Aaron Torres & Jason Martin React to Coach Cal Beating Rick Pitino and Look Ahead to the Rest of the Tourney!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome in everybody, Fox Sports Radio, Fox Sports Saturday, Eric Torris,
Jason Martin. We are broadcasting live from the tireraq dot
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Speaker 3 (00:28):
The way tire buying should be.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
I'll tell you what Jason Martin and I were texting
this morning getting ready for this show. The theme of
the text chain was, uh, tournament's been lacking a little
drama so far. Well, Houston has just made a free
throw to go up four with two point one seconds left.
Gonzaga pushed them to the wire byu gets a defensive

(00:53):
stop just moments ago to survive against Wisconsin. As de
Seger told you, we had Arkansas winner earlier. It has
been I think it's it's safe to say, j mart
I know that there aren't a ton of you know,
there's no thirteen seed in the second round, but today
kind of felt like the tournament for the first time

(01:14):
maybe so far this march.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
How you doing, my man, I'm doing a lot better
today than I was the last couple of days. When
it comes to the basketball, you're one hundred percent right
about that. Outside of that first game, which you could
tune out of by the first first time out, everything
else has been at least pretty dog on good. And
even though this late slate it looked like we were
going to see a couple of runaway, close blowout situations,

(01:38):
all of them got tight late and then this late
game with UCLA and Tennessee even though Tennessee's up seven,
these are two really good defensive teams and they could
be very streaky offensively too, So I'm not sure about
that one. But past that, like, there's been a lot
of fight in a lot of these teams, including this
Gonzaga team that easily it's not anywhere near one of
their better teams. We know that, but you know, down

(02:00):
twelve against this Houston club deep into the second half
and then you fight it back to where Houston has
to win the thing basically with a free throw at
the end to actually ice it away. Shows a lot
of guts from them. You've seen some really good coaching
performances from guys that have had a lot of talent
in the past on the floor. Maybe they don't have
as much talent, and they're showing how good a coaches

(02:22):
they are because of the way that these guys have
been playing for them.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
So that was a little dig at Ben McCollum from Drake.
Huh No, I'm just kidding. Let's get I'm kidding, Let's
get right into it. Awesome, awesome, awesome day hoops. I
agree with you, and listen, I'm somebody who loves college hoops,
but I will sit here and say that the first
two days certainly lack drama. Again, Houston survives for people
just joining us. The game was not over when we

(02:47):
came on air. The two free throws late ice it BYU,
by the way, just clinched their first Sweet sixteen bit
since Jimmer for Debt was on campus. Jimmer was in
the building in Denver tonight BYU beats Wisconsin. But I'll
tell you a story of the day, story of the tournament.
And I think this might have been who you may

(03:07):
have hypothetically been alluding to. J Mart the coach of
the tenh seeded team in the West Region that was
playing in Providence, Rhode Island, earlier today. So listen, you
know we don't need to relitigate and go over John
Caliperi's history. We know he's put a lot of players
into the NBA. We know that it has resulted in

(03:28):
one national championship. And I will say I've been a
cal defender. But when you tune in an NBA game
and Jamal Murray's going for forty here, and Shay Gildess
Alexander's going for fifty there, and Devin Booker's putting up
forty two there, you know, you start to really say, like,
how did this guy on win one championship at Kentucky?
And it ran its course? He leaves Kentucky last year

(03:50):
after a loss to fourteen seed Oakland in the opening
round of the NCAA Tournament. This, of course, two years
after losing to a fifteen seed in twenty twenty two. Real,
you know, at one, I've been a defender. But Arkansas
started zero to five in the SEC this year. This
again after Caliperry lost to a fourteen seed in the

(04:11):
NCAA Tournament a year ago at Kentucky, which led, of
course to him leaving. I bring it up because Arkansas,
quite ironically, J Mart, we were on when I think
their season turnaround. They go to rupp Arena on February. First,
they get the win in Cali Perry's old stomping grounds.
Now that got preempty because Luka Dancic got traded about
an hour after that game went final. So we didn't

(04:31):
talk much about that game. But I only bring it
up to say they've been playing better. But again, the
narratives about Caliperry in March, you know, they weren't gonna
go away until he proved otherwise well as a ten seed.
He beats Bill self in Kansas on Thursday. But then
today against Rick Patino, we know the history between those two.

(04:52):
You can call them rivals, you can call them enemies,
you can call them whatever. Rick Petino has had this
revival tour of his career, of his character, of whatever.
And then they ran into the Arkansas Razorbacks fun game,
maybe a little hijacked there.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
By the referees for a big for a big chuck
of it.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Arkansas wins seventy five sixty six, though Cali Perry gets
his revenge to the critics, to the haters, to the doubters,
to Rick Patino, and Arkansas is headed to the Sweet sixteen.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, so this is the first time Cal Perry has
taken a team to the second weekend in a handful
of years. It's been a while, and it just looks
like right. So they're zero to five, and after the game,
I saw the postgame interview on the floor, and you know,
he was asked about and he's just like, man, they've
got a really good team over there. He said, they
just missed a lot of shots. If they had made

(05:45):
a few more, they'd have beaten us. They'd probably beaten us.
There was something honest in what he was saying there, Like,
I know he might have been speaking a little bit
to his team, but he was saying, like, man, they
were all time terrible shooting basketball in this one. We're
We're lucky to get out of here. This thing was
a war, is kind of what he was saying. But
I've always he can be easy to hate, but I've
never hated Cal. I've actually kind of liked Cal. I've

(06:06):
thought at times he wasn't the best coach on the
floor that I've ever seen, but I understand that there's
a lot of politician in him. There's a lot of
showmen in him. But I've also appreciated some of his
candor at times, and that was one of those moments.
But there's something to be said for enjoying what you
do again. And I think that's the takeaway for me

(06:29):
here is I don't think that was fun for cal
this last couple of years at Kentucky. I think he
was over it. They may have been over him, the
fans may have been over him, but he was over
it the pressure there. He went to Arkansas and he
was able to go coach ball again, and that's really
what he wanted to do because he could have easily retired.
He had plenty of money. He said, I love coaching basketball.

(06:49):
So he stays in the SEC and he goes to
a school that has some tradition, that won a championship
back in ninety four, but at the same time, it
was just going to be different. And so he was
able to coach a basketball ta that didn't have all
world talent all across the floor, and when they struggled,
it wasn't Sky's following He's the worst coach in the world.
He was able to work with them, and he was
able to round them into form, make them believe again,

(07:12):
and then get them into the NCAA tournament where they're
playing pretty good ball, and now they move on to
the sweet sixteen, and I do think that that's I
think part of this is he got a refresher, like
he got a almost like a clean slate. He's free,
there's fresh air. He was carsick, and he was able
to open the door at the rest area and walk

(07:34):
around and kind of get his bearings back. I feel
like that's what happened. I feel like he was stifled,
kind of choked in a lot of ways with what
was going on in Lexington. And he just looks like
a guy who's enjoying what he does again, and that's
good to see.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
I think there's zero doubt, and I think, you know,
as somebody covers this stuff pretty closely, but I'll say
I think that maybe I fell into some of the
narratives as well. And listen, you know, I'll readily admit it.
When they lost to Oakland, I said he should resign,
and I said he should retire. And the reason was
is one, he's sixty five years old, and so I'm like,
you know, what are you gonna do? Go get another job?

(08:08):
And then two I just said, listen, whatever. And I've
been a defender caw. I'm like you, I've never really
had a problem with him. I think his honesty and
candor catches people by surprise, and I think it's actually
a little bit refreshing. But I just bring it up
because a couple things stand out. Is One, when he
did decide to leave, I agree. I think it was

(08:30):
good for everybody. I think Kentucky got an alum in
Mark Pope back in. You know, we'll see what they're
obviously playing tomorrow, so we'll see if they can advance
to Sweet sixteen. But I think he needed it as well.
And I will say I was the guy. I was
one of many guys. I'm not the only one, but
I said, you know, it looks like the games passed
him by whatever. But then in the back of I

(08:51):
had two things. One, for all the criticism, they were
actually very good last year. I mean they got a
three seed that you know, that's how you get upset
by a fourteen seed. But two, when Arkansas gave him
the lifeline, I actually said the same thing you did.
I said, if he wants to coach and somebody wants
to pay him to coach, who am I to say
that he doesn't have the right to do that. And

(09:11):
I think the big thing that stands out to me
is exactly what you said is that it's it's clear
that I guess just that he's believed in. Again, is
you know, the fan base, like you said, was over him,
and especially I think really the last two or three years,
it felt like no matter what he did, it wasn't

(09:34):
good enough, and it was almost like, you know what
it was really like, J Martin, I know you'll appreciate this.
It was like Ryan Day before he won the national title.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
Oh, that's a great comparison.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, and and you know it it felt like and
you live in that part of the country, so tell
me if I'm wrong, But it felt like half of
the fan base was rooting against him. But then like
a like like, let me even take that back. Half
of the fan base was rooting against them, but a
big portion of that fan base was rooting basically rooting
it for it to be over, Like if we keep losing,

(10:03):
he'll eventually go. And again I think that was the
take with Ryan Day. And so to be at Arkansas
where you have a clean slate, you know, it got dark.
But you know, I don't know if the fans. Ever,
I just I don't think the fans knew what to expect.
I think they were disappointed with the start, but it
wasn't like, screw this guy, we don't like him. And
then I think also seeing the way that Kentucky fans

(10:26):
kind of treat him on the way out, they wanted
to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he
had to give them a reason to cheer and to
support him. And I think the big takeaway for me,
and I'm going a lot of different directions, but I'll
just bring it back to exactly what you just said
is you could tell he's refreshed. But I think it
shows having a place where people believe in you, where
your own fans aren't in many cases rooting against you.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
You can see that the guy still knows a thing
or two about coaching basketball.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, I mean, I think I think all of that
is exactly true. He is actually given a little bit
of leeway to coach now he doesn't have to win
a national championship and year won. The Ryan Day comparison
is right because it's a double edged sword to be
able to recruit just about anybody you want, because if

(11:12):
you fail it's never on the kids. It's almost never
going to be on them. It's almost always going to
be on you, fair or unfair. And I think that
that goes with the territory. But because we got used
to cal having the kind of talent on the floor
that he had at Kentucky, the one and done teams
and everything else like that, anytime they lost it was
a disappointment. And you've never put it generally on the players.

(11:34):
You always put it on col And so now he's
at Arkansas, and yes, they're gonna we'll see what comes
in next year, for example, talent wise down there, and
Musclman had built a little bit of something there already.
But it's just different, Like no, now, I think the
point about them not knowing what to expect, it's like

(11:56):
they were happy to have him, Like that's the difference.
It's like, we know what this guy is capable of.
He's won everywhere he's ever been. He took a UMass
to the final four. You know, he was within a
couple of free throws of Memphis winning a national championship
with Derek Rose. Like he's had talent all over the
place and he's been able to bring them wherever he
has been. Yes, there's some things there that you don't

(12:17):
love about cal I understand that that comes with the territory.
But he's a proven winner and so we got him now,
so let's give him a chance. Let's give him time
to actually build something. And if you give the patience
is what I think he is granted now that he
never was in Lexington and increasingly if he didn't win
a championship, he was a bomb and that just has

(12:39):
to be a miserable way to go to work every day.

