Watch: Anton Watson, Gonzaga players discuss Sweet 16 UCLA matchup

Ahead of Thursday night's Sweet 16 showdown against UCLA, Gonzaga players Anton Watson, Malachi Smith and Rasir Bolton addressed the media

LAS VEGAS — Ahead of Thursday night's Sweet 16 showdown against UCLA, Gonzaga players Anton Watson, Malachi Smith and Rasir Bolton addressed the media to discuss the matchup. 

Here's some of what the trio had to say. 

Watch the full press conference video above. 

Bolton on the UCLA matchup:

"They definitely have a great back court with Tyger [Campbell] and Amari Bailey. They play very hard and smart. They all play together. And they're trying to to win and they're tough minded. It's definitely going to be another tough matchup but I think Coach [Few] is getting us right with the scout. And we've just got to go out there and execute."

Smith on if the balls used in the tournament have anything to do with three-point shooting numbers being down:

"I think just for the whole landscape, like a lot of the balls that we're using, a lot of teams don't play with it. A couple of teams in our conference use it. But there will be games, like Tuesday we'll play with one ball and then Thursday play with a different one. So, I mean, coming to the tournament some of these teams have never used it. And having to prepare for two days with it isn't a lot of time. But maybe it's the moment or something, I don't know."

Watson on if UCLA vs. Gonzaga is a rivalry:

I would say there's been a rivalry kind of building up the past couple of years. Every time we play them it's a high-energy game. There's going to be a lot of fans there from both sides. And they really want to beat us and we want to beat them. It's going to be a fun game. We know what to expect. It's really just going to be competitive from the start."