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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT


March 14, 2015


Dee Davis

Myles Davis

Chris Mack


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Villanova - 69
Xavier - 52


COACH MACK:  Well, we weren't very good tonight.  Villanova had a heck of a lot to do with it.  I know the guys next to me and some of the guys in the locker room are tired of hearing it, but that's where the bar is in this league.  They set the standard.
They have a chance to win a National Championship, and they are not given nearly enough credit for how tough of a team they are, how hard they play, how unselfish they are.  They're the true definition of a team.
I haven't been doing this as long as some coaches out there, but I've been in some really good leagues, and I've seen some really good teams, and they're up there with any of them.
As far as tonight, we missed too many bunnies around the basket.  I thought we took pretty good care of the basketball.  They had nine turnovers.  But we were just on our heels.  We couldn't score around the rim.  Because of it, it affected our defense.
Really talked a whole lot going into the game about limiting their three‑point field goal attempts, but it's easier said than done.  They only shot 23 of them as opposed to 29 and 34, the first couple times that we played them.
But I'm proud of our team.  It's not easy to sit up here after you get your ass kicked in the Big East Championship, but we made a heck of a run.  Hopefully, our younger guys‑‑ I know Dee's not going to be back, but hopefully our younger guys understand what it takes to get to this point.  And then when you watch that team in white at the other end, see what it takes to close the deal.
But as bad as we feel today, give us about 20 hours, and we'll be excited to play another day.

Q.  Coach, is there a moral victory at all in this league for what you did this week, getting to the final, possibly showing this league or the country what kind of program you have and what kind of team you have?
COACH MACK:  I wouldn't say‑‑ the first two games certainly weren't moral victories because we won them.  We try not to‑‑ as we came here, we didn't necessarily look at it as a tournament.  We looked at it one game.  We had Butler, and that's who we wanted to beat.  We played them.  Whoever came out of the other side, we played them, and it was Georgetown, and we beat them.
It's disappointing when you lose the opportunity to win a championship, but like I said before, I'm proud of the effort that we made to get here.

Q.  Coach, Matt looked really frustrated that first time‑out, like he asked to be taken out.  Is that the case?  Kind of what was going on with him and what did they do to him tonight?
COACH MACK:  They worked harder than him.  They're a little undersized, obviously, Ochefu isn't undersized, but he's more athletic than Matt.  He worked harder than Matt.  I think Matt let his frustrations spill over to his play.  He missed some shots that we're normally accustomed to him making he can't play like that if we're going to be effective, especially against a team that pressures so much on the perimeter.  You've got to hurt them in the interior.

Q.  Dee, do you look at the play as a challenge in itself, or are you excited to play a team that isn't in the Big East that doesn't know you so well?  How eager are you to get to get to the next game?
DEE DAVIS:  Well, it's always fun to play in a tournament.  My freshman year we made it to the Sweet 16.  Of course it hurts, you work hard to win a championship.  We've done a lot this weekend.  But it's how it goes.  We didn't show up today and we've got to move on.

Q.  What does it mean just for your program to be in this game tonight?
COACH MACK:  It means a lot.  It's not easy.  There's three newcomers to the league.  We've won the first game, the Big East Tournament both years that we've been in.  Obviously, we took it a step further this year.  I think the players would be in agreement, the atmosphere during the National Anthem, just big‑time atmosphere.  Big‑time atmosphere.
It means a lot for our program.  We've been in some great leagues.  Nothing compares to the stage that we're on now.  We've got some young guys in our program, and hopefully, they use it as an experience to draw on, to inspire, and to work hard over the summer and we'll get to this point a year from now.

Q.  Myles, J.P.'s on the bench with an ankle injury and Matt's having trouble and then Tre gets two fouls.  How much were you guys discombobulated there in the first half when they really started to pull away?  Or did that affect things for you?
MYLES DAVIS:  We have a really deep team, and with J.P. being out, we needed guys to step up, including me and Tre.  Today just wasn't our day.
Nova is a great team.  They obviously had way more experience than us.  This was our first time being in the Big East Championship, and they showed it.  They showed why they're one of the top contenders in the country.

Q.  Dee, it looked like you were grimacing throughout most of the second half there.  Did you have any type of injury?  If so, what was it?
DEE DAVIS:  I just twisted my ankle.  It shouldn't be anything to worry about, though.  I'm going to get treatment and be ready to go in the Tournament.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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