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NCAA NIT POSTSEASON FIRST ROUND: IOWA CITYMarch 13, 2012Kevin DillardArchie MillerIOWA CITY, IOWA IOWA – 84 Q. The atmosphere was pretty loud, and kind of energized them. DENNIS WILLIAMS: The fans came out and supported them. 13,000 plus, it was a very energetic crowd. We just ran into a dogfight today. Q. Kevin, when did you think it was kind of getting away? It was tied early second half and then they kind of pulled away? KEVIN DILLARD: We got killed in transition today and they are big guys, they did a great job of getting on the glass and controlling the paint. You know, so we tried to get back from that but we couldn't quite get it. COACH MILLER: Congratulate Iowa. Obviously I thought they had us on our heels from the very opening tip all the way to the end and watching them play, in a short amount of time, it was going to be a very difficult cover for us. Just defensively, the way that they played and some of the matchups that they had in the game, you know, I thought they played really, really in attack mode and they got us on our heels. Most importantly, probably the toughest venue we have been in all season long other than maybe Xavier game on the road. We were coming into a bee's nest and I give our kids credit. We hung in there and I thought for the most part, we were able to score to stay in the game, and eventually when you miss a couple shots, you just keep the pace of the game on them. At the end of the game, they broke it up and give them credit. Wish them well on the way. They will be a difficult team to play against anyway remaining. Q. Because of the scheduling, having to come halfway across country and play in such a tough venue‑‑ COACH MILLER: It's reality. When you are playing the No.2 seed in the NIT, the chances and the ability to advance are significantly increased when we play in front ofour 13,000. But that's the reality of the game when you host an NCAA Tournament. That's not a woe is me or a boo‑hoo. It didn't matter if we were a one seed; we were going to go on the road affidavit least for the first game. And I knew from my experiences of playing here as a coach at NC State, at Ohio State, that the Big Ten is one of the toughest leagues in the country to win on the road. I don't care where I've ever been, that the venues in the Big Ten are always the toughest to play in, and that's why the conference is so special. You run up against a team like Iowa, you get a great appreciation for how good their conference is. I just thought tonight, we went into a special environment, a postseason environment, and you know, their team really, really played well. Being on the road is being on the road, and at the end of the day, we had to be ready to go. Q. A lot has been said about the venue tonight. Are you surprised at all that there were 13,000? COACH MILLER: Not at all. I know that Coach McCaffery has done a fabulous job, and the momentum that they have moving forward is exciting. I've been at a few places and come to the game, and the people at the NIT, they really want to come. They buy the tickets. In the postseason, the season ticketholders and some of the regulars are not even there. It's such a different vibe in the arena. I remember Ohio State, when I played there, we played a game at St. John and it was one of the most electric environments we ever played in, and when we played Cal. So I think that it just speaks to the volumes of the support. The NIT right now is a really, really good event. There's good teams and it's hard to make the NIT. When you get a game at home, they are precious. So it's not ideal; walking in here we knew what it was going to be like. Q. They beat you on the floor, what was going on there? COACH MILLER: I think they do a great job with their front line, really out‑ran us and I thought they stunned us early with the way they were running, and a couple of the easy ones kind of the crowd into it. We got it under control at times. When you play a team that's committed to running and you have McCabe and Aaron White, Aaron White in particular, who was fabulous tonight. I don't know how he got out of the State of Ohio; somebody needs to explain that to me. But their pace and the way that they ran was on us, quick. And you know, if we did not get the offensive rebound, we were behind the ball and we needed transition defense to absorb some of those, and we didn't. You know, I thought they hurt us as much as any team that we have played all season in transition. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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