The menÆs NCAA Division I final four kicks off today in Charlotte, N.C. Indiana meets Creighton at 5 pm (ET) and SMU meets UConn 7:30 p.m (ET). The TV broadcast is tape delayed: 12:30 pm ET Saturday, Dec. 9, ESPN2. Here are quotes from the Dec. 7 press conference: Creighton coach Bret Simon: “This was a surprise for us, at least for me. … We graduated nine seniors, six of them starters, four of which are playing professionally now. We thought last year would be the year we’d be here and this year would be a rebuilding year. … But these guys came back the day after the season was over had the audacious goal of winning a national championship. ôI was willing to play along with them, but … in my heart of hearts — even the eternal optimist that I am — I was hoping that this would not be the year we ended our string of tournament appearances.” Indiana midfielder Ryan Mack, on his team’s 4-1 loss to Creighton earlier this season: “All of us want another crack at [Creighton]. We weren’t ready to play them. We didn’t have a set lineup and we were tired. They did have a great team — they’ve got some great forwards and we’re going to have our hands full — but we definitely want another chance.” Southern Methodist coach Schellas Hyndman, on making the quarterfinals so many times, but never the semifinals, until now: “Eight previous times to the quarterfinals. When I was with Eastern Illinois, we got [to the semifinals] in 1981, so I didn’t really want to wait 19 years before we came back. Yeah, eight frustrating times … three penalty kick games. … This is something special because I think the player also felt that burden. ôSo I think in wining, they were excited not only for SMU, but also for me. As I’ve said in the past, we waited for the new millennium to get here.” Connecticut defender Max Zieky, comparing this year to last year: “I think our focus is a little better this year. I think we have a little more experience coming here the second year in a row. I think there’s a calm within the group this time. We’re not overwhelmed by everything. Hopefully that experience will work for us in tomorrow night’s match.”