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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 1, 2018

New York, New York

Penn State - 65, Northwestern - 57

THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement.

COACH CHAMBERS: Really proud of this team. We played without Mike. And we heard all the noise. And these guys really responded and stepped up, played really good Penn State basketball.

We defended and rebounded when we had to for most of the game. But really at the end, the last four minutes when we went on that run, just everybody really buckled down and got some stops there.

And then on the offensive end, obviously these two guys played terrific basketball. But they stayed in that zone and dared us. And these guys stepped up to the challenge.

I thought we really did a nice job sharing the ball but more importantly we didn't turn it over. I thought we did a good job of playing small and rebounding the ball, because at Northwestern they had, if I recall, 17 second-chance points and today it was only 11. So that's big when you're playing the lineups that we are.

So really proud of this group. For us to get to 20 wins, just shows you where these players are taking this program.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. How do you like Madison Square Garden, bright light, big city? Seems like you're handling it pretty well. Tony, had a little flagger there at the end of the game when you hit the second 3 in a row?
TONY CARR: We definitely love playing here. Madison Square Garden is a great gym. It's every child's dream to play here. And just for us to be playing a Big Ten Tournament for a great university like Penn State is great. We just want to keep it going.

SHEP GARNER: It's always great to play in New York. I love playing here. Madison Square Garden is a great arena. A lot of history here. So it's always good to get a win here.

Q. Talk about the last four minutes and being able to close out a game like this that was close all the way down to the last four.
SHEP GARNER: Like Coach said, we buckled down on the defensive end. We knew that that was going to win the game for us. Defending and rebounding is our staple. And that's what we did at that stretch of the game. We knew we needed it. That led to easy offense for us.

TONY CARR: We definitely know all these games are going to be a possession game. So we just want to buckle down, like Shep said, and Coach always preaches about (indiscernible) and rebound, and that's what we did down the stretch.

Q. What can you guys take away from the two games you guys played against Ohio State as you get ready to play them again?
TONY CARR: We just want to defend and rebound like we did those past two games. To be honest, I haven't thought about it. I just want to celebrate this with my team and my coaches. We earned it and we'll talk about that tomorrow.

SHEP GARNER: I mean, those games, it was in the regular season. This is a brand new season for everyone. So we're going to enjoy this game tonight, focus on Ohio State tomorrow.

Q. Tony, 19 wins is nice, but you had lost three in a row coming into this one. Down the stretch, were you sensing if we don't win this, we not only will be out of the tournament, maybe out of the NCAA as well?
TONY CARR: I don't think like that. I always think positive thoughts. You think positive thoughts, positive outcomes come out. And I was just thinking going to take the game one play at a time. I wasn't thinking about the outcomes or if we lose this or if we win this. I just want to play basketball.

Q. With Northwestern going with that zone, how much did you think that 3-point shooting was going to be a factor throughout the game?
SHEP GARNER: We knew we would have to hit a couple of shots for them to come out and guard us and create some lanes. But they stayed in the zone. They stayed in it.

And they made it tough for us. They're led by seniors. They're a great team, great coach. And they made it tough for us tonight.

TONY CARR: It's definitely tough to play against the zone for 40 minutes. But we have great shooters like Shep, Josh and myself. And that kind of loosened the zone up for us, and in the second half for us to get down hill and penetrate and find some easy shots.

Q. You said that you -- you reference that we heard the noise that was out there. So what was the noise? And to the question that Tony was asked, too, about what the scheme means in terms of what you're trying to do going forward. How did you feel about it?
COACH CHAMBERS: The noise is can you win without Mike Watkins. The naysayers thought we were slumping and lost our confidence and not sure if we could do it. And we believed in ourselves. And I thought we threw some great lineups out there and played small.

I thought Johnny Harrar did a great job for a freshman. To throw him in his first career start at the Garden at the Big Ten Tournament, I thought he handled himself well.

