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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: ANAHEIM

March 24, 2016

Anaheim, California

Texas A&M - 63, Oklahoma - 77

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Oklahoma Head Coach Lon Kruger, and student-athletes Ryan Spangler, Jordan Woodard and Buddy Hield. Coach, an opening statement?

LON KRUGER: A good win, obviously. Anytime you can win a Sweet Sixteen game, you love that. Proud of the guys. Beat a very good A&M club. I thought first half defensively we had some good activity, we created some offense from deflections, steals, made shots, moved the ball well. I thought we played with a freedom in the first half that we needed to and, again, guys came in off the bench and did a terrific job.

Proud for the guys. Happy for them, and we know the next one's going to be tough, too.

Q. Ryan and Jordan, you guys, second highest assist total this season, 23. Can you talk about how well the offense was moving. And Jordan, the way you were able to get inside and get some of those assists, and Ryan, being on the receiving end, why was that so open tonight?
JORDAN WOODARD: Yeah, we had a lot of good ball moving. Coach has been preaching for us to move around, even without the ball, off-ball movement, and the guards were able to get into the lane and find the bigs for easy lay-ups and dunks to start off the game. So it was really just playing good team basketball.

RYAN SPANGLER: Kind of like he said. We had good spacing today and made sure we kept the spacing and everybody out. Then we were getting out in transition and making easy passes to each other.

Q. Buddy, I know you've been asked this a million times, but how special is it to go on a run like this, not just with these teammates, but also to have your family here, your mom, also your siblings, to do it kind of as a family?
BUDDY HIELD: It means a lot. I consider my teammates as family too. So that's helping them and doing it with these guys and especially for Coach. Coach has been preaching for us to stay together as a group. Him preaching family makes it fun for me. It makes it fun for my teammates, too. So I'm just enjoying the process, and one more, and then have to get two more to win after that.

Q. Jordan, you scored 22 points today, shot 8-for-11 from the field. Talk about how you were able to shoot so efficiently in tonight's win.
JORDAN WOODARD: Yeah, I just wanted to lock in. Coach told me to just make sure I'm ready and locked and ready to shoot because a lot of attention goes on, you know, the other guys, Buddy, Isaiah, Ryan, they're going to focus in on them. So I've got to be ready and find an open spot.

Q. Jordan, when you hit that bank shot at the end of the shot clock near the end of the first half from that angle, is that kind of when you figure that's your night?
JORDAN WOODARD: Yeah, you could say that, yeah (smiling). Yeah, that play, it was just the glass is your friend. I knew the clock was rolling down, so I just wanted to make sure I got it to the rim. It was just that type of night, I guess.

Q. Ryan, you talked about this a little bit, but the interior passing and the easy lay-ups and dunks that you were able to get, had you seen that ahead of time that maybe you were going to be able to do something like that against this defense?
RYAN SPANGLER: We have a game plan set, and we knew we wanted to put their bigs in ball screens and roll towards the basket and either get a shot with a guard or get a lob, and we were able to do that a couple times today.

Q. Ryan, when they made that little run early in the second half there, knowing what they had done on Sunday, was there any thought -- Lon, you kind of called a quick timeout there. What was the thought there? Was that in the back of your minds?
RYAN SPANGLER: Definitely, we knew they weren't going to quit. We knew they were going to keep fighting. We had a couple of bad offensive possessions and Coach called that timeout and got us back together, and made sure we set our defense up and made sure we were taking smart shots.

Q. Buddy, Billy Kennedy said that they were focusing so much attention on you that at the beginning they had kind of fallen asleep on the rest of the guys. Could you tell early that the rest of your teammates were going to have those chances with them focusing so much on you?
BUDDY HIELD: For sure, for sure. Coach prepared us early enough, if they start double-teaming or whatever. He already had a game plan set for that. So we just made plays and driving and kicking them. Hit the guy that is open and trust the guy to make the next play.

So trusting each other and trusting the offense. That's what we need to do.

Q. Buddy, when people break you guys down, it starts with you offensively, and then usually goes to Isaiah. I know, though, you value what Jordan gives you and has given you all year. How happy are you for him to do what he did tonight given the attention that you and Isaiah typically get?
BUDDY HIELD: I'm really happy for Jordan. I told him earlier that when he does that, the whole game is open up for everybody because they don't know who to pick from. They want to keep denying me the whole game, I just step up and he can drive baseline and make a play.

So Jordan's shooting the ball really well, and he's going to shoot the ball this coming Saturday well, too. So I'm just happy for him and this is the best time of the year to keep it going for him.

Q. Buddy, you did a lot of work to get you guys here, but how much better are you guys when you don't have to do everything like you did tonight?
BUDDY HIELD: Oh, we're a lot better. Just sharing the ball like everybody said earlier, making plays and trusting each other. Coach always said once the ball sticks in your hands, that's when you stagnate and you can't be hungry for shots.

When we have ball movement and ball flow, everybody gets good shots, and we're not shooting bad shots. We're shooting great-percentage shots.

Q. You got a big night from Christian. I think you had 12 points off the bench. You also got a hook shot from McNeace, which nobody saw coming. How much did that help when you get production like that from your bench guys?
BUDDY HIELD: Oh, it means a lot. Especially with Christian. He's a freshman and he steps up in these big situations, and Coach is putting him out there. His confidence level is always high for him. When he first came in, he always had that swagger and that talk. I'm just happy for him. There's no surprise it was money, that hook shot. It may be a surprise for you, but it's no surprise for us because that's what he does every day.

