NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - USC VS MICHIGAN STATE

March 16, 2023

Boogie Ellis

Drew Peterson

Nationwide Arena

USC Trojans

Media Conference

BOOGIE ELLIS: Excited to be here. Glad to get this opportunity. Real excited for tomorrow.

DREW PETERSON: Excited and I'm ready to go. And looking forward to it.

Q. You guys are traveling through time zones and playing a noon tip locally, which for you guys is 9.00 a.m. Wondering what you guys do to be at your best under that situation?

DREW PETERSON: We got out here Tuesday which is big for us. We came out a few days earlier than we normally do for a trip, and just to adjust and prep and we know how important it is for that, with having experience from last year.

A few guys on the team we knew it's all about preparation going into a game like this. We're prepared, getting good sleep, all that stuff. We're ready to -- I think we're the first game on Friday, so excited to be able to get that showcase slot.

Q. What did you see with Michigan State on tape? And is there anybody in the Pac-12 that they resemble that you can maybe mirror some of your game plans against?

BOOGIE ELLIS: You know, we watch a lot of film on them. They're a (indiscernible) team. We've just got to play our game, not really change anything up. Just adjust, taking the 3-point shots away. Doing that.

I'm pretty sure they play similar at a fast pace kind of like Arizona a little bit. But they've got more guard play. Couple bigs. We're used to playing teams with heavy guards, like an Arizona State, something like that.

Q. It's good to see you. We've missed you the last couple of years, Boogie. How cool is it seeing your old school with some old friends in the same region where you guys will be walking these same halls together?

BOOGIE ELLIS: Definitely, it's definitely -- I talked to A-Lo (phonetic) last night just catching up. Talking to those guys. It's a really exciting experience to see them on the other side and being here as well. It's real crazy, starting off my journey there with them at Memphis and Coach Penny. Glad for their success and I'm just happy we're both here.

Q. When you look back to your two years in Memphis, what's the things that come to mind? I know you dealt with COVID and those things. But you were instrumental with that group, that NIT Championship group, that got that ball rolling for this program. When you think back at Memphis, what comes to mind?

BOOGIE ELLIS: Just missing playing with those guys. We had a great recruiting class -- D.J., Damien, A-Lo, Tyler, Landers, everybody, DeAndre. Just great seeing how far I've came from that.

And definitely miss the Memphis food. Great food. So just seeing how far I came. It's definitely a blessing. I'm just glad I have the opportunity to still be here and have the opportunity to play in March Madness.

Q. You're from the Midwest. Did you have any recruiting ties to Michigan State? And having grown up in Big Ten country what have you seen as the difference between Big Ten style and Pac-12 style?

DREW PETERSON: Nothing out of high school. Didn't really have any big schools recruiting me like Power Five out of high school. But growing up in Big Ten country, obviously know about Michigan State's brand of basketball and all around it's cool.

Getting to play out here again from two years ago when we were in Indianapolis for the tournament.

What was the second part of that question? We know the Big Ten is physical and that's their thing. And a little slower pace with Michigan State. It's relatively fast-paced compared to usual Big Ten teams. But we know they're going to be physical with us and we'll be prepared with that with our scout and know how they play.

We know what we need to adjust to and stuff like that.

But it's cool coming back out to the Midwest for this region and coming out here Columbus is great. I have a lot of family coming. Excited to be back out here hopefully make another run.