Indiana 76, St. John's 74
Q. Trayce, wanted to get your thoughts, Tamar and Jordan, the how they played and the lift they gave you?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, Tamar coming in, hitting big shot after big shot, his confidence is growing and he's going to continue to build on that and Jordan in the second half, coming in, hitting a three right when he comes in and hitting a baseline reverse and a jumper, those are just contributions, that's what Coach Woodson said, next guy up.
And then another player you didn't mention, Khristian Lander also coming in with big minutes and playing good minutes and hitting a tough layup.
So Coach Woodson says when your name is called, you've got to be ready to play and those guys stepped up and we needed them for this win.
Q. Got a little chippy early. Did that add to the atmosphere, and how was to play in front of that crowd tonight?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: That crowd it was electric, honestly. Big thanks to them because when you're not -- last year, we lost a lot of games like that and we didn't have that crowd.
So having that crowd coming into Assembly Hall rocking like that, we are going to need that in the future because the games are just going to get tougher.
Q. Race, can you talk about how much it means to you guys as a team to have to scrap for one there and get away with a victory from a momentum thing, confidence thing, attitude thing, everything?
RACE THOMPSON: Yeah, definitely gives us confidence. Last year we struggled closing out games and Coach Woodson said it's a new year, and we're not doing that no more. It's our home court and we protect our home court at all costs. We make the plays that need to be made at the end of the games to win the games.
Q. Tamar goes off for 11 in the first half and Jordan can has big moments in the second half; how impressed are you with both of those guys?
RACE THOMPSON: I mean, yeah, they bring it every day in practice. So like me and Trayce, we see it every single day. We are not surprised when they step up and they make those plays because they do it every single day.
So like Trayce said earlier, it's Next Man Up. You come in, you're ready to play. And they come in and they were ready to play and it showed.
Q. You had a really key bucket in the last minute there with that floater across the lane. Tell us what you saw on that play and is that something you practice?
RACE THOMPSON: I mean, a little bit, yeah, we work on the range shots, tough shots float shots. Khristian Lander has been pushing me to shoot that shot. I do it in practice and I do it just messing around. I work on it, of course, but it's just confidence in myself, and my teammates believe in me and coaches believe in me to make that play, so I definitely have confidence to go and shoot that ball.
Q. Khristian sort of stacked in behind, Xavier stacked in behind Rob. Just how valuable is that guard depth, a night like this in particular when you are facing a press, how much confidence does it give you to go three-deep at that spot?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, it's crazy, we have so much depth at the guard position. X got in foul trouble, so Rob was playing, and so Rob was playing. And Rob got in foul trouble, and Khristian and he stepped in and did his thing; so salute to him. It's only going to help his confidence and help him get better. We really need it and I'm glad that he succeeded in this moment.
Q. Seemed like late in the game, Tamar especially in huddles, he was being very, vocal, and I guess what has impressed you from the intangible that he has shown, and especially in a game like this that?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Tamar is a guy that he's an intensity guy and he's going to keep bringing it. He wants to win so badly. He's a guy that's not afraid to be vocal and we knew that coming in. Even from the first time he stepped on campus, he was super vocal and that's what we need. Because our team is going to need some talk and be -- we're a family; so we can communicate with each other like that.
Q. It looked like St. John's would get a good bucket, get a little bit of momentum, and you guys would shut them off. What was it you guys did that was key to holding them off the whole game?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: In the first half we took away a lot of their actions and we were contesting a lot of their shots, and they weren't getting any good looks.
And then in the second half, we kind of settled in a little bit and they started getting shots. And when you let a team feel comfortable, they are going to make you pay for it. So Champagnie started getting comfortable and he knocking down some shots, and salute to him. He's a great player.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports