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Speaker 1: This is Tony Pike since e three sixty about Cincinnati.

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Speaker 1: From Cincinnati, this is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back since e three to sixty. We're rolling along

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Speaker 2: ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station on a Thursday afternoon.

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Speaker 2: I say Thursday because tomorrow evening I can't even begin

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Speaker 2: to imagine the atmosphere that is going to happen in Athens, Ohio.

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Speaker 2: The Miami RedHawks, It's no longer Miami of Ohio. They

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Speaker 2: are the true Miami here when we talk about college basketball.

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Speaker 2: They travel to Athens, Ohio to take on OU. They

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Speaker 2: look to complete a perfect regular season ahead of the

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Speaker 2: MAC Tournament, and kind enough with his time to join

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Speaker 2: us today as head coach, Travis Steel coach, what's going on?

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Speaker 3: Nothing? I appreciate you having me on.

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Speaker 2: There's a lot going on right now. Yeah, there is

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Speaker 2: a lot going on. I turn on the TV on

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Speaker 2: a daily basis, Your guys, athletic directors on a wake

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Speaker 2: up barstool, You guys are national news every single day.

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Speaker 2: In the back of your mind, you probably got this

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Speaker 2: whole Speedo thing still plastered down and on top of

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Speaker 2: what's going on in the court. You're now dealing with

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Speaker 2: a daughter at home who was a little disappointed in behavior.

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Speaker 2: So on top of what you're trying to do tomorrow night,

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Speaker 2: a lot of outside circumstances still at play here.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, it's been a fun right. Probably the

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Speaker 4: one that was that pulled up my heart the most

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Speaker 4: is my daughter. You said when she hit me with daddy,

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Speaker 4: you were a bad boy last night and you shoved

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Speaker 4: that thing over you had big feelings. Yeah, she's talking

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Speaker 4: like a three year old. I was like, okay, yep.

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Speaker 4: I was like, you know what, Daddy shouldn't have done

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Speaker 4: that should I.

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Speaker 2: So three going on twenty three.

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Speaker 3: That's my daughter. That's exactly right. But I made up

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Speaker 3: for it.

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Speaker 4: We got to You got to get some confetti after

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Speaker 4: cutting down the nets the other night after our Toledo

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Speaker 4: game winning the regular season title, and I said, now

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Speaker 4: I'm in a good in a good way with her.

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Speaker 2: That feeling. If anyone's ever played basketball at any level,

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Speaker 2: to be able to cut down the nets, it's kind

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Speaker 2: of one of the things on that ongoing list of

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Speaker 2: what you want to accomplish. Just talk about your team.

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Speaker 2: We the last time you were on the show, you

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Speaker 2: talked about the players that wanted to come back, and

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Speaker 2: they wanted to come back for a reason. And it's

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Speaker 2: not been without adversity at times. It's not been with

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Speaker 2: your your back's not against the wall. But to get

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Speaker 2: to that moment, and I know it's not the ultimate

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Speaker 2: goal of where you guys are at, but to cut

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Speaker 2: down the nets at Mallett Hall had to be an

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Speaker 2: awesome feeling.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was.

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Speaker 4: Listen, it's hard to win regular season titles. I mean

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Speaker 4: it's it's a marathon. We've been getting everybody's best shot.

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Speaker 4: Everywhere we go has been sold out, and we have

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Speaker 4: we faced a lot of adversity. I'm sorrow has obviously been

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Speaker 4: done for the year. You only played one a half

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Speaker 4: a conference game, which is incredible because a lot of

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Speaker 4: people thought we would dip after we lost him, and

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Speaker 4: then Luke Skaljack's out and you know, Trey Perry, another

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Speaker 4: local Cincinnati guy, Lakota East guy really steps up on

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Speaker 4: the road force game winner at Western Michigan. But our

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Speaker 4: group's unflappable. We don't flinch. It's next man up mentality.

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Speaker 4: You know, we have a lot of good players.

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Speaker 3: Where does that come from?

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Speaker 2: Because that's just not something that always can be taught

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Speaker 2: over the course of a practice or film study. But

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Speaker 2: to have a group that you know, Okay, we're in adversity,

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Speaker 2: and I think your demeanor at times on the sideline

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Speaker 2: shows that, whereas it's not panic, it's all right, we've

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Speaker 2: been here before and you know and have a grasp

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Speaker 2: on who you have. Where does that come from?

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Speaker 4: I think it starts probably with me, right, I mean

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Speaker 4: they're gonna look to me and see how I'm reacting.

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Speaker 4: Or you know, Luke's out, what is he gonna lose

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Speaker 4: his mind?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Is he down? Is he is?

