Skip to content

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.

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

  • Moderators

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

  • Moderators

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."

  • Moderators

That's it for the players.

Sean Miller will be available in about five minutes.

  • Moderators

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

  • Moderators

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."

  • Moderators

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.

  • Moderators

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

  • Moderators

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.

  • Moderators

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.

  • Moderators

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

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Add a comment...

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.