NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MARYLAND VS UCONN

March 20, 2021

Isaiah Whaley

Mackey Arena

UConn Huskies

Postgame Media Conference

Maryland - 63, UConn - 54

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Isaiah Whaley. We'll begin the press conference. Use the raise hand function to indicate you have a question.

Q. Sorry for the tough loss tonight against Maryland. You guys came in in the second half, seemed like you guys were playing a little bit better. What did you guys see in the second half to get yourself -- you're in there with five minutes to go?

ISAIAH WHALEY: We were trying our hardest to just keep doing what we do by offensive rebounding and play our hardest on defense. And credit to them, they were making a lot of shots. We were just trying to get more involved offensively and trying not to settle. But credit to them as well.

Q. Can you talk about the frustration factor; you've got all those offensive rebounds and very little to show for it is there a time when (indiscernible)?

ISAIAH WHALEY: Yes, it's really frustrating. A lot of offensive rebounds and not really a lot of points from it. So that was really frustrating. But I'm proud of my team for being tough and keep on offensive rebounding, though.

Q. Maryland had an efficient night shooting the ball. You guys struggled especially early to sort of keep up with that. What goes through your mind trying to stop a team that's so efficient shooting over 50 percent from the field and from 3?

ISAIAH WHALEY: Mainly just trying to make it hard for them and really trying to turn up the pressure a little bit, force them to get turnovers and stuff. But credit to them again by just shooting the ball really well. We knew they got really good players. So we try to let the players that don't shoot like the highest percentages shoot a little bit more. But credit to them. They even made shots, too. So, yeah.

Q. You all played a physical style and that showed up getting all those early offensive rebounds. But was Maryland one of the more physical teams, they answered that a little bit, threw you all off your game offensively?

ISAIAH WHALEY: No. They just switched a lot of things and not really any play calls, a lot for them switching everything. And we played a lot of physical teams this year, especially in the Big East. But they're a really good defensive team, but they're probably not the most physical team we've played.

Q. After the disappointing night fades, how do you view this season?

ISAIAH WHALEY: I view it as a big step, especially for the program. And I'm proud of everybody for sticking to it. We went through a lot this year, especially with the COVID pauses. And everybody was going through stuff individually. But we stuck through it. And we just kept fighting ourselves. I see it as a big step for the program and it's only up from here.

Q. Talk about the different locker room atmosphere following the Creighton loss and tonight. How tough was this for you guys as a team just given everything that the season has been?

ISAIAH WHALEY: It's really tough. It feels -- it feels like it hasn't ended yet. But it's tough, though. Everybody's feeling it. But we have a strong bond with each other. So we're going to support each other and stick together.

Q. Obviously Maryland doesn't have the same bigs you guys have inside. What were they able to do inside to sort of keep the play even despite the rebounding margin?

ISAIAH WHALEY: They were able to double down on the posts and front the posts and we missed a lot of shots. They were able to get the rebounds off our missed shots. They're a real physical tough team as well.