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Speaker 4: It?

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Speaker 3: Has he changed at all? Right?

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Speaker 4: And can I stay be very very consistent? Can Peter

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Speaker 4: Suitor who's one of our team captains, Evan Ipsorrow, Ian Elmer?

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Speaker 4: Can those guys be ultra consistent in those moments? And

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Speaker 4: they and they are and they just go we just

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Speaker 4: move right on man, And again it's and we don't

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Speaker 4: love losing guys, right, right, So I do you want

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Speaker 4: to make that crystal clear like it's it's hard, but

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Speaker 4: it's it's part of it, right, It's part of the journey.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned Peter Soonor who's been phenomenal for you guys.

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Speaker 2: But he exits with the fouling out of the game

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Speaker 2: and you guys are trailing at that time, and I thought,

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Speaker 2: in that moment, you know, going forward, it it kind

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Speaker 2: of showed the most about who your team. You're shorthanded

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Speaker 2: at guard, your your leader, Peter Souter is out of

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Speaker 2: the game, and yet the the the play on the

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Speaker 2: court in the mindset, I think that the mentality, you know,

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Speaker 2: the physical side of your team. But I'm sure as

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Speaker 2: a coach it's gratifying to see that mental toughness as well.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, obviously when Peter filed out, you get like thirty

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Speaker 4: seconds sub guys. Yeah, I probably took our guys over

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Speaker 4: and I said, fellows, we can't lose our minds, and

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Speaker 4: so we have to just settle in lock in play

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Speaker 4: off at two feet.

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Speaker 3: Just be solid with the ball at the other end.

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Speaker 3: Just do your job. We'll be fine.

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Speaker 4: And our guys, man just are so calm and I

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Speaker 4: Olmar Atlason made some huge plays for us down the church.

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Speaker 4: Ian Elmer, another Cincinnati local guy man Taff High School,

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Speaker 4: made some enormous plays and so did as did Trey Perry.

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Speaker 3: So we have a lot of good players.

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Speaker 4: And when you have that belief Tony as you know,

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Speaker 4: when you when you have the confidence, that's everything.

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Speaker 2: Sure, and that confidence grows, he grows with each win

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Speaker 2: and each heard because like you said, you've you've now changed.

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Speaker 2: And I think this is a little bit difficult in

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Speaker 2: sports at times to just an average fan when when

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Speaker 2: it goes from just a road game to the road

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Speaker 2: game where you have the target on your back and

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Speaker 2: they're selling out and they're doing different things that arenas

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Speaker 2: to get folks into the gym. That changes the dynamic.

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Speaker 2: And you guys have seen it at home as well,

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Speaker 2: and what Malette Hall has become this year in this

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Speaker 2: home court advantage and that place being filled up. But

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Speaker 2: it's a different feeling, I'm sure now when you guys

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Speaker 2: walk into those road arenas.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, listen, our first couple of years that I mean,

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Speaker 4: most of them were half empty or mostly right, and

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Speaker 4: now wherever we go it's sold out.

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Speaker 3: I wish we could get half seas like on this gate,

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Speaker 3: on this ticket, you know. So I was like, man,

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Speaker 3: can we get half you know?

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Speaker 4: Like you know, but because it's funny, you watch the

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Speaker 4: one of their other games on film, they got nobody there, right,

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Speaker 4: And when we've been there, but it's been super cool

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Speaker 4: for our guys to be able to experience that. What

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Speaker 4: a what an experience, What a ride that we're on.

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Speaker 4: Our guys lean right into it.

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Speaker 3: That's right.

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Speaker 4: We love playing on the road quite honestly, kind of

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Speaker 4: being the villain a little bit, yep, silencing the crowd.

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Speaker 3: Our guys really really basking that sunlight.

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Speaker 2: How much does that help when you start to look

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Speaker 2: ahead now outside of it and tomorrow night is its

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Speaker 2: own separate entity and we'll get to that, but you

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Speaker 2: start to look ahead to a MAC tournament, an NC

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Speaker 2: double a tournament, that's the atmosphere for me of the

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Speaker 2: excitement and you're not always used to that. How much

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Speaker 2: does this help going through this this year to get

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Speaker 2: to those bigger moments?

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Speaker 4: I think it really helps. You know, we're used to

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Speaker 4: the big crowds. It's not gonna put it not gonna

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Speaker 4: be a distraction at all for us. When you're playing

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Speaker 4: the MAC tournament. It's funny, you know, because it's situated

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Speaker 4: right there in Cleveland. We have a lot of Miami

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Speaker 4: of alumni there, sure, but like it is a home

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Speaker 4: game for Kent State and Acron. Yeah, so you're playing

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Speaker 4: on the road in a huge arena.

