NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 18, 2025

Brian Dutcher

Nick Boyd

Wayne McKinney

UD Arena

San Diego State Aztecs

Media Conference

North Carolina 95, San Diego State 68

BRIAN DUTCHER: Well, congratulations to North Carolina for advancing. I knew going into the game, I had watched them on tape, that they were playing really well, that they were playing tight. I thought they were ready for any situation. They're well-coached, and they're talented, and they're playing really good basketball right now.

We tip our hats to them. Obviously we wish we'd have given them more of a game, but we hang our hat on our defense, and we couldn't get stops. We knew we had to play in the 70s to have a chance, and they were up in the 90s.

Really happy for the season we had but obviously disappointed in the way we finished it.

Q. Nick, how did the game get away in that first half? Where did you feel it starting to slip away from you?

NICK BOYD: I think we got a couple -- we had a couple turnovers and those turned into fast breaks, and then on top of that, we fouled some guys where they were able to get a couple of free throws, a couple fast break points. And then I think they started out the game hitting, if I'm not mistaken, like 4-for-4 from three.

So I thought we played a really good defense, and then they had some guys step up and make some threes where it kind of stretched the lead. But once they got going in transition off our turnovers, it's hard to stop them.

Q. Wayne, when they're hitting threes like that, how does that stretch the defense? How does it make it more difficult to stick to your assignments?

WAYNE McKINNEY III: Definitely makes it a little bit more difficult. They have a team full of guys who can get to the hoop and drive pretty well and swing it out for open shots. When all their guys are making shots like that, it makes it a lot more difficult for us to guard.

Q. This is a program that was 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament the last two years. It rarely gives up more than 70 points. You gave up 95 tonight and lose by 30. Describe those emotions. How shocking is it to your system to lose like this?

NICK BOYD: Yeah, obviously not the outcome we wanted. It's tough. You know, it's tough. It's hard to really even put into words how you feel after coming to the biggest stage and just getting your butt whooped.

But this is bigger than basketball, and these are lessons that we can take as a team into the real world and just learn from and learn how to keep your head up. But yeah, it's just hard to explain.

WAYNE McKINNEY III: Yeah, it hurts a lot. We're a defensive team, and we didn't really stick to our assignments as well as we could have. I know we were one of the younger teams in the tournament, so luckily for those guys they get to get a taste of this and understand for preparation next season how much it means to just lock in on every play and don't take anything for granted and just work hard.

Q. Nick, I know you weren't here, but the last time San Diego State got beat like this in the NCAA Tournament against an ACC team was in 2018 against Syracuse. It was a real bad loss. They were down 24 at half, same thing. But they really rallied around that loss. Two years later they're in the National Championship game. Do you think something like this will help the team, motivate you through the summer in sort of the same way?

NICK BOYD: Yeah, like Wayne said, no doubt. I'm just happy for the team, man. We had a bunch of young dudes, a bunch of guys who never been to the tournament. And when I heard our name called, I was just so proud because just for them to have the opportunity to understand what it's like and what it feels like to represent a city or a school on one of the biggest platforms there is for college sports or colleges in general.

I just think this is a loss that we're going to feel throughout the summer. We got punked and they whooped our butts. If you don't come to the summer ready to work, you don't really love the game.

I think this is something, yeah, we can definitely grow from and rally around and just take to the summer with us and hopefully be back here next year.

Q. Dutch, same thing; this is a program that doesn't take losses like this and doesn't give up 95 points. What's that like sitting there on the bench and looking at the scoreboard just rolling up when you hold teams to 50s and 60s all the time?

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, I thought we had a decent game plan. We knew we had to take the fast break away, and we didn't do that to start the game. They built momentum on the break. And then they started making some threes. They made 14 for the game. I think they make seven on a game on the season, seven or eight.

So they shot the ball well. Obviously our game plan was not good enough. We tried to switch ball screens, front, but they drove us, they got it over the top.

And we got down by so many at that point, you're just trying to find a way to go on any kind of run to hang in there to make it where you might -- they might feel you at the end.

