Utah 91-Iowa 82 | Men’s NIT 2nd Round | Postgame Press Conference
I mean it’s definitely like the way I prefer I mean besides stand still shooting obviously but um yeah I mean I was just talking to one of my buddies from Iowa there saying like that was on the Scout report obviously but I think just being able to like uh kind of stand
Still and throw throw guys off a little bit and then come flying off it’s uh can usually get open off that way so yeah I like shooting that way coach is saying that um that he might have to text you tonight and ask you not to go in the gym
Because if you if he doesn’t do that you’re going to go in tomorrow at night that’s the kind of person you are do you think you’re going to listen to him this time uh I mean he’s been he’s been on me a little bit so I’ve been having take
Some days off just because it’s been a long season obviously I mean we’ve been going since like June 10 4our practices in Spain so I mean it’s been a long season for sure but yeah I’ve had I’ve had to take some uh take some advice
From him and take a few days off here or you know so I’ll probably take take tomorrow off for sure yeah Dave on uh fourth triple double for you I read on Twitter that in the Pack 12 it’s you who’s done that in a season and Jason
Kid how does you how do you kind of feel being that’s in the same conversation as as a legend like that um it’s a super blessing especially the stuff I had to go through to um even be here um I thank my teammates for allowing me to get
Those assists rebounds or whatever it is uh playing hard for each other um I’m just super blessed don’t really have words just playing hard and it’s all coming together seemed like you knew that you you were right there with the 10th rebound and you like took it from
One of your teammates it looked like it was from G just what was that if you could tell us like what was that kind of moment like like did you did you see him coming from from the back or what I would I would like to take credit but I honestly
Had no idea look so we it was the free thrower and I was like I told everybody look I said let me get a rebound I said y’all box out I’m going to go get the rebound that next possession it just came off super funny but it was a 50-50
Ball I got it um I asked your coach about this but I feel like you guys played with just so much confidence like and that was a big 10 team and sometimes I’ve seen you guys play with less confidence against a team in your in your conference so what what
Is it right now that that you guys walked out there today and just like carried yourselves like you did yeah I mean now it’s like we’re kind of in this thing and I think it feels more like attainable like oh we could go win this tournament so I think just some guys who
Want to go on a good note and I think we’re just getting a good Groove going and uh you know being able to play three games at home now is is pretty cool so I’ll never turn down another game with the Huntsman um but yeah yeah yeah I
Agree with Gabe um some of these guys their last game BC um I’m not sure who else but we got a lot of seniors and um I think everybody’s just leaving it all out on the floor uh just knowing uh if we lose our season’s over um I think
Cole made the comment um after we lost the Pack 12 tournament that he was so bored and didn’t know what to do because we were waiting on if we were playing the N or not but I think guys are just super focused and um just enjoying the time we have left with each
Other gab you mentioned that um it’s kind of now starting to feel attainable if you guys can win this tournament um does that mean that at some point earlier it didn’t feel attainable no I mean I think it was just uh like I I said last week or last game like uh I
Think right when the season ended I think it was kind of like oh man this is not what we our goal was obviously never to play in the NIT you want to make Mars Madness so I think just once everybody kind of got their head wrapped
Around like okay here we go we’re going to play in nit and uh realized like hey it’s a pretty good tournament this year like we play good teams play Iowa um yeah there’s just good teams in it so uh I think once everybody kind of settled
In we’re like had a common goal of like hey let’s go Inn this thing um then it’s like all right we start getting rolling and yeah like now just feels like hey we got three games left and we’re in Champions so coach said um after UC Irvine that
Like he kind of wanted to see some more consistency being able to hold leads against them you had a 13-point lead and they tied it here you guys had a double lead they cut it to six and you guys were able to kind of go from there how
Did both of you kind of feel about the consistency and holding the lead tonight um just defending the home court um we’ve had a lot of games where we’ve been up double digits and cut it close by win um I think we just wanted to take
Care of the ball and be extra careful and extend our lead of course um I think just being sound on offense um at the end and just stepping up making free throws and stuff like that to extend our our lead and our win um I think we’re just super comfortable now and taking
