NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 19, 2024

Tony Bennett

Reece Beekman

Jordan Minor

UD Arena

Virginia Cavaliers

Media Conference

Colorado State - 67, Virginia - 42

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Virginia Cavaliers.

TONY BENNETT: Right now, it probably sounds or feels like hollow praise, but knowing how Reece led us and to get to this point, to win 23 games and where they finished in the ACC is a credit to them.

And I think you saw tonight when teams really make it hard on Isaac and Reece, it's tough. We've had a number of games where we've gotten beat handily. And credit goes to Colorado State. They're a hard-nosed, tough defensive team. They run their stuff well. Niko does a great job, and their physicality bothered us.

But I look at the job Reece did on their excellent point guard, Isaiah Stevens. He did the job there. They just had some ways. I thought Jordan gave us a lift in stretches. But it was a hard way to go out. There's no question about that.

But I'm proud of these guys for getting us to this point. It is a hard tournament to qualify, and you want to be playing your best when you get into it. And obviously we did not do that.

But it doesn't change anything about this guy's career and what he's done. For four years I've never seen a guy get better and better. Someone's going to be very fortunate at the pro level to have this guy. But I'm grateful for the way they are, and it's just a tough way to go out, of course.

Q. Reece, your emotion on that being your final game at Virginia, everything you accomplished? And as Coach mentioned, tough way to end it. Your thoughts on that?

REECE BEEKMAN: That was a tough way to go out. Didn't imagine it to go that way at all. But I'm just blessed to have a career here of four years. I've been able to play since almost basically day one. I know that's not usual.

So I'm just looking back at it, happy about the experience, happy being back here doing my last year of college. It was just a blessing.

I don't want this game to define my whole season or my whole career. Yes, it's tough, but I'm glad to be in this position.

Q. Reece, what was Colorado State doing to make it so tough shooting for you guys? Defensively, what were they able to do?

REECE BEEKMAN: They did a good job pressuring the ball, being in the passing lanes and in the gap. I think we ran some good offense today as well. The shots weren't falling.

But I do credit them. They mixed it up with their ball screen coverages, just threw different looks, which kind of messed us up a little bit. But I feel like we still ran some good offense.

Q. Jordan, does there come a point in a game or a series of games when the shots just won't fall, but as much as you try your confidence just starts to wane and it becomes mental as much as physical?

JORDAN MINOR: I would say it's easy to do that. I was kind of telling Reece and Mac and our guys just keep shooting and believe in themselves. We know that we're getting good looks and good shots. They just weren't falling at the time we needed them to. But I still believe in our guys to take those shots, and I kept encouraging them.

Q. Jordan, this was your first and last season at UVA. How will you look back on this year?

JORDAN MINOR: In one way, I would say grateful and blessed. I think in such a short time this has been family to me. I've just been embraced with open arms, and it's been a blessing to be here.

Q. Reece, obviously the shooting woes aside, defensively seemed like you guys struggled to contain them. What did they do, what made them effective? When you're in a game that's getting away from you like that -- I know you've had some experience with it, but is it hard to buckle down and play the kind of defense you guys are known for?

REECE BEEKMAN: They spaced it out well. Their cuts were really hard. A lot of moving parts. I feel like it stretched our defense today. We had some lapses with the post traps at times with a couple of bad screens and stuff.

Of course, we weren't hitting shots and then they're using -- they used a lot of the clock as well to get their good shots. So kind of broke us down. I feel like they were just never rushed throughout the game. Credit them for that.

Q. Did you think at halftime, were you expecting a similar thing to happen in the second half?

TONY BENNETT: Yeah, we tried to open up the floor and attack. And again as I said, Niko's team defensively is really good. And then I think it was alluded to when we were struggling, we got a few good looks. They played good defense but we were really struggling to score.

I thought our defense unraveled. Even when we were in front their physicality bothered us. They sort of lowered their shoulder and moved our guys and they scored right at the paint. And it just kind of -- there is a feeling of you felt that before probably a few times.

