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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: TULSA

March 22, 2019

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Texas Tech - 72 Northern Kentucky - 57

THE MODERATOR: Northern Kentucky is with us now, Tyler Sharpe and Dantez Walton represent the student body for the Norse. Head coach is John Brannen. We're going to ask John for a statement on the game and go to questions for all three members of the Northern Kentucky crew.

John, please.

JOHN BRANNEN: Obviously want to congratulate Texas Tech. They're everything they're contracted up to be in terms of defensively. I did have concerns on ability to score and that showed up today. Their physicality. I was hoping we'd get to the foul line more in terms of driving the basketball. We weren't able to do that at all. Their physicality just kind of put us in situations that we weren't comfortable with, and then we just didn't shoot the ball well. 5 of 22. Two of our leading scorers were 4 of 25. It happens.

I told our guys I apologize. I wish I could have put them in some better situations to be able to assist with that. That being said, 26 - 9, you sit up here as a mid major school with an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament and continue to advance. 15 seed, 14 seed this year.

You know, I couldn't be more proud of our young men and for what they've accomplished. NCAA Tournament is all about matchups. I felt like we had a few other matchups that would favor us a little bit better than tonight's did. I think that came to fruition.

We'll continue to put ourselves in position. The guys to my left here were amazing tonight and the have been all season. We won't define ours by one game. We're 26 - 9. What they've accomplished the last three years has never been done in the history of basketball. Couldn't be more proud of them, and we'll get better from this and we'll continue to put ourselves in position to be sitting up here answering questions in the NCAA Tournament.

Q. Coach, very tight game at halftime. Then it opened up there a little bit in the second half. What was the key difference for Tech being able to break it up a little bit?
JOHN BRANNEN: We really defended in the first half despite struggling offensively. In the second half, those struggles offensively carried over to the defensive, which I was concerned about. The gaps -- listen, Culver is an NBA player, okay. He's going to be in the NBA. The gaps he had opened up a great deal for him in the second half because we were in the same position we were in the first half, because of frustration, fatigue, maybe, physicality and athleticism they bring to the table as a high major school is impressive. Combination of those two things.

Q. John, a follow-up on Culver, his activity driving to the basket, 3-point shooting, assisting. He accounted for 38 of the first 57 points. How much of a handful was he, if you could expand on that, please?
JOHN BRANNEN: I don't know what else to say. He's a tough matchup. He can put the ball on the floor and score. We wanted to make him a passer. Wanted to have him have a high assist night. He had 7 assists. We didn't think that's what he did well.

Q. John, looked like Drew hit a couple shots early on that he ordinarily makes in and out. Were those the kind of shots that need to go in for you guys to have a chance?
JOHN BRANNEN: Those shots got to go in for us to be in position. Any 14, 3 upset that you'll have in the tournament, guys are going to make shots. We were 5 for 22.

Q. Tyler, they were approaching double figures in blocked shots today. Did their interior presence make you hesitate in attacking inside?
TYLER SHARPE: I don't know if it necessarily made us hesitate. I know for sure that they effected a lot of shots, even the ones they didn't block. They have some long athletic guys that can really get up and they make shots very tough and they do a good job of going straight up without fouling. I think they effected a lot of shots and floaters and finishes at the rim we usually make were getting altered a little bit, which hurt our percentage.

Q. With Drew, the way they were shooting, missing some shots, what was your mindset like being the guy that was putting the ball in the basket?
TYLER SHARPE: Just had the same mindset I come into every game with. We rely on Drew a lot. He's led us this whole season. He's led us his whole career. So I didn't feel like I had to necessarily take his role because we trust him. Even if he's missed every shot, we trust he's going to make the next one. I took what the defense gave me and basically just had the same approach I always have.

Q. Coach, did you anticipate Texas Tech's point of emphasis on stopping Drew McDonald?
JOHN BRANNEN: Yes.

Q. Dantez, you had a pretty great rebounding game. Do you want to explain the confidence that you kept throughout the game to do that?
DANTEZ WALTON: Coach brought it to our attention early in our game plan that we need to attack the glass defensively and offensively. So, I just tried to keep that on my mind heavy, and it paid off.

Q. Coach, what was the message in the locker room with the season you guys had and now those seniors moving on? What was the message after a loss like this?
JOHN BRANNEN: One game doesn't define us. We had an unbelievable season. We're appreciative. We're not sitting here today without Drew McDonald and Zaynah Robinson and the contributions they made. Really, the brand of Kentucky is really something that recognizes a championship program. We're going to put ourselves in a position to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully get better seeds doing what we're doing.

The message was thankful, grateful to two seniors, and the challenge of keep getting back here to the guys that are returning, which we have a pretty large group returning. And just for me, my gratitude towards them, really was the biggest thing. You know, we went through the course in February, we were 4 - 4 and things could have gone either way. These guys made the decision they were going to finish the season and be the team that they were supposed to be, and I just told them how much I appreciated them for that.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the gentlemen from Northern Kentucky? Okay. Thank you very much. Best of luck.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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