OTF Premium NCAA Tournament press conference with Sean Miller and Texas players before facing BYU

[Jeff Howe]

After Tuesday’s 68-66 win over North Carolina State in the First Four in Dayton, Texas made the quick trip to Portland, Ore., ahead of its NCAA Tournament first round game against BYU at Moda Center on Thursday (6:25 p.m., TBS).

Coach Sean Miller and three of the Longhorns’ top players — Dailyn Swain, Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope — will be a part of the pregame press conference before tangling with the Cougars. Miller, who has guided Texas (19-14) further than last year’s squad by advancing out of Dayton in his first NCAA Tournament game with the Longhorns, said after the win over the Wolfpack that, with the First Four behind them, “there's power in playing a game in this tournament.”

“I've referenced it three or four times, where sometimes a player or a team is not themselves,” Miller said. “I don't want to say jitters, but March Madness looms big. We fought literally from game one when we played Duke in Charlotte to make this tournament, and finally, you're here and now you're close to advancing.

"I think our nerves sometimes can settle through Game 1," he added. "You can gain confidence. You already have one game to your advantage, but we're going to have to play a really good team and we're definitely going to have to play better than we played tonight. We know that. But we get that opportunity. That's the thrill of it."

OTF will have updates from the press conference as the Longhorns make their way to the podium in Portland.

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[Jeff Howe]

We're off and running with the press conference.

Dailyn Swain said he was motivated last night by the crowd's heat directed toward Sean Miller.

[Jeff Howe]

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

We're off and running with the press conference.

Dailyn Swain said he was motivated last night by the crowd's heat directed toward Sean Miller.

"It gave us a chip on our shoulder more than we had," Tramon Mark said.

 

[Jeff Howe]

The players said they got somewhere between five and seven hours of sleep.

"It was definitely an interesting 10 hours," Jordan Pope said.

[Jeff Howe]

Mark described BYU as "a great offensive team."

[Jeff Howe]

Swain said BYU "held their own in a great conference" when asked about the Cougars.

[Jeff Howe]

Pope, who transferred from Oregon State, said it feels good to be back on the West Coast.

[Jeff Howe]

Pope said he loved his time at Oregon State, but he's happy to be where he is now, in Austin with the Longhorns.

[Jeff Howe]

Pope said playing in the Pac-12 was his dream. The Pac-12 blowing up played a big role in him transferring, but he said he's thankful to be a Longhorn.

[Jeff Howe]

Swain said he sees himself as an NBA player, so going against a guy like AJ Dybantsa can help bring out the best in him.

With that said, Swain said he's focused on the team first and doing what he can to help Texas advance.

[Jeff Howe]

On avoiding jet lag and not coming out sluggish, Mark said it won't be a challenge.

Swain said it's a privilege to travel the way the Longhorns do. Everyone is an adult, he said, and he said he likes the advantage of Texas having already played a game.

[Jeff Howe]

Pope said you shouldn't need more motivation than playing a team like BYU with a chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

[Jeff Howe]

On making the transition from the First Four to the first round, Swain said last night felt familiar after going through it last year.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "We were all super blessed to be there and, hopefully, this year we can capitalize on it, for sure."

[Jeff Howe]

That's it for the players.

Sean Miller will be available in about five minutes.

[Jeff Howe]

Miller said it feels like the NC State game "ended about 10 minutes ago."

[Jeff Howe]

Going back to what he said last night after the win, Miller said "there's a lot of good stuff that comes in March from being able to win a game."

[Jeff Howe]

The team's flight was delayed getting out of Dayton because there wasn't a plane immediately available. They left at 3:30 a.m. local time and arrived in Portland around 5:30 a.m. local time.

[Jeff Howe]

Miller said he likes the advantage of playing a game in the tournament compared to the disadvantages that come with the travel.

[Jeff Howe]

Miller said AJ Dybantsa is a special college player that you don't see too often. Miller said it's hard to put any freshman this year ahead of Darius Acuff Jr. at Arkansas, but he said that Dybantsa is special.

[Jeff Howe]

Dybantsa's size, mobility, skill level, basketball IQ and his ability to get to the foul line are the things that make him special.

Dybantsa's scoring ability at his size is impressive, Miller said.

[Jeff Howe]

Dybantsa is a great player, but Miller said BYU is a very good team.

[Jeff Howe]

Miller: "BYU has always been a very basketball-centric place... They're clearly competing for the top prize. We have a lot of respect for the Big 12 Conference. When you look at the top teams in that conference — they're definitely one of the top teams."

[Jeff Howe]

On Ryan Anderson leaving the bench after Tramon Mark's shot last night, Miller said the emotion of March Madness is what makes it spectacular. Still, "all of us have to make sure we don't get caught up in it."

Miller is glad that the game didn't end on a technical foul.

[Jeff Howe]

Miller said Chendall Weaver's performance last night was a great example of a senior who rose to the challenge and put everything on the line to avoid the end of his career.

"He really did it all," Miller said. "A big reason why we advanced was him rising to the challenge and playing the way he did."

[Jeff Howe]

That's it for Sean Miller and the Texas players from Portland.