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POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE - VILLANOVA

Head coach Jay Wright...

Opening statement: I'm so proud of these guys. They got me. They got me really bad in the locker room. It was reminiscent of the Big East Championship. I should have anticipated it. But I wear it as a badge of honor. It's like being -- you know, when you're a parent, you think your kids are the greatest, and then when you see them live that out and become great, it just makes your heart swell. Even if they would have lost, you still think they're great, but you can see they've proved to everybody else they're great, and I'm so proud of them and happy for them. I definitely want to say that that Kansas team is a championship team. That's a national caliber -- National Championship-caliber team. They made every single correct play down the stretch. They hit the three, they got the layup, they fouled the right guys. We made the foul shots. They kept coming until we got a steal at the end. That's a great team. Never went away, made every right play. I have all the respect in the world for Bill and their program. And, specifically, this team this year.

On the difference between the feeling this year compared to making the Final Four in 2009: I think the first time, you're kind of in shock. You don't know what to expect. This time, it's -- you know what it is. It's the next game. You've been there. Now we've got to make sure they approach it the same way. It's definitely different. That first time is overwhelming. And there's a lot of things that go on there that people tell you about and they try to help you, but until you get there and experience it, it's hard to understand that. I hope we'll be better prepared this time.

On the game plan for defending Perry Ellis: We played him mostly straight. We played zone. We played man-to-man. But we just always tried to find where he was. We really didn't double him too many times. I don't -- I don't know if we doubled him once. But we were very aware of trying to limit his touches. Bill's a great coach. As soon as they started the second half, bang, bang, they got him inside differently than they were trying to get him in the first half. That got us. One of the good things about our timeout -- it wasn't a good -- we turned the ball over. We did not start off well. But it gave us a chance to explain to the guys what they were doing differently now to get him the ball. And we did a little bit better job. If we didn't turn that ball over and they didn't score and get a foul on Kris, and we didn't call timeout, I don't know if we'd have been able to adjust. So it actually helped a little bit that way. Bill knows how to get him the ball, and we just kept -- we had Mikal Bridges on him. We had Jenkins on him. That's why he got in foul trouble. We had Hart on him. We had Ochefu on in a little bit. We tried to keep different bodies on him.

On Mikal Bridges and whether playing Daniel Ochefu and Darryl Reynolds together was part of the Perry Ellis strategy: It was more a Kansas strategy. And we've wanted to do that all year, but Daniel Ochefu was hurt and not playing a lot. So Darryl, we couldn't afford to play them together. We had Darryl playing so many minutes. But it was important in that game. We got some good minutes out of those guys. And if Mikal Bridges hadn't played so well at the end, we were going to go big defensively. But Mikal was playing so big himself and getting rebounds and defending Ellis that we just stayed with him.

On free throw shooting: We do spend a lot of time on it all year round. We spend a lot of time on technique shooting. We spend a lot of time on every possible situation in foul shooting, every day in practice. With people on the line, without people on the line, a three-shot foul, a two-shot foul. We even practice missing a foul shot in case we're -- if we're down two and we have one shot with three seconds left, you know. So it's a big part of our program all year round.

On the two late steals by Mikal Bridges: He's huge. It's a decision you have to make at the end of the game. Do we go into our press and try to get a turnover or slow them up knowing that Mason's so good. He could split it and get them an easy shot. We took a chance. And it's basketball. You take a chance, and the kid makes a great play. Mikal Bridges comes from behind. On that play, I thought they called a foul on Kansas diving at our guy's legs and taking our guy's legs out. We were actually preparing for a free throw right there. And we only had one timeout left. And we came out. Our guys were not prepared for side OB. They did that all on their own. I just thought they were trying to see who the foul was on. I've got to see that on film. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying we were unprepared, and it speaks to the leadership of Ryan and Daniel on the floor to get into our sideline out of bounds, our backcourt sideline out of bounds, get the ball in and up the floor. We caught a break there. We caught a break.

