NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - VERMONT VS MARQUETTE

March 17, 2023

Shaka Smart

Stevie Mitchell

Kam Jones

Nationwide Arena

Marquette Golden Eagles

Media Conference

Marquette- 78, Vermont - 61

COACH SMART: Want to give a lot of credit to Vermont for the way that they fought and battled today. They've been a terrific team all season long. And they've got a lot of guys that put you in a bind and a very well-coached basketball team.

I thought the first half, it was a typical first half of an NCAA Tournament game where both teams were working their way through just some jitters, some nerves. But our guys did a good job hanging in there and adjusting to trying to take away the things that Vermont was doing.

Our commitment to defense on both ends, I thought, was very solid (lost audio). It wasn't the best we've had all year. But I thought it was really solid, and it gave us a chance to turn defense into offense.

And the way that these two guys led the charge, Stevie with his energy and his fight all game long; Kam, second half, he looked a little down, like somebody took his puppy dog in the timeout. And we just tried to encourage him, all the coaches and players tried to encourage him, hey, just be you, man. And I thought he did a great job. That's what allowed us to break the game open.

Q. Kam, I know you talked to people in program history and former players, everything. What's it mean to you and this team to end a NCAA Tournament decade-long tournament winless streak?

KAM JONES: That's what we came here for, came to Columbus, to win this first game and focus on the national and take it one game at a time. We're putting all our focus on Michigan State now. That's what we're focused on, and just take it one play, one game at a time.

Q. Stevie, you had a few key offensive rebounds at the end of the first half and you had a season-high seven rebounds. What was your mindset going into those moments?

STEVIE MITCHELL: Just being myself, playing my role for this team, just playing hard and giving effort. And I just tried to make as many effort plays as possible because I feel like that can be a little domino. If we have a bunch of dominos, that's how we be the special team we are. And just play good and play hard. So yeah, just play hard.

Q. Kam, you had 18 straight Marquette points in the second half. What was really cooking for you on the offensive end?

KAM JONES: I think it was Chase pass that threw a pass to Oso and got me an easy 3. I feel like that got me going a little bit. And Coach, previously in the huddle, 30 seconds before, he told me to be myself and I'm not letting anybody down. Just play my game. Go out there and just have fun, playing.

And after that 3 I hit from Oso, that just made the basket look wide. So I was just able to get it going.

Q. Stevie, when they were laying off of you, how confident were you -- did you feel to take those 3-pointers there in the second half?

STEVIE MITCHELL: I felt very confident because I work on it every day. And then all the guys, all the coaches, teammates around me, are very confident. So one thing we talk about, just with playing in this new environment and having our season pretty much on the line every game, is just absorbing or taking the confidence that all the people around you have in you and use that for yourself. And that's what I was doing, just have confidence in myself because I practice it too.

Q. Did you feel the weight or lifting the weight of history of ending that decade-long NCAA Tournament streak?

COACH SMART: No, we're playing a basketball game. It's March 17th, 2023 with this team. This team has very little to do with the last nine teams or however many teams you're talking about.

It's a group of guys that truly cares about one another and wants to win for each other. I think the vulnerability with that is, as Kam mentioned, if things are not going perfect, sometimes guys worry about letting each other down.

And if we want to continue playing in this tournament, the focus for us has to be on, hey, I'm going to go after the current play to the best of my ability for my teammates. And then I'm going to be willing to live with whatever comes out of it. And I thought he kind of flipped a switch there and allowed himself to be Kam Jones. And his teammates deserve a lot of credit for that.

Q. It was a pretty neck and neck game the first half beginning of the second half. Do you think it was just the first-game jitters, or what was the switch for the team both on the offensive and defensive end?

COACH SMART: I think it was neck and neck because Vermont's a good team. One of the things that helped us was watch Princeton beat Arizona yesterday in a 15-2 game. I've coached in these games before where the higher seed thinks for some reason, like, why is this team trying to beat us?

Because Vermont is a really good team. They won 15 games in a row. They're going to try to win. They've got good players and they're well-coached. And they have a winning championship culture.

So one of the best things I thought our guys did throughout the day was not be offended or bothered that Vermont was trying to win. That really helped us. And we just kept playing. And we focused on getting the next stop, getting the next score.

What allowed us to break the game open, obviously, was when you put the ball in Kam Jones' hands, he's a uniquely gifted scorer. He's got a couple more steps to take as a player, and with his competitive maturity, to be able to do that all the time. Vermont deserves a lot of credit; they held him to one shot in the first half.

But he's capable of that. And all of a sudden the scoreboard starts moving really, really fast.

Q. How do you think Tyler's wrist injury affected the game? Are you worried about that going forward for Sunday's game?

COACH SMART: I think it was his thumb, not his wrist. But he's about as tough as they come. So if he can play, he's going to play. You probably have to cut his thumb off to keep from playing. Even then he'd still try to play.

I'll have to get back and get with the trainer to find out the exact protocol in terms of what we want to do from here. But he's an absolute warrior. So I imagine he'll be out there on the floor.

Q. It might not have been Tyler's night, but what do you say about the scoring and depth of this team? You had Stevie come in, hit a couple of 3s. O-Max had a big game. Oso got back to the scoring like he had earlier in the season?

COACH SMART: We're better together. It's a team effort. We've never been a team that depends on one guy to score all of our points or even close to that. I thought Oso when he got single coverage on the back down was very effective. He only missed one shot all day long.

Jop gave us a huge lift in the first half. Other than Kam, Jop's got the most natural scoring ability of anyone. He ended with 12. I thought he could have had closer to 20. Maybe he was saving some for the next game. But the lift he gave us in the first half was big.

Q. Speaking of Jop, what does he give you as that small-ball five with those lineups?

COACH SMART: Just a player. He can pass, dribble, shoot the ball. When you've got a guy at your trigger-man spot that can do that, it gives you more versatility offensively. But Oso's our guy that plays the majority of those spots. Ben has done a terrific job at that spot.

Probably won't have Jop there a lot. But when he does go there it gives us a different look, not just today but some of our games recently he's done a nice job while our team is undersized kind of battling and fighting and rebounding the basketball.

Q. Looking ahead to Michigan State, Joey Hauser, Tyson Walker, two of their leaders. A team that's known in March. What are you looking for you and your guys to come off the gates and advance in the tournament?

COACH SMART: Just work to be our best. Coach Izzo is somebody that I think pretty much all of us in the business look up to as a coach. His program's had a standard of excellence for a long, long time. I remember our first year in coaching, I was a GA and Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson and (indiscernible) won the national championship. And I was hooked on college basketball, was never going to do anything else after that.

Watching them today a little bit before our game, they have an older, tough, veteran team. We tried to recruit Malik Hall a few years ago. He's a very good player. There's a few guys on their team we tried unsuccessfully to recruit.

But at the same time, our focus is on being the best Marquette we can be. I think there's a lot of things we can take from today to try carry over. There's other things we can look at from today and try to do better.