JOHN CALIPARI Q&A:
* Calipari on the bracket reveal: "What do you mean I usually have an opinion. I keep my opinions to myself." (Tongue firmly in cheek.)
* Cal says you can only be focused on this pod in Indy and nothing else beyond that.
* Cal says he's frustrated with himself for breaking with UK's routine and not having a shootaround before the Tennessee game due to an issue with the arena. His staff wanted him to go have one somewhere. He wonders if that led to the poor guard play/shooting.
* We've got a team that will fight, now. That's part of it. But you have to be a machine with the other parts of the game. Cannot shoot like that.
* On only 6 SEC teams making the field of 68... " The Texas A&M thing, I was really stunned at... I guess before the tournament started, they weren't close. That's hard to believe." ... "And I was kinda surprised that Tennessee got a 3 and not a 2." Thinks UK, UT and AUB all deserved to be on the 2 line.
* Good thing about NCAA Tourney, there's no back-to-back games, Cal said.
* On defining roles again, avoiding "hero ball" when things get tough... Had guys who were barely hitting the rim in those situations. It messes with you mentally. "We had one guy who missed two shots, and he was done. He had been playing great. Just stopped." Let it affect their defense. Gave up a couple of back-doors because they were thinking too much about the bad shooting.
* Cal says he's happy the Cats got that game out of the way so maybe it doesn't rise up and bite them in the tournament. Played terrible and still had a chance to win because of their fight. Hopefully, they will eliminate the things that caused them to play terrible.
* On getting deep into this Q&A and not saying much about UK's draw... Cal avoids the question entirely.
* On getting Kellen Grady dialed back in... They'll meet again tomorrow and work on it. Put him back in late and drew something up for him to show how much he still believes in him. Wants him to know he's confident in him.
* Kentucky has learned during the course of the season that they have options if a guy/guys aren't playing well. Just can't have 5-6 guys play bad at the same time. You have room for a couple of guys to have an off-day and not sink the whole thing. "Just get ready for the next game."
KELLEN GRADY Q&A:
* Nice to have some time to focus time toward an opponent in Saint Peter's. Going to hit the reset button. "We did not perform well (Saturday against Tennessee)."
* On his takeways from Tennessee game: "I didn't play well. I'm not running away from that... Trust me, I'll be better come Thursday."
* Grady has a close friend on Murray's roster who transferred from Davidson, but he's not looking too far ahead. Gotta take care of business against Saint Peters.
* Cats have to focus on the task at hand and not overlook anyone in this tourney. Giving Saint Peters full respect they deserve.
* Asked about fans being concerned about his shooting... You can call it what you want, Grady said, but yesterday was not good.
* Happy for Davidson getting in, even though they lost to Richmond today.
* Grady still frustrated over Tennessee loss. "Big game. High stakes. It's a reality check and humbling to me."
JACOB TOPPIN Q&A:
* Heart was racing as they unveiled the brackets. Excited about the tournament being the first time he'll play in the NCAAs.
* On wearing the mask... The first one was not really a good one, they just needed something ASAP. They had a better mask for him in the second game. He doesn't think it affects his play. Just have to get used to it.
* On what his team learned about the experience in Tampa... Understand that adversity will hit. Have to respond in a positive way, stay together, stay mellow. They let it bother them too much vs. Tennessee, but the good news was they kept fighting to the end to give themselves a chance.
* Cats have played against everything, seen just about everything they can possibly see. Just have to lock in as a team and fix the things they can control. If the fight is there, you'll let the outcome be the outcome.