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Speaker 3: There's a lot of people there. It's awesome.

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Speaker 4: So for us to be able to get practiced during

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Speaker 4: the regular season for that, I think will service really well.

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Speaker 2: You guys had a three game stretch where you scored

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Speaker 2: one hundred hundre in five hundred and seven. We know

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Speaker 2: anyone that's watched basketball knows that your team can score

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Speaker 2: in bunches. What is it said about your team over

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Speaker 2: the last two You win a game sixty nine to

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Speaker 2: sixty seven, you win a game seventy four to seventy two.

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Speaker 2: A lot of times those high scoring teams, if you

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Speaker 2: have an off night, could.

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Speaker 3: Be in trouble.

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Speaker 2: But talk about what you guys have been able to

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Speaker 2: do on the defensive side of the ball as you've grown.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, the last month, since February one, we've been a

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Speaker 4: top fifty defensive team in the country and that was

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Speaker 4: kind of my focus over this last month. You want

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Speaker 4: to kind of time it up right because you want

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Speaker 4: to peak right at the right time. We're not playing

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Speaker 4: our best over the last week and a half, and

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Speaker 4: that's okay. This isn't linear like we all want it

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Speaker 4: to be. Run here right like there's kind of peaks

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Speaker 4: and valleys that you got to peak at the right time.

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Speaker 4: We want to peak and obviously in Cleveland and then

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Speaker 4: into the NCAA tournament. But our defense, we can win

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Speaker 4: in different ways. We can win a slow down game.

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Speaker 4: We'd rather play up tempo, sure, and seventy five possessions

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Speaker 4: around there, seventy four to seventy five. We'd rather play

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Speaker 4: in the nineties, but we can play in this sixties

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Speaker 4: and seventies and we can be very, very successful. And

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Speaker 4: I think you're gonna have odds are you gonna have

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Speaker 4: one offshooting night in Cleveland in one of those three games,

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Speaker 4: So you've got to be able to win that game.

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Speaker 3: And our team's built for that.

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Speaker 2: In today's world. Maybe twenty years ago, it's different. In

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Speaker 2: today's world social media, the attention that that these players

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Speaker 2: are getting. It's one thing to say, one game at

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Speaker 2: a time, one focus at a time. You hear the

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Speaker 2: noise out there and everything that's being said about this

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Speaker 2: team in March and going forward. How do you do

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Speaker 2: your best as a coach to try to quiet that

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Speaker 2: with your guys or do you lean into it a

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Speaker 2: little bit with the guys.

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Speaker 4: We talk about it. I just I just said a

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Speaker 4: fels like like with Bruce Pearl. I love Bruce p

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Speaker 4: Bruce Pearl's he's a way better coach than I'll ever be.

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Speaker 4: I'm Hall of Famer tremendous, and he's a good guy.

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Speaker 4: But listen, just like Wally Zerbiak, he's going to be

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Speaker 4: what Yeah.

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Speaker 2: He's a dad as well.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, like, and he wants to push my you know, like,

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Speaker 4: so everybody listen.

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Speaker 3: Everybody's got agenda.

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Speaker 4: Sure, if I'm not going to call Bruce Pearl and

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Speaker 4: ask him for his opinion on our team or his advice,

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Speaker 4: then why the heck should I listen to him?

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Speaker 3: At this correct? We got to focus on the things

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Speaker 3: we could control.

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Speaker 4: It's having a great practice, film session, lifting, recovery, so

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Speaker 4: that prepares us for these games because we get to

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Speaker 4: control our own destiny.

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Speaker 3: That's the beauty of it.

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Speaker 2: It's been a game by game mantra. But anyone that

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Speaker 2: looks at the schedule and you look at okay, March

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Speaker 2: sixth on the road, Oh you it's now a nine

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Speaker 2: o'clock start. Like you said, you guys have had the

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Speaker 2: target on your back, But what does this one tomorrow night?

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Speaker 2: The extra juice that it brings, knowing that it's such

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Speaker 2: a big rival, knowing those relationships that are in place,

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Speaker 2: and what Oh, you've used this as talk a little

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Speaker 2: bit about tomorrow night and what you guys need to go.

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Speaker 3: Battle the bricks part two.

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Speaker 4: Man, we obviously got them at home a few weeks back,

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Speaker 4: but that doesn't matter. Yeah, it's in the past, in

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Speaker 4: the rearview mirror, right zero zero, it's going to be.

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Speaker 4: It's a player's game. As you know, in rivalry games,

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Speaker 4: those are the best.

