Kentucky players and head coach John Calipari met with the media ahead of the Wildcats’ Elite Eight game with Auburn on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. Read below to find out everything they said. Q. John, I’m curious, you know, lot of these guys were recruited by Auburn and they knew Chuma Okeke and what happened to him yesterday was difficult. JOHN CALIPARI: Raise your hand. Who is talking? Q. If you had any message to the guys who maybe knew him or even to the team when something like that happens. JOHN CALIPARI: We were all like -- you shake your head as a player, you know, that’s out there. You know what I’m saying? Every one of us were -- makes you physically ill. You know, this is a sport that that happens at times, and you don’t want to see it happen to anybody. And the crazy thing is, you know, not only is their team playing as well as any team in the country right now, they’re beating people by 25. Not only is that the case, he was playing as though he was their best player, which he probably was.So, I feel bad for him. File bad for his family and his teammates. Q. Keldon or PJ, first of all, how is the foot feeling today? And does your presence up here indicate that you’ll be starting tomorrow? PJ WASHINGTON: I don’t know if I’m going to start. I’m definitely feeling good. Got some treatment going and good night’s rest. I’m feeling a lot better. JOHN CALIPARI: I asked him at halftime, Do you want to start? "He said, “No, I’m good. Let me come off the bench.”I said okay. You know, what’s great about it, this group of players that are here, even Mr. Hagans down the other end, you know, they’re gym rats. I mean, you know, PJ and I were talking about it. What made you do it? They love playing. I love competing. I love -- you know -- and you look at Reid in here in the gym all the time, Tyler and Keldon and they’re gym rats. They love this. They love the game. They love making plays. They’re a pleasure to coach. I told them they added years to my life coaching this team. Well, maybe not Keldon, but the rest of them --I’m just teasing, Keldon. Q. Reid, you’re sitting up there on the podium and it literally and figuratively is the biggest stage in college basketball right now. How does it feel to be just one game away from being able to get home to Minneapolis license and play a Final Four in your home town? That’s really like living the dream for you. Can you kind of express to us your emotions, your thoughts, the blessings you feel for being in that position? REID TRAVIS: Yeah, like you said, just being one game away from being in the Final Four and back home. I’m really excited for it, but no more than any other game. I’m trying to just take the preparation the same way, just approach it like any other game. I feel like if you look at it too much as far as trying to go home and kind of put all that on it, that’s just too much weight on it. So for me, it’s just trying to approach it the same way, just enjoy it with my teammates, go out and work as hard as I can in the game. Q. Tyler, I have a question for you. Obviously you guys played a few games without PJ who is one of your top players. Now Auburn is kind of facing the same thing with one of their top players in Okeke. How did you guys rally around that, and do you kind of expect Auburn to do the same thing in the situation they’re in? TYLER HERRO: Yeah. I think they’ll still be ready. They’re playing, like coach said, as hard as any team in the country. I think they’ll still come out, play their game. I think they’ll be ready to go. Q. PJ, if there’s one person’s story that is better than Reid’s, it could possibly be yours, to be able to come back for a second year and then overcome the injured foot that you have and now playing for the Final Four.What are your thoughts about that, and what would you like to say to the people now that you’re up there on the stage? PJ WASHINGTON: Just a lot of hard work we all put in as a team finally paying off. We got one more game to prove how good we are. So I mean, we’re just kind of trying to come out tomorrow and look out to play tough and how we’ve been playing the rest of the season. If we did that, we’ll be fine. Our goal is to win the whole thing. That’s always in the back of our minds. Q. Given that the last time you guys played Auburn, it was a huge blowout win for you, how much confidence did that give you going into the game, knowing it’s more of a known entity and you’ve been able to beat this opponent by a sizeable margin before? JOHN CALIPARI: Let me say something, because I watched that tape. They haven’t watched the tape. I watched it twice, as a matter of fact.We made more 3s than we’ve made most of the season. PJ made five himself. You ready for this? Ashton had four. Hear what I just said now. And so all of a sudden, you know, we have a lot of 3s we normally didn’t make, which was the difference in the game. And they missed a lot of shots.When I watched the game, it was close for awhile, and all of a sudden PJ went corner, PJ went top, PJ went wing, and all of a sudden, we’re up 12. It kind the got away because they missed some shots. Reid didn’t play in that game. The rim was protected by both Nick and EJ. They wanted EJ a little bit. Nick went in, they blocked shots, we made those tough, and that’s what happened.They’ve won 11 games in a row. The game has no bearing on this game, really doesn’t. Q. Keldon, you guys have beat Auburn twice this season. How difficult is it to beat a team three times in one season and why? THE MODERATOR: ASHTON HAGANS: We played them twice already. They’ll come out an give us their all. We just got to go out there, play together, and stay as a team. KELDON JOHNSON: I mean, just to piggyback