What Gonzaga players said ahead of NCAA Tournament matchup vs. Kennesaw State

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have a rich history of success in the NCAA Tournament, which was not lost on this year's group - even if many of them will be experiencing the Big Dance for the first time.

Jalen Warley, Mario Saint-Supery, and Davis Fogle are first timers to the NCAA Tournament, while Steele Venters was on Eastern Washington's roster in 2020-21 when they went dancing, but did not suit up in the team's loss to Kansas.

Now this team is here together and ready to tackle the challenge of restarting Gonzaga's streak of making the Sweet 16, after they fell last year in the Round of 32 to Houston.

Gonzaga gets underway in March Madness on Thursday night at the Moda Center in Portland against Kennesaw State, a No. 14 seed who earned the Conference USA automatic bid despite finishing sixth in league play. The game will tip at 7:00 PM PT on TBS.

Warley was joined by Adam Miller and Emmanuel Innocenti on the podium Wednesday ahead of Gonzaga's first game of the Big Dance, and the trio answered questions about this team's preparedness, Kennesaw State's playstyle, and more:

Adam Miller on Gonzaga's experience

"A lot of guys have a lot of games under their belt, and in March maturity can really help you get wins and give you a good chance. I just want to use all my wisdom, everything I've learned from my career and tie it into this last stretch here in March."

On playing defense against Kennesaw State's tempo

Warley: "With their pace in transition I think it's going to be a team effort. Not gonna have one guy guarding the ball, there's all five guys guarding the ball. Just really making sure that, like we've done all season, we have each other's back. Team deffense is gonna help slow them down when they're attacking in transition."

Innocenti: "Yeah it's going to be a team effort. We also play fast, so we're used to living just like this so we'll be ready for tomorrow."

Adam Miller on freshmen Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supery

"Those two are special individuals, they don't really need a lot of help they are above their age. They play basketball really well. Sometimes being younger you will see guys showing up late, doing little stuff, but they don't do any of that. To me they aren't even freshmen anymore. It's not just about me helping them, we're all helping each other here and they're more than well prepared."

On Gonzaga's depth

Warley: "When these lineup changes happen we don't take it personal. We really just try to help whoever is in our position be the most prepared for when it's their time, because at the end of the day we all know that we're all gonna have a moment, but the most important part is walking away with the W. So we've held each other accountable to keep us in the right mind frame for it."

Innocenti: "We also have a deep team, everybody can hoop. At the end of the day we all have the same goal, which is to win."