Speaker 2 (12:41):
Well, and it's one thing if there's thirteen or fourteen
other fan bases in your in your conference that feel
that way.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
It's another thing if your own fans feel that way.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
Right, and again to use the Ryan Day comparison, and
this is obviously we all know it's where you cross
the line. But you know, Ryan Day's getting threats and
he's getting this and he's getting that. And you know,
like I said, it's one thing if if there's media
that doesn't like you or doesn't believe in he it's
one thing.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
But when your own fans are are you know.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Not only like championship or bust expectations are okay, but
when when you lose and I don't know, man, it's
just it did get so toxic. And I'll say the
other thing really quick and we'll come back and talk
Patino on the other side. But the other thing, too
is and I don't know how closely you followed this,
but it has felt like for a port for since

(13:33):
the day he left, a portion of the Kentucky fan
base has made it a priority to root against him.
And then beyond that, I think this is the weird part.
And I know you're not on social media, but basically,
every time something goes wrong for Arkansas, let Arkansas fans know, hey,
this is what you signed up for. This guy can't

(13:55):
win in March, this guy's time has passed, this guy whatever.

Speaker 3 (13:59):
And so I think that that's the part that makes
me happy.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
I'm certainly not saying all Kentucky fans are like that,
but there was a very vocal minority that every time
something went wrong for Arkansas. And I'm not talking about
when they played Kentucky. If you want to root against
your former coach when they're playing your team, that's fine,
but just openly rooting against and whatever a coach that
brought you a national title. Here's the other thing too,

(14:22):
j Martin, he did them a favor by leaving. Remember
he had like a thirty forty million dollar buyout, and
if he just gritted his teeth and said I'm not
going anywhere, there was nothing that Kentucky could do about it. Now,
I think it was best for everybody that he did.
But yeah, I'm going in circles again. But I will
say I'm happy for the guy, and I think more

(14:43):
than anything today obviously Saturday taught us that again. I
think because of especially the recent early losses, I think
there was reason to doubt and reason to question if
the game had passed him by.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
But they've been a really good team the last month
or so.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
And now how about this the guy that everybody said
didn't know what he was doing back to back wins
over Bill self and Rick Patino to go to the
Sweet sixteen Fox who were had anything?

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Jaymar No. The only thing I would say, it's just
that Kentucky point you made about their fan base seemingly
wanting to see him fail. It's like, what did he
do to you?

Speaker 3 (15:20):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (15:20):
I mean, yes, he didn't win maybe every championship every
year that you wanted him to win. That's fine, but
he didn't desert you in the middle of the night.
He didn't desert you period. He tried everything under the sun.
There was never a moment when I didn't think he
was uber competitive. I never saw him phone it in
anything like that. He was recruiting hard the entire time.
I felt like he gave everything he had, came up

(15:42):
short in some spots where I think we admit he
should have and those are teams that probably should have
cashed it in. But you know, it's hard to win championships.
But outside of that, it's just like, I don't understand
this level of vitriol towards this guy who really did
nothing to you and certainly didn't say anything negative about
you after he left.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah, and I'll wrap on this. I'll take it one
step further. Is not only did he not say anything
negative when he left. You know, this is a minor thing,
but they have that summer tournament, the TBT, and Kentucky
had a team full of his former players, and he
went and cheered on the Kentucky team. Now it's not
Kentucky basketball, but it's like all he ever did was

(16:21):
support the school, support his players, that's the other thing too.
And I know we kind of led the segment by
you mentioning this Jmart, but you know, he has this
reputation as whatever, and it's like all these guys swear
by him.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
I mean, I don't know if you remember this Jmart, but.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Like it was sort of a story when you know
when they went back to Rup and half the players
were either wearing arket. You know, his former players at
Kentucky were either wearing Arkansas gear or saying I'm rooving
for Kentucky, but I love coach Cal. And it's like,
I know there is a reputation or a thought about
him and what he may be about, but like done
right by his players. You know, there's been NCAA stuff

(16:57):
in a different you know, it's in a different world.
He certainly was alleged to have broke some NCAA rules.
I know there was no wrongdoing technically. I know we
all know that that's kind of a little bit of
a silly narrative sometimes, but whatever, Cal gets the win,
and yeah, man, I'm happy for him. It sounds like
you are to Arkansas. By the way, we'll now play
Texas Tech, who beat Drake earlier. In the day, Fox

(17:19):
Sports Radio er toors Jason Martin, broadcasting live from the
Tyreck dot Com studios.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
But I want to do Jamar.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
I want to come back and talk about the other
side of the coin. Rick Patino, you know we were
on air after that Big East Tournament last week.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
We're giving him his flowers.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
You know he'll never have the wins, but where does
he rank all time among greatest guys to ever coach
this game? I thought he had a really bad day
and we're going to discuss that next.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 4 (17:46):
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Speaker 2 (17:57):
Welcome back, Everybody Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (18:01):
Mary Mack loved this song.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
It's actually the perfect metaphor for Caliperry, and I know
that's exactly where you're going with this. There's a lot
of people, I don't know if they wish death upon Caliperry,
but they definitely are rooting against him.

Speaker 3 (18:13):
Jock. Caliperry in Arkansas is a seven seed stun the
number two seed Big East regular Season Champs, Big Eiast
Tournament Champs Saint John's in the round of thirty two
on Saturday, Jason for the thrill of victory, there is
also the agony of defeat. And I thought this year
was very interesting for me.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
By the way. That is legit one of the best
hip hop albums of the century right there, there you go.
Just wanted to drop that real quick. He was never
able to follow that. I mean, he had a couple
things after that, but like, and he's been an interesting figure,
but in terms of musically he never even approached that.
But there were that thing was it's it's on the

(18:55):
short list. It really is. So the track before that one,
as a matter of fact, that's many men but patiently waiting.
The track before it, to me is one of the
greatest hip up songs of all time.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
There you go, I'll tell you this. You know Torres
high school football, oh two ish oh man. Yeah, we
were jamming out to this and that that whole album
in the locker room pretty much before every practice, every game.
Fifty Cents done a lot of cool stuff in the
business world. Like you said, he's not he had done.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Say, he's been a really interesting figure. Like he's he's been,
but like musically, he never even scratched the surface of
that record. Again.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yeah, I just I just know it's funny.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
I went on a literal like two day fifty cent
like Google binge. I watched Power, which was the show
that he was the executive producer for, and we just
watched it probably within the last like four months or so.
And so then I started doing doing research on all
of his business ventures and stuff, and so basically owns
the entire town of Shreveport, Louisiana for people that want

(19:54):
a little homework assignment for the night. But let's get
back to basketball, all right. So cal Perry has his
moment in the sunshine. Turns out he kind of knows
what he's doing. Hall of fame or funny how that works.
Got to also say, you know, we said a lot
of nice things about Rick Patino on this show last week.

Speaker 3 (20:12):
I don't think any of them weren't true.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
But I'll also say, and I'll say this, cal Perry
clearly has a talented team. And you know, my personal
opinion was when the bracket came out, I thought that
Arkansas had the size and length and athleticism that could
give Saint John's problems. But I'll also say tough day
for Rick Patino, you know one in some ways you
feel bad he's had this career revival. He's seventy two

(20:36):
years old, so realistically, as great of a coach as
he is, I don't know how many better chances that
he is going to have than than this one right here.
But I'll also say didn't think it was his best
day in the ex's and o's department, which is not
something you say often. Obviously, r J Luis, the Biggiast
player of the year, was on the bench late in

(20:57):
the game, and you know what, Ian and Mary pull
up the sound of him. You know, we don't need
it this second. I should have told you, but we'll
get to it in a second. But r J Luis
was on the bench when the game mattered. Beyond that,
I thought it was weird the whole Arkansas frontline was
in followed trouble. They kind of never really went inside
to Zoobi edge of four, who was basically their best

(21:19):
player on the day. Just felt like as greate as
Patino has been all year in his entire career, probably
wasn't his best day.

Speaker 1 (21:27):
Jmartin, No, it definitely wasn't it. Was weird. It was odd,
the r J Luise thing, and even the way he
talked about it afterwards very strange, and he kind of
had I was trying to go back and find it
while you were talking just now. Last year, his first
year there, he had a press conference where he just

(21:47):
crushed his team. Oh yeah, famous. I can't remember it.
I can't remember like when it happened. It was I
remember just thinking, my goodness, that's one of the most
unbelievable things I've ever heard of coach say about his
own players.

Speaker 3 (21:59):
And fat and slow was basically the theme of the year.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah yeah, that's right. Yeah yeah, okay, so so I'm
not crazy. Part of me was like, maybe he didn't
do that, but I thought I remember talking to Brian
Know about it on one of the Monday shows that
we had filled in for last year. But this was odd,
and the way he talked about Luis after the game
was odd, and I mentioned this to you in the chat.
It was just like, I don't recall ever seeing a
coach like walk from the coaches box over to the

(22:26):
opposing coaches box and shake the hand to have a
conversation with the guy that he's coaching. Against with four
point nine seconds left in the game. And that's what
happened in this game, Like there were free throws being
taken and yet it was basically over at that point.
But at the same time, like they didn't wait for
he didn't wait for the horn. He just rolled over
there and said, I knew a better man today. I'm

(22:46):
ready to get out of here. Like it was very,
very weird. It was like all of a sudden, in
the last handful of minutes, he just decided, I don't
think Saint john Z's to win this game, Like I
don't I don't think we should win this game. Like
it it was very strange. I don't really know how
to explain it.

Speaker 2 (23:03):
So a couple things. One, I'm trying to find reading
the quotes right now. So first he said, this is
this is last year, this was this.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
Is the one I was talking I was referencing.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
Okay, First he said, quote, this is the most unenjoyable
experience of my lifetime.

Speaker 3 (23:20):
This has been so disappointing.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
Then he said, quote, do we have explative starts with
s ens and y? Do we have expedive facilities? Yes
we do, but we're doing something about that. But that's
not the reason we're losing. Having expeditive facilities has nothing
to do with guarding. Joel Soriano is slow laterally, He's
not very fast on the court. Chris Ledlam is slow laterally,

(23:44):
Sean Conway's slow, Lattery Blady Brady Dunn relapsed physically weak.
Drisa is slow laterally. We kind of lost this season
with the way we recruited. We recruited the antithesis of
the way I coach. It's a good group. They try hard,
but they're just not very tough.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
I mean, dude, Like I remember it, and I was
just like, how do you play? How do you send
your kid there? Sure at that point it's like, I mean,
he you don't. You don't have to call him out
by name like he called him all he like he
went down basically the post sheet, the score sheet after
the game that's handed to the media, and he was
just like going down. He's like, no, yeah, I coach him,

(24:20):
he's not good. Yeah, I coach him, he's not good. Yeah,
I coach him. Yeah, he plays really hard. But that's
basically a bless your heart statement right there, Like, oh,
he's about his own guys, And it wasn't the end
of the year, Like, it wasn't their last game. How
did they play for him again after that?

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Well, and let's get to what he said after the game,
and I'll say this is one I'm with you. I
thought that the postgame handshake with about six seven seconds
to go was a little bit soft, a little bit
you know whatever, like basically, you know, kind of like
a sored loser for lack of a better team, right,

(24:56):
you know, and whatever. So anyway, after the game, for
people who didn't watch it, r J. Lewis was the
Big East by the way, I think it's r J. Lewis,
so I apologize it spelled Luis. I think it's Lewis.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
But r J.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
Lewis, Big East Player of the Year, was on the bench.
And keep in mind, Jamart, I know you know this,
but it was still like a four to five point game.
It wasn't out of control. And even the broadcasters were saying,
like why is he on the bench? One and then
too they were saying like Saint John's isn't a goo
three point shooting team, and he's kind of the best
three point shooter that you have.