But you saw Julian Moore's production. He did some good things. Huge block. Seniors stepped up.

Shep Garner, that charge to foul out Scottie Lindsey, nobody is even talking about that. That was a huge swing play for us.

Those guys did some really great things down the stretch. I was really proud because I played some different lineups and different guys at different spots. They really responded.

Q. The 3-point shot, couple years ago -- that was 45 percent from 3 tonight. Couple years ago that wasn't always the case for you guys. Could you talk about the development of guys like Josh from his freshman year to now; Tony jumped from last year to this year from behind the line?
COACH CHAMBERS: Shep -- Shep shot 32 last year. Now he's well above 40. I think it's player development. I think it's the effort that they put into it. I give a lot of credit to the players. Then you give credit to your staff for helping these guys along their journey. And just staying positive.

That's the other thing we do. We try to be positive. They're never going to look at me after a bad shot. They're never going to look at me if it's a poor decision.

They know, on the offensive end, they're going to have some freedoms, as long as they're buying in, sharing the ball, playing to our concepts. We've got to defend, rebound and play hard and we've got to compete on the other end.

I think because you give them that freedom and that confidence, shots are going to go in.

Q. With that charge by Shep, how does that represent the kind of player that he is and being one of your lone seniors?
COACH CHAMBERS: He embodies what a Penn State player is. That's Penn State basketball, to take a big-time charge at that point of the game where it could go either way. And he put his body on the line for his teammates, which is critical. That's what seniors do. That's what leaders do. But that also shows you where this program is headed.

We're willing to make those winning plays. That's what I told them in the huddle, that's a winning play. And the huddle was absolutely outstanding, the energy and juice that we had in that huddle is terrific.

Q. You were talking about progression and where the team's going. Talk about being able to close out a tight game like this, this isn't something that has always been able to happen in past games, and an environment like this and coming down to it and being able to finish of strong and seeing the Final Four.
COACH CHAMBERS: Good question. Early on, we didn't finish these games. But I think we learned from those setbacks. We learned from those experiences and we grew from them. We still have sophomores leading us.

So with every little failure, you're going to get a little bit better and you're going to learn from it. And I think they did.

Even though Northwestern went up there, I didn't see any panic in the huddle. I saw guys completely dialed in, focused on the next possession. And that takes a long time to do.

So you know what encourages me about this group is we can still get a lot better, and it's going to be fun coaching them.

Q. Question about the tournament, do you talk about that elephant in the room; that we need to win these games to get ourselves back in this conversation?
COACH CHAMBERS: No. You know the fabric I'm from, we don't talk about that. We talk about getting better. We talk about next game. We talk about next practice. We talk about next possession. We talk about every rep matters.

Why would I want to put that pressure on these kids? Everybody else is doing it. Social media is doing it. I just want to try to get these kids to the point where they're maximizing their potential.

Q. You've obviously had success against Ohio State this season. I know it's a new part of the season, tournament play is different. But as you prepare for a third matchup against a team like that, what's the confidence level like in a matchup like that and how do you approach playing a team that, they lost three times in the conference and you gave them two of them?
COACH CHAMBERS: It goes back to what Shep said. Those games are in the past. And Ohio State finished the season really strong. So they're a very confident bunch as well.

I think about the game at Indiana with the big 3 from C.J. This is a new slate, new game. We've got to prepare for everything. I'll enjoy this for the next I don't know 30 minutes we'll start working on Ohio State. We're going to throw the records out and be ready to compete against a very well-coached team in Chris Holtmann.

Q. How long do you continue to build off the momentum you had from tonight going into round three against Ohio State?
COACH CHAMBERS: We'll watch film at some point tomorrow. I'll let them see some successes because I want my team to be positive, upbeat and confident. Just really try to get better. That's our goal, try to get better. Don't worry about outcomes, like Tony said. We don't talk about outcomes. We talk about just getting better and control what we can control.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 1, 2018

Tony Carr

Patrick Chambers

Shep Garner