That uh last stretch uh series did a lot of really good things tonight you know I have so much respect for uh Fran mcaffrey he’s been there for 14 years and um they’ve won you know however many times 20 games I think four the last five years and um and they’re a
High octane offense and um you know have a long not a long history but I was an assistant at Nebraska for two years and head coach at South Dakota we played them in the NIT so just have seen these guys play a lot and as soon as we saw
That draw I was like oh boy these guys put a lot of pressure on you on that end of the floor and you just when you get a lead you just don’t feel like it’s ever safe because they can just they’re SP ability is just like that you just got
To be able to take care of the ball and and you know I thought our guys were really locked in it was so such a different feel for this game than it was the last game meaning you know we had basically 48 hours to prepare for UC Irvine and it’s just you’re drinking
Through a fire like it’s just you don’t have much time to think and you got to go then we have a day off and then three real practices so it felt like Pack 12 Play where you play on Saturday off Sunday three practices play Thursday so there was some more routine I’m really
Proud of how we prepared we had a great week of practice I said on the pregame um show with Bill and I thought our scout team are the the way they play with their motion offense and their fluidity and they don’t call a lot of sets which makes it in some respects
Very very difficult and in some respects it’s easier too so because they don’t run a lot of sets they run it’s just their motion is so Random and it’s hard to emulate in practice and I thought our Scout team was unbelievable in giving us a really really good look because we
Don’t see that style of play very often in the Pack 12 they’re setting flare screens down screens staggers uh cross screens like any kind of screening action in for the most part in the Pack 12 it’s a lot of ball screens and dribble drive and certainly they set
Ball screens and they have some dribble drive but it’s just a different prep and so I thought our scout team was outstanding I thought our coaches did a great great job getting us prepared they’re Elite in transition top 10 in terms of um uh uh their their um how
Quick they get shots up uh their efficiency depending on what you look at number 16 to 22 in the country so the way we guard it I’m super super proud of what we were able to do you know they’re all the the Sanford kid he has been on
Fire coming into this game he had 30 the other night against Kate 7 for 11 from the three over his last five he’s averaged 24.2 points a game and for us to be able to hold him he’s such a good player to hold him for one for 11 um for
Five Points our guys were really on point that was primar primarily Cole badimo um but it’s a team thing that way and he did a great job uh they hurt us inside you know they got some good players obviously uh where they really hurt us was transition though that was a
Huge key to this game and I thought they got loose and once we were able to get them a half court we did a good job and then the off defensive end you know we were super connected last game out 23 assists tonight 22 assists and I just
Think that says something about our team and our fight and our mindset to be able to stay connected and play like that um says something and so I thought we were really uh selfless and made the extra pass really looking to share the ball uh
And it led to a lot of good shots so Gabe gets a career high with 31 obviously he was on fire there for a stretch maybe got a little zealous there for a stretch um but he was he was so good Devon I did I never look at Stats
During the game I I never do so when when Davon kind of went and I think he grabbed that last rebound over Gabe I was like well he went with that to that with some Authority and obviously the crowd went ballistic I was like oh he
Must have got another one so for him to be able to get another triple double in the fourth of the season I mean that’s incredibly hard to do but I just thought we had a lot of good production all the way around I thought law and lovering and specifically the second second half
A little bit of a slow start but I thought he was really good in the second half uh gets four offensive rebounds um um and and just his ability to box out when they were hurting us some in the first half on the glass he was owning
That thing gets 10 for the game and did a really good job against their Zone creating some easy shots when we were a little bit kind of stuck in the mud for a little stretch there so uh and then Hunter Ericson’s played well again um you know seven points doesn’t but he’s
Just he’s just been so so solid in um so many ways and then last thing I know it’s a long run on sentence but congrats to Brandon Carlson cracking the top five uh an alltime scoring in the history of the University of Utah Men’s Basketball I mean
