PROVO, Utah - BYU received a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament and will face No. 7-seed Oregon on Thursday in Milwaukee, Wis. Below are quotes from BYU head coach Dave Rose and several players about being selected to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team and having faced Oregon previously this season.
BYU head coach Dave Rose
Being selected:
“Once you get past the emotion and excitement of being in the tournament, you get hit pretty hard with your opponent. We’re familiar with our opponent. I can remember the locker room in Eugene and the disappointment in our guys. For a lot of reasons I think our guys will be really excited to play.”
Waiting to find out NCAA fate:
“When we left Las Vegas we were disappointed in the result. We lost to a high 20s RPI team and we were in the high 20s, lows 30s. We actually felt like we had a chance and we just had to see how the next three, four, five days turned out.”
“Thursday was a good day. Friday was an even better day and Saturday was a great day as far as how the rest of the teams played out.”
Scheduling:
“This is the first time with the league change a couple years ago and your schedules are out a year or two, that we decided we were going to change the model to a certain extent. We got a couple of those games, but quite a few got away from us. I believe these guys went through a really difficult schedule in the nonconference and I’m glad to see they were rewarded for it.”
On seeing BYU’s matchup vs. Oregon:
“We all went crazy. It was an exciting moment for us, especially being familiar with a team that we had a chance to beat at their place.”
Feelings after loss to Oregon:
“Obviously, we were disappointed. We had our chances to win that game, but they’re a great team. They’re very talented and we’re excited to get another shot at them.”
Replacing Kyle:
“We’ve had a few practices and we’re all just going to have to step up because replacing Kyle, you can’t do it. We’re all going to have to step up, especially rebounding-wise.”
On facing Oregon again:
“We do like this matchup. They play a fun style, an up-tempo style, that we like.”
On getting an at-large bid:
“We were kind of sweating a little bit. When we saw our name called it was a big relief for everyone.”
What got BYU into the NCAA tournament:
“I think it was our strength of schedule. We took a big challenge in our preseason to go out and play people. I think we had some big wins late in the season and we’re playing our best basketball right now.”
Left best impression in WCC tournament:
“I thought we gave our best impression. Obviously, we didn’t have our best game in the championship, but we won a few games and our conference is tough. Every game is a challenge and I felt like we left it all out on the table, but we were pretty confident we were going to get in.”
On watching the selection show:
“We were watching as each spot was getting filled and our chances were getting slimmer and slimmer. To finally see our name come up was an exciting feeling.”
“It’s exciting because down the stretch we had them. To know you had a team like that beat and you’re going in to face them again at a neutral site, it’s something we’re going to prepare for.”
Playing without Kyle:
“Emotionally it has been tough because he’s such a key part of our team. He does so much for us and to come into practice without him is an unreal feeling and we know we all have to step up and overcome. It’s just a process of us having to step up and make more plays now.”
Feelings on his first NCAA tournament:
“I’m excited. I think we’re in a good spot. I like the spot we’re in. I think we have a good chance where we’re at.”
Feelings after Oregon loss:
“It was tough because it was right after our Utah loss. We were all pretty bummed to finish off the preseason like that before our first two conference games. None of us felt like we had very good games so we’re all ready to play them again.”