Speaker 1 (25:28):
Steve Lapis, Steve Lapis was doing a game and Lapis said,
he goes, look, man, Patino's gone a lot further and
he's coaching career than I have. But he's like, I'm
not taking that guy out if he's won for thirty
from three. Well here's And I didn't disagree with what
Lapis was saying at all.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
No, it was weird. And Patino was asked about it
after the game. Here's what he had to say.

Speaker 4 (25:47):
You had RJ on the bench, you know, for a
pretty long stretch at the end. Was that just because
he just didn't wasn't making him or was there something
more to it?

Speaker 5 (25:56):
Played thirty minutes, it's a long time, so he was no,
played thirty minutes, and I went with other people. You
already know the answers, Roger, you're asking leading questions. You
already know it, So don't.

Speaker 1 (26:08):
Ask leading questions.

Speaker 5 (26:09):
You already know why he didn't play.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Was there one play with ARJ that made you sit
him in the last five minutes?

Speaker 5 (26:14):
You know he was three for seventeen. You know he
was oh for three, So you're answering your own I'm
not gonna knock one of my players.

Speaker 1 (26:20):
But you just did.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, now we've said all the right things about Patino,
and I think deservedly so he kind of came off
like a sore loser. And I'll say this too, I
listened to some of his press conference. I'm telling you, man,
I'm telling you when that bracket came out, because because
it's easy to forget this, Cali Perry owned him for
a decade when Cali Perry was at Kentucky and he

(26:43):
was at Louisville, and could if you go back and listen,
and we don't have the sound. I didn't ask for
the sound, so that's on me. But after the Omaha
they beat Omaha in round one, you could feel because
remember this whole year he's been you know, it's been
a personal revival tour for him. Is he's on fallin
and he's smiling and he's kissing babies and whatever.

Speaker 3 (27:03):
And you could see.

Speaker 2 (27:05):
His tenor change in that pre you know, as the
as it started to switch to the Arkansas game. And
I just think Cali Perry owned him at Louisville. I
think this was the one guy he didn't want to see.
I know it's easy to say in hindsight, but you
could just tell. And by the way he said and
done all the right things with the media this season,

(27:26):
and I think, you know, sore loser on the court
kind of shaking cal Perry's hand with five, six second
and eight seconds left in the game. I thought he
sounded like a sore loser. At the press conference, I thought,
you know, you and I have been in those situations.
I'm sure some of our listeners are part of media.
You gotta ask tough questions. The biggest player of the
year was on the bench to end the game, was
not fouled out, and I thought he was kind of

(27:46):
standoffish in a way that he didn't need to be.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yeah, so I'm trying to think of a good analogy
based on what you're saying, the sore loser argument. It's like,
so I played tennis in high school. That was the
sport that I was on team and let her in
and everything else. But there was at least once or
twice where I knew I was gonna lose, Like I
just didn't have it that day. This guy was just

(28:10):
far better than I was. Maybe he was underseated, maybe
I was overseed, who knows what it was at the time,
But like towards the end, when I know I was
gonna lose. I started just tattooing the ball, just sending
it out of the cage, basically just completely throwing it
like he would serve and I would just make sure
that that thing was just ridiculously out And like, you

(28:32):
know what you're doing in that moment, you're stealing the
win away. Sure, you're not giving them the victory. You're
essentially just like, yeah, I'm gonna get out of here.
Yeah you win great, But it becomes about you. It's
not really about the other person in that moment. And
that's that's kind of how I feel. It's just like, no,
you gotta lose honorably, like you have to. You have

(28:53):
to lose being competitive. You don't just you know what,
I don't think we're gonna beat this guy today. I
don't like the way my team's playing. And if you
listen to the way he talked about him last year,
not the same guys, of course, but the way he
talked about his team last year. The guy that can
say that in a press conference, I'm not surprised would
then kind of do this. But it's just like, how

(29:14):
much success do you need? Man? Like you had a great,
great year only one guy is gonna be happy at
the end of this tournament when it comes to just
the sheer win loss of it all, like the emotions
that the kids face and that they're dealing with when
they lose and all the stuff. Notwithstanding, you got to
be better than that. I'm sorry, Like you've been too

(29:35):
good for too long at too many places. You've had
too many people bow down to your greatness to do
something like that. And you know, I don't think that
cal took it that way or whatever, but it does.
It's almost like you're sort of showing up what's happening
on the floor to make it about yourself.

Speaker 2 (29:54):
Don't disagree. Saint John's falls And of course Arkansas advances.
They will play Texas Tech on Thursday night. By the way,
how about this host I'm filling in for Well, but
you know, play the music, Disager. We'll get to what's
trending in a second. I was thinking about this. They're
playing in San Francisco on Thursday, filling in with Mike

(30:16):
harmon Wednesday night, filling in for Doug Gottlieb on Friday.
In theory, I could sneak up for that game if
Disager knows it's about a thirty minute flight.

Speaker 3 (30:24):
I was thinking about do I fly up for the
West Regionals.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
I probably won't, but it's a good way to transition
to Steve de Sager with what's trending.

Speaker 6 (30:31):
Would take longer than thirty seconds to find parking there.
Just for the record, by the way, I'm taking you, bro,
you're renting your car as you were talking about coaches
with the handshake before the game is over. Famously, Woody
Hayes of undefeated Ohio States nineteen seventy five season went
to the Rose Bowl. I repeat undefeated, and in the
Rose Bowl we're shutting out UCLA and then got beat

(30:55):
by coach Dick vermil and UCLA and there were still
eight seconds on the clocks. They're starting to pick the
coach up on their shoulders, but the clock is stopped. Nonetheless,
with Kirk Goudi at the mic, Woody Hayes walked across
the middle of the field to shake hands before the
game was over.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
You're starting across the field the deck for a meal, the.

Speaker 3 (31:18):
Shake hands with him.

Speaker 6 (31:21):
So it has happened. And this, you know, of course,
what he hates, that whole world revolved around him. So
what does he care what.

Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, but like that that's disrespectful though, right, Like the
way we're talking like that doesn't feel like that's not
a respectful thing that what he Hayes was doing. And
I don't think it was a respectful move by Rick
Patino either.

Speaker 6 (31:39):
Yeah. I think it's not respectful to the game, is
what that was.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
And like, like, like j Mart said, it's almost like
you're still making it about yourself and taking it away
not just from cal Perry, but I mean for the
Arkansas players. I mean that's their moment too, and you're
kind of making it again about yourself.

Speaker 6 (31:55):
We've got one late game in the second round of
tonight's NCAA tournament coverage to see now up fifty five
thirty nine on UCLA with about seven minutes to go,
and you kind of reference what kind of game it
could be with these two teams matching up. Yes, one
team is shooting only forty percent from the floor and
the other at thirty five percent from the floor. But
it is now Tennessee up fifty five thirty nine, So

(32:18):
things are going to be done here for the night.
Tennessee's gonna get a victory and face either Kentucky or
Illinois in Indy. In the Midwest Regional semis Perdue is
going to Indianapolis, not that far from campus after beating
twelve seed McNees today seventy six sixty two. And by
the way, Houston A one seed advances to face Purdue

(32:40):
LJ Crier thirty points. Is Houston Beacon Zaga tonight eighty
one seventy six, Texas Tech over Drake Saint John's two
seed beaten by Arkansas one seed overall, Auburn beat Creighton
eighty two to seventy. Michigan advances beating Texas A and
M ninety one seventy nine, and it was BYU or
three seed Wisconsin ninety one eighty nine. Even though the

(33:03):
Badger's done. John John Jay had thirty seven points n
tournament victories for Bradley and Chattanooga. In women's hoops, Yukon
one oh three thirty four over Arkansas State, and they're telling.

Speaker 1 (33:16):
You can you can you tell your guys? Can you
tell your women to calhm down?

Speaker 4 (33:20):
Wow?

Speaker 1 (33:20):
There, Like I think they had thirteen points at the half. Well,
it was a halftime score to say, you're gonna have
to look it up. But the halftime score was abysmal.
I saw it on like a ticker on my phone,
and I was just like, this is embarrassing us.

Speaker 6 (33:32):
He had a home game and their opponent had eleven
points in the first step. Let's take a look here.
That was a seventy one time school was the US.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
See it was if I'm reading my.

Speaker 1 (33:41):
Mask, like sixty nine thirteen or something.

Speaker 3 (33:43):
Sixty six to sixteen is what it looks like.

Speaker 1 (33:46):
Dude, what are we doing here?

Speaker 3 (33:48):
We're dominating. That's what we do with March one.

Speaker 6 (33:51):
NBA note Lebron James is back, Lakers have Luka Dantic,
they have Austin Reeves back, and they're losing at home
at halftime to the Chicago Bulls sixty five six two,
even though Luca has twenty nine points in the first half.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
Back to you got your Broughnny in there, man.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
Oh, eighteen minutes from now. We got a lot to
say about bronni Erturus, Jason Martin tell you what jamrt
will come back. We'll put a bow on the Saturday
in college oops should mention it. By the way, speaking
of college hoops, for the best pregame show every weekend,
be sure to count, be sure to Tune into Fox
Sports Radios Countdown presented by BETMGM every Saturday and Sunday
morning from nine am to noon Eastern six to nine

(34:27):
am Pacific. We will count you down to all of
the biggest games. There is no better place to prime
you for the tournament games than right here. Tune in
to Countdown, presented by BETMGM, every Saturday and Sunday morning,
right here on Fox Sports.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
Come back, put a bow on college hoops and then Yes,
as j mart said, we got a lot to discuss
with Bronni. That's all next, Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (34:54):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
Welcome back, everybody.

Speaker 2 (34:58):
Fox Sports Radio eron Torris Jason Martin broadcasting live from
the Tireraq dot Com studios. As de Sega just told you.
One game left in college hoops for the day. Seven
tickets have been punched to the Sweet sixteen Tennessee. Looks
like it is about to be number eight. They are
up by seventeen points with four minutes to go. Over

(35:21):
you Cla mc cronin's screaming into the abyss right now.
I'm sure he'll complain about having to travel back to
the East Coast after the game. But Tennessee is four
minutes away from going to the sweet sixteen. By the way,
what would that be? Would that be? Three SEC teams
so far? Tennessee, Arkansas, and Auburn. Did I miss any

(35:42):
Who'd I miss?

Speaker 1 (35:43):
A and M? Law No? Three? Is that? I think
because A and M lost to Michigan.

Speaker 2 (35:47):
By the way, I don't know that it became a
huge talking point SEC getting fourteen teams in this tournament.
I'll just give my quick take. I'll toss it over
to you. By the way, I should mention before we do.
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(36:10):
chickens or a few acres. Our team members will have
you succeed, help you succeed season after season. Tractor Supply
for life out here, and be sure to check out
Tractor Supply Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge at Fox Sports
Radio dot com. See how you're doing against our hosts
with their picks and who the top ranked listeners are.
The top listener will with the best bracket at Fox
Sports Radio dot Com will get a twenty five hundred

(36:31):
dollars gift card to tractor Supply. So yeah, it felt
like there was a lot of, you know, debate about
fourteen teams from the SEC. It sounds like a lot
three have advanced. I believe about six or so have
been eliminated, obviously Kentucky Florida among the many that will
play tomorrow. Did you have any issue with that, Jmart

(36:51):
as far as how the bracket played itself.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
Out, not necessarily other than I mean, I don't think
Texas probably should have been in, But I felt the
same way about North Carolina. They got in. But I mean,
you look at everything else, who are you gonna put
in that you felt like distinguished themselves to a degree
where you would have left out one of the lower
ranked teams in the SEC. I don't know that there

(37:17):
were that many. And then in this era of these
two big conferences, specifically, this is just what you're gonna get,
And if you add more teams to the field, you're
just gonna get even more of this. It's gonna benefit
them probably more often than anybody else. But I just
I just kind of shrugged my shoulders at it. I
don't think that it ultimately means all that much.