On how rewarding it was to see the guys step up and rise to the occasion down the stretch: Coaching is a lot like parenting. You just believe in your guys so much and you're telling them how great they can be. And you know it. You see it in them, but they're 18 to 22 years old. Sometimes they don't realize it and you get them maybe 75 percent of the way there and they leave you. You feel good for them, they got partly there, but you feel like you failed them a little bit. It's the greatest feeling in the world to see these guys get to that point where everyone else sees that they're as good as we see they can be, and that they see -- I could tell in that locker room, there wasn't as much -- they had more fun in the locker room soaking me, they were having fun with that. But after that, it was a real sense of accomplishment and I think they really felt good about themselves individually. And that's the greatest thing you can -- that you can experience as a coach.

On whether it was water or Powerade that was showered on him: They did the same thing in the Big East Tournament. I should have thought about it. They hid behind a wall. When I walked in, they had cold, really cold bottles of water, all of them and they just doused me. They just continued to do it. Kept coming. Took my breath away. I know what those football coaches feel like now. I'm just glad I'm not outside and it's 20 degrees. I can't imagine that.

Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono...

On whether the moment was how he dreamed it: This is just a total team effort and it was everything that I dreamed of. And I can't speak for Daniel, but I would think it was unbelievable to know where we've been from our freshman year and to go through the struggles that we went through throughout the whole season, sophomore, junior year, losing early in the tournament to just persevere and make it through the whole tournament is something really special.

On what was said after a seven-point halftime lead became a five-point deficit in the second half: No, I think we always want to grind it out and play Villanova basketball for 40 minutes no matter the situation. We knew they were going to come out firing at the beginning of the second half. It was unfortunate Kris got in foul trouble. But I think the guys on the bench, especially Mikal Bridges, stepped up in place of him and we just kept grinding. We wanted to make it a street fight, make it an ugly game. I think we did that.

On his birthday and knocking the ball away in the final seconds: Thank you. It was probably the best birthday I've had in my life. But at the end of the game, we were up three and we said we were going to foul under a certain amount of time. I went for a steal just to -- even if we got a foul, we'd still get the ball back whether we were up one or two. That was a big-time dive by Mikal Bridges, and we just called timeout. From that point on, I think it was just surreal, the whole feeling of us making free throws and clinching the game.

On making free throws and then seeing his teammates make them: I know at the end of the game situation we all want the ball for free throws. It's what we finish -- kind of start practice with, work on our form all the time. We finish practice the same way. In every situation, we'll shoot three, two, one and one and one. Coach puts the pressure on us at the end of practice, and I knew anyone who's going to the line at the end of the game, they were going to be calm, cool and collected making the free throws.

On the style of the game and making it `ugly': It was beautiful once the final buzzer went off and we were winning. But we wanted to make it ugly. We knew we weren't shooting the ball well. But the backbone of our program is just defend and rebound and play hard and together. I think we did that. We started off a little slow, but I would say the last 35 or so minutes of the game is where we really turned it up and made it an ugly street fight.

Senior forward Daniel Ochefu...

On whether the moment was how he dreamed it: This is definitely, definitely dreams are coming true right here. For us to get here, all the work we've put in, all our senior captains that we had before Mouph [Mouphtaou Yarou], Tony [Tony Chennault], Mosa [Maurice Sutton] and Taj Bell [James Bell], JayVaughn Pinkston, Darrun Hilliard, Nick McMahon all those guys, this is for them. They've made us the men we are today, made us the leaders we are today. This is very special for us.

On his defense on Perry Ellis: That was completely a team effort. From the day we found out we were playing Kansas, everybody on the team locked in. We knew he was the number one guy on the scouting report. I didn't even start on him. Kris Jenkins started on him. It was everybody loading to him, everybody making plays on him, being aware of where he was. When we went to defense, knowing where he was all the time. Our communication was great. I can't take any of that credit. It was literally the whole team effort that made it tough for that. We all know he's a special player. For us to be able to do that talks a lot about the way we defended him.