Q. Jordan, are you guys getting more comfortable playing in this tournament after three games in?
JORDAN WOODARD: Yeah, I feel like each step we get more locked in because we're getting closer to where we want to be. Coaches, they really draw up great game plans for us to execute. It's our job to go execute it. So as a team we've just got to stay locked in.

Q. Ryan and Jordan, can you talk about just what it means to you guys to be Oklahoma kids and be one win away from the Final Four.
RYAN SPANGLER: It's big time. Ever since Blake left I kind of remember down years, and I wanted to come back here and play. When Kruger got here and he gave me the chance, and I think we've made the most of it, and I think our fans are proud. I like to see our fans happy, and they deserve that.

So we got three more wins to get our goal, so we're going to try to do that for our fans.

Q. You guys have talked a lot about the motivation you've had from losing this round game last year with Michigan State and you just wanted to get deeper than that. So how much joy can you take tonight from the fact that you did that?
JORDAN WOODARD: It's great for us because we talked about it. Got asked a lot of questions about how we felt last year, so we just wanted to make sure we had a greater focus this game and make it to our ultimate goal.

BUDDY HIELD: Just what Jordan said. Just stay focused and locked in. We came in locked in and executed, but now we can't get too high right now. We've got to stay low, not too low but in between because we have a big game coming Saturday. So we have to be really locked in for that one, too.

RYAN SPANGLER: Kind of like they said. We'll enjoy this right now, but when we get back to the hotel I'm pretty sure we'll probably watch some film and have a good practice tomorrow and watch some more film and get our minds right.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Kruger.

Q. Every coach says they're not just building a program but they're building a family. The fact that families are actually here, part of it, especially Ms. Swann coming all the way from the Bahamas to share this experience with you.
LON KRUGER: It's really special. One of the satisfying things from a coaching perspective is to see these guys enjoy this activity and the Tournament with their family. One of the best things derived from playing in the Tournament are the memories that really last a lifetime. For families to be here and share it with their guys and talk about it and have the pictures, it's really special. They don't realize right now how special it will be 15, 20 years from now. But we really think that's one of the best parts of the Tournament to see them enjoy it with their family.

Q. Can you talk about being able to negate Texas A&M on the boards tonight and how critical was that for you.
LON KRUGER: They're a big club. I thought we did really good. Davis is really good down inside. I thought he got away from us a few times in the second half. He posted so deep. Thought we did a good job to open the ballgame. Our perimeter guys helped with the activity, digging out some passes, some dribbles, getting some deflections in there. But, yeah, the main thing, I guess, even with them on the boards is probably -- we would have taken that going in given their size.

Q. Can you talk about the passing, why it was so good? You're typically not a high-assist team, but you passed the ball magnificently today.
LON KRUGER: I thought our spacing was good. I thought our attack was good. Guys, again, we got a lot of transition opportunities which we converted, which increases the assist a bit. Yeah, then they stepped up and made shots.

So, again, I thought the guys did a terrific job of playing with a good attack; downhill, moving the ball, weren't tentative at all, and it's a good result.

Q. Coach Kennedy said that your quickness really hurt them. Going in, how much of an advantage do you think that was?
LON KRUGER: Well, with their size, we're not bigger so we hope to be quicker, and I thought we could attack and get it going downhill a little bit. They did a good job on Buddy. I thought Buddy had one of his really -- he's so secure as a player and person, that ten boards, move the ball, delighted in his teammates, having a great first half especially. Thought this was a really good game out of Buddy, even though he didn't score what he normally does. But Buddy's probably the happiest guy about that because he's really happy to see his teammates step in and do that.

Guys off the bench, Jordan obviously did great. Christian James came in and gave us a big lift. Jamuni did a good job in there defensively especially. Dante gave us some good minutes. So really good to see that from our guys on the bench.

Q. Once you realized how much attention they were paying to Buddy, did you tell your guys to try and attack the rim a little bit more knowing that you'd have a little more space to operate midrange and around the rim?
LON KRUGER: Well, when people hug Buddy and deny him, that frees up some space on the interior. So anytime we can get by and create a two-on-one at the rim, we like that, of course. Again, when you take one of their defensive guys out of the rotation defensively because he's hugging Buddy, then that maybe frees up a few opportunities. But, again, hugging Buddy's probably a pretty good plan, too.

Q. Are these guys still improving as they go along?
LON KRUGER: I liked their play last weekend in Oklahoma City. I thought we played better there than we had for two or three weeks. Today, of course, I feel great about the way they played, the way they attacked, made plays for each other. Again, good to see different guys stepping in and contributing. So, yeah, I think we're playing as well right now as we have since maybe mid-January, late-January.

Q. Billy Kennedy said that he could tell that your guys' experience, last year especially, helped out in this game. Could you tell that having seen both games?
LON KRUGER: We got off and we're down 7 right off the bat. I thought our guys' poise at that time was good. They made a couple threes and couple deep ones, and our guys were talking about that, just stay the course, stay after it, stay aggressive, stay solid defensively. So I thought their poise at that moment was pretty good.

Q. Can you just talk about the overall quality of Jordan's game. It looked like he played some good defense on House a good part of the game. Of course his shooting was remarkable, 5-of-6. Just his overall game.
LON KRUGER: I thought Jordan was really good throughout on both ends of the floor, got some deflections, steals, moved the ball, made shots, was really engaged the entire time. I thought played really, really well.

Q. I wonder what you think when you hear there is a 28-year span between your first Elite Eight and now your third? It's pretty rare. I wonder what that makes you think?
LON KRUGER: I hadn't thought about it. Glad to be here, for sure. Obviously it takes really good players to do that. We've got a good bunch that love to play and very happy for them.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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