NCAA Men's 1st and 2nd Rounds: Des Moines Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Des Moines, Iowa John Beilein Ignas Brazdeikis next task. ZAVIER SIMPSON: Our focus is Montana. We're just Zavier Simpson trying to get better every single day. Charles Matthews Q. Based off the run from last year what's the Michigan Wolverines biggest take away that you guys take from that three-week experience to try to make sure that y'all THE MODERATOR: Pleased to have with us student- are in the right frame of mind yourselves and athletes, University of Michigan, Ignas Brazdeikis, passing that on to someone like Iggy? Charles Matthews, and Zavier Simpson. Questions for CHARLES MATTHEWS: You've got to take one game our student-athletes? at a time. That's one thing I noticed from last year. You've got to have a little bit of luck and we had a crazy Q. What was your guys' first reaction to seeing shot to continue our run. But staying in the moment Montana again in the Selection Show and you guys and having the most fun and enjoying each and every had just got done playing and your first thoughts? night. Those are the teams that have the most IGNAS BRAZDEIKIS: I wasn't here last year, but this is success around this time. really exciting for me. Any team we would have played I would have been just as excited for anyone else. We ZAVIER SIMPSON: I would just tell the young guys to are not going to take anyone for granted. We're going enjoy every moment, practice, the media, everything to be ready to go and I'm just excited for this leading up to it because it goes by quick and last year opportunity. we were so focused on winning this, I don't think we got a chance to enjoy being in the NCAA tournament, CHARLES MATTHEWS: It was a coincidence that we which is unfortunate for every team. ended up playing the same team we played last year. They are a really talented team and we are excited to Q. Charles, you were on you a great scoring run play them tomorrow. before you hurt your ankle and you tried to get back in the groove with the Big Ten tournament. ZAVIER SIMPSON: Yeah, extremely talented team. Talk about that? Excited to have the opportunity to play. CHARLES MATTHEWS: It's a process. I understand injuries are part of the game. Like I said, there is no Q. Coming off the loss with Michigan State this pressure on me, though. I have so many great past week is there any areas that you guys are teammates around me where I can ease myself back looking forward to being able to work on in this into the game, back into the flow of things. But I'm game on Thursday? confident in my abilities. I know I will be back to where IGNAS BRAZDEIKIS: I feel like we got a lot better as a I was before, prior to this injury and right now I'm trying team in the Big Ten tournament. It didn't go the way to help the team win, whatever role is needed. we wanted it to, but I feel like we learned a lot of different things and now I feel like we're moving the ball Q. Charles, at Kentucky you were playing 10 really well. We are locked in on the defense end and I minutes a game and now you're playing 30 minutes feel like we're getting better and better and you will see a game for a really good team. Is this what you the best of us in this tournament. envisioned when you transferred to Michigan? CHARLES MATTHEWS: That was the goal, but I knew CHARLES MATTHEWS: Our approach right now is I was about to put the work in and earn my coaching really just taking it with a clean slate, try to forget about staff to trust me to be out there for that amount of time. that loss. We understand that we wanted to win that Right now it's not so much about Kentucky. I've been game, but we can't let that lose us another game in this gone from there forever. Now it's just trying to get back tournament. We gotta be fresh minded and take on the to the icing on the cake right now. Rev #1 by #189 at 2019-03-20 21:06:00 GMT page 1 of 3 Q. Charles, last year against Montana you had 20 have a tournament like this and so much interest points and 11 rebounds. Do you approach this coming into this area. My first time coming here. rematch similarly knowing it's a similar group with Looks like a wonderful place to live. Looks like we're not Montana or is it different for you this time? going to have great excitement here and you can CHARLES MATTHEWS: Honestly, I just play to win guarantee Michigan is excited to be part of this round every game I play. I never go into there with the of 64 by the time we play. mindset I've got to get X amount of points, X amount of rebounds, X amount of assists. It never really mattered Q. John, the players will know that it's Montana to me, throughout the game I heat up, do what I need again, everybody has probably asked and talked to do for the team. Last year we had some early foul about that already, but from the coach's troubles and I knew I needed to do more on the perspective you have to balance the confidence offensive end and rebound as well. that you have in your guys with the fear of any complacency that they might have in a first-round Q. Do you guys know anything about the state of game. Do you have any extra worries that you Montana at all? have to guard against knowing that this is the IGNAS BRAZDEIKIS: I'm from Canada, so I definitely same way, the road that went so well last year is don't know too much about Montana. Pass it on to starting again? How do you make sure that that Charles. deja vu factor doesn't make your players complacent? CHARLES MATTHEWS: It's on the west coast. JOHN BEILEIN: I hope it doesn't go the way it did last year. They were ahead of us 10-nothing to the start ZAVIER SIMPSON: I don't. the game, and they have a lot of guys back. I don't know if Akoh is going to play. I know he might. We Q. Montana runs a pretty heavy guard off and have three guys that played any minutes in this type of they're shorter than you guys. Is that going to game at all. We are a little brand new to playing in this change the way you play? Is there anything that type of game. They know Montana is even better than you are excited to change when you face them they were last year, and like you say, we were up by 3 Thursday? at half and very fortunate to win by 13 points. IGNAS BRAZDEIKIS: We always have a specific game plan for each team we play. So depending on what So it wasn't a 30, 40-point game. They're a good team. they have, we kind of adjust our offense, defense. But Every team playing in the tournament is a champion every single game we play hard, you know? We never and the way they have played without their big guy out let down for anyone. We don't tape anyone for granted, is really going to present problems for a lot of high so we're going to come into this game like it's the major teams because they're going to spread you out national championship game, and that's the mindset with all guards and that can work really well. we've got to have. I feel like if we have that mindset we will be fine. Q. John, the 10-0 run that Montana started with last year, do you think that works to your advantage CHARLES MATTHEWS: We don't take anyone for knowing that these guys like Zavier and Charles granted, but they are a smaller team and that produces won't take them lightly this time around? strengths for them as well, and that helps to create for JOHN BEILEIN: They know that and we've been really themselves and others. So I feel like we're going to good so far this year. You go into your games early. respond to it. You have your games where you've beat the team already, right? And we've been able to really respond. ZAVIER SIMPSON: They're going to present We usually respond pretty well after losses, too, and challenges, great guard play, great team and coaching we had a tough one Sunday. We've been really good staff. So I'm excited for the game, and we just have to at that. I hope that trend continues. But I think our kids do our best to contain them. are sometimes unique to other teams. I think they get all that part, right, that we don't look past anybody, that THE MODERATOR: Thanks, gentlemen. we are ready to play every day. We would like to welcome Michigan head coach, John Q.