what he said. Just got to come in focused and ready to play. We can’t be thinking about the last two times we played them. They’re hot right now and they’re playing really good. So just got to come in focused and ready to go. JOHN CALIPARI: You know, it’s funny, fate has intervened for this team where we thought it was bad. Reid went down -- he and I went to church together because we were worried, believe me. It didn’t turn out that way but it gave Nick and EJ a chance to play.Then they tell me he hurt his foot at the Tennessee game. I said, “When? "”Last play."What? He’s not playing for awhile. What? Now all of a sudden we get to play Keldon at 4. We get to put Jamal Baker and get him minutes. All of a sudden it kind of plays out. In our conference tournament, we had our chances to beat Tennessee. And if we had beaten Tennessee, we would have played Auburn. I’m not sure anyone has ever beaten a team four times.When you ask me about three, I’m just happy it wasn’t four. So we’re playing them a third time. It’s going to be a really hard game. They’re playing out of their minds rights now. They’re shooting balls, they’re playing loose and aggressive. We know. Those other two games have no bearing on this game.THE MODERATOR: We are halfway through the session. Q. This is for Reid. I asked you this because you’re the old guy up there. When you saw Tyler come in, I know that you both are here first year for both of you. When you say him come in, what did you see in him? Did you think that he would be as impactful as he’s been this season, and if so, what did you see that made you think that?REID TRAVIS: The biggest thing I saw in him early one was just his confidence. And I think a lot of guys you can see have confidence but don’t necessarily put the work in. But for Tyler, that’s not the case. See him in the gym every night, every morning, putting up reps and shots. So you know that he’s going to shine in these moments. Especially when he gets his opportunity, it’s usually in because you see him every night and morning putting in reps.So I’d say that’s the biggest thing to see his progression throughout the season and just how consistent he’s been with his work behind closed doors where people don’t necessarily see it. So when he gets on the biggest stage, he’s calm, collect, and always confident to take those shots. Q. John, considering what Auburn was for -- Auburn basketball was for decades and decades and decades, what kind of job has Bruce done and what specifically has he done to get it to this level? JOHN CALIPARI: Well, he’s gotten a program where people are absolutely excited. And Sonny Smith back in the day had it rolling. He had that guy -- what’s his name? -- Charles, what’s his last name? That big guy with the big head. What’s his name? Oh, Charles Barkley.I peed on a statue down there, just so you know. But, you know, when you take over, you have to change the culture, and he’s done that. And, you know, they struggled some in the middle of our league. They lost a bunch of games, and it tells you something. I always say when things are going good, that’s not coaching. When things are -- it’s looking bleak and everybody is running, now let me see you coach.Let me see you do it when you’re up against it, when people are doubting, when they’re -- the outside clutter is starting to overwhelm, how do you coach now?You know, for him to do what he did in that stretch and now they’re 11 in a row, I’m telling you, there’s no team in the country playing better than them right now. We have total respect and really good players who compete and play really hard. Q. John, what do you remember about Reid’s recruitment when you heard he was going to be a grad transfer, and when is the last time you coached a 30-year-old like Reid?JOHN CALIPARI: When I was with the Nets, I had a couple players that were older than I was when I was coaching. No, he and I talked politics. So what do you think of Amy? I was her neighbor. She may be a good president. We would -- we talk about Supreme Court justice stuff. Tell me what you think.But Kenny came to me, and I believe it was his brother saying, “Hey, he’s thinking about doing this.”And I remember when he played AAU basketball. And when Johnny got him to go to Stanford, I said what a great get for Johnny. Johnny and I have been friends for a long time, one of the great guys in our profession, so happy for the year they had.Then it became okay, can we help him as he helps us? Not here to have a guy, you know, play ten minutes a game or have a guy that we’re just saying in case somebody gets hurt. That’s not what this is about.What I’m proud of -- I’ll tell the story. He was 260-something. I said, “You got to lose 20 pounds.<doc-sep>Auburn tamed top-seeded North Carolina’s March Madness in a euphoric upset, while the Tar Heels’ bitter rival Duke edged past Virginia Tech as the two winners advanced to the Elite Eight on Friday in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament. Hot-shooting Auburn put up another three-point barrage that saw the No. 5-seeded Tigers overcome a slow start and blow past North Carolina 97-80 in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City. Auburn put up 17 three-pointers, while UNC went 7-for-28 from the perimeter, numbers that would help send the Heels back home. ONLY 1 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET ENTERS SWEET 16 ROUND UNBLEMISHED, BREAKING PREVIOUS RECORD But the victory didn’t come without a setback for Auburn: Sophomore forward Chuma Okeke, who already had scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, suffered a gruesome injury to his left knee in the closing minutes of the game. DUKE 75, VIRGINIA TECH 73 While the Tar Heels were