ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2025

Keon Ambrose-Hylton

Andy Enfield

Chuck Harris

Spectrum Center

SMU Mustangs

Postgame Press Conference

SMU 73, Syracuse 53

ANDY ENFIELD: Really proud of our team tonight. Defensively in the second half, they played outstanding defense and stimulated our offense. We got some deflections, some steals, some rebounds and were able to push the ball in transition, and I thought our guys played very, very hard tonight.

Q. What can you guys say about the development of this team defensively over the last couple months here, and are you playing where you want to be playing at the right time, defensively specifically?

CHUCK HARRIS: Early in the season that was one of our struggles and we came together, coaches and players, and made it try to be one of our focal points to improve on. Today I think we did a really good job. To be able to win a tournament like the ACC Tournament, you've definitely got to come together with some stops, so we've definitely been prioritizing that.

KEON AMBROSE-HYLTON: Yeah. We knew what the goal was going into the tournament, so we knew that we had to make sure that every possession matters when it came to rebounding, defense, knowing the scout. So we did a good job in this game of doing those keys.

Q. Specifically, when it comes to Syracuse with Starling and Lampkin, was there a specific focus around a couple of guys and how you had to key in on them? Was there anything specifically you did with any of their top players?

CHUCK HARRIS: Our coaches came up with a pretty good game plan. We know, offensively, those two guys, how they get going. So we definitely had a major focus on both of them, but we ultimately just did what we had to do to get some stops as a team and got the job done.

Q. Did you feel like you guys wore them down with your defensive pressure in the second half? What worked well for you guys defensively in the second half?

KEON AMBROSE-HYLTON: Definitely, I feel like we were a lot more aggressive in the gaps, especially when we get to the rim, we made sure to have always a hand in their face when they're contesting the shots, and we did a great job of defensive rebounding, and pushing the floor, getting them tired.

CHUCK HARRIS: We were also aware that they had a game yesterday, and I think in the second half, we went up 10, and the guys kind of huddled up and just said, this is the time to put the foot on the gas and keep it that way. And we ended up running away with it at the end.

Q. I wanted to get your early thoughts on playing Clemson tomorrow and what you remember from that game.

CHUCK HARRIS: We know they're a really good team. We're going to come in, probably, tomorrow morning. Coach is going to draw up a good game plan. We're going to get some rest throughout the day and come ready to play.

KEON AMBROSE-HYLTON: Yeah, we played them before with one of our guys sitting down, and it was still a close game. So I feel like going into this game, we know what we need to work on. We know the things we need to fix. And now having a point guard back, it's going to be a different ballgame, again, that we see coming to our side.

Q. Coach, Eddie Lampkin has really been the driving force for Syracuse over the last month. How did you emphasize to your team stopping him to stop Syracuse in total?

ANDY ENFIELD: Well, he only got two shot attempts tonight because we double-teamed every time he touched the ball. He's had an outstanding second half of the ACC season. He's a very good player, and we certainly respect him.

And so we try to get the ball out of his hands, make him pass. Forced him -- on our double-teams, I thought we did a great job of forcing some turnovers, deflections. We got a few steals on tipped balls, and just tried to prevent him from getting a lot of shot attempts.

Q. Similar question along the same lines. What did you do in terms of trying to limit J.J. Starling in terms of his ability to just drive the ball? Was it trying to keep him out of the lane? What did you do specifically in terms of your game plan?

ANDY ENFIELD: He's really hard to guard with one person. He's a terrific downhill driver. He made three threes tonight, and that's usually not the strength of his game, but he was really good. We just had to guard him for 40 minutes with our team. It's hard to guard him one-on-one, so we just tried to get as much help as we could. Sometimes when he got in the lane, we just switched late just to challenge every shot he took.

Q. Andy, in the second half, the defense was pretty good all night long, but really in the second half, it seemed, really, you shut them down. Did you change anything at halftime?

ANDY ENFIELD: We didn't change anything. We were disappointed we took a nine-point lead and then made two defensive mistakes that allowed them to get two threes right before halftime, and our guys were upset about that. They knew they made some mistakes. So they came out, it was on them.

You know, coaches can only try to put them in position with game planning and some play calls, but they did a tremendous job of playing together and very, very hard to start that second half and got us out to that lead.

Q. Going back to guarding Eddie, what did you see from your bigs, kind of bringing that intensity to match Eddie's, and how important is that for your team going forward in this Tournament?

ANDY ENFIELD: Yeah, we've been a very good team in the paint this year. We're not a high-volume, three-point shooting team. We're a very good three-point shooting percentage-wise, but we score a lot of points in the paint, and that was one of our goals, to try to outscore them in the paint tonight. And to do that, you have to stop Eddie Lampkin, at least limit his touches, limit his chances around the rim. He had two shot attempts tonight, and then we had 30 points in the paint, so we did our job.

Q. Semet left the game for a little bit. I saw he came back. Any update on him? Do you expect him to be fine tomorrow?

ANDY ENFIELD: I hope so. I hope so. He sat out one game earlier this year with an injury. We've had a lot of injuries. Boopie was out for five games, Semet one, Matt was out for a few. This is the time of year you need to be healthy. We're hoping for the best.

Q. Just preparing for Clemson, what do you see going into that game, and how do you keep them even-keeled going into a tough opponent like that?

ANDY ENFIELD: They've had an outstanding season. To be 18-2 in the league and not win the league is really amazing, too. But they deserve their ranking nationally. They're very experienced, very physical. We didn't have Boopie when we played them at home, so hopefully, that will make a little bit of difference with our speed and play making. But we have to come out and play outstanding defense all night for 40 minutes to have a chance to beat them.

Q. Do you feel like in the second half that the fact that Syracuse played yesterday really played a factor? How much did that play into the game, do you think?

ANDY ENFIELD: I mean, when I was in college, I could play every night. I don't know. I thought we just played really well in the second half.

We used our whole bench, so we tried to stay fresh, and that was the goal, to try to have a great second half. But we played a lot of guys tonight and used our bench.

Q. Coach, like you said, Boopie Miller has been out for a little bit towards the end of the regular season, played a few games at the end of the regular season. What kind of expectations do you have for him going into Clemson tomorrow?

ANDY ENFIELD: Well, he needs to play well. We're 21-6 -- what's our record, 23-9 right now? So we're 21-6 with him and 2-3 without him. That shows you how important it is to have him on the court. He leads us in scoring and assists and he's our point guard.

When you lose someone like that at a crucial part of the season, it really affected our team. We still battled, won a couple games. We lost some games that probably would have gone a different direction if we would have had him.