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

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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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.

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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.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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