sent packing, rivals Duke, the No. 1 overall seed, survived a near-upset, holding off No. 4 Virginia Tech 75-73 in the tournament’s East Region semifinal in Washington, D.C. MARCH MADNESS ROUNDUP: VIRGINIA BEATS OREGON IN SWEET 16, ADVANCE TO ELITE EIGHT Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils were at the mercy of a last-second shot from the Hokies’ Ahmed Hill that could have sent the game into overtime but came up short. The close-as-can-be miss followed a pair of threes that went awry in the waning seconds. Williamson showed off his full repertoire, scoring seven of Duke's first nine points, including one rise-above-it-all put-back jam and, later, a three-pointer. Also advancing Friday were Kentucky and Michigan State. KENTUCKY 62, HOUSTON 58 In the second Midwest Regional semifinal game in Kansas City, No. 2 Kentucky topped third-seeded Houston 62-58. The Wildcats escaped thanks to a big boost from Tyler Herro, who hit a three-pointer with 25.8 seconds left to give them the lead. He followed up making two free throws with 13 seconds left to ensure their spot in the top eight. MICHIGAN STATE 80, LSU 63 Michigan State routed Louisiana State 80-63 in the East Region’s second semifinal in Washington. The Spartans were led by freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown. Henry scored a career-best 20 and Brown had a career-high 15 as the second-seeded Spartans beat the third-seeded Tigers. "They were huge tonight in a lot of ways," senior point guard Cassius Winston said of Henry and Brown. "They won the game. They were confident, they trusted in their abilities, they took their shots that they were supposed to and they just stepped up in a big way. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Elite Eight round kicks off Saturday. Top-seeded Gonzaga will take on No. 3 Texas Tech in the West Regional final, while the South Regional final sees No. 1 Virginia facing No. 3 Purdue. The round continues Sunday with meetings between Auburn and Kentucky, and Michigan State and Duke. The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Jared Harper counts himself among one of the several superstitious players on the Auburn basketball team. And one of the most important traditions for this Tigers squad is going to a Hibachi restaurant before every game. It’s something that started last year, and became an even more important ritual when, in the middle of the season, Auburn did not go to the Japanese steakhouse prior to home games against Kentucky and Ole Miss — both losses. “We feel like if we go to a Hibachi restaurant, we don’t lose,” Harper said. “It’s been accurate so far.” The Tigers went to a Hibachi restaurant, Dan Den, on Thursday night and will do so again tonight prior to Auburn’s game against Kentucky on Sunday at 1 p.m. It’s on strength coach Damon Davis to find the restaurant. Everybody has their different orders. Malik Dunbar gets the triple rice, double shrimp and double chicken. J’Von McCormick gets the double chicken and double shrimp. Danjel Purioy will get the triple rice, double chicken or steak along with double shrimp. Perhaps the most controversial order is freshman walk-on Myles Parker, who gets the “triple everything.” “He’s lying to you,” McCormick said. “He don’t eat that much.” “No he don’t eat all that,” added Purifoy, with Parker sitting right next to him. “I don’t know why he’s lying.” Parker shot back that he likes to save whatever he doesn’t eat. Typically the restaurant is Mikata in Auburn. And head coach Bruce Pearl said the team is undefeated when eating there this season before a game. “It’s dinner and a show, of course," Pearl said. "Of course our guys love the show as much as they love the dinner. It’s double everything. Double rice, double meat, double this, double, double because they want to eat it and they want to take it home, right. I’m not sure that’s an extra benefit or not, but maybe it is.” This will be the first time Auburn has eaten at a Hibachi restaurant before playing Kentucky. When they were on the road in Lexington on Feb. 22, they found a different type of restaurant to dine at. But with the stakes — or steaks, depending on how you look at it — so high, they’re going with the tradition that works. Supposedly Parker likes to have the food thrown into his mouth from the chefs and is proficient in catching it. Apparently Austin Wiley attempted to do the same, and it didn’t go as seamlessly. “I don’t why Austin’s doing it,” Dunbar said. “I don’t know why. I don’t know nobody doing it, but I don’t do it. I’m not catching it in my mouth.” The team has done it every game over this 11-game winning streak, and they’re going to find a different restaurant for Saturday than they did on Thursday, because the first one didn’t have a fried rice option. “We got to have fried rice,” McLemore said. "Got to have fried rice.” It isn’t just about the superstition though — there’s a reason why Auburn goes, and a reason why they think it’s helpful. It may sound corny, but there’s a belief that it brings the team together. Instead of getting dinner separately or on their own, congregating to eat in a festive atmosphere has been critical for this team. And Auburn only needs three more wins for this tradition to go down in history. “Everybody’s just kind of letting their own personalities go when we’re at hibachi,” McLemore said. "Nobody’s in their own little place…. Everybody’s having fun. We got Malik singing all the time. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re so close. Most guys, we just eat dinner almost every night together, and that’s just a way to bring the family, bring the team together and have fun together. “I think that definitely helps us in our play on the court.”