But they expanded the lead, and then it was just trying to play for pride at that point. We were so desperately out of it. We're a prideful program. We wanted to fight until the end. We did not want to give into them.

And to our kids' credit, I thought they fought until the very end. There are lessons to be learned obviously. It has to leave a taste in your mouth that it's unacceptable. But I've been doing this a long time, and I've seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and usually you can learn from both winning and losing.

So we'll have to learn from losing tonight.

Q. Obviously you guys, it was a very, very tough travel logistically. You had no prep practice for this game, which is very unusual. How much did that affect some of the rotations, some of the open looks they were getting in the first half particularly?

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, obviously I wish we had a little more time, but they didn't have much more time than we had. I would have liked to have practiced in San Diego before we came. That didn't happen. We flew across the country, did a public practice and did our first real film work after that.

Like yesterday night, 8:00 or 9:00 at night was our first prep time. We did a walk-through today in a ballroom and went to shootaround and tried to walk through some things.

We played a lot of games. So we've done a lot of different things. So it's not like we're starting from scratch. We thought we had a game plan that would work, but obviously they're playing at a really high level right now.

I saw that on tape. Sometimes you watch a team on tape, and you're hoping there's some flaws, but they're playing at a high level right now. I saw that if you switch ball screens exactly what they know what they're going to do; if you hedge ball screens, they know what they're going to do; if you're in drop, they know what they're going to do.

So they're well-coached, and they have a counter and a game plan for everything you're trying to do. So you have to play well. Not only do you have to have a game plan but you have to play well.

We didn't match their level of play tonight, and that's a credit to them and their coaching staff.

Q. Coach, obviously one of your responsibilities is trying to get a grasp on the tempo of the game, control your team, but it seemed like that stretch where Davis hits a three right before halftime, right after halftime, and then you guys get a technical, from your perspective, how important was that stretch in terms of maybe frustration or perhaps the game getting away?

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, that's what I told -- I said at halftime to Jon Rothstein, the biggest enemy of any team is frustration or any player. So when you get frustrated, you have a momentary lapse as to where you should be, what you should be doing because you're frustrated at the offensive end.

And I thought we lost him a couple of times. We lost him on a guard-to-guard ball screen where he hit a three, then the very next time we lost him on a penetration and kick and then to start the second half.

I mean, this is the second all-time leading scorer in ACC history. So even if you play well, he's capable of bouncing up and making shots. We made some mistakes where we gave him a couple good looks, but he's capable of making hard looks, too. He's a gifted player and he got on a roll, and he's hard to guard when that happens.

Q. Five years ago you would have played your final game, gone home, maybe gone on vacation, taken a break, started spring practices. Can you explain how different it is now?

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, the work starts now, recruiting starts. The portal opens shortly, and we'll find out who's coming back from our team. We'll find out who's available.

Like every team in the country, we'll try to put a roster together for next year, negotiating NIL deals, and turn my coaching hat to a GM hat and try to put a team together for next year that'll be competitive and have an opportunity to come back here and play in the dance and hopefully advance in it like we have in the last two years.

Q. Along those lines, when you lost against Syracuse in 2021, you guys retooled your roster. You walked out, saw that game, saw what happened and said, we've got to get bigger. And you got bigger, and you were so big that you bullied teams all the way to the National Championship game. What lessons will you take from this experience tonight, and how do you need to get better either through retaining players or the transfer portal?

BRIAN DUTCHER: Yeah, obviously we have a young team. Six of our top 10 are freshmen or sophomores. So they have to grow. They have to have a learning experience, and they have to come back and get better physically and mentally and become better players.

Obviously we have to add pieces. We'll look at what we have coming back and find out what our deficiencies are and try to fill some of those deficiencies.

We've had pretty good success in the transfer portal. We were taking transfers before the portal existed. So we've always been able to piece together four-year guys and then add pieces out of the transfer market and find a way to have a good team.

So that's the goal again, to retain the players that want to be here and then to add pieces in the portal and continue to keep San Diego State relevant at a national level, and that's what my goal and job as a head coach is.