NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - PITT VS TEXAS

March 18, 2023

Rodney Terry

Timmy Allen

Dylan Disu

Sir'Jabari Rice

Wells Fargo Arena

Texas Longhorns

Media Conference

Texas - 71, Penn State - 66

THE MODERATOR: Like to welcome the victorious Texas Longhorns to the dais, Coach Rodney Terry, Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu and Sir'Jabari Rice. Coach?

RODNEY TERRY: I would like to congratulate Penn State on a great year. Micah has done great job with the program. Watching them on tape, I don't even know if I slept one night just worried about having to defend these guys. I thought they were an elite-level passing team and elite-level shooting team with a really good player in Pickett. But I gave my guys a lot of credit. They followed the game plan offensively and defensively tonight. We put it on our defense. We know some nights we're not going to shoot as well as we want to shoot, but our defense has traveled for us give or take the last eight, nine ball games of the season and I thought our guys, again, came in and competed at a very high level.

I'm so proud of these guys and how they did tonight and how hard they worked for forty minutes.

Q. Rodney, they went up by 3, had that 10-0 run. What was said in the huddle to get you guys on that 10-0 run to answer that?

RODNEY TERRY: Well, Jeff, we got in the huddle and I said guys we've been here before, it's nothing we haven't faced this year. We've played the toughest league in the country. Let's go out right now. We've got to put it on our defense. We've done it all year long. We've got to get a stop and score, and put some stops together here and try to finish this game out, and I thought our guys went out and did that at a very high level.

Q. Dylan, from last year trying to find your footing after the injury, this year there were times where you only scored 1 point in wins, but only 1 point in a game, now, you're dominating on the biggest stage of your career. Explain what that means to you and moving forward.

DYLAN DISU: I mean, it means a lot. I mean, everyone has dreams of showing up in March Madness, but I couldn't do it without my teammates. They were finding me, hitting me, a lot of my shots I took one dribble on so that means my teammates had to find me first. Credit to them and credit to the coaches for putting me in positions to score tonight.

Q. Coach, piggybacking on what Jeff said, did you specifically say when you're trailing, you know, we're going to go to Dylan? And Dylan, did you say, hey, run something for me in that timeout?

RODNEY TERRY: No, Thomas. This whole game and our game plan offensively was to really own the paint. It was a paint game for us on the offensive end of the floor. We didn't want to settle. We knew this was a really good offensive team, we had to try to make them work on defense and we wanted to attack the paint all night long. Play inside out and when they came with the doubles, we wanted great spacing so that we could pass out to guys that were shot ready. And when there were opportunities to score in the paint, score the basketball. We knew we had a size advantage, we knew we had a guy that could score the ball that's playing at a very high level inside as well. Our game plan was to get the ball into the paint and score in the paint.

Q. Timmy, y'all came back from 18, 14, 12 during the regular season. You guys have been in dire straits before and haven't buckled. Why do you think this team doesn't show the nerves in these situations?

TIMMY ALLEN: I think it starts with the habits we build daily. The league we play in, the best league in the country. We've been battle tested time and time again. This was nothing new. When we got down there, there was no shake, no bend. We just went back to what we do, what we prepped for. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. We knew there was going to be a time today where we would have to go through adversity and get over that hump, and we did that. A ton of guys stepped up, a complete total group effort. Dylan had a special night, another special night, I should probably say. On the defensive end, guys came off the bench with great energy, impacted, rebounding the ball. Complete team effort and one goal, winning. Glad we got that done.

Q. Dylan, I know you were having lots of family in the building tonight. What did it mean for you to have the night you did on the stage like this with them in the building?

DYLAN DISU: I mean, it means a lot. My Iowa family doesn't really get to see me play too often so being able to play in not front of my grandma, my cousins, my uncle, it's great. That's all I can say.

Q. Timmy, I don't know how much y'all been watching other games, but you have two number ones already out of the tournament. Do you guys talk about that? Even though you're playing a 10 seed as well as you play and get it done, do y'all talk about not having complacency and having a sense of urgency?

TIMMY ALLEN: We're conscious of what's happening around the tournament, obviously. We're a bunch of ball players who are invested in the game and the tournament. I think we just try to learn from what's happening around us and try to be better because of that. We're not too embedded in a lot of it. We're focusing on us and our next second game practice. We pay attention and try to learn from what's happening around the tournament and try to do the opposite of that and come out with wins like we did today. We're really focused on us, our game plan what we're going to do and how we're going to prepare.

Q. To the student-athletes, just why you love playing for Coach Terry. It's been emotional and you guys have shown a lot of love for him at the end of games, not just in this tournament but overall. Why you love playing for him, and Coach what it's like to coach this group this season?

RODNEY TERRY: God is great. He's great, you know? And I'm so blessed to work with this group of guys every day. Some of these guys I've been working with ever since we've been here in terms of putting this team together. I'm just so proud and they're just a lot of fun to be around every day. We get our work in, we have fun and we've had an incredible journey winning and winning really big.

This team tonight, I think this is the third most wins in school history. We're back in the Sweet 16. This is why these guys came back. Seven guys came back from last year's team and they came back because he wanted more of this madness here and they wanted to continue to try continue to have an incredible year.

TIMMY ALLEN: As far as RT goes, I think he embodies what we are and what we try to be every day, tough. Someone who has been there before, never shakes at adversity, somebody who wakes up and tries to attack the day to be great. When I've got somebody like that in my corner I'll do anything for them. And I'm just blessed, man. Like he said, God is great. God don't make mistakes. Everything happens for a reason and I'm blessed to be here be on this team with my big, my dog, man.

DYLAN DISU: Why we love RT? I mean, what's there not to love about RT? He's always -- he's more than half the time in a good mood unless we're doing something wrong.

