UCLA redshirt freshman center Anthony Stover on…

Opening Thoughts
“We’re happy we made it. We’re excited we made it, to get the chance to go out there and play some basketball.”

On how the team was feeling about seeding before the Oregon game and after.
AS: “Thursday I think we were a little too confident. We had a lot of thoughts thinking we’d be a five-, or a six-seed going into this. We were thinking we’d have an easy road. Then we came out and lost that game to Oregon – which was a bad game – and we lived to see another day. Now we made the tournament, and we have to go out a great team in Michigan State, which I think is much better than seeded at the 10-spot, talent-wise at least. They have some great players on the team, a Final Four team last year.”

On playing a name opponent:
AS: “It’s a great thing; as you’ve seen when we’ved played BYU this year or the Arizona game at home, we step up to the big games. To have a big game in the first game of the tournament is great for us. We’ll have to step up right away, and it’s not going to get any easier.”

On not being in the tournament last season:
AS: “Us not making the tournament last year was something unheard of for UCLA. For us to make it now is really exciting; it just puts us back into the position to get UCLA’s name back to where it was. With the three final fours a couple of years ago, just making a name in the tournamnet – just being UCLA, just the four letters across the chest – that’s huge for us. We’re doing a lot of things for the school.”

On playing in Tampa:
AS: “I actually have some family out in Florida; I have some family who’ve never been able to come to a game before who can come to watch me in Tampa.”