MONARCHS COACH BLAINE TAYLOR
On being a popular pick to beat Notre Dame ...
"I want our kids to have an expectation that it's going to be a good game. They don't beat themselves, we typically don't beat ourselves. I'd like to think it's going to be a really good contest. But obviously they're favored."
On adjusting to Notre Dame's slow style of play ...
"We pride ourselves in being able to play at different tempos ... We've had to face some different styles this year playing the likes of Richmond or a William & Mary, Northeastern, some of those stypes that don't play quite as fast. Then we've had the players that play racehorse basketball with the BCUs and the Missouris of the world. So I like to think that we can adjust and play either way and be able to hang in there."
On his team's NCAA Tournament berth ...
"It's such an exciting experience for me. It's so fulfilling. These kids have put in a lot of work ... But we're not just happy to be here."
MONARCHS CENTER GERALD LEE
On beating Georgetown earlier in the season ...
"I think it helped us a lot. It gave us a lot of confidence that we can compete with any team in the country when we run our game and we do the things that we know how to do ... We believe that we can beat anybody in the country when we're on our game."
On what he knows about Notre Dame ....
"Obviously, they've been playing on TV a lot, so we've seen a lot of games from them. And we know a couple of their key players, like Harangody is the best player on the team. He scores a lot of rebounds. He's basically the motor for that team. He gets things going."
MONARCHS GUARD MARSHAREE NEELY
On Notre Dame's "slow burn" offense ...
"It reminds us of a team in our conference named William & Mary. So we're pretty comfortable and pretty knowledgeable of what they do."
On being an underdog ...
"That's really big motivation. It keeps you going and keeping you thinking when times are rough during the game how everybody doubts you. You would do wrong, you would do bad in this game, you just pick it up to fight more."