So the ability to come out -- I think we started at the half and got the ball in the right spot. Then we missed some free throws, and you just felt like, oh, here it goes again. And then they got a couple of easy ones and it separated in a hurry.

But the challenge is just to fight as hard as you can, try to get quality looks. But I think we talk trying to impose your will. They imposed their will. They dominated the game plan in terms of their -- I was walking up to the podium I heard Niko say, they're comfortable. They guard and they make you kind of take your time, not that we're a fast-paced team I know. But there wasn't something there early. And then Reece got some stuff going to the lane.

Q. Along that same line, no matter how you much you guard against it when things aren't falling on one end and you're frustrated, is it easy to let that leak into the other end?

TONY BENNETT: Absolutely. Again, they run good offensive, good cuts. They score inside and they move the ball. And I look at the job that Reece did on their point guard, which was good, but it really is.

And they did a good job. When teams have taken out Reece and Isaac for us it's been very difficult for us. We don't score -- Jordan got a post bucket or two, but we don't have a lot of other options scoring-wise.

We try to do it in different ways. And Jake was, they had him sped up. That definitely bled into the defense. And, again, the way they run their -- you needed to be so sound all game, and as they were separating it, it seemed like it was in effect where we weren't helping on screens and doing the things that would have given us a chance to stay somewhat connected.

Q. In early February, in Tallahassee you scored 80 points. That was your eighth consecutive ACC win. And from there this team just seemed to lose its touch offensively. What happened, in your mind?

TONY BENNETT: I think teams started really zoning off, gapping up on some guys and just making it so hard for Reece and Isaac. They kind of face-guarded, zoned off. And I want to say they got a little bit of a blueprint on how to bother us.

And we tried to come up with some different things. And I thought we played good ball against NC State and even BC and Georgia Tech at the end. But a lot of it was predicated; we needed to make some shots, and the free throws, but we had to hit some shots just to give us a chance.

But it was hard because of how it was jammed in the lane, zoned off of guys and really face guarding or making it difficult on the others. And I think that kind of started happening as people saw, well, here's a way to maybe make it real challenging on us.

Q. What was the scouting report on Nique Clifford, and maybe how did it go awry? He really got them going scoring and distributing the ball.

TONY BENNETT: Their veteran play, their experience, it really showed. We're always just trying to be so sound. We didn't really take away the lane. We didn't take away the 3. And Reece did the job obviously on Stevens.

But I thought they got loose on some of their screens and wide-open looks, and it was just to make him earn. But he had his way. And obviously on the interior, Scott, his strength was real. And we looked a little bit rattled, to say the least.

And I think that showed as our defense unraveled. And, again, some of it had to do with our offensive struggles.

But they have a nice balanced attack. They do. And I can tell they'll be a hard-out. They play Texas next. Maybe they've got some more length and can guard in there. But they have experienced players.

I said they're very poised. Reece said that. They don't get rushed or sped up. Again, that's a credit to Niko and his young men.

Q. This is four out of five last tournaments where you've left without winning a game. You won a national title in there, which is obviously a huge accomplishment. Do you view these first round early exits as a systemic issue, or is each one of them their own kind of thing?

TONY BENNETT: No, it's frustrating. I think when you say systemic, what do you mean by that?

Q. Do you think there's a problem and there needs to be a fix in the way you do things, or is each one its own?

TONY BENNETT: No, it's frustrating because before that we've been to a couple of Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight and a national championship. But there have been some hard losses in the first round. That's frustrating.

Some are unique -- a COVID pause, key players getting injured. And I think, absolutely, I always have to examine our ability to advance. We've raised the bar really high here. We've qualified for this tournament, which is not an easy thing. We've done well.

But it's stung to get to this point and not advance. So, of course, we've got to keep adding quality players. We've got to look at things, certainly, from a system standpoint, absolutely.

And I wish we could have played better and played quality because we were so excited to get this chance because this team maxed out for the most part in the regular season at times, and this happened.

But you know, it's something that I'll always look in the mirror after every year and say, okay, what adjustments. We gotta get the right pieces in place. So I think it's probably both, to be honest.