Utah State head men's basketball coach Craig Smith addressed the media on Tuesday and answered questions about the upcoming game against Arizona State on Wednesday, Nov. 21, in the championship of the MGM Main Event in Las Vegas, Nev., inside T-Mobile Arena. The complete transcript of the press conference can be found below.

On Arizona State
"Arizona State is a little different than our opponent the other night, in that Saint Mary's is really big at the five and incredibly skilled. They had long possessions and it was a lower possession game. Arizona State is easily the most athletic team we've seen. They get 17 offensive rebounds per game. The good news is they can't stretch you all the time consistently. They are a bit hot and cold from the 3-point line. We need to make sure that our offense is not their best offense. I have a feeling, even though they haven't pressed a lot that they are going to do some of that. We need to handle that. Their point guards are going to pick us up in the fullcourt and really get into us. We are going to have to handle that. We are going to have to guard their stuff. They are going to set a ton of screen and roll, and if you are a half-step behind then they are at the rim, right now. We need to do a good job of owning the paint and playing hard without fouling. The first five to seven minutes will be very important in this game. Sometimes it takes that amount of time to settle in and get adjusted to the speed of the game and get adjusted to their athleticism. We need to do our best in building a wall around the paint and controlling the paint and then we need to end the possession with two-handed rebounds. We need to make a hit, so to speak, and really box out. If they have space and can run up on us or around us, they will do that very successfully. Last night they had 12 offensive rebounds against a very athletic Mississippi State team. We are going to have to make hits. We need to be like an offensive lineman and not give any space for them to operate. The last stat is the foul line. They make 22 free throws per game and their opponents attempt 22 free throws a game. We need to neutralize that."

On the similarities that both teams share when it comes to stats
"They outrebound their opponents by 17 per game and we're right around there. They average 16 offensive rebounds per game, and we're not there now, but we've had three games with 16, 16 and 17 offensive rebounds. They are scoring 86 points per game and we are scoring 88 points per game. We do it a little differently, we like to be at the rim, but we are at or a little below the rim and they are at the top of the square. There are things we can do to counteract that. We have to be very tight in our gaps, we need to make them a jump shooting team, which is easier to say and harder to do. The biggest thing is that we cannot allow them to get loose in transition and allow them to get freebies by offensive rebounding. Playing with a level of physicality will be huge."

On Arizona State relying on their starters and less on their bench
"They don't go really deep. If it is a tight game they will be playing eight guys, at the most, maybe seven. When you look at their average minutes per game (33, 31, 31, 31) they are playing four guys 31 minutes or more. Every game this year we have played 11 guys in the first half. The point of that is that all 11 guys are playing meaningful minutes and that has been the strength of our team. Depending on what we need we are able to have that flexibility and versatility to put those guys in there. That is a hard thing for guys to do. It isn't the most fair thing to do. I look at our point guards, where Crew (Ainge) has been starting, but he doesn't know when he's going back in. Tauriawn Knight's been going in, but he didn't play the second half last night. Abel Porter's minutes have been (up and down). Ben Fakira has been playing well, but Neemias (Queta) has been playing really, really well. Ben had great minutes for us last night and very productive minutes for us. It is a next-man up mentality and our guys have been locked in and ready to roll."

On Zylan Cheatam at Arizona State (formerly at San Diego State)
"He's playing great. He's been a veteran for them. They are a bit like us as. We are one of the 50 youngest teams in the country. They aren't quite as young as us, but they do play some freshmen out there. They make some freshmen mistakes. But (Zylan) has been a guy that they play all over out there. He's been at the four, the three, sometimes they play really big and he's been the point guard. He's been a jack-of-all-trades and plays with a great deal of energy. Talking with Quinn Taylor at walkthrough, he said 'coach, he is so quick.' I looked at him and he said, 'you know he was at San Diego State,' 'ah, that's right.' That's a nice thing. A guy like Quinn and Dwayne (Brown Jr.) have guarded him some and they have a feel. He is just so quick and so explosive, if you are a half step behind, you are a full step behind really, really quick."

On his friendship with Bobby Hurley
"When I was an assistant at Colorado State, a high school coach had him out for a clinic and we had lunch together. He (Bobby Hurley) encouraged me to go recruiting out there. We actually signed a kid from St. Anthony's when I was at Nebraska, a kid named Tarin Smith who is now at UCONN. When I was recruiting out east, Bobby was an assistant for his brother at Wagner, and for whatever reason we were at many of the same games. We started talking and it was one of those things. He is a worker and a grinder and I like to think that not many people are going to be able to outwork us. So, if there is an 8 o'clock game I'm going to be there and be the last one to leave the gym. He is a similar guy when it comes to recruiting, so we built a mutual respect. At one point, he asked me to go out to get an adult beverage one night, which I rarely do, but I thought, 'I'm not saying no to Bobby Hurley,' and we've just stayed in touch ever since. He has been a good friend and one of the good guys in the profession that you always pull for, except for tomorrow night and when they play the Aggies."