2026 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 12, 2026

Jamie Dixon

Liutauras Lelevicius

David Punch

T-Mobile Center

TCU Horned Frogs

Postgame Press Conference

Kansas - 78, TCU - 73

JAMIE DIXON: Proud of our guys, proud of how we played and proud of how we've improved as the year's gone on, gotten better. And we're a good team, a very good team. I thought we'd win this game but we didn't. And so we're going to learn from it, learn from the loss, and find ways to get better here as we go into the NCAA Tournament.

So proud of our effort, proud the improvement, proud of the guys committing to one another. And obviously you it doesn't take a genius to figure out, look at the stat sheet and see where the game was won. So no need to discuss.

Q. Punch, I'm just curious, how physical was the game going up against their front court? And how do those environments bring out the best of you? You had a strong game tonight.

DAVID PUNCH: I look forward to these types of games. Playing against a front court like that, you're going to get it in the Big 12. And I'm blessed to be here. I look forward to it every night, like I said.

Q. Jamie, could you speak to the growth of Punch this year from where he was last year as a freshman?

JAMIE DIXON: Yeah, I mean, he practiced really hard this stretch, our whole team has. Every guy on the floor, all 16 guys. Our practices have been good. They've been efficient. They've been focused. They've been intense.

And when we're not going live, they value the information, the scouting reports. So he's part of that. It's what you want to do. You want to have growth. You want to see guys get better. That's what guys do in our program.

And that's why you coach. That's why you put teams together and you want to see guys improve individually and collectively, and he certainly has.

He's continuing to get better, as has LT. LT had eight rebounds today. I've been on him a lot about rebounding. And to see that eight come up there is pretty impressive. He's become a really good defenders. Both guys are really good defenders.

We have a lot of really good defenders. The whole team is very good defenders. Just proud of their improvement, their commitment to one another and their cohesiveness.

Q. LT, I talked to your teammates earlier this week. They all praise how you've remained bought in, playing some of your best basketball despite coming off the bench. What about this group that's made this so easy for you to buy in, continue to play so well coming off the bench?

LIUTAURAS LELEVICIUS: I don't even know, to be honest. It's just easy to play with them. They know where to find me. I know what to do for them to find me. I don't try to do anything special on the court outside my role. I just know where to cut, where to rebound. Or I don't know, just play defense at certain periods of time.

So it's good to play with them, especially with guys like Brock and Jayden who will find you whenever you're open. Yeah. I don't even know what else to say. It's fun.

Q. I know it's not the results you wanted tonight, but you guys have won nine out of your last 11 games. What do you feel like this team has learned about itself as you guys get ready for March Madness, Punch or LT?

DAVID PUNCH: I'm proud of the guys. We didn't expect this at the beginning of the season, but we willed ourselves here. We're super proud of ourselves. So even with a loss like this, we keep our heads high and we know what we have in store for us, and every game we get better.