That’s I mean seriously like that I mean it’s hard hard to do so he gets another game to play and he gets another game to play and our team gets another game to play at home and um against a very good VCU team any questions coach um last game
You talked about wanting a little bit more consistency considering you gave up a 13-point lead somewhere I think it was the first half today you guys had a double digit lead they got it to six in the second half and you guys were able to kind of correct some things and and
Go on from there what did you like and dislike about that consisten consistency that you wanted more of today thought we were better today you know I think maybe the practice and a little more prep time helped us I thought they really hurt us in well in stretches when they when they
Made that run um we weren’t scoring and they were getting us in transition and even when we were scoring in the second half I thought they were getting us in transition that’s how they were getting us when we got him in the half court we
Did a pretty good job um and and I just haven’t seen VCU play uh I’ve coached a couple of those guys uh at Utah State one of my sons is you know best friends with Coach odm son so I’ve heard a lot about him uh and I’ve just seen him in
Snippets but um I just thought that we we really um one of the biggest key I thought tonight was just like take what the defense gives you don’t really you know but that’s the key any night right but that was a real real Focus for us um
So I thought we rebounded a lot better uh I thought we took good shots their Zone got us a little bit standing around which is that’s why they went Zone but then then we really started cooking against it we’ve always we’ve been a great Zone Team all year uh with the
Exception of maybe one game and so um um but we were able to get in attack mode you know that way and just playing through the pass and got to the foul line tonight 19 for 25 obviously a few of those were late uh in the game we
Were able to make those I mean there’s probably not much more to say about Gabe Matson at this point but um do you like when he’s coming off full speed off the handoffs and and shooting threes kind of like floating to either side I mean
Seems like for a lot of guys that’s not a good shot but he makes those yeah I mean I think a little bit so first of all um you know when we got hired here G was the first guy to commit to us and um
Watched him a lot in high school and Au uh and had recruited him um prior and obviously went to Cincinnati and which just wasn’t you know wasn’t the right fit so I’ve always loved how he plays uh got great feel for the game obviously he
Can get it going quickly and he can get separation he’s got quick twitch and he’s playing through through some things right now and um so um do I always like it not necessarily um and we’ve talked about that at the same time you know he he knows his game really really well and
We have confidence in him that he can get it going and certainly when he sees that ball going in the hole I think everybody on the team you know trusts him to make those shots and so you know late in the game obviously he was really
Kind of and was just like slow down you know we’ll be fine um but you love guys he loves the game that guy I’m not the guy works hard like I call it work but he has an amazing passion for basketball he is an amaz he’s in the gym I have to
Tell him not to wor like like I’ll text him tonight no you can’t go in the gym tomorrow because otherwise he’d be in there at 9:00 a.m. you know that’s just that’s his routine and he’s diligent with it he’s obsessed with it and I think you can see his progression from
Year one to year two and year two to year three I think it’s very easy to see so our guys have full confidence in him and um he’s a very good player two big men lost in L ring and Kev kada up and down tonight um but they
Seem to to make plays that also impacted kind of the momentum of the game what does that do for the team when when you got those big guys protecting the rim or get to the Rim Yeah we need that out of those guys you know we’re playing a
Little bit different than we have and and you I think you phrase it exactly right they both had some tough moments out there and they made some huge plays out there at the same time uh both of them uh inivision I thought CBA Moro in the
First half Lon Mo in the second half and so there’s such different players um and so kind of you know it just kind of depends on any given night we just kind of got to kind of feel out who’s playing maybe the best or who
We’re going against um and so you know I thought kba really did some big time thing you see him running the floor oh my gosh it was just like and uh and then Lawson um I just thought he was really good the second half and he he he was
Kind of hanging his head a little bit in that first half and the ability to self-correct is an amazing talent and I’m proud of both those guys with our whole team to be able to self-correct tonight but specifically those two guys because they did have an impact on the
