TCU players Emanuel Miller, Avery Anderson III, and Trevian Tennyson discuss the 68-67 win over No. 2 Houston on Saturday night.
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00:00 >> All right, questions.
00:01 You may walk us through that final sequence.
00:03 >> No, we had zero timeouts.
00:05 I think it was like that both ways cuz Houston didn't call timeout at the end.
00:10 But it's just saying true to our principles.
00:13 I say every media, Avery did a great job of seeing me back door.
00:18 But before then, I think we had the discipline to just have patience.
00:23 A lot of teams could have rushed a shot, rushed a quick shot,
00:26 hoping to get a quick bucket.
00:27 But I think we had the patience, we waited for the defense to make a mistake.
00:30 And I backed out at the right time, and Avery's just doing what he does
00:34 throughout the whole season, just finding me and finding all our teammates.
00:37 >> Tried three big threes in the second half, including that round,
00:39 but you took the line.
00:40 What was just working for you in the final 20 minutes?
00:43 >> Just my teammates, Avery was putting the run on the money, and
00:46 I'm gonna knock him down.
00:47 You know me, I'm being Jim Faithful.
00:49 I'll take somebody, I'm gonna this time.
00:52 I'm gonna come to, so just go through what's happening in the game,
00:57 shout before the money comes.
00:59 >> Avery, you've got 11 assists in the last two games, you have six tonight.
01:03 Talk to me through what's working for you, and
01:05 how are your teammates helping you kind of find them in the half?
01:08 >> Yeah, so they're just making the game easier for me.
01:10 I come from Oak State, I was known as a scorer for real.
01:13 I wasn't known as a playmaker, but I felt like I was a playmaker.
01:16 I just couldn't really distribute as much.
01:19 But now I'm playing with a lot of capable players that can score the ball as well,
01:23 as well as I can.
01:23 So just making the game easier on me, they hit the shot, so
01:27 it's all just credit to them for real.
01:30 >> Man, the first half wasn't pretty, you got shot like 20%.
01:33 >> Yeah. >> You went back to second half,
01:34 you shoot 55, what was working, what adjustment shot?
01:37 >> No, it was just, it's a fight.
01:39 Every Big 12 game you're gonna be in, it's a dog fight.
01:42 It's which dog is gonna be the biggest dog at the end.
01:45 And the first half, it was ugly.
01:47 Back and forth, fouls, Houston was in foul trouble,
01:49 we was fouling a little bit.
01:51 And in the second half, you gotta fight some more.
01:53 And I think in the second half, we had that will.
01:56 This is what we practice, this is what we train for,
01:58 this is what we bleed for.
02:00 So it was just all about fighting.
02:02 >> Man, I know you said that the win over Oklahoma was the best win of the year.
02:07 >> Yeah. >> So where does this one rank
02:09 when you beat the number two team in the country?
02:11 >> It's right there.
02:12 It's all about building momentum.
02:15 We come off a great win against Oklahoma, and
02:17 a lot of teams you either fall off or keep their momentum.
02:20 And I think this team, it's just this momentum, we're gonna ride it.
02:23 We're gonna keep on going.
02:24 >> And you guys were kind of in control of the second half,
02:28 and they're going to take the lead late.
02:30 I guess what was the mentality, how did you guys settle down and
02:32 close the way you guys did?
02:34 >> Just getting stops, getting on defensive end,
02:36 just getting a full stop, rebounding and everything.
02:41 So I feel like that really controlled the game,
02:42 and they can do what they do, and that's offensive rebound.
02:45 So just really controlling the defense there.
02:46 >> I think we've talked a lot about the guard play on this team this year, and
02:51 obviously Houston has great guards as well.
02:53 But tell me a little bit about the interior play from Boudet and
02:57 Cork and Mostafa today that really drove you guys in the second half.
03:01 >> We have a unique team in which we have three very talented bigs.
03:05 They share a lot of the majority of the minutes between that five spot, and
03:09 each big brings something unique to the team.
03:13 Ernest, Zay, and Esom, they're all capable of doing so
03:17 many things on the court that makes it so effective within our offense.
03:20 Ernest did an unbelievable job of not only taking his time in the post, but
03:25 just being in the presence.
03:26 He had a huge offensive rebounds that helped us secure this win.
03:30 And Esom, the minutes he got, he came in effective, put some bodies on their five.
03:35 And X, he's very versatile, switching one through five,
03:38 which just helps us lay the game with our defensive coverage.
03:41 And so it's unbelievable that the three bigs that we have and
03:44 what they can do for this team.
03:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:48 >> I think we need to get a positive on that.
03:50 >> [LAUGH] >> After that, that lack stuck in.
03:53 >> Yeah. >> Can you kind of take us through
03:55 what you guys maybe saw, what they were trying to do there?
03:57 And they didn't call time out.
03:58 >> So after that basket, we knew they inbounded the ball quick, obviously,
04:02 because time's running low.
04:03 They have less than seven seconds to not only score the basketball, but
04:07 get the ball up the court.
04:08 So what we wanna do is funnel the inbounder,
04:11 just so we put some pressure on the ball handler.
04:13 So they're not having a full scheme ahead going up.
04:16 So we seen not their point guard, but their three man actually grabbed the ball.
04:20 And from there, Micah was in the gap towards the end and
04:23 just showed another body so that he couldn't get a clear shot at the rim end.
04:27 And he did a great job being in position.
04:28 We had weak side help being ready to tag.
04:31 And we just really executed what we practiced every single day.
04:34 >> In that situation, would you think that Shad would have-
04:37 >> Yeah, for sure.
04:39 I think they had a lot of options they could have went to, but
04:42 it's so hard to get the ball in their hands in that time with the clock coming down.
04:49 So I think they just tried to find the first option possible, and
04:51 that's what happened.
04:52 >> Trey, this is a team that's really known for getting out and running.
04:57 You guys just had eight fast break points tonight.
04:58 Tell me a little bit about how you think the half court offense has progressed
05:02 this year because you got shot really, really well in the second half.
05:05 >> We've been stressing every day in practice.
05:07 The teams that's gonna be the first thing they scout when they play us is
05:10 number one team in the country.
05:12 So they ain't gonna let us, they gonna make that a priority.
05:15 So the last couple of weeks in practice, just been stressing that,
05:19 cuz that was our weakness.
05:20 And now I think it's pretty much up to our strengths.
05:23 >> I know it's only three games in your Big 12 career, but
05:26 is this what you signed up for?
05:28 >> Yeah, it's definitely what I signed up for.
05:30 It's fun.
05:30 >> Anything else for these guys?
05:34 >> Appreciate it.