PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2024

Tad Boyle

J'Vonne Hadley

KJ Simpson

Colorado Buffaloes

Postgame Press Conference

Colorado - 72, Utah - 58

TAD BOYLE: We're really proud of this group, especially to win a game like this when we certainly didn't play our best in the first half. Gave them six 3s, and we weren't in sync offensively. I thought we've been so good offensively all year. I thought we kind of over-dribbled a little bit, didn't have the movement we normally do. We talked about it at halftime.

The credit goes to these players. They're a veteran group who understand how to win, understand what it takes to win, and they made adjustments at halftime.

And we had much better movement in the second half. We held them to two 3s instead of 6. And that was the difference in the game because we felt that was the only way they were going to get back in the game was to make 3s.

We had a 14 point lead in the first half, couldn't hold on to it. We stretched it in the second half to 15, 16. I think it went up to 16 when J'Vonne hit a free throw. Did a good job down the stretch.

Really proud of our players. These guys deserve a lot of credit for what they've done this year, what they continue to do, what we'll continue to do this year.

Q. Just talked about the 3-point difference in the first half. What adjustments were you able to do to slow them down out there?

KJ SIMPSON: Just running them off the line. They were getting good looks. At times we were kind of over-helping, and I think communication was the biggest thing, understanding where people are, where shooters are, and running them off the line with a high hand and not letting them get attempts up as much.

Q. KJ, seven turnovers as a team. You guys have really taken care of the ball throughout this winning streak. What's changed that's allowed you guys to take better care of the ball during the stretch?

KJ SIMPSON: Mentally we're being more patient and we're making 100 percent passes, like Coach says. We're looking for guys, but we don't want to go right away. We want to let the offense settle, get a swing side to side. When we get the ball moving like that, things will start to open up.

Q. How would you guys describe what you saw from Eddie tonight?

J'VONNE HADLEY: He's a different cat. He's an animal. He's a great addition. He brings a lot of energy. And when somebody like that is in the center position it brings a lot of energy.

Offense, defense, does it all for us, talks to us. His communication is something I'm super proud of him of because we talk about it. He's actually one of my roommates. We talk about it all the time, just him communicating to us because he's in the lane, he's guarding the other big guy and he can see everything. When he talks it helps all of us out, it's just a lot better defense-wise.

Q. Quick turnaround tomorrow. How do you go about setting a game plan, prepping for a Washington State team that's been pretty good this tournament and throughout the year?

TAD BOYLE: We played them twice just like we played Utah twice. We played Arizona State twice. We were ready for either one of those.

Coach Grier has the scout. He's been working on them the last two days.

This group of players has done such a good job, and pretty much all year long. Even you go back to November and our tournaments that we've been in. They digest scouting reports. They're intelligent. They understand. We don't always go out and execute like we're supposed to, but their understanding of what guys can do and what they can't do is really at a high level.

So, again, from, like J'Vonne said, Eddie from the 5-man to every player on our team, and even our young guys, I think, are really learning from these guys because they're talking about it and they're talking about it with each other in the huddles. And I hope they're talking about it, like J'Vonne said, back in the room because the more communication we can have the better.

And Washington State is a hell of a team. We beat them shorthanded in Boulder. They weren't at their best. They got us in Pullman. We weren't at our best. So I think it should be a hell of a game. They've got some good players. They're well-coached. It's not going to be easy, but nothing's easy in March, especially get in the semifinals of a tournament like this.

We're looking forward to the opportunity. We're going to get a lot of rest. Get these guys off their feet a little bit. And we'll get a game plan put together. I'm not worried about that.

Q. You didn't have a lot of minutes off the bench tonight, but how big were the contributions of Ruffin in the first half and Bangot in the second half?

TAD BOYLE: Big. Ruff came in and banged a 3. He doesn't hesitate. Bangot came in, KJ found him on a roll for a dunk. And Assane gave us good minutes in the first half. It's good to have Cody back in the mix. He's still kind of working himself back in there. He's not quite up to mid-season form. Still has a little rust on his game. But I thought he did some good things tonight and played within himself.

And that's the big thing because we're going to need our benches as this thing rolls along, and I'm gaining a lot more confidence in them. And I think our players that come out are having more confidence in them. And that's what happens late in the year. Those young guys, they have to grow up, and they have.

Q. For both of you guys knowing the implication of trying to compete for a tournament spot, how did that increase the energy that you guys played with tonight?

J'VONNE HADLEY: I think, first of all, just knowing that offense, you know, like Coach talked about, it wasn't our best offense at all by any means, in the first half especially.

And just knowing that defense is going to be the biggest thing. There's going to be nights where the ball's not going in the hoop. Looks like for me personally tonight it didn't go in as much. We got the W so I'm not mad or complaining or anything like that.

But I really try to lock in on defense, and that's what Coach always talks about. If the ball's not going in the hoop, we've got to lock in on defense and get stops. And if we have that mentality we're going to be good going into March, for sure.

TAD BOYLE: I'm going to add on something there because J'Vonne had the assignment with Madsen. When we played in Boulder, we didn't start him on him. We put him on him in the second half. He really shut him down in the second half in Boulder.

Tonight he had him the whole game -- for the most part. KJ had him a little bit too. It was a good defensive effort. His defensive effort tonight was phenomenal, held him to single digits.

And Madsen has been a thorn in our side both times we played them. Guy deserves a lot of credit.

Q. You guys are a little banged up -- Hadley, I saw you shaking your hand at one point in the game. Where is this team mentally at this point in March, where you're all worn down? Where is the team mentally?

KJ SIMPSON: Just one game at a time. There's no time for pouting. There's no time for worrying about slight injuries. That's every team right now. Every team's going through that. And that's something we kind of faced all year.

At that point there's no excuses. The moment we make an excuse, that's when stuff will start to go bad for us as a team and as a group. I think we're just all bought in as team basketball and playing together and playing for each other.

Q. Colorado faithful seems to travel well. How big was that for you guys on the court?

KJ SIMPSON: It was amazing. It was amazing. The reason why we had a good record at home was -- obviously we played good as a team, but credit to the fan base and our fans, they showed out tonight. We heard them throughout the game. And when we get going and we get on runs and they give out like that, that just instills energy within us. So we're going to need them tomorrow, and they're a big part of this group, for sure.

Q. KJ, Tad just talked about J'Vonne's defense on Madsen. What was your approach on Smith. Almost had a triple-double yesterday, and you seemed to really take the lead and making it a long night for him.

KJ SIMPSON: I have utmost respect for Smith. I mean, both times we played at Colorado and at Utah, it was a tough battle, but he got some easy looks. And I know he's sort of -- they have a lot of great talent on that team, but he's kind of the head of the snake. He runs the show, gets guys involved assist-wise and gets rebounds and can get a bucket when he needs to.

I wanted to take it upon myself as an individual challenge to try to make it harder for him, because if it was harder for him, it would be harder for them to run their offense. But I have nothing but love and respect for him.

Q. J'Vonne, seemed like you banged up your hand late in the second half. What happened there? And what led you to overcome that?

J'VONNE HADLEY: I've been dealing with a lot of injuries my whole life. I've battled a lot of tough scenarios and tough injuries.

At the end of the day, I'm a dog. So no matter what happens, I know that I want to play at the end of the day. So I've got to just toughen up. And like KJ talked about earlier, every team is dealing with injuries, banged up, but at the end of the day, it's whoever wants it more. And I really want it. I know the team really wants to win.