Speaker 2 (37:37):
Yeah, I'm with you because I saw a lot of
the pushback there. And the thing that I go back
to is, you know, out of conference games did happen,
and like that was the thing, like people were like, oh,
how do you get so many teams?

Speaker 3 (37:49):
And it's like, I don't know. Oklahoma was undefeated in
the out of conference.

Speaker 2 (37:53):
I think Georgia was like twelve George beats Saint John's
in the out of conference I mean Arkansas a couple
of nights wins. So it was a weird deal where
I just it was hard for me to get fired up.
And you and I talked about this last week. We
had the bracketologist, Roco Miller on, and you know, the
net is kind of the primary tool that is used,
and the net does weigh heavily in favor of these

(38:14):
power conference teams. But again, it's like you said, is
who got left out that deserved to be in Ohio state,
you know, North Carolina guide and even tho they probably
shouldn't have. You could argue West Virginia, Okay, by the way.

Speaker 1 (38:25):
Their governor certainly did.

Speaker 2 (38:26):
I was gonna ask you more so from the North
Carolina side of things. Did you find anything fishy about
their guy being the head of the committee and them
getting in or was that just a weird coincidence.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
I don't know about fishy, but it's a bad look.
It's just you can't prove a negative. Like you can't
prove that anybody that wants to say there was a
problem there, you can't really blame them for it. But
you also can't prove that there was something going on.
It's just an unfortunate I guess coincidence. I don't know
if I do even it. It's just a way that
it was, so I guess. I guess I would agree, yeah,

(38:58):
it's more of a coincidence anything else, but it just
breeds conspiracy.

Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah, you know, I don't know that there's anything perfect
in terms of what you can do, but you know,
maybe it's time to get like ads and people like
you know, there's plenty of retired coaches. Excuse me, you
look at the college Football Playoff Committee, it's a lot
of coaches like Roy Williams doesn't seem to be doing
very much. I always see him at North Carolina games.
Tony Bennett's available coach k or whatever. So it was

(39:25):
an interesting week to say the least. North Carolina obviously
is out. Duke is the only ACC team left. Meanwhile,
Tennessee about to be the third SEC team to get
to the Sweet sixteen as this one is just about
to go final. Fox Sports Radio aertors Jason Martin broadcasting
live from the tire rack dot Com studios. We will
come back, we will switch gears to the NBA. Ronnie

(39:48):
James had the best game of his career the other night,
but does it actually really matter? We'll discuss all that
next air tourus Jason Martin. This is Fox Sports Radio.
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio. Welcome in everybody.
Hour three two, hour two. Got at excited there, tours

(40:11):
and mars. I'm so excited to talk about Bronnie. I
traveled into the future. What can I say? We're broadcasting
live from the tyreck dot com studios. I think in
both hour two and hour three, tyreck dot Com will
help you get there. An unmatched election, fast, free shipping,
free road hazard protection, over ten thousand recommended installers. Tyraq
dot com the way tire buying should be. Yes, it

(40:32):
is our two of tours, and Martin, we're taking you
up till two am Eastern time. Bertie Frado of The
Bernie Frado Show follows.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
Us two hours from now. Not one got my tom
zones messed up? All right?

Speaker 2 (40:46):
Our one, by the way, shouldn't mention to say you're
just told you. But one game going on still in
the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee with a thirteen point lead thirty
nine seconds.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
To go, looks like they will advance.

Speaker 2 (40:56):
They will join Arkansas and Auburn, three SEC teams in
the Sweet sixteen.

Speaker 3 (41:02):
Three more, by the way, can advance tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky will all play tomorrow, part of
eight games that tips off at twelve ten Eastern time
on Sunday, starting with Florida and the two time defending
champion Yukon Huskies. All right, j mart you know we
can talk college hoops all day, but we got to
get to we gotta get to the NBA. De Seger
just told you. Lakers in action on Saturday. Here they're

(41:28):
currently playing the Chicago Bulls at Crypto dot Com Arena.
It is in the third quarter as we speak. Lebron
James is back. But the story of the week with
the Lakers, it was not Lebron. It was his son, Bronni,
who just finished what was undoubtedly the best game of
his NBA career. It was Thursday night against the Milwaukee

(41:49):
Bucks in Los Angeles. Bronni James. Now, admittedly there was
no Luca Johnson, there was no Luka Doncic on the floor,
there was no Lebron on the floor, so very banged
up Lakers team. This was on Thursday playing the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lakers lose by twenty nine points. But Bronnie James in

(42:11):
thirty minutes played has seventeen points, five assists on seven
of ten shooting, by far, the best game of his
NBA careers a Los Angeles Laker, Jamart, we have statues
of Shaq and Kobe and Wayne Gretzky outside of crypto
dot Comerine, is it time to start getting the Bronni

(42:32):
statue ready for outside of crypto.

Speaker 1 (42:34):
I'm so frustrated by this. It irritated me as it
was happening, not because he had a great game or
a good game. He has seventeen points and it's something
you just want to be happy for him for. And
I was, so I was just like, man, good for him,
Like that's a that's a solid night for him. You know,
it was a night where you know, jokicch and Murray

(42:56):
didn't play, but they needed him and he was able
to come in and give him something. And that's a
good moment for him. That has to feel good. And
because obviously he's taken a lot of criticism and all
this other kind of stuff. But I knew it was
going to be short lived because I knew it couldn't
just be about one game. It was gonna be how
can we take this game and explode it into a narrative,

(43:19):
And that's exactly what happened less than twenty four hours later.
And I'm just so disappointed by that because we can't
just look at one performance to say, man, that was
a great night. We have to turn it into something
it's not, and that that actually just ends up looking hypocritical,

(43:40):
looking like terrible analysis and looking like shill. You look
like a shill when you do something like that, or
you look like somebody that really wants to get on
somebody else's good side. And so he can't just have
a good game here, and we literally like as it happened.
I was like, all right, cool Saturday, Aaron, and I
can just say, hey, you know what, Broddy had an
on Thursday night. Good performance for him. If he never

(44:02):
has another one, he's gonna have that moment at least,
good on him. But then I read I don't know
how long the article was. I read the most fawning
propaganda piece maybe I've ever read in sports earlier today
by a I guess a professional journalist who talked about

(44:25):
how if you talk to the Lakers, they'll tell you
that he's got the goods. They'll tell you that he's improving.
I'm like, right, they're not going to say he stinks,
Like why are you including that in the article? Like
Lebron James is there? Who exactly with the Lakers Organization's
gonna be like, look, I'm gonna be real and make
sure you attach my name to this. In the article,

(44:46):
Bronnie is straight up garbage. He is dogwater. Like, no
one's going to say that about him, And even if
it wasn't Lebron's kid, they wouldn't say that. But all
this stuff about how hard he works and how he's
a great kid. Literally this article said, I mean This
is a guy that gets up at eight am every
mongret congratulations, I get up at six. Like what, I

(45:09):
don't It's not that there's anything wrong with getting up
at eight, but I don't know that that needs to
be included in some kind of He's very dedicated because
he gets up at eight am. Stuff Like he had
seventeen points. I wanted to be able to celebrate that
as what it was, a seventeen point night and isolated
night for now, like he may never do it again.
We have no idea. The best game of some people's
career turns out to be their first one and they're

(45:31):
nab never able to do it again. He actually now.
I will give him this. I saw this stat and
I feel like it bears mentioned before we continue down
this pathway. I want to give Bronnie James credit. He
has more career three pointers right now than a former
number one overall pick.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
In the NBA draft, Michael lil Candy, Ben Simmons, Ben Simmons.
Ben Simmons has five, Bronnie has six. Bed Simmons back
from the I thought his career. Listen, Bronnie is somehow
this is the thing again we're criticizing Bronnie when we're
just frustrated with the circumstances.

Speaker 1 (46:11):
We're just angry that we can't enjoy it for what
it is. Yeah, Like, we can't even enjoy this because
we know it's gonna have to be something bigger when
it absolutely is not, and it looks and sounds phony
and foolish and ignorant to go the places that I've
seen people in our industry go in the last two days.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
So a couple of things shout out Ben Simmons. My
guess is he's probably got more career threes than Michael
Luwacandy as well.

Speaker 1 (46:36):
I would say that's probably true too.

Speaker 3 (46:38):
But yeah, I was not. I was not ready for
the Ben Simmons mic drop right there. But no, it
is that look.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
Again, and we'll do the whole thing every time we're
criticizing Bronnie. It's not that we're rooting against him. It's
the circumstances in which he's here that we're again that
we're force fed that we're supposed to believe that this
is a thing.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
All right, Listen.

Speaker 2 (47:03):
I try not to call out other media members, but
I'm just gonna say it, Like I just googled the
same thing you did. And the first thing that I see,
Kendrick Perkins tells Steven A. Smith, you know that he's
got to take the l on on Brownie And here's
my thing, J Martin and I said this on Friday,
I was filling in for Doug Gottlie with Dan Byer.

(47:25):
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever heard
the name Matthew hurt before? Is that a name that
like rings a bell for you?

Speaker 3 (47:32):
Does that? Does that do anything for you?

Speaker 1 (47:34):
Yeah? I believe he is the I believe he's the
sales associate that my wife named down on the list
for a Highlander hybrid a couple of weeks ago at
the Toyota dealership.

Speaker 2 (47:45):
He was the guy that promised your time share. You
just had to sit through a forty five.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
Right right right, tripped to Myrtle Beach.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yeah, no, no, no, in all seriousness, So, Matthew Hurts.
So last year, it was sometime in the spring. It
was probably right after the NCAA tournament, and we all know,
you know, end of the year, a lot of teams
are trying to just end the season. And I remember
being here in the Fox Sports, you know, the tyreck
dot Com studios and I'm watching this Grizzlies game, and

(48:11):
the Grizzlies have literally people I've never remember. John got
hurt early, the season was was a wash whatever, and
they had guys on the court that I had literally
never heard of. And I'm somebody who covers college basketball.
I'd like to think I know most of the guys
in the NBA, even if I.

Speaker 3 (48:24):
Don't follow the NBA.

Speaker 2 (48:25):
And so I bring it up because when I saw
Brownie hit seventeen, I go I swear I was watching
a game where Matthew Hurt played really well last year
for the Grizzlies at the end of the season.

Speaker 3 (48:36):
And I looked it up.

Speaker 2 (48:38):
Matthew Hurt, who you know was a form McDonald's American whatever,
played in Duke, no impact at Duke whatever. He was
playing on the Grizzlies last year last year, the twenty
twenty three twenty twenty four season, and had a game
where he scored thirty points. Matthew Hurt is now playing
for the Southeast Melbourne United of the NBL in Australia.

