What SIU Edwardsville coach Brian Barone said on facing Houston in NCAA Tournament

Houston begins its NCAA Tournament journey on Thursday against a team that is there for the very first time.

SIU Edwardsville qualified for its first NCAA appearance after having won the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament. Also nicknamed the Cougars, SIU Edwardsville is taking on Houston’s Cougars on Thursday afternoon in Wichita, Kan.

What to know about SIU Edwardsville, Houston's first-round opponent at NCAA tourney

Brian Barone, SIU Edwardsville coach, talked about his team finally getting to play in the “Big Dance,” facing the other group of Cougars and his relationship with Houston coach Kelvin Sampson during a press conference on Wednesday. Here is a sampling of some of Barone’s thoughts:

On his SIU Edwardsville squad

(SIU Edwardsville enters its inaugural NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 22-11.)

“My team is a special team; I really believe in these guys. We’ve thought about it all year that we’re going to have an opportunity to be in this position. We have a group of guys that really care for one another, a group of guys that have gotten better all year, a group of guys that have kind of, you know, transformed our team through different injuries, but sustained a winning culture.

“And I think we’re going to have a group of guys that you’re going to enjoy really seeing what we’re about. We’re versatile and play for one another, and are excited as heck to be here. So this is, this is a blessing. I’m not going to act like this isn’t something pretty darn special, so we’re happy to be here; there’s no doubt about that.”

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What was Barone’s first impression of Kelvin Sampson

“Our first Big 12 game (at Texas A&M, where Brian played under his father, Tony Barone), I’m almost positive, was against Oklahoma. … It was against Coach Sampson. On a personal level, it’s kind of cool to play against and coach against somebody, be on the same sideline that my dad coached against. I think that’s something that puts in perspective how special Coach Sampson is and the longevity and success in this business, there’s no doubt about it.

“Actually, when I was leaving A&M, I almost went to Oklahoma as well and to play for Coach, and the timing didn’t work out (Barone eventually transferred to Marquette). And he’s always been great to me; when I was up at Green Bay (as an assistant), he was at Milwaukee (as an assistant with the NBA’s Bucks), we spent time talking about the bubble rebounding (Houston’s practice of putting a lid on the basket at practice so that the players can hone their rebounding skills) and all the stuff you hear about.

“And Kellen (Sampson, Kelvin’s son and current Houston assistant coach) and I have gotten closer over these last few years as well, and I just really respect their family so much, they’ve helped a lot. We’ve talked a lot about culture, a lot about program, a lot about defense in the offseason, and it’s just kind of ironic how now we’re here going against one another, but it’s a family that has been very kind to me over the years; always takes time to acknowledge me when I know Coach has a lot of people he can acknowledge and I respect the heck out of the Sampson family.”

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On SIU Edwardsville player Jo Valrie, a Houston native

(Valrie, a 6-foot-5 forward, won’t get the chance to face his hometown squad after missing the rest of this season after being injured during an early-season game against Illinois.)

“Jo was someone that we were counting on. Heavy minutes, heavy minutes. He’s versatile. … High level person, a high character person. It was devastating for him and us when he went down against Illinois because you could see his impact.

“He went into two high major games and impacted those games. … We have a team shirt that’s one of Jo’s quotes, it’s ‘The game is for the dogs and the dogs is for the game.’ I don’t know, it’s just kind of something that he said one day and it stuck. So he’s a huge part of this run for us, and he’s really embraced trying to engage and soak in everything for when it’s his time next year now, and I mean, he looks great.

“I was about to try putting him in the other day, just because, trying to see if we can finagle another NCAA rule, play someone 28 minutes one game and still get a year back. Maybe he could, but he’s working his tail off and he’s doing a heck of a job. He’s a really good person as well.”

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On facing No. 1 seeded Houston

“You watch them because I respect like how they play and I respect how Coach (Sampson) coaches. … You identify a few teams that you have relationships with people. What stands out for them is they have an identity, and Coach has an identity. They do what they do, and they do it well.

“Any time you can have an identity as a program, I think that’s where success happens. Obviously, they have really good players, right? They can score, they can be very physical. But I think what they do is they all are stars in their role.

“In my opinion, from my perspective, the guys that need to be their scorers, score. The guys that need to rebound, rebound. The guys that need to be, you know, the glue guys, that’s what they do. And I’m sure they can all do a little bit more in their own mind, but that’s what makes them really, really well-coached. Have an identity and really good, in my opinion.”

Final Big 12 basketball power rankings: Houston, by far, at the head of the class

On bidding to become just the third No. 16 team to beat a No. 1 seed in an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game

(Ironically, SIU Edwardsville beat Fairleigh Dickinson the same season that Fairleigh Dickinson eventually knocked off top-seeded Purdue in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the second team in history to do so in the men's tournament.)

“I think what you want to do is you sit there and we have a group of guys that believe that, you know, we can win a game. You know, any time we play a game, we’re going into tomorrow to win the game. That’s not cocky or arrogant, but that’s why we got here, because we go into every game to win the game.

“And there’s things where you want to say, hey, you know a few years ago, we beat Fairleigh Dickinson and they make their run and they were one of those teams. You want to draw on anything that can help motivate, inspire your team to have success. So we’ve talked about that, we’ve shown that; not a ton, but we have it on.

“We have a screen in our (basketball facility) that is like a motivational screen and we just had some of those games playing, and one of which was us playing them and beating them. I don’t know if that’s overly needed for this team, because we believe what we can do, but it wasn’t like it was going to hurt and you do have to reference, you know, past history to kind of have that level of understanding that it can be done. There’s nothing wrong with that.”