Nimari Burnett reacts to win vs. Arizona

I didn't. I also know the potential of this team, that it's possible. It's a possibility. I remember I was talking to our athletic trainer and one of our players, Howie, number 7, who doesn't really play much, he was like, Oh, the tape is too tight on my wrist.

And I'm like, well, you're not about to go in, it's okay. And I was like, you know what, he might go in. That's what happened. Nimari, is there like a feeling or a look in the other team when you can like just feel that you guys like snatched their soul?

Yeah, I mean, I kind of saw like later in the first half that they were trying to find different ways to score and different ways to, you know, turn the momentum to their side. And I feel like we did a really, really good job of staying focused even with the hype of going on a big-time run and getting to stop that next play that continued that run in a positive trajectory for us.

And this was supposed to be like— this was billed as like an all-time game. It was like number 3 versus number 4 Ken Palm teams in the history of college basketball. What does it say that you guys just did what you did, man? Just to be a part of that.

I mean, top 3, top 4 history in Ken Palm. Like, that's the top tier, the cream of the crop. So just to play in this Big Ten game, and I don't know how many fans are out there, but it was definitely a whole lot. It's just a blessing.

I mean, I was like, I mean, we've been challenged throughout the course of the season all year. A lot of times we go 14 where we switch 1 through 4. So it was kind of nothing new, but we also understood that as guards had to be a little bit more physical with their bigs in the paint. So it was a different challenge for us, but something that we're prepared for.

What did that feel like when Yaxel Lendeborg came back out? It was like something like Paul Pierce coming back for Boston Celtics in the Garden. I mean, I didn't think he was going to come back, but just his toughness, his will to win and help his teammates and just be a part of something something special. I mean, he's a special person, a special player.

He said really tonight to us that nothing was going to keep him from Monday night. Did he talk to you guys about that in here before? Not yet. We haven't had the chance to talk, but I already kind of knew.

And then also adrenaline helped him, and I'm sure he's going to get treatment around the clock today, tomorrow, and before the game on Monday.

Yeah, no, I think that's what set us apart from the rest of the country. We really enjoy being together. The friendships and the bonds that we have will last a lifetime. And we talked about pregame, like right before we went out into the last warm-up line.

We're like, yeah, we understand it's a big-time game, big-time crowd. Yeah, let's go have fun. We're at our best when they're smiling, when we're smiling in stops, we're smiling in buckets. So let's do that together. Let's have fun and go out the right way.