a Mike come of his intelligence.

Q. What would a win tomorrow mean for a program like you guys that's been building and building and building?

MATT LANGEL: It would mean we would get to stay here where there is less snow on the ground than there is where you are right now. Jokes aside, I mean, this group, when they set out at the beginning of this season and Oliver and Tucker chose to come back to continue to study at Colgate to continue to play this season at Colgate, when they could have done other things, which has happened across the landscape of college basketball.

One of their goals was to try and win one of those games against a big, high-profile team like we did against Syracuse. One of their goals was to win the Patriot League regular season, which gives you home court advantage in the playoffs, which gives you your best chance to win the Patriot League tournament, which they also did to get back to this stage to try and win one of these games.

So to see a group achieve all they have and now have the opportunity, it would be another step along the way, I think, in something that would be -- mean a great deal for them and the program and the school but mostly, in my mind for them to be able to achieve something else that no one thought they would be able to do.

Q. Matt, I know you guys had trouble getting out of central New York. Can you talk about how that's -- if that has had any affect on the team and how they have been able to overcome that?

MATT LANGEL: We have a veteran group of guys with a lot of experience. They're really grounded and down to earth. When we told them we were going to leave the parking lot at 7:25, they were there, bags packed. Didn't take us the full two hours to make the one-hour trip that everybody thought it would. We got stuck on the tarmac for a little longer, but not like another plane did.

We got off and got here, and yesterday was a long day but we had a great practice, and guys enjoyed the moment and the reception and the hospitality here in Des Moines has been great. I think they will be well rested and ready to go. Doesn't affect us in any way.

Q. Matt, Pittsburgh played last night in a wild playing game. Were you able to catch any of that? What's it like seeing Nelly move on to his hometown school and continue to have success this year?

MATT LANGEL: It was great. We had a late dinner at a restaurant. They put the game up on the screen. The guys are living and dying with every moment. I think it speaks to the culture we have. Nelly graduated last December. We don't have a large graduate program at Colgate so he exhausted his academic opportunity but wanted to continue to play.

He's still part of our team. Our guys are in contact with him all the time, our coaching staff texts with him, my son was asking me questions about their team. I was texting with Nelly today. He said he's trying to turn the Pitt guys into Colgate fans. So it's been a joy to watch him perform well, him help Coach Capel get Pitt back to where it is, but his leadership has been so obvious for me and what he's been able to do, help their team get back to where they are and excited for them to get a chance to keep playing in this tournament.

Q. Y'all played a couple of big teams in the non conference, Syracuse and Auburn, and they're different than Texas but they have fast guards and dominant guys down low. What did you learn from those guys that you will apply to tomorrow?

MATT LANGEL: I think the Auburn game and playing Auburn at Auburn is a different task than playing on a neutral site. There is the intensity and physicality and speed of the game, and it's something that our guys -- we don't get a chance to do that every game like the Big XII has to offer. So adjusting to that early in the game and settling in and finding a way to run offense and play defense with the appropriate angles, based on the competition, is hopefully something that not just this year but that our guys have experienced in past years that will help us in the Texas game.

Q. Is there one aspect of Texas' game that worries you the most? Since Texas is a big, bad 2 seed do you assume everybody in the arena will be rooting for y'all tomorrow night?

MATT LANGEL: We have had a lot of experience in the tournaments, so I don't know if Texas will have a lot of fans here. Texas fans will definitely be rooting for Texas. Last year even though Wisconsin was the distinct favorite, everybody was rooting for Wisconsin. So I don't think our guys will be too worried about that. When we played Tennessee a few years ago, and we were competitive and playing well everybody was cheering for us, and it was great. This Texas team is just really tough, hard nosed. Their defense is intense and puts a lot of pressure on your offense. Their ability to force turnovers is really impressive, and so we've got to take care of the basketball.

But they play fast, they score in transition, they score inside, they score outside, they're talented and veterans and experienced in just about every position. They pose not just one threat that we're thinking about but they're dangerous in a lot of ways.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.