On the style of the game and making it `ugly': We came into this game knowing that we're both teams that were on great offensive runs and for us in our program, we don't depend on our offense. We like proving we can win off the defensive rebounding. Making the game ugly and a street fight was to our advantage because that's what we preach every day in practice.

On whether the same philosophy can possibly work against Oklahoma: Definitely. I think the first time we played them we had a lot of young guys coming in that didn't know what we were completely about yet. The game was not ugly at all. I think throughout the course of the year, we've grown a lot, and Buddy Hield is an amazing player, Oklahoma is an extremely well-coached team with great players. It's going to be a battle. We take it upon ourselves to make the game extremely ugly.

Junior guard Josh Hart...

On the feeling when he caught the final pass: The feeling when I caught it, it was just -- we had three seconds left. I had Ryan over there yelling, ball, ball, ball! I didn't know if I should throw it or what to do. I was in shock. All the work that these two put in, they were great leaders. And it's just a real feeling, something you dream about. It's just loss for words.

On the style of the game and making it `ugly': Continuing what these two guys said, the toughest situation for us is not making shots. That's what -- we thrive with that. We know we're going to let offense take care of itself. If we buckle down on defense, we make it ugly, we're diving on the floor, taking charges, doing the little things this program is built on that we knew we were going to be in the game. It was just all-around team effort from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. It was ugly, but it was beautiful to us.

POSTGAME ON-AIR TV INTERVIEWS -- Villanova

Head Coach Jay Wright...

On the heart Villanova showed when Kansas kept coming back in the closing minutes: Kansas is a great team this year but a great program traditionally, especially under Bill Self. You know when you play them they're never going to give it away. They're going to make every right play down to the last second and we have so much respect for them. They're good enough to win a national championship. We're good enough but we just happened to play in the final eight.

On Ryan Arcidiacono: I saw Arch on the foul line tear up and I've never seen that. Ever. BIG EAST championship, never. I saw him on the foul line at the end. That's how much it meant to him.

On what it means for the Villanova program to make it to the Final Four: It's great for our program. We have a lot of great players. We lost two great Villanovans this year, Johnny Jones and Mike Daly, two great players. We're thinking of their families and Chris Ford, a great one, is recovering back home. They all follow this. All the players back from the 50s, the 60s, they all come to everything. This is for them.

On what it takes to stop Oklahoma since the teams played each other in December: I don't know because we didn't have the answer for them. They beat us good. They beat us real good and Buddy [Hield] was unbelievable today. We're going to enjoy this one and then we're going to try to figure it out.

Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono...

On the moment: It's unbelievable. I love everything about this team, and Coach Wright and this whole coaching staff. They prepared us for this and we're not done yet.

On forcing two loose balls in the closing minute: Once we got up three we were going to give, under five seconds, and once he picked up his dribble I tried to strip him because we'll take a foul in that situation. Mikal [Bridges] took care of the loose ball and then it was just about making free throws.

On today being his birthday: Best birthday ever. Best birthday present ever, a team win, and I just love everything about this university.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE -- Kansas

Kansas head coach Bill Self...

Opening statement: Well, obviously, we're very disappointed and certainly feel like that we probably didn't play our best tonight, compared to how we played over the last two months. But give Villanova credit. They had a lot to do with that. I've been involved in, I think, eight of these, and only won two of them. And it's without question the hardest game in the tournament to lose. And certainly our kids and our seniors have done an unbelievable job putting us in position to be in the game, in the moment. I'd much rather be in the game than not in the game. Sometimes you just come up short. But it wasn't from a lack of effort or lack of focus or lack of concentration. It was just one of those nights where things didn't go our way.

On whether Villanova did anything that might have been unexpected: No. They played man and they played zone and they one, two, two, just back to man. And they basically did what we anticipated them doing. We didn't attack their zone very well at all. And we got some open looks and didn't make them pay in their man, especially. I think that the basket shrunk a little bit for us and, certainly, they probably got some confidence the way they were defending us. But it came down to them making free throws and it came down to a couple loose balls, and that was the difference in the outcome of the game.