He always starts the morning off in a great mood, tells us every morning it's a great day to be alive and just that appreciation he has just to be able to wake up in the morning and not have to come to work but get to come to work with us. I mean, you can't beat that. He's always positive and it rubs off on the team and just the way he encourages us day in, day out, how could you not love RT?

SIR'JABARI RICE: Shoot, they said everything, honestly. He's just a great leader. He's like the definition of a leader. Everybody wants to be a leader on our team and he's paving the way for that. Like Timmy said, we are a reflection of our coach. As much winning that we've been doing, the preparation is all RT and his coaching staff. He gets his coaching staff ready just as much as he gets us ready. He controls everything and everything just flows. He's just a guy you want to be around. He's never in a bad mood, like Dylan said, unless we're missing up, but we will take accountability for that. Everything else, he's a great dude to be around. I love RT. I wouldn't want to play for anybody else right now. RT is the man. I thank God and I thank RT for you putting me in this position, us in this position, to be successful.

Q. Rodney, you've been around a while. I'm sure you've been around some teams where they're up 11, they kind of think they're in control and this team looked like they were in control and then they weren't. What do you do? Do you do anything specific to flip a switch back on or do you not have to with these guys?

RODNEY TERRY: This has been a very resilient group all year long. We played from deficits, we played with leads. We've had teams make runs on us. Basketball is a game of runs, and we always talk about how you stop a run. You've got to put it on your defense, you got to sit down and get some stops and you've got to come down and execute on offense and I think this team has done that at a very high level since January 1st. We got in conference play and we were in all kind of games and never had one night off in terms of having to be ready to play a big-time game.

I think through all those experiences there is a calmness, there is a poise about this team to where they have a will to not lose. They will find a way, and it's a very, very connected group. They help one another, they play for each other, and they've been incredibly unselfish all year long. I'm just so proud of this group from start to finish this year.

Everything that they have endured and what they've had to go through, these guys have been amazing.

Q. Sir'Jabari, what's it been like the last two games, the sense of urgency to defend two of the best three point shooting teams in the country and holding them below their season averages. And then RT, just how unique is this group with their ability to buy in to being a defensive minded team and lock in on that on the floor?

SIR'JABARI RICE: I think it's -- it sounds representative, but it's just preparation. Every single time we are in practice we're locked in. Walk-throughs, we're locked in. We know a time and place when to play and when not to and I think it's an sense of urgency and seriousness when it comes to playing these type of games. Obviously every team has a sense of urgency and seriousness because it's do or die. With us, since the beginning of the season we had a goal and we set out to complete that goal. When we get down and play teams like that that go on runs, I think it's just a testament to who we are as, like, a culture and how together we are. I think the team going on runs is just a part of the game.

Us sticking together is just, like I said, is a testimony to who we are and just preparation every day.

RODNEY TERRY: You know, spot on with Jabari. This part really gelled. We led the Big 12 for the better part of the regular season and we got locked in with a defensive mindset and that willed us through the regular season. We didn't finish the way we wanted to, we did with the big win at home against Kansas and had a great defensive day that day, carried that into the postseason and the Big 12 Tournament in terms of locking in on the details of what guys have to do. We had a quick turnaround on a really, really good Penn State offensive team. This team was a really good team and we knew we were going to have to play this thing all the way to the end because they had elite level shooters on the floor. They're a unique team, too, because they have a guy they can play through and get all kinds of mismatches. We played through a little bit of that this year with Kansas State with Keonte Johnson, but they were a really good offensive team. Again, I give my guys a lot of credit for locking into the detail, the game plan, what we were trying to do. It wasn't easy, wasn't easy by any stretch. And we knew at some point they were going to make a few shots. We had to have a stone face and keep working the game. These guys were stone faced and worked through it stone faced and found a way to win the game.

Q. If you were to bump into CDC in the hallway after the game, what would you say to him about RT's interim status?

SIR'JABARI RICE: I don't think we have to say anything, honestly. He's in the locker room with us. All we gotta do is raise up RT and he should know, honestly.

TIMMY ALLEN: Lock in, lock in.

RODNEY TERRY: I think everything is on these guys. They've done an incredible job this year. It's not about me, not about me at all. These guys have done it, they've stayed the course. They've been incredible to, work with every day. I love these guys. I love 'em to death. I love 'em not only as basketball players, I love 'em as people. They're incredible guys with incredible characters and I couldn't ask for a better group of guys to work with every day.

TIMMY ALLEN: But give RT his credit.

DYLAN DISU: Why not RT?

SIR'JABARI RICE: Why not RT?

Q. Congratulations on the win. What does it mean for going back to Kansas City? You were just there a week ago winning the Big 12 title game. I guess you guys have a home field advantage?

DYLAN DISU: We talk about this a lot. Everywhere we go, you know, we embrace the hate. Nothing is like Texas. So we will be prepared to, you know, be cheered against in that game.

Just like we were tonight. Just like we were on Thursday night. So, you know, it will be a lot of probably Big 12 fans there that don't really love us. We don't expect to have a home court advantage, but that's okay and we embrace that. We'll be ready for it.

SIR'JABARI RICE: I think we all we need.

RODNEY TERRY: You know what, again, I think having just been in Kansas City, as a member of the Big 12, University of Texas, we try to pull for everybody. We play in the best league in the country. We want all our guys in this NCAA Tournament to win games. Hopefully we have two Big 12 teams in the national championship game.

So hopefully going back to Kansas City where we experienced a level of success last weekend, hopefully we will have a lot of Big 12 people pulling for the University of Texas and continue to want us to advance in the tournament and go as far as we can go. We're pulling for everybody, and we wanted Kansas to win today and advance as well. We want the Big 12 represented in a big way, because we feel like we have the best league in the country.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.