Game that first half their freshman who’s a very good player I think he was the Freshman of the week in the Big 10 like nine time it was it’s a high number and um he was kind of owning I he had 11 at the half and just kind of going right
At us and and and the guys took the challenge at halftime I feel like your team was playing with just a lot of confidence out there like I could just feel it cuz I’ve watched your team also play with not a lot of confidence and and and have
You been seeing that like in your practices are they are they showing up like that um they were playing a big 10 opponent but I feel like their confidence was more tonight than like maybe even against a PCT opponent yeah I think that I think there’s some I I just
Felt like this week of practice uh was really really good and I I think you get confidence when you do practice well um you know obviously it’s been a little bit of a you know we when we beat Stanford and Cal thought we we played really really well and you know the
Oregon State game wasn’t great I Oregon were up eight when when BC got hurt I mean we we were seven or eight whatever it was with you know 17 minutes ago or whatever uh you see how about Oregon just did right and that was on the road
So like I I feel like you know we’ve kind of been having a little more consistency in our lineup Hunter Ericson’s been playing a lot better it’s really helped us uh in a in a big way um obviously BC was playing at a really high level before
The injury but he still has been playing well very well so I don’t know I feel like maybe we’re getting a little bit of a a rhythm together if that makes sense and so it’s never too late and and it’s just it’s never too late until you’re
Done so I’m proud of our guys to be able to stick with it and keep pushing because it it can be hard to do on that same kind of it’s never too late kind of tone brand Carlson seemingly adding to his post game repertoire with a little
Post fadeaway jump shot to his right shoulder that we haven’t seen much of before what does that say about him to yeah I mean that guy he’s I mean he gets in there he works hard at it he’s a quick learner amazingly talented unbelievable touch right like like not a
Lot of guys can but he’s got amazing touch with his jump hook uh he’s got that little race he he worked on that this summer well he had it some last year too but we can be a little stubborn like hey let’s get something to the rim
And get filed but um um I mean we’ve talked so much about him but he’s just going to continue to climb because he puts time in the gym right and that’s the bottom line and uh when your talent meets hard work it’s amazing what can happen you coached Sean first bit two
Years did a home visit in Brisbane Australia with his family amazing salmon his mom made his mom’s a coach I was never a fan of salmon ever until that time you know you’re doing a home visit and she brought it out and the whole family was there and I was like here we
Go like you got to figured out it was incredible and ever since then I’ve Lov salmon so uh uh amazing family great kid um big part of two of our teams that um coach him for two years right recruited him for full year my first year there um
Was on our was a freshman and had a big part of us um um winning that conference tournament Championship um Smart Player Super committed great kid great family and and Max shuga uh and so max um we recruited Max and he played uh as a freshman
During the covid year um and so um so yeah and he’s super talented both those guys are really really talented guys are very good players great people what do you anticipated being like seeing them again playing against them that kind of yeah it’ll be interesting I’m really
Proud of those guys they’ve had a great career as both those guys they’ve won a ton of games and we saw that in when we recruited they love to win they love to compete they’re very good um uh you know Ryan odm obviously you know coach at
Utah State for two years great coach really good person um and and my son one of my sons Brady um second boy super close with Owen Owen his son has stayed at my house many times Brady has stayed at their house a ton of times um Ryan’s been so
Ryan and his family been so good to Brady uh my oldest boy Landon gradu he’s student teaching at Utah State right now so he’s he knows those guys so it’s it’s really unique quite frankly but super cool and and really proud of those guys and what they’ve been able to do they
They both had great college careers and Sean will be done this is fifth year and Max will have an opportunity to come back for his fifth year if if he chooses to do so so um great people
Gabe Madsen, Deivon Smith and Head Coach Craig Smith after Utah Basketball beat Iowa 91-82 in the 2nd round of the Men’s NIT. Madsen had a career-high 31 points and Smith recorded his fourth triple double of the season – finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Runnin’ Utes will host VCU in the NIT Quarterfinals in the Huntsman Center on 3/24/24. Come watch the Utes play! https://www.utahtickets.com
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