NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - PENN STATE VS TEXAS A&M

March 16, 2023

Buzz Williams

Dexter Dennis

Julius Marble

Wells Fargo Arena

Texas A&M Aggies

Media Conference

Penn State - 76, Texas A&M - 59

THE MODERATOR: Like to welcome Texas A&M Head Coach Buzz Williams, joined by Dexter Dennis.

Q. Buzz, did y'all -- do you feel like y'all got out of playing your usual style of play? If so -- because y'all didn't seem to attack the rim like you typically do, especially in the first half. Was that getting caught up in just the game or was it something Penn State was forcing you to do?

BUZZ WILLIAMS: A little bit of both. I think we were completely stressed out in what they were doing offensively, and we were not sharp. We were not sharp in our help on 22, nor our coverage on the weak side. We made some changes at half. At times it was okay. They are a good defensive team in regards to not fouling, not allowing you to get to the paint but I think the problem tonight as much as we could have been better offensively we played with too high of a turnover rate, but our problem was defensively.

Q. Dexter, how tough of a guard was, first, Jalen Pickett with the strength he had down low and Funk on the outside with the shooting he had?

DEXTER DENNIS: Pretty much just what Coach said. Like I said yesterday they're pretty comfortable with what they do. I think that showed tonight. I think they just took advantage of us in a lot of situations, had us rotating a lot, pretty much the whole game so that was pretty much it.

Q. Buzz, you've been around a while, you've seen a lot of different kinds of offenses, have you ever seen anything like Penn State's offense in college basketball?

BUZZ WILLIAMS: I think Coach does a great job in how 22 is utilized. He has the highest usage rate of any player we've played this year and as talented as 22 is, his best talent is he makes a decision immediately relative to how you are going to defend him. So that makes the other four players that are on the floor with him even better.

Because he is an elite level passer that, when your rotation happens, whatever you're going to do, the decision is happening now. I think that that's why their basket assist rate is so high, and I also think because they play with the floor spread so much, 22 is with the ball. They play with a low turnover rate, and then as soon as you make your decision on how you're going to help, it's going to lead to an immediate three or a one more.

Too oftentimes, particularly with 10, our help was not distinct and the other three in the rotation, their help in that coverage was not towards the shooters, it was toward watching the ball.

Q. The challenge for a bunch of players who've never seen this must be crazy and you've got one shot to get it right and if you don't --

BUZZ WILLIAMS: Yeah, we -- it is a unique style in regards to the decision is coming from a player and stereotypically speaking, that decision is coming in the middle of the floor.

So no matter what you're doing, whether it's zone, whether you're switching, whether you're not switching, they're going to get the match-up that they want on 22 and if you don't help, then he's going to play in the middle of the floor with the ball. If you do help, the ball is immediately going towards where you have one less guy.

They did that extremely well tonight.

Q. Buzz, could you sum up the season, getting the Aggies back into the NCAA Tournament first time in five years?

BUZZ WILLIAMS: I just told the group, I'm really bad at beginnings, and I'm even worse at endings. I probably should grow up and be a little more mature and planning that better. I just don't like to preplan what am I going to say if it goes bad. I want to keep playing. As yucky as this game was, I think we will look back at what's transpired over the last 75 days with great memories. I think that it speaks to who these guys are. I think it speaks to their parents. As you know, 6 and 5, December 20th, 120th in the net, two Quad 4 losses. What has transpired since then has been so good, and I think as time goes we will look back at all of that.

It's just emotional to get to this stage, play in the championship game for the second year, hurry up and come to Des Moines, play a very unique offense. They played incredibly well. We played incredibly poor, and as frustrating as that is, I get it. I understand it's results oriented, but what transpired to get here has been really good and I'm incredibly humbled and thankful.

Q. For both players, Dexter, what did this season mean for you as your final year in college and Julius, what does the season mean for you and what do you think this leads to moving forward?

DEXTER DENNIS: I think this season for me was a great experience. Looking back on my college career this was my best year from front to back, not just basketball, off the court, being an Aggie, I think this was my best year. This is the most fun I've ever had being around a group of guys who just love to work, love the process. I'm extremely grateful that Coach Williams took a chance on me. I think in the future I think it sets us up well, the Aggies up for being a tournament team.

BUZZ WILLIAMS: You're one us.

DEXTER DENNIS: Sets us up for being tournament team contenders every year and not just one year at a time. So I'm extremely humble and proud to be part of this program.

JULIUS MARBLE: This has probably been one of the most fun I've had in college. This team is just really special. We're all really close. You hate to see it end like this, but I learned a lot from all the guys here and the coaches and I'm glad that they recruited me and took me away from Michigan and took me back home. I was able to share this journey with them.

Q. Buzz, everybody said you guys were under-seeded, how under-seeded is Penn State? Have you ever seen a 10 seed any better than this?

BUZZ WILLIAMS: I don't think in my career -- I haven't looked it up so if I'm speaking out of turn it's not my intent. That was our ninth time in the tournament. I don't think that we've ever been a 7, so we've never played a 10 and I know I mentioned it on Sunday night and Monday morning, I think our body of work, you could argue maybe should have been better than a 7, but, you know, once you let that go and you begin to prepare for the game, some of the seeding stuff goes away.

I think even throughout today I haven't kept up with all of it because we've been preparing for tonight. You want what you do in the regular season, is it the Net? Is it the predictive measures? I think you just want to know how it works. I think that's a conversation for the spring and the summer, how can we learn to do better, understand our nonconference. I get that. I know that the Net includes our nonconference. So whatever it is, I think we all just want to know.

I thought Penn State was terrific. They deserve all of the credit. Does that mean that they're better than a 10 seed? That's hard for me to know because I've just studied them. They have won 8 out of their last 10. I think they won three in a row on the road. They won four out of five to close down the regular season, three of those were on the road and they won three out of four in Indianapolis playing at a really high level and I would say tonight, I don't want to speak for Coach, I would say tonight was the best they've played in that ten-game stretch.

Q. Buzz, before the game, you acknowledged that Penn State was one of the better three point shooting teams in the country. Was it alarming to you at all there at halftime that y'all had taken more three point attempts than they had?

BUZZ WILLIAMS: I don't know if that was alarming. I think coming into the game, in their analytically final games, for the season, 48% of their shots had been from three. They had shot 41%. I would say that tonight was the best they had shot it from three. And they shot 22 out of 56 from three. I don't know when tonight's game would have been analytically final, but they probably shot a lower volume than normal but at a much higher percentage than normal.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.