(49:03):
A guy who scored thirty last year in an NBA
game is now in Australia playing And so I only
bring it up because guess what bad? G League guys
get called up for injury riddle teams all the time.
By the way, Matthew hurts a young guy. It's not
like he's like a twenty eight year old journeyman. He's

(49:24):
like twenty two years old. I bring it up.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
G League guys get called up all the time.

Speaker 2 (49:31):
Somebody has to put the ball in the basket when
Luca and Lebron and basically nobody is playing. And so
the fact that a G League guy had a decent
game in a game that was a twenty nine point
loss when your two superstars aren't playing. By the way,
someone named Jordan Goodwin was starting in this game. Again,

(49:54):
think I know a little bit about Kyle. Never heard
of Jordan Goodwin until this season. We're you know, we're
not talking about Game six of the Western Conference Finals.
And so to me, listen, good for Bronni. He had
an opportunity, he took advantage of that. That's not hating.

Speaker 3 (50:09):
Good for him.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
But to act like this has to be a thing
because it's Bronni. When random dudes step up all the
time in games where starters are out because of injuries,
and that we have to make it a thing, and
that we have to assume it matters. Like I'm sorry,
it just doesn't matter. And by the way, maybe seventeen

(50:33):
on Friday leads to twenty two next week and then
twenty six to the week, and if that happens, if
he consistently puts together these games, game after game after
game after game after game, then okay, I'm happy to
talk about it. But a random seventeen point game when
Luca and Lebron we're not on the court. Like I said,
G League dudes come up to the NBA and put

(50:55):
up good games in losing efforts all the time. We
don't have to make it a thing just because it
is Lebron James's son.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
So I don't even have to call the guy out
by name, because everybody's gonna know who I'm talking about here.
When you get into an altercation in the media with
a player, let's just suggest he's a pretty famous player
and he has a son that's playing in the NBA,
and it seems as if it's about your critique of

(51:25):
his son. Maybe didn't deserve to be drafted, maybe he
wasn't ready, maybe he was put in a bad situation
by his father, even though his father's a really good
guy and a really good dad and clearly wants the
best for his son, and also that kind of stuff.
You say all that, then you have the altercation, and
you kind of stick by it the next time that

(51:47):
you're asked about it. And then this son goes and
has seventeen points. And then the next time that you're
on TV, the headline coming off of your performance that
day on TV, the headline on the website for the
company that is now paying you, let's just suggest a
lot of money about this hypothetical individual. The comment underneath

(52:11):
the picture says, I may have to admit I was
wrong about Bronny, what are we doing here? Like everything
that you said before, within a couple of weeks of
being challenged face to face, being caught on camera that way,
and then having to talk about it and all this
other kind of stuff, within a couple of weeks, you're

(52:31):
now suggesting that, you know what, maybe I was wrong
because he had seventeen points in this very isolated situation.
I just I was kind of baffled by it because
this person, it seems like he would not have been
the one to do that in this spot and When
I saw it, I immediately screen grabbed it and sent it
to you because I was just like, really, this is

(52:52):
what we're doing. It's it's embarrassing, honestly, it's embarrassing to media,
it's embarrassing to the profession at all, to basketball, and
it does nothing for Brownie at all. Like you can't
even enjoy it because it gets blown out of proportion
and it's that way into comments sections. I'm sure it's
that way on social media. It's the same way. It's

(53:13):
just like, guys, can we not overreact to it? Can
it not just be a good day? And yet, as
you said, if this thing became a trend, everybody's gonna
start to talk about it. But he has one game
and now all of a sudden, it's like we were
all wrong. Fifty other teams passed on a sure fire,
like what why we understand what you're doing here when

(53:36):
you do that, and we understand why you're doing it,
and it's not as cool as you think it is,
and it's also very easy to see through and the
integrity word goes out the window, and that's the problem.

Speaker 2 (53:49):
Let me ask you a question, and so like, let's
be fair, because I am curious. And you know, I
was talking yesterday about this is it's again it's hard.

Speaker 3 (54:01):
What do they say?

Speaker 2 (54:01):
Sometimes it's hard to separate the art from the artists,
like you can appreciate the art, but whatever. And it's
still hard for me to separate how Brianni got into
the league, the narratives that we were forced down our throat,
versus what he is doing in the league. And so
my question for you, because I don't want to root

(54:24):
against him, I want this to feel like it's one
hundred percent merit based. And I will admit I'm having
a little bit of trouble trying to figure out what
he would actually have to do for me to be like, oh, no,
he belongs. I don't know how many games. I don't
know how many weeks. I don't know how many of this,
I don't know how many that. How much longer does
he have to consistently, maybe not do what he did,

(54:46):
but prove that he is a serviceable role player, by
the way, again, not when there's injuries, not when Lebron's
you know, in a nice tub during the game, not
when Lucas sitting there in street close How much longer
does it have to go because again, I don't want
to be a prisoner of the original take, which is
that he didn't belong. But I also am not going

(55:07):
to change the take because he had one good game
in a blowout loss when all the starters weren't playing.

Speaker 3 (55:12):
Either.

Speaker 1 (55:13):
Yeah, I mean that is the problem. You're never going
to be able to completely get the taste out of
your mouth of how he got into the league. And
that's gonna doag him no matter what he does now.
He's gonna have to if he's able to stand on
his own two feet down the road or whatever like that,
and he does turn into whatever you just described, a

(55:35):
serviceable role player, whatever it is, then I do think
that we'll start to say, you know what, he didn't
deserve to be here. But at the very least he's
taken he's taking full advantage of this opportunity. He's not
just resting on the fact that you know, his name
got him here. He's actually doing the work. He's putting
in the work, he's doing all the things that you
would want him to do, and he's showing now that

(55:57):
even if he didn't belong, then he's earning his keep now.
And you know, I think that's about as good as
it can get. And that's only if he really does
get to a spot where I'm just not sure his
talent is going to take him, Like, I just don't
know that he's got that level of talent to where
he's ever going to be able to do enough to

(56:17):
justify being put into this role in the first place.
And that's unfortunate for him because again to your point,
not rooting against him in any way, there's not really
a reason to do it. But also it's very hard
to legitimate. It's very hard to feel any of what

(56:37):
he's doing is legit because even though he's making the
most of this opportunity, it's one he shouldn't have had.
It's one that no one really believes he deserved in
the moment, because well he didn't, and that there was
one reason why he was able to kind of cut
the line get the fast pass at the amusement park,

(57:00):
and we know what that is. And so I don't
know the answer that question, Aaron, I have no idea
what he would have to do to really make that
thing work. I don't know that there is a thing
that he can do outside have just become really, really
good and I just don't think he's that. I don't
think he's got that. That's not his ceiling in my opinion.

Speaker 2 (57:21):
Well, and we'll wrap with this, is that if this
was some sort of impactful game that completely changed the
way the Lakers felt about him, you would think that
maybe he'd be on the court tonight.

Speaker 3 (57:31):
We are talking right.

Speaker 2 (57:33):
Now in the middle of the third quarter, Lakers playing
the Bulls at Crypto dot Com Arena, Bowls up by
fifteen in the third quarter, Bronnie James zero minutes played
so far, So if this was some moment that was
launching the stardom of a role player, you'd think that
maybe in a fifteen point deficit, they'd get him a

(57:53):
little bit more run. So far again, with three minutes
left in the third quarter, they have not done it.
Fox Sports Ready ertors Jason Martin, broadcasting live from the
ti iraq dot Com studios, should mention, by the way,
you can stream this show and all of our Fox
Sports Radio shows live twenty four to seven in the
new and improved iHeartRadio app. Just search Fox Sports Radio
in the app to stream us live, and one of

(58:14):
the newest features in the app is that you can
select Fox Sports Radio as one of your presets, just
like the presets on a radio dial, So be sure
to preset Fox Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio app and
it will always pop up at the top of your screen.
We'll come back switch gears from Bronni to the NFL.

Speaker 1 (58:31):
Still a few.

Speaker 2 (58:32):
Interesting moves in free agency that have come about in
the most recent days, and there's one move that hasn't
been made, but do we still care? That's next? Fox
Sports Radio Welcome back everybody. Fox Sports Radio ertors Jason
Martin broadcasting live from the Tirec dot Com studios. Tractor
Supply knows that a winning season takes practice, teamwork, and

(58:55):
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like Tractor Supply, teamwork come. Whether you're caring for pets,
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you succeed season after season. Tractor Supply for life out here,
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See how our hosts are doing with these picks and

(59:17):
with their picks excuse me, and who the top rated
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Radio dot Com will win a twenty five hundred dollars
gift card at Tractor Supply.

Speaker 3 (59:29):
All right, a lot.

Speaker 2 (59:31):
Of brownie talk, by the way, quick shout out to
David Listening who said, uh, Bernie, come save me from
these two hacks.

Speaker 3 (59:43):
David, truly appreciate you listening.

Speaker 1 (59:45):
All right.

Speaker 3 (59:45):
Let's brother, Yeah, appreciate your support.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
All right, let's get it over the news desk second
time this evening. There's still stuff trending at twelve twenty
eight Eastern time to say or what is trending?

Speaker 1 (59:57):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (59:57):
The Lakers, for example, still losing it home to the
Chicago And this is with Lebron James back in the
lineup and with Luca Johnson scoring thirty four points in
three quarters. Lebron at the line right now as they
trail Chicago one oh nine to ninety five early in
the fourth quarter. Everything else in the NBA's final wins
for Milwaukee and New York, wins for Atlanta and Indiana,

(01:00:20):
and Nikola jokicch of the Nuggets, will miss another game
on Sunday with the bad ankle out for a fourth
straight game. Everything final in men's college basketball, The second
round continues tomorrow, but tonight the late game went to
two seed Tennessee over UCLA, sixty seven to fifty eight.
UCLA did have the best scoring defense of their conference
this year. They held opponents to sixty five points a game.

(01:00:43):
Tennessee only sixty seven in this one. But Tennessee plays
defense as well, and they led their conference allowing just
sixty three points a game and in fact held UCLA
to fifty eight. For what it's worth, they held UCLA
to the fewest points the Bruins had scored in any
loss this season. UCLA season ends with eleven losses. Twenty
three and eleven the record wins for Houston and Purdue,

(01:01:07):
Texas Tech and Arkansas advanced ten seed. Arkansas eliminated Saint
John seventy five to sixty six. Auburn and Michigan each one,
and they'll be playing each other in the Sweet sixteen
Friday at Atlanta. Michigan beat Texas A and m ninety
one seventy nine. The number one overall seed Auburn defeated
Creighton eighty two to seventy and three seed Wisconsin is
out BYU held on tonight ninety one eighty nine, despite

(01:01:30):
the Badger's john Tonjay scoring thirty seven points. The Cleveland
Guardians gave pitcher Tanner Byby a five year extension plus
a club option year. Cleveland acquired outfielder Nolan Jones from Colorado.
Toronto has given catcher Alejandro Kirka five year extension. Among
the fourteen NHL games, LA seven to two over Carolina,
Nashville won five to two, beating Toronto, Dallas in overtime,

(01:01:54):
defeated Philadelphia three to two, Vegas a six to three
winner against Detroit, and in a game Edmonton holding on
Layton regulation for to three against Seattle. Are reminder Nascars
on FS one again the next four Sundays and IndyCars
back on Fox TV tomorrow. All seventeen IndyCar races this
season are on Fox TV, so that would include the

(01:02:15):
Indy five hundred in late May and Everything's Final. Now.
In women's college hoops, as they opened their national tournament
this weekend, LSU won the late game one oh three
forty eight over San Diego State, and one seed Texas
won tonight one oh five sixty one against William and Mary.
We mentioned the dominant wins for USC and Yukon, NC

(01:02:37):
State won by twenty Oklahoma eighty one fifty eight. North
Carolina won its game seventy to forty nine. There was
also an Iowa win of ninety two to fifty seven today,
and on and on and on, but two, specifically this
USC home game, and they are a one seed, but
really upset about being one of the lower one seeds.

Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
Somebody said that yesterday there were two ta I think
it was South Carolina.

Speaker 3 (01:03:01):
USC complained about being one seeds.

Speaker 6 (01:03:04):
It's amazing, Okay, you know South Carolina. You know all
your games are televised, right, yeah, we saw you down thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
What was the complaint exactly? I'm not being sarcastic.

Speaker 6 (01:03:14):
I saw the heavy, scheduled, tough, and they won a
lot of games, and so why should we even schedule
that way?

Speaker 3 (01:03:20):
To be a one seed?

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
Though?

Speaker 2 (01:03:21):
Well, but I know Yukon's in USC's bracket, which was controversial, right.

Speaker 6 (01:03:25):
You got the great teams and USC stuck with Yukon.
In other words, I think that was really what they
were saying without saying it interesting. But South Carolina, they
were down thirty at UCLA. Is that recorded?

Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
You know, that's a loser attitude and I'll just say,
like I remember Dan Lanning being asked in the college
football playoff, you got the number one seed in New Drew,
Ohio State, and Dan Lanning was like, we're gonna have
to play great teams at some point where they're gonna
win or what not. It's like, USC, You're you're gonna
have to play somebody good at some point something.

Speaker 6 (01:03:52):
And that's somebody good is not UNC Greensboro.

Speaker 1 (01:03:55):
No offense.

Speaker 6 (01:03:56):
Because the final today for the women of Troy was
seventy one to twenty five way the losing side shot
seven of fifty four from the floor, seven baskets and
twenty three turnovers.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
Is Saga three.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
There is no discrepancy like women's college basketball between like
the halves and half nats. And this isn't just this year.
It's been like this forever. And for me, I have
a really good team gets really bad when it's like.

Speaker 6 (01:04:21):
I'll go a step further because you have top twenty
five matchups for many years in women's basketball, that will
be twenty point blowouts that you generally don't see regular
season men's.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
In our three, you should we should play a game
two real scores in a fake.

Speaker 3 (01:04:35):
Score and you just have for real. I know what
we know. All these teams won big, but I don't
know by how much I.

Speaker 6 (01:04:42):
Can finish that game right now. Because let's not forget
the Duke home game last night, because they topped what
USC did today. Duke's final was eighty six twenty five
over Lehigh and the losing side there had nine baskets
and thirty turnovers in eighty forty minute game.

Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
And I thought Saint John's Arkansas, which had more fouls
than made field goals for most of the game, was bad.
That that's thirty turnovers. This is a lot to give
to the other team. To Sega, is anything else before
we will get back to college troops? Yes, I was
gonna say, well, we get back to you in about
ten minutes from now with our extended update to end
hour two.

Speaker 3 (01:05:18):
Thank you very much to Seger.

Speaker 2 (01:05:20):
All Right, Fox Sports Radio er towards Jason Martin, we
are taking you up till two am Eastern, a little
bit of a quiet week in the NFL. J mart
there are some news and notes I want to get to.
Let's start with the obvious. Aaron Rodgers does not have
a team yet. What is your take? Do you care.

Speaker 1 (01:05:39):
No, But my daughter turned one yesterday, so that's a birthday.

Speaker 3 (01:05:44):
What's your name?

Speaker 1 (01:05:45):
I'm sorry, her name is Ivy Beth.

Speaker 3 (01:05:47):
Happy birthday, Ivy Beth. Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
Do you think Aaron Rodgers will have a team by
the time Ivy Beth turns two?

Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
I honestly don't care.

Speaker 2 (01:05:57):
All right, let's move out to some other news and
notes from the week. Le ask you this in all seriousness.
I found this is This story's you know, close to
a week old at this point, but you and I
haven't been on air since it happened. I found the
discourse on the Jamar Chase and t Higgins extensions a
little bit strange. So everybody knows by now, but Jamar
Chase signs an extension four years, one hundred and sixty

(01:06:19):
one million, highest paid non quarterback in NFL history. T
Higgins four years, one hundred and fifteen million. I understand
the defense was abysmal. I would also counter by saying
two things. One, if you draft right, you can find
talent on the defensive side of the football. You look
at the Rams this year, Jared Vers, Brayden Fisk. I

(01:06:39):
mean that's just one example. Yeah, But two, all I've
heard for like two years. The Bengals are cheap. They're
not going to be able to keep this insane offensive
core together. It's like, well, they did what you asked for,
and people are still complaining now saying you didn't save
any money for the defensive side of the football. So
maybe I'm missing something. I'm not trying to pretend like

(01:07:01):
I have all the answers, but I was surprised at
the discourse around the fact that not only did not
only excuse me, did Jamar Chase sign an extension, but
t Higgins signed a high contract extensions while a lot
of money.

Speaker 1 (01:07:13):
All right, So I'm of two minds on this, but
I'm gonna take it from a perspective where I I'm
a little bit critical of it only. I mean, I
understand you want those guys because they've been part of
your success. But here's the thing. You haven't won a
super Bowl with them in house. All you're doing is
running it back like you you better do what you

(01:07:34):
suggested what the Rams did in the draft. The Bengals
are gonna either need to do that or we are
gonna have a problem. You get rid of lou Ana Roumo,
who gets hired like five seconds afterwards, because I don't
think he was your problem as your defensive coordinator. But
here you are paying the guys that were already there.
You scoring points wasn't your problem last year. Those guys

(01:07:57):
were in house and they were doing work for you.
Last year. The problem was you couldn't stop anybody on
the other side of the ball. It's not like they're
all of a sudden going to be more prolific because
they were already superb last season. So you are going
to have to do something on the defensive side of
the ball because you're committing money to where it's already been.
Those guys are already there, they've already given you their max.

(01:08:17):
With Burrow as the quarterback and those guys, it's a great,
well oiled machine offensively, but that's not your problem. Your
offense was good enough to get you to a super Bowl,
if not win one, perhaps, but your defense wasn't good
enough to even get you into the playoffs. So what
you did is you paid what you already had, but
you've still got the same problem that you had beforehand.

(01:08:39):
So that would be my real takeaway on it. Even
though I understand what you're saying, and I think your
point about the rams and being able to find guys
in the draft is well taken, but they'd better get
that job done.

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
Yeah, And I don't know that it's like the strongest
take I've ever had. I just I think, you know,
especially it's I think what it is, more so than anything,
is really two things. Is one we've been told for years.
And by the way, I think it's accurate that the
organization is pretty cheap. They don't have money like other teams.
Do you know, it's a family owned business. They've never

(01:09:12):
spent you know t J. Huschmanzada who's done some stuff
here as well as FS one. I believe like the
story that he tells is like as recently as when
he played like eight or nine years ago. They didn't
even have an indoor practice facility, so five feet of
snow they be practicing outside.

Speaker 3 (01:09:29):
And so to me, I.

Speaker 2 (01:09:31):
Understand, you know, you do you do have to prioritize
other spots, and you haven't won with this core and whatever.
I guess My point is just I've heard for years
that they're not even gonna be willing to spend the money.
They do spend the money, they keep that core and
by the way, they're not gonna spend the money. T
Higgins is gonna walk and you're gonna let a very
skilled guy go. So I guess that's my only thing

(01:09:54):
is And again it's not that they don't have holes
on the roster that have to be addressed. And to
your point and to my point as well, it's like
they do have to actually nail draft picks or it's
just gonna be you know, fun team, bad stats all that.
Let me ask you this, We'll stay on the uh,
We'll stay on the Cincinnati Bengals because obviously Joe Burrow
was incredible. And one couple things is, first of all,

(01:10:16):
I understand that you know they started zero and three,
they started three and five. Let's see, they started three
and seven, three and six overall, three and six, so.

Speaker 3 (01:10:28):
They got to start better. Do you think though.

Speaker 2 (01:10:30):
The other thing that's been a factor it feels like
Joe Burrow is always coming into the season, you know,
not healthy at a pendicitis that one year, I don't
even remember what happened in the preseason. This year they
went five straight to put themselves back in position late
in the season. But I also think part of this
too is like, yes, the defense wasn't good enough, and
yes they were limited, but this is also a team

(01:10:52):
that did win five straight to end the regular season.
That was the proverbial team that nobody would have wanted
to see. I just feel like, you know, so, if
they could just get off to some better starts, then
all of a sudden, they're in the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (01:11:04):
It's a little bit I don't know. I don't even
know where I'm trying to go with this.

Speaker 2 (01:11:06):
I just I don't think they're as far off as
they're may be perceived, considering the defense and considering the
fact that they did not make the playoffs this year.

Speaker 1 (01:11:14):
Yeah, I mean again, the offense is elite and Burrow
is as good as you want to be. But you've
got to stop people, and you did a very very
poor job of that this year. As a matter of fact,
the defense seems to just get worse every single year.
And it's not I don't again, I don't think it's
on lou Anarumo. We'll see, you know, he's going to
be into his new home and we'll see how they

(01:11:35):
do this year. But they just didn't have the talent,
they didn't have the personnel. They were aging in bad spots.
Hendrickson was pretty good, but they even were looking at
trying to maybe even move him if the deal came around.
This is a scenario for me, like, if you believe
the way that you believe, then you need to set
a rookie contract somewhere else. You need to set a

(01:11:55):
rookie contract deal where you get somebody that is star
level talent for a rookie deal. And look, I don't know,
I don't think this is even doable, but it was
me and I'm the Bengals, I'm like, hmm, what's going
to take to get up and get Like I would
give up assets to go get Abdul Carter for example,

(01:12:15):
if I were them, because this is the opportunity, like
give up a little bit of the future to go
do that, or go get Travis Hunter because you know,
New England is craving that. Like that's what New England wants,
I think is to draft Travis Hunter and think that
he is still going to be there because of the
way the quarterbacks will go with Chador probably I still
think Shador is probably gonna go third, but cam Moore

(01:12:37):
going number one overall. Like if I'm the Bengals, I'm
at least inquiring. I'm making somebody tell me no to
go up there and get a game changing player like
an Abdul Carter that can anchor my defense for the
next decade and is going to be set on a
rookie scale, because my quarterback certainly isn't nor are his

(01:12:57):
top targets.

Speaker 3 (01:12:59):
Be very interesting to see.

Speaker 2 (01:13:00):
Obviously, the Bengals coming off as I said that nine
and eight season, they won five straight to end the
regular season, but of course wasn't enough to make the playoffs.
This is Fox Sports Radio ertors Jason Martin will come
back to Sager with his extended update. That's all next
Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back everybody, Fox Sports Radio, Aeron

(01:13:21):
Torris Jason Martin broadcasting live from the Tirek dot Com studio.
Shortly after the show, the podcast will be going up.
If you missed any of today's show, be sure to
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Speaker 3 (01:13:40):
It's not waste any more time.

Speaker 2 (01:13:42):
Throw it right to the news desk to saga with
our extended update.

Speaker 3 (01:13:46):
The floor is yours, my friend.

