NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - CREIGHTON VS SAN DIEGO STATE

March 26, 2023

Greg McDermott

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Arthur Kaluma

Baylor Scheierman

KFC Yum! Center

Creighton Bluejays

Elite 8 Postgame Media Conference

San Diego State-57, Creighton-56

GREG McDERMOTT: First off, congrats to Coach Dutcher and the San Diego State program. Obviously we've played them a lot for two teams that aren't anywhere close geographically to each other and, as I said yesterday, shared a charter with them.

So we're well aware of the character with which that program is built on. We have tremendous respect for them, and we had a game that came down to the very end last year and went into overtime, and we had a game that came down to the very end today. Fortunately, we won last year, and we were a little short this year.

It doesn't take away. I won't allow it to take away from what these guys have accomplished, how they've galvanized not just a campus community or an Omaha community, but really anybody that's had anything to do with Creighton that's been touched by Creighton in any way in their lives, they've stopped what they were doing the last couple Friday and Sundays, and they came on this ride with us.

To witness how these guys represent the name on the front of their jersey is really what sports is all about. You win with class, and you lose with class. That's what we're going to do.

We had opportunities. Defensively, obviously, we held them to 37%. It's good enough. We had some decent looks at the basket the second and were unable to knock them down.

All the credit goes to San Diego State, and it's on us that we can't -- that we didn't quite get it done. Not anyone else.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. R2, I won't ask you to speak on officiating, but the final call, just waiting on the time to see the results, just describe that feeling to me knowing that your season could end at the free-throw line.

RYAN NEMBHARD: It's a tough feeling. You work so hard all year, and it comes down to a play like that, I don't know. I think we could have done a little bit more to make it a game that didn't have to go down to that, but it's a tough way to lose.

Q. Your wrist, it seemed like you were tending to your wrist late in that second half. Did that have any effect down the stretch, or what ended up happening with your wrist?

RYAN NEMBHARD: I mean, yeah, I got bumps and bruises, but everybody has got bumps and bruises. It's late in the year. Everybody is hurt. Everybody is hurting. So I'm not going to say that is a reason we lost. Things happen. We fell short to SDSU.

Q. Greg, two parts. Both on the officiating. One is I'm curious what your thoughts were on the call on Ryan Nembhard. Obviously, that proved to be the decisive basket. Do you think that was indicative of the way the game was called today? And the second part is I'm curious if you were given an explanation at the very end of the game.

GREG McDERMOTT: The only part I'll answer is, no, I wasn't given an explanation. They just didn't think there was any time left. There was no call on the floor on whose ball it was, so I'm not sure what they were reviewing.

But with all due respect, Pete, two teams played their tails off. Officiating is part of the game. We're not going to go there. We lost a game because we didn't do enough, and San Diego State did.

Q. Coach, really limited run for Farabello tonight. What was the strategy behind that personnel-wise?

GREG McDERMOTT: I'll probably watch the film and maybe regret that. You know, these -- I've rode these five hard all year long, and when you get to this point, you know, the old saying, you dance with the one that brought you.

You know, these guys have done a terrific job, and Francisco has been terrific as well, but with the longer time-outs, and actually, you know, you have an extra time-out there too where it's a full time-out, and I was asking them a lot if they needed a blow, and when they tell me no, I trust them.

These guys earned the right to be on the floor when this game was decided.

Q. For Ryan. You were the defender on the last play. What was your view of what happened?

RYAN NEMBHARD: I don't know. They came off a little screen. He got downhill and tried to make a floater. I tried to make a rearview contest. Called a foul, so yeah.

Q. Baylor, that bucket with about, I don't know, 20 seconds left, the steal and the layup, it felt like that is probably what we would have remembered from this game had you guys won. Just describe to me what was going through your head throughout all of the reviews and all the time you guys spent waiting on the end result.

BAYLOR SCHEIERMAN: Yeah, well, we just wanted to make the tough catch -- or make the catch tough, excuse me, and, you know, they weren't bringing anybody else back. It was just me and that guy, and he was kind of posting me up yelling at the inbounder to throw it, throw it.

As soon as he let it go, I knew he was throwing it deep, and so I just released and was able to beat him to the other side, and luckily he jumped and just whiffed totally, and it just dropped right in my arms, and I was able to lay it in and tie the game up.

Q. Greg, an interesting strategy point at the end of the game. You had a foul. You had one to give. It also negated the shot clock, which maybe gave them a little bit extra time. I wonder if you can walk through the decision-making process there?

GREG McDERMOTT: I think it was two seconds difference. They had their play set up. They were going into a high ball screen situation, and I just felt with six seconds left we kind of knew what they had in their bag from a side out of bounds standpoint, and we thought we could get into a situation where it was going to be a last-second deal.

Had there been four seconds or more, I probably wouldn't have done it. We thought with under three that it was probably the right play.

But, you know, it's coaching. Sometimes what you decide to do is right; sometimes what you decide to do is wrong. But had they gone in and laid it in and we not fouled, I would be kicking myself for that one too.

Q. Coach, I know that the way that the season went this year, this is obviously not the way that you wanted it to end. Just what you could say on reflecting on this season and the effort that you have seen in your guys and just what Creighton has brought to this country? It's a terrible way to see it end, but it's been a beautiful story up until this point.

GREG McDERMOTT: Yeah, what transpired this season has been a wonderful journey to be part of. You know, you have ebbs and flows to every season. This was the most adversity that was -- in my coaching career that was ever thrown at a good team, a team that really had to do special things. Yet, they were relatively young.

R2 and Trey and Art, when we went through that in late November and December, they played 37, 38 college games. So to watch them navigate that adversity and watch them grow and watch Kalk and Reef and Farabello and Baylor, all these guys worked together to get through that, was really rewarding.

I knew then that this team had a chance because they weren't going to let anything tear them apart. Coaching, that's what it's all about. You want your team to grow. You want your team to get better. You want your team to come close to reaching your potential. You want your team to be playing the best basketball at the end of the season.

And we checked all those boxes, and we did it in a way that where they exhibited the character and the people that they are throughout the process.

These guys are people for others, and when you have a team of guys like that, individuals like that, it's a beautiful thing to coach. I'll always be indebted to them. As I told them in the locker room, I really appreciate that I had the opportunity to coach them.