On the stretch in the first half where Villanova forced several turnovers during a 13-0 run: Obviously, we weren't being very strong with the ball. They blew up two or three dribble handoffs that led to run-outs for them. And we -- like I said, I thought we got really out of character there for a stretch in the first half. I think we were up 16-12, something like that, and then the next thing you know, we're down seven or down nine. So that's probably a 13-point run. That's probably about the worst ball we've played in a long while during that stretch. But even with that, we cut it to four at halftime and then we didn't guard them on the last second play and let Jenkins get loose. But I don't know. I don't know what exactly happened other than the fact that it just looked like to me that we didn't attack very well and we never got Perry involved. Perry really never engaged himself in the game the first half.

On getting Perry Ellis the ball in the second half: I think it was a combination of both. They took away the pick and pop with him when they played man, because the way they rotated, so he didn't catch the ball naked at the top like we've been scoring quite a bit during the tournament. And they made him make the extra pass, and we missed some shots when we were wide open making the extra pass. But I think you should give Villanova credit. But I don't think that Perry was as aggressive demanding the ball as what he has been at certain times. You get two fouls quick, and things like that, and I think that kind of messed with his head a little bit also.

On Perry Ellis and the Kansas seniors: I probably wanted it as bad for this group as any group I've ever coached just because I know how hard they've tried. We only start one senior, but the reality is we're not going to have our entire group back. Because with the rules that allow you to definitely investigate, I think several of our guys or a couple of our guys at least will. These guys have given us everything they've got, and with the run we had, won 17 in a row in a great league and have grinded our way through it. And then usually when the finality hits, at least in my experience, it's usually because you don't make shots. And that's kind of what happened tonight. We didn't make shots. We didn't make the same shots we've been making and didn't have to make a lot of them. But just a couple more and it could have been a different outcome. But I love these kids, and I couldn't ask for a better effort. I don't know if tonight is the right time to tell you what I feel about them as much as it is I'm just really disappointed for them.

On two late loose ball situations: Oh, nobody said anything to me. I mean, that's one thing about our sport. You know, you don't get to talk to the officials and have them explain every call. So I don't know about the -- Devonte's play when they called the kick, I guess, when he dove for the loose ball. I thought it was a great hustle play. But, certainly, as upset or sad or mad that you are about certain things, it doesn't do any good now. I mean, if we had a next game, you could use that as motivation to prepare the next time, but it's over. So there's no reason for us to worry too much about things that we have absolutely zero control over.

On whether this team's success can carry on to next year: I don't know. I don't know how many guys will return. I don't know. The one thing that I really believe that will carry on is culture. But, I mean, I have no idea what next year's going to look like.

On Perry Ellis' consistency throughout the season, and building a legacy: No, no, no. He's a stud. He got a couple of easy looks early and missed them both and kind of probably shied away from being quite as aggressive after that. But no. We've ridden Perry pretty hard over the last three years, and he's almost always delivered for us. And so it doesn't take anything away at all. It would have been really nice to see our seniors get to a Final Four because we haven't with this group. But certainly, in my mind, he'd been a stud and one of the all-time greats regardless of this outcome of this game.

Kansas senior forward Perry Ellis...

On why it was difficult to find an offensive rhythm in the game: I feel like they did a very good job of just trying to swarm me at times and just somebody was always there. I could have demanded the ball more at times, you know, but...

On his career and teammates: Just knowing it's over now, how much I've grown, I've grown so much. Just knowing that it's over, I'm just so thankful for everybody. Teammates, coaches and everybody.

On the kind postgame words from Jay Wright: He just told me I'm a great player and just keep my head up.

On their play at the start of the second half, and taking the lead early in the half: Yeah, tried to attack early in the second half. We just -- we made some good plays early in the second half. We got going.

Kansas senior forward Jamari Traylor...

On the Kansas team and the 2015-16 season: I'm definitely disappointed to lose this game. But I'm going to just cherish the moments I have here. We had a great season, nonetheless. I'm going to miss these guys.