Speaker 6 (01:13:47):
A lot of college hoops to get to. But I
just have to say out loud that the Lakers are
losing it home to the Bulls one forty two to
one ten. Well what one forty two to one ten
and still two minutes left in this game?

Speaker 1 (01:14:02):
Won in the game sixty five to sixty two.

Speaker 6 (01:14:03):
With that half, I mean trailing, but yes, one two
for crowd out loud and lebron James did return from
two weeks off due to strang groin, seventeen points for him,
but a minus twenty seven on the court. Bronni James
was a minus thirty six on the court last game.

Speaker 3 (01:14:19):
Just for the record, well, and really quick.

Speaker 2 (01:14:22):
If Bronni was this impact role player that people try
to make him out to be after a twenty nine
point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, you think he'd be
getting a little bit more playing time tonight.

Speaker 6 (01:14:31):
No, it's just five garbage minutes at the end. And
by the way, this is with Luka Donsig back and healthy,
and Austin Reeves back and healthy, and I mentioned Lebron
and Rui Hachimura healthy and coming off the bench.

Speaker 4 (01:14:43):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (01:14:43):
Talk about laying an egg at the former Staples Center tonight, Well,
you guys reference this early in tonight's show. The first
round of the NCAA Men's Tournament didn't exactly give us
a lot to cheer for, and in fact these are
the numbers. Thursday and Friday combined, only four games were
sided by five points or less. That ties for the
fewest such close games since the tournament expanded in nineteen

(01:15:06):
eighty five. Meanwhile, in the first round, we had ten
games decided by twenty five points or more, the most
since expansion in the mid eighties. Congrats to the Michigan
Wolverines who are still alive. It was one year ago
they hired Dusty May as head coach. He'd made his
name at Florida Atlantic, a Michigan program that a year
ago had started that season six and five and then

(01:15:29):
won only two games the rest of the year. Michigan
one year ago finished eight and twenty four and right
now is in the Sweet sixteen. Statsing says no other
college basketball team has lost that many games one season
and then made the Sweet sixteen. The very next season,
since the Sweet sixteen officially began in nineteen seventy five,

(01:15:50):
which took me on a tangent. How is it that
to Sweet sixteen only was invented in nineteen seventy five?
They had regional semis before. Then turns out that the
year before they had twenty five schools in the national tournament.
Nineteen seventy five, they got up to thirty two schools
and called it a Sweet sixteen. But if you were
up through nineteen seventy four, for example, the really good teams,

(01:16:12):
you didn't play a George Mason or a Grand Canyon
no offense in the early rounds. If you were really good,
you started with your Sweet sixteen game. So Michigan that year,
for example, started with a game against Notre Dame UCLA
in nineteen seventy four started with a triple overtime game
in the Sweet sixteen, where Bill Walton start in the advance.
Keep in mind, the second round of this year's NCAA

(01:16:33):
Men's Tournament ends tomorrow and the late game will be
in Seattle, and it's a Pac twelve matchup, or would
have been Arizona against Oregon's The late game at nine
forty five Eastern. Tomorrow night, we're going to have a
similar schedule to what we had today, where we'll have
a couple of essentially standalone games and then the rest
start Tomorrow night at five point fifteen Eastern, but the

(01:16:56):
two standalones are about noon Eastern. It's one seed Florida
against UK after that. Also in Raleigh, one seed Duke
against Baylor. Course, the Duke campus very very close to Raleigh,
North Carolina. And how about Purdue getting to play close
to home. In the Sweet sixteen. Perdue was a winner
over McNeese to start today, seventy six sixty two. Purdue

(01:17:17):
led by twenty two before halftime. Trey Kaufman ran twenty
two points fifteen rebounds. This is a Purdue team that
in the final month of the season went three and six,
but they're on too the Sweet sixteen, and it's Purdue
against Houston in Indianapolis, about an hour from the Purdue campus.
This is a four seed getting an advantage the way
the bracket went. Purdue coach Matt Painter, by the way,

(01:17:40):
in his sixteen career NCAA tournaments, has made the Sweet sixteen,
now eight times. Mcnee's coach will Wade could be headed
to NC State now. Reportedly, according to AP, it's going
to be a six year contract. But the boiler Makers,
who were up twenty seven to eleven after the first
twelve minutes today the last Southland Conference team to be
in a Sweet sixteen. Still you'd have to go back
to eighty five. The late game went to two seed

(01:18:02):
Tennessee over UCLA sixty seven to fifty eight. I mentioned
it's Purdue against Houston next week. Houston's a one seed
and eliminated Againstzaga tonight eighty one seventy six. Gonzaga correct
pronunciation saw L J. Cryer with thirty points. The Big
Twelve Conference teams are nine and one so far in
this tournament. Saint John's is out. Arkansas beat him seventy

(01:18:25):
five sixty six. Coach John Calipari into the Sweet sixteen
for the sixteenth time with four different schools. An Arkansas
team that started conference season zero to five. Saint John's
in the last three minutes shot one for nine from
the floor. Overall shot twenty eight percent. The two teams
from three point range today four for forty one combined.

(01:18:47):
Arkansas led by two with three minutes to go and yes,
r J. Lewis, who averaged nineteen points a game. Conference
Player of the Year for Saint John's, who had twenty
nine points in the Big East Final, three of seventeen
shooting in this game, and Scott one of ten from
the floor. The Texas Tech win was against Drake seventy
seven sixty four into the Sweet sixteen Texas Tech against

(01:19:08):
Arkansas Thursday in San Francisco, after the Red Raiders outscored
Drake inside fifty to twenty a mismatch there at Texas Tech,
Senior guard Chance McMillan averages fourteen points a game, was
out again due to injury.

Speaker 2 (01:19:22):
Thank you very much, Steve Disager. You mentioned all the
great college basketball.

Speaker 1 (01:19:25):
So we're gonna do.

Speaker 3 (01:19:26):
We're gonna come back and talk more college basketball. We'll
talk Arkansas, Saint John's.

Speaker 2 (01:19:29):
We'll talk about some of Sunday's games, a loaded eight
games slate on Sunday. And oh, by the way, Disager
matched it not very many upsets over the course of
the last couple days. Why is that? I think we
know the answer. We're gonna explain it all next. Aer
Tors Jason Martin taking you till two am. Eastern Fox
Sports Radio. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio. Welcome man, everybody,

(01:19:54):
our three tours and Martin, Fox Sports Radio. Yes, it
is our three. I said last hour was our three.
This one really is our three. We're broadcasting live from
the tyreck dot Com studios. Tirerac dot com will help
you get there an unmatched selection, fast free shipping, free
road hazard protection, and over ten thousand recommended installers. Tyreck

(01:20:17):
dot com the way tires buying should be air tors.
Jason Martin taking the up till two am Eastern time.
Bernie Fratto of The Bernie Frado Show follows us.

Speaker 3 (01:20:27):
That's right, right, Bernie, Okay, cool.

Speaker 2 (01:20:29):
I know Bernie has given up Fridays to spend more
time with his family. Love Bernie, respect the hell out
of him for that. I wanted to make sure that
I didn't mix up his days. I know Plank is
in one day, Bernie's in the other. So Bernie will
be following us, and as always, cannot wait to hear
what he has to say. Jmar Busy Saturday at College Hoops,
we'll start previewing the Sunday slate.

Speaker 3 (01:20:51):
You know, let me ask you this.

Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give you your choice here, Jamaart,
we talked a lot of cal and Patino to open
the show. Prefer to talk a little bit about that game.
We also have some thoughts on why there have been
so few big upsets. It's up to you. What is
j mart feeling we can do on one now, one later?
Does it matter to you? Should we reset the biggest
stories of the day.

Speaker 1 (01:21:14):
What are your thoughts? I kind of like the I
like the story about Thursday and Friday and what didn't
happen and really diving into why. But let's cover what
happened today and then we can get to that maybe
in the extended segment.

Speaker 2 (01:21:33):
Yeah, I think that's probably the right move for people.
By the way, who missed any of our one or
hour two, you can always download the podcast. But where
we led was with what was the biggest story of
the day. Not a lot of upsets, obviously in the
first two rounds. I don't know if you can call
a ten beating a seven in round one and upset,
but that was certainly one. As the Arkansas Razorbacks beat

(01:21:53):
the Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday, it's set up obviously just
a super high profile game on Saturday afternoon in Providence,
Rick Patino, two seed with the Saint John's Red Storm,
Big East Regular season champs, Big East Tournament Champs.

Speaker 3 (01:22:08):
They came in as a pretty comfortable favorite.

Speaker 2 (01:22:10):
Arkansas, of course, with John Caliperi, you know, a guy
that kind of had been you know, not literally, but
figured figuratively, had been left for dead last year in
his final game at Kentucky loses to a fourteen seed
as a three seed to Oakland in twenty twenty two,
lost to a fifteen seed when he had the second
seeded Kentucky Wildcats. Well, yeah, if you thought Cal was done,

(01:22:34):
if you thought he was dead, think again. As he
said on the court after the game, they threw us
in the coffin. They just forgot the nails. Arkansaw wins.
They beat the second seeded Saint John's Red Storm. The
Arkansas Razorbacks are headed to the Sweet sixteen as a
ten seed. Seventy five sixty six. John Caliperry, who could

(01:22:57):
do no right, Rick Patino, who threw out the season
and could do no wrong. Cal gets the last laugh.
Razorbacks to San Francisco next weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:23:06):
Yeah, look at the hard fought game. The one thing
we didn't talk as much about, and I wish we
had talked well less about it even than we did
in the first hour, is, Man, if you're gonna have
teams that play that physically, oh that's their mo why
are you calling the game so tightly, like especially inconsistently so,

(01:23:28):
because it's like they let some stuff go a little
bit in the first half, and then the second half
they called I mean, it was way too tight. They
called stuff that wasn't even fouls. But even then, like
they did not let them play at all, when it
was clear that both teams wanted that, the fans wanted that,
the coaches wanted that that was their style, and the
rest decided to make it about them. At one point

(01:23:50):
I saw stat there were forty three made field goals
and thirty nine fowls well like thirty six minutes into
the game. That is absolutely embarrassing.

Speaker 3 (01:23:58):
Let's do some quick math here.

Speaker 2 (01:24:00):
Twenty seven made field goals for Arkansas, twenty four fouls,
twenty one made field goals for Saint John's twenty fouls
a total of so that would be forty eight made
free forty eight made field goals, forty four fouls. Oh,
by the way, a combined forty eight free throw attempts
as well. I hate to say it was a story

(01:24:22):
of the game. And the one thing I will say
and Rick Patino, we talked about some of his negative
comments neither you and I neither you nor I loved,
but he did say and I think anybody who watched
the game agrees the better team did win. And I
guess if there's any sort of saving grace about how
much the refs hijacked that game, it's that it was
equally terrible on both ends. Kadar, you know, for for

(01:24:47):
Kentucky or for Kentucky. There you go talk about Cali
Perry for Arkansas. With Cali Perry, you know, Zvona vere Visitch,
a backup forward, filed out five personal fouls and ten minutes.
Jonas Adu Arkansas is probably their best low post player,
had four fouls and what was crazy was had two

(01:25:08):
basically sat probably the back half of the first half.
Comes in immediately, picks up a third, comes out, picks
up a fourth, and basically sat for virtually all of
the first probably twelve minutes of the second half.

Speaker 3 (01:25:22):
Oh by the way.