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Speaker 3: It's what you go to.

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Speaker 4: Whether it's high school, whether you're in middle school rivalries,

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Speaker 4: they're all the same, but they're elite. Those are moments

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Speaker 4: you have for the rest of your life. It's a

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Speaker 4: players game. Don't look at the bench, don't look a

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Speaker 4: complain about a foul call or whatever. Man, you go

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Speaker 4: next play and you got a man up and our guys,

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Speaker 4: we're gonna be very, very excited to play. It'll be

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Speaker 4: an absolute zoo in there tomorrow night, national televised game.

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Speaker 2: It's gonna be awesome. Obviously, still a lot to go

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Speaker 2: on this season. And I know you've got the family

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Speaker 2: at home and you mentioned your daughter. Have you had

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Speaker 2: a chance or do you have a chance while you're

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Speaker 2: in the moment to just appreciate what this season has been.

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Speaker 2: Do you set that aside for down the roads. There's

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Speaker 2: not a lot of teams you start talking about the

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Speaker 2: history of this game have college basketball. Not a lot

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Speaker 2: of teams have sat where you guys sit right now.

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Speaker 2: Do you allow yourself to take that in at all?

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Speaker 2: Or is it just so so crazy one game to

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Speaker 2: the next that you don't really get that chance.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, you know it's hard, but you do want to

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Speaker 4: enjoy it because you as a coach, as an athlete,

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Speaker 4: you know, or a competitor, you want to move on.

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Speaker 3: Next, next, next, next.

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Speaker 4: But you do want to embrace it because it is

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Speaker 4: unique the situation that we're in right now, and so

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Speaker 4: again we want we want to enjoy it was great

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Speaker 4: that all we had all three kids up at the

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Speaker 4: game the other night against Toledo. You know, got the

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Speaker 4: experience because it was cool. Man, it's a cool moment.

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Speaker 4: But at the same time, we get to move on

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Speaker 4: very quickly to Kyle right right, like that's it's the

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Speaker 4: next one up, and you know, so we were enjoying it,

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Speaker 4: but at the same time, you got to continue to

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Speaker 4: look forward.

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Speaker 2: On top of that, and before we let you go,

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Speaker 2: obviously a big week last week and getting a new

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Speaker 2: arena confirmed and the renderings of that look amazing, and

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Speaker 2: what that's going to be From a student and a

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Speaker 2: fan perspective, You've also got to enjoy the heritage and

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Speaker 2: the history I'm sure a Mulllett Hall and seeing that

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Speaker 2: place packed in a way that it hasn't been for

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Speaker 2: quite some time. Just the direction, the trajectory, it's as

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Speaker 2: you mentioned, it's you want to enjoy this, You want

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Speaker 2: to enjoy this season. You don't get to stop in

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Speaker 2: this world of college basketball because as soon as it ends,

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Speaker 2: whenever it ends, you're onto the next one.

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Speaker 3: It doesn't stop.

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Speaker 2: So the trajectory in the future now of what Miami

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Speaker 2: is and how this arena is going to help.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I listen.

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Speaker 4: You get to catch the momentum and our women's program's

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Speaker 4: crushing and they just won the MAC regular season title

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Speaker 4: last night as well, and our men's basketball program is

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Speaker 4: obviously doing well. And you look back to like even

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Speaker 4: like ninety nine, I wasn't at Miami at the time,

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Speaker 4: but Wally Sweet sixteen, the whole deal never really caught

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Speaker 4: that momentum, right, you know, and and it so now's

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Speaker 4: the time. And I think it's awesome to see the board,

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Speaker 4: President Crawford, David Saylor, athletic director, everybody's pulling in the

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Speaker 4: same direction and they see kind of what you know,

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Speaker 4: a successful men's basketball program, women's basketball programs can do

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Speaker 4: for the university. And then that and just the exposure

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Speaker 4: great university is going to get that it's getting. It's incredible.

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Speaker 4: So very appreciative other support we are.

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Speaker 2: We're appreciative of you.

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Speaker 3: I know it's a hectic time.

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Speaker 2: I know you're getting pulled in a lot of different directions,

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Speaker 2: and you've done an awesome job making sure this team

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Speaker 2: has been ready for thirty regular season games. You got

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Speaker 2: one more tomorrow night, National TV nine o'clock in Athens. Coach,

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Speaker 2: best of luck tomorrow night in the MAC Tournament and

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Speaker 2: in the NCAA Tournament as well. We appreciate you, Thank

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Speaker 2: you for having me on absolutely talk backs come up next.

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Speaker 2: ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station A