INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 12, 2026

Aiden Sherrell

Samet Yigitoglu

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana - 90, Tennessee Tech - 66

Q. Samet, where exactly -- it said on the broadcast, you got stitches, I guess in an awkward spot. At what point do you know you're going to feel confident that you're going to be able to come back in?

SAMET YIGITOGLU: Like even when I was back, like even when I was in the locker room, I was thinking I'm going to be back. I never think like I'm going to quit the game. So I was ready to go.

Q. How awkward were the stitches?

SAMET YIGITOGLU: I didn't even feel -- they put some stuff in there. So I didn't feel what they were doing.

Q. Defense was a lot better team-wise in the second half than the first half. Why do you think it was better, and what are the things you guys need to do in your mind to put together 40 minutes of solid defense?

AIDEN SHERRELL: Coach talked to us at the half. He gave us a message. He was like we've got to pick it up for sure, and we went out there and executed what he told us to do. We've just got to stick to our principles for sure, continue to communicate with each other on the defensive end, and it will work out.

Q. Aiden, I'm sure rebounding was mentioned at halftime. What did you guys need to do to turn that around?

AIDEN SHERRELL: We just needed to bring more effort for sure. Like it was sometimes we didn't crash, but Coach made it a message we've got to crash every time and with a lot of effort.

Q. Aiden, you mentioned the principles and getting back to those in the second half. What are some of those principles defensively for you guys?

AIDEN SHERRELL: Just staying in the stance for sure, being active. I would say like a lot of communication for sure. That's a big thing for us.

Q. Samet, you were really assertive in getting the ball down low, and then once you got the ball and going up and being strong with that. When you were producing at your best offensively like that, how do you see that impact what your teammates can do?

SAMET YIGITOGLU: I mean, I can bring like double-team on the post. So like when they double the post, like somebody will be open on the perimeter. So like our shooters like Markus, like DH, Bryce. So I'm just creating space for them in the low post.

Q. Aiden, it seemed like the offense really opened up in the second half. Was there anything said about the spacing, your kind of approach to the offensive end in the second half compared to the first?

AIDEN SHERRELL: We just had to give each other a window to get open. Like they were pressing the whole game, and we had to be strong and get open with those catches and just move the ball.

Q. Did it take a while to adjust to their defensive pressure?

AIDEN SHERRELL: I mean, not really because like the coaches did a great job preparing us for this game. So did our blue squad. They did an amazing job preparing us for this game.

Q. You guys got outrebounded in the first half. The rebounding really picked up in the second half. You outrebounded them by nine in the second half. Why do you feel like you guys were able to have more success on the boards after halftime?

AIDEN SHERRELL: I would say like we went harder. Just we picked up the effort. It was lackluster before, and then we came together and picked it up.

SAMET YIGITOGLU: Yeah, and there was some unexpected shots from the other team. So we weren't expecting them to shoot the air ball. So that was the other part.