NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - KENNESAW STATE VS XAVIER

March 17, 2023

Sean Miller

Souley Boum

Colby Jones

Jerome Hunter

Jack Nunge

Greensboro Coliseum

Xavier Musketeers

Media Conference

Xavier-72, Kennesaw State-67

SEAN MILLER: Just a really hard-fought victory for us. First, you know, I want to give Kennesaw State a lot of credit. It wasn't just that we were off or didn't play well. They had a lot to do with us not playing well.

They're a very well-coached team. I thought their guard play was outstanding. They're good on defense and offense. They change defenses. For a period of time maybe that took us out of rhythm, and we adjusted, but, you know, we earned every point we got, and this was as hard of a dogfight a victory as we've had this year. That's, again, as much to Kennesaw State's credit.

You know, these guys, we've been through a lot of tough games, and we've played a very difficult nonconference schedule. 20 Big East games prepares you for this tournament. What we just went through in Madison Square Garden last weekend prepares you for this tournament.

Tonight's game was very similar to our DePaul opening-round Big East Tournament game where we got down big and then really maybe the last 12 minutes of the game, you know, we fought hard to win.

So we're fortunate. This game could have gone either way. I think everybody up here on the podium knows that we have to be better on Sunday than we were today, but really grateful to still be in the Tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Souley, an emotional game. Everything okay there with you and Adam? It looked leak you had a little bit of a tussle.

SOULEY BOUM: Yeah, we fought. I love that dude. We love each other. This is March Madness. This is everything that we work for. It's the heat of the moment.

We've got to be sharp. We've got to be on point with stuff, and if we get a little emotional, it's nothing personal. It's just we want to win. We want to win, and we want to advance. Me and him, there's no hard feelings. We hugged it out in the locker room, and we're fine.

Q. This one is for Coach Miller: Kennesaw State was 2 for its last 15 down to the last ten minutes. What did you all change that was so effective defensively?

SEAN MILLER: We didn't really change much, and that's oftentimes the story. We just did what we do better. I just thought that Jack protected the rim his last play of the game. The block was maybe the most significant defensive play in the game. Their guards are really good, and they have great scheme to get them down the middle.

You know, if we would play them again, you're probably a little bit more attune with what to do differently, but that's the part of this tournament. You know, you're playing most of the time a team that you have never seen before, played before, and you have to come ready to go.

But, again, I can't say enough good things about Kennesaw State. Excellent coach. Really good team. They pushed us to the limit. We're very fortunate to be here.

We made plays down the stretch. You know, I talked to A.K., Adam, after the game, and he had a huge three-point shot. Maybe the biggest offensive play in the game. You know, Souley, like he does, went to the free-throw line in clutch, and iced the game. Colby, I would say if you asked back about the change, we switched our matchups. He started to guard the point guard more, and I thought Colby's size maybe helped us defend him better than we did during the game earlier.

Q. Jack, I just wonder if you could take us through that block. Did you expect that they were going to try to get Burden on a drive?

JACK NUNGE: We had that inkling. In the time-out we were supposed to switch everything, and, you know, I saw Boum. He got around Boum. He's a really good driver at getting to the rim and I just came over and blocked it.

Q. Jerome, how much fun was that one tonight?

JEROME HUNTER: It was real fun. I just wanted to win so bad, and I'm glad we got the W, and I'm glad I did everything I could for us to win.

Q. Sean, can you sort of walk us through that 15-0 run? What started to go right offensively for you guys in that period?

SEAN MILLER: I mean, to some degree you know better than anybody, we're a very good offensive team. I thought throughout the game we had a couple of shots we normally make. We didn't, but I thought we converted off of individual plays, off of transition opportunities, maybe a couple of set plays. I thought we got a couple of good looks and knocked them in. At the end of the day the set play can create a shot. The offense can create a shot, but, you know, these guys have to be able to make them, and they did.

I thought it was almost like the lid came off the basket. We got stops. Stops maybe gave us a little bit more confidence. As our confidence grew, I thought we really settled in. Really the last 10 to 12 minutes of the game, in the first four minutes of the game, that's when I thought we were playing our style, and that's why we showed up as a 3 seed.

Maybe in between there's a lot of factors, some of which Kennesaw State provided, that didn't allow us to maybe be as good as we normally are.

You know, I just pointed out to Souley, a huge stat for us is turnovers. For us to play this game in spite of some other things maybe that we didn't do well to finish with ten turnovers, that's a goal of ours. When we play with ten turnovers, we're a very difficult team to beat.

Q. Colby, Coach alluded to it being similar to that DePaul game in the Big East Tournament, but it feels like kind of a wake-up call. Would you agree?

COLBY JONES: Yeah. Before I felt like we just came out, we played timid. We made mistakes that we normally don't make, but, I mean, all credit to Kennesaw. They're a great defensive team. They made things hard for us.

In this tournament every team is a great team, so we have to come with our "A" game every game, and I for sure feel like this was a wakeup call, and we know what we're we need to do, and we're going to work over these next couple of days to get right.

Q. Sean, what do you talk you to them about after this game? Like, what do you kind of want them walking out of here thinking about today?

SEAN MILLER: Really the last 12 minutes. When we play great basketball, really acknowledging the plays that were made by all these guys. I mean, Jerome. Jerome has a career high. To get a career-high points, he was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, 24 points. It's a big reason that we advanced. He did something extraordinary today. You know, Adam Kunkel, 2-for-12 from three. In the biggest moment when we really needed him to deliver, he stepped up and made that three-point shot.

Same thing with Souley, he missed a layup. He missed a layup at the end of the game in the NCAA Tournament. It's not easy to get over, but he was able to get over it, and he buried them with four straight free-throws like he does.

You know, players making winning plays is the first thing we talked about. And I think the other part is this, until you actually go through the tournament, you don't really understand how fragile it is between advancing and going home tonight. We've experienced that, and we've looked at it in the eye, and my hope is that we can respond and be better. Our bench has to be better. Tonight we overcame that, and we're going to need them to be a lot better on Sunday.

Q. This is for both the Colby or Souley: First NCAA Tournament game tonight. What are your emotions? How did it feel?

THE MODERATOR: Souley.

SOULEY BOUM: Oh, man, it felt amazing, man. At the beginning of the game the crowd was loud, but the stands wasn't filled as much. As the game went on, the stadium got more loud and packed. It was an undescribable feeling. It was a dream come true for me, and I'm just ecstatic and happy that we're not going home, and we get to go again on Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: Colby.

COLBY JONES: Yeah, sort of the same what Souley said. It's a dream come true for me wanting to play in this tournament, but, yeah, it was a great feeling. It's an even better feeling knowing that we're winning and advancing. So, yeah, I really took it all in for the first game, but looking forward to the next one.