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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: LOUISVILLE


March 17, 2012


Scott Christopherson

Fred Hoiberg

Royce White


LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

Kentucky – 87
Iowa State – 71


THE MODERATOR:  We have Coach Hoiberg and the Iowa State student‑athletes on their way to the interview room.  We're going to begin with an opening statement from head coach Fred Hoiberg.  Coach?
COACH HOIBERG:  First of all, congratulations to Kentucky on playing a great game.  In fact, Cal after the game came up to me and told me that's the best game they played all year.  They can't play any better than they did.
They were 15 for 64 from the three‑point line the last five games, and they come out tonight and shoot 10 for 20.  You take your hat off to them.  They hit tough shots.  Hit shots with the shot clock running down.  They were very good in transition, I thought.
But I thought we battled.  After them going on an initial run of 7‑20 to start out, we called a time‑out and came back, and after they threw the first punch, we counter‑punched and cut the lead to four.  In the second half, we came out with a great effort.  I thought our movement was outstanding after we were a little stagnant on the first half, and we got it all the way back to an even score.
That's a testament to our guys.  That's who we've been all year.  It's a very resilient group that fights all the way to the finish.  It's a group I'll always remember.  The thing I'll remember most is how those guys came together as a team.  We have nothing to hang our head about.  We just lost to the Number 1 seed that played an unbelievable basketball game.
We're going to walk out of Lexington‑‑ I'm sorry.  Where are we?  Louisville ‑‑ with our head held high.
THE MODERATOR:  Now we'll direct questions to the student‑athletes.

Q.  What happened with the three‑point shooting for you guys tonight?  Was the defense that good or something else?
SCOTT CHRISTOPHERSON:  They did a great job on defense.  They're so long and athletic.  They can do so many different things, switching and hedging ball screens.
Like Coach said, you've got to give them credit.  They played an outstanding game.  They're one of the best defensive, if not the best defensive team in the country with their length and athleticism.  You've got to give them the credit.

Q.  How motivated were you to play tonight, and then I guess how much does it hurt to end up on the losing end of this?
ROYCE WHITE:  I was very motivated tonight just because of what's at stake, possibly having a berth in the Sweet 16, what that means for Iowa State and our team has worked really hard.  Definitely disappointing.
The most disappointing thing is personally it just feels like we let Ames down.  Even though we had an over‑exceeding season, but the end of the day, you want to keep going and give giving them that excitement back home.  We couldn't get it done today.  So that definitely hurts.

Q.  Royce, could you discuss your battle with Terrence Jones, how he guarded you, what you thought of the matchup you guys had.
ROYCE WHITE:  It was a good one.  I've known Terrence since high school.  He's a year younger than me.  He's always been a good player even coming up through high school and the circuit.
So it was fun.  It was fun between me and him.  Obviously, he did enough for them to get the win.  I didn't do enough.
THE MODERATOR:  Okay, guys.  You're excused.  Thank you for your time.
Now questions for Coach Hoiberg.

Q.  Coach, you mentioned earlier about how they had not shot well from the perimeter.  How well did you guys keep them on the perimeter yet they make the shots?
COACH HOIBERG:  You have to take something away from them.  With the way they had been shooting the ball, we tried to take the inside away.  They still got out in transition and got some lobs.  Teague is extremely fast with the ball.
But, again, with this team, everybody they put in the game gives them a lift.  Miller had it going tonight.  I thought he was phenomenal.  Lamb was hitting shots.  I thought Teague was the difference maker with his ability to get through us in transition.  That really hurt us.
When Bubu Palo went out of the game, I thought he was the one guy we had to slow down a little bit.  But they shoot 10 for 20 from three.  Our biggest strength is the three‑point shot, and we go 3 for 22.  We're not going to win very many games when we shoot the ball like that.
THE MODERATOR:  Coach, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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