Speaker 2 (01:25:23):
It was equally as bad for Saint John's Kadari Richmond,
a star guard who was really one of the X
factors on their team this year. I mean he was
you know r J. Lewis one Big East Player of
the year. Zub edge of four was awesome. Kanari Richmond
averaged thirteen points, six rebounds, five assists per game, so
you can you can think about the impact that not

(01:25:45):
having him would have. He foles out five total fouls
in a grand total of sixteen minutes of play. So
if there's any saving grace, and there isn't in a
game like that, is that It was called equally awful
both ways, and even Rick Patino said after the game,

(01:26:06):
to his credit, the right team won independent of how
poorly it was called.

Speaker 1 (01:26:10):
Yeah, look, you just got to be better than that.
If you're an official, like if you are watching that
and you're in charge of the officials for the tournament,
like that robbed, I mean, that game deserved better, Like
they deserve to be able to be as physical as
they wanted to be and let that thing be the
war that it was trending to be in the first
half because the play that fouled Richmond out for Saint

(01:26:35):
John's late or maybe what five six minutes left in
the game, wasn't even a foul. I mean he went
straight up and the foul was called anyway, And it's
just why am I hearing a whistle every single time
down the floor? It made the thing almost unwatchable because
it turned into a free throw contest between two teams
that can't shoot free throw, so you're just watching a

(01:26:57):
bunch of bricks from the free throw line. It was
that game, and you sent a message because we were
talking about the Thursday Friday stuff and you said, hey,
you were looking for a good one. This is a war.
It was until the refs took it out of their hands,
and that was just unfortunate because that thing would have
continued to be a war. It would have been an
absolute battle. And they left it all on the floor.

(01:27:17):
Both teams left it all on the floor, but the
refs just got way too involved for my taste.

Speaker 2 (01:27:23):
Yeah, I sent you this tweet. Matt and Orlander is
a reporter for CBS Sports. Great at what he does,
so this is not a criticism, but he is not
one to do, really frankly, to do anything other than
celebrate college basketball. And I bring it up because during
the game he was at the game in Providence, he tweeted, quote,
it's Rick Patino versus John Caliperry, It's Saint John's versus Arkansas.

(01:27:44):
With the sweet sixteen to the line, the officiating in
the foul calls can't be the story, and it's getting
very close to being the story. And frankly that was
probably with seven eight minutes left in the game, and
so it did become a story. I don't think it
became the I think Arkansas was the deserving team. I
think Arkansas wins. What do you make of John Caliperry man,

(01:28:06):
Like I said, last three NCAA tournament, So basically for
people who don't follow this stuff regularly, the last time
cal made it to the second weekend was twenty nineteen.
Twenty twenty, there was no tournament. Like every year, he
certainly had a team good enough. Twenty twenty one weird
bubble year, misses the tournament, twenty twenty two loses to
a fifteen seed, twenty twenty three makes it to the

(01:28:28):
second round where he loses. Twenty twenty four, last year
loses to Oakland, a fourteen seed. He's going back to
the sweet sixteen. I think the Sega shared the stat
incredible stat sixteenth trip to the second weekend of the
NCAA tournament. And for a guy that it feels like
a lot of people had given up on, he's washed up,
he's over the hill.

Speaker 3 (01:28:47):
He's stealing money from Arkansas.

Speaker 2 (01:28:48):
When the team started zero five and sec play, they
are going to be one of the last sixteen teams standing.

Speaker 3 (01:28:54):
When we advanced the next weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:28:56):
Yeah, and my takes still the same as it wasn't
the first hour. This is a guy that just feels
like he has a new lease on life because the
pressure is just different what he dealt with in Lexington.
That pressure cooker just doesn't exist anywhere near the same way.
At Arkansas. He's given a little bit of room, He's
given a little bit of leeway. Zero to five isn't

(01:29:17):
a death knell, Like, let's give him a chance. We
know he's capable. He takes everybody he coaches to the
NCAA tournament. He wins championships. You know, he won at Kentucky.
He almost won a UMass. He came within a couple
of free throws of winning in Memphis. This is a
guy that knows exactly what he's doing, and he's ours,
So let's let him coach. Let's give him some time.

(01:29:37):
And what he has done is taking your team to
the sweet sixteen. And he just looks He's still just
as competitive, he's still just as fire. He's still yelling
at officials and everything else, which he's done since he
was probably in diapers. That's just kind of the way
he is. But nothing has changed from that regard. But
that's what he loves to do. He loves to compete.

(01:29:59):
He loves to coach. That's what he said, because we
know he didn't need money. The reason he's stuck around
is because he likes coaching basketball. So now he gets
to do that without a lot of the extracurricular stuff
that I think would had just worn out its welcome
on him. I think from a psychological standpoint, he was
I ways say he was depressed. I just think he
was unhappy.

Speaker 2 (01:30:18):
Let me ask you a question. I want to say
he looked. He kind of looks younger, maybe not younger, younger,
but he looks like he's lost a little bit of weight.
He looks healthier, is maybe the right word. I don't
know if you've noticed that as well.

Speaker 1 (01:30:30):
Yeah, I think I think there's something to that. I mean,
you know, you hear that adage about, you know, the
president of the United States and how they age. Yeah,
you know how Barak looked before he got into office
compared to what happened eight years later, and even Trump
four years in, and obviously what happened to Joe, And like,
there's something to it. The pressure that he was facing

(01:30:51):
couldn't have been good for his overall health, couldn't have
been good for his mental health, but it also probably
wasn't good for his sleep patterns, his physical health. All
that stuff wears on you. And you know, he goes
down to Arkansas and he's able to go coach, and
he's able to coach a little bit more under the
radar as much as a John Calipari could be underneath
the radar. He's there doing that, and you're right, like,

(01:31:13):
just in the way that he talked after this game
on the floor, there was just a sense of it
just it was like it's not the fountain of youth.
It was just like he got a real jolt, like
he grabbed a red bull or something. He was able
to turn back the clock a little bit. Show up
at the high school reunion looking a little bit better

(01:31:34):
than people remembered, like he just he the just there
was a little bit more of a spring in his step.
He didn't seem quite as forlorn went and sweating quite
as much. It just I agree with you. I don't
know exactly how to describe it, but he just looked
different in a positive way.

Speaker 3 (01:31:49):
Really quickly.

Speaker 2 (01:31:50):
On Patino, we don't have to play the sound. But
thought first of all, last four or five minutes of
the game that the big East play of the year
is on the bench now. His argument, and he said
it in the post game, was r J. Lewis is
the player's name r J. Lewis in this game was

(01:32:10):
I believe two of seventeen for some reason, the box
fers three of seventeen in thirty minutes played. And Patino's kind.

Speaker 3 (01:32:19):
Of quote was, was you know, you know why he
didn't play three of seventeen. Next question avoids the conversation,
but the Big East player of the year is on
the bench, in the play, in the plays that matter
the most. I also thought it's a little nerdy.

Speaker 2 (01:32:35):
Basketball, you know X's and O stuff, but Arkansas front
line had nothing but follow trouble all game long. Zoobi
edge of four for Saint John's, who was their best
player twenty three points, twelve rebounds.

Speaker 3 (01:32:48):
Really didn't get the ball a lot late.

Speaker 2 (01:32:50):
I just thought, for a Hall of Fame coach, you know,
everybody has bad days on the job.

Speaker 3 (01:32:54):
I just thought it was a really bad day.

Speaker 1 (01:32:56):
For Rick Patina, very very weird day, very bad day,
very peculiar day in just kind of how it played out.
I mean, you left Lewis on the bench for the
last five game minutes of a game that was very
tight and a game that could have gone either way.
I don't care if he was three for seventeen, if
he makes a couple down the stretch, you still win
the game. And even if you want to take him out,

(01:33:18):
just say, man, he's feeling himself a little bit too
much in the wrong direction, Like he's just he's kind
of in his he's kind of in his own head.
Let me sit him down until the under four time out.
Let me sit him down for one minute or so.
Then we'll get the under four. Then we'll get him
back out there and we'll get him going. Not to
put him back in at all, and to lose the game,
and even in the last couple of minutes, not to

(01:33:39):
put him back in when you know that you needed
him in those moments. I just I can't really explain it,
and him pointing to the score sheet and saying, well,
I mean you look, he wasn't able to score, so
I took him out of the game. That's like something
a petulant child does. That's like taking your ball and
going home. I don't understand what the thought process was.

(01:34:01):
It's almost like he went on tilt I think for
something like that in a poker game and just completely
lost his cool. I agree, and lost his savvy and
lost his competitive spirit and just kind of was like,
screw this man, I want to go home. And that
was unfortunate. It really was.

Speaker 3 (01:34:19):
Saint John's a thirty percent three point shooting team.

Speaker 1 (01:34:22):
R J.

Speaker 2 (01:34:23):
Lewis of the players who play the second best three
point shoot at about thirty four and a half percent.
Not a great percentage, but when you need buckets, and oh,
by the way, your third leading scorer, Kadari Richmond, had
already filed out, so it wasn't as though you had
a ton of great options to begin with very strange
from Rick Patino. Again, hall of famer, did incredible things

(01:34:43):
at Saint John's at a place that I think most
of us thought incredible things could no longer be done,
but was not his best day. I think the analogy
that you use going on tilt, I think it's totally fair.
I think John Calipari has him on tilt. As John
Caliperi and Arkansas headed to the Sweet sixteen, they will
play Texas Tech on Thursday night.

Speaker 3 (01:35:04):
Tell you what, jmart do you want to come back?

Speaker 2 (01:35:06):
Do you want to put a bow on the first
three days of the NCAA tournament and maybe the story
of the tournament bigger picture. There've basically been no upsets.
All the one seeds have won all. The two seeds
coming into today had one, same with the three, same
with the fours. And I think there's a very simple
explanation as to why that's next. Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (01:35:29):
Welcome back everybody, Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (01:35:32):
Aertorris Jason Martin broadcasting live from the tire rec dot
Com studios. Hey be sure to check out the Fox
Sports Radio YouTube channel. Ton of great videos from many
of our Fox Sports Radio shows.

Speaker 3 (01:35:45):
Just search Fox Sports Radio on.

Speaker 2 (01:35:46):
YouTube and you'll see a whole bunch of video highlights
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Speaker 3 (01:36:01):
So J mart I thought Saturday of.

Speaker 2 (01:36:04):
The NCAA tournament was phenomenal, not just Arkansas Saint John's,
but you know Houston.

Speaker 1 (01:36:11):
I don't, I don't.

Speaker 3 (01:36:12):
I'm still not sure what happened in the Houston game.

Speaker 2 (01:36:14):
They were just up and then they it was a
two point game, and then they win eighty.

Speaker 3 (01:36:19):
One seventy six.

Speaker 2 (01:36:20):
The number one seed in the Midwest advances to Indianapolis
next week. BYU was another one. They were up double
digits seemingly the whole game. All of a sudden it
wiscons it as the ball with ten seconds left in
a chance to tie or win the game. But I
bring it up because while Saturday was awesome, I do
think that uh, Thursday and Friday left a little bit

(01:36:41):
to be desired. First time, I believe ever, all for
number one, number two, number three, and number four seeds
all won their opener. So, in other words, top sixteen
teams there were no upsets. I guess the biggest upset
was probably mc knees over Clemson. Yeah, Drake over Missouri
was a sixth eleven, five to twelve, whatever. You get

(01:37:02):
the point, there weren't a lot of upsets. I have
my theories as to why, but I'm curious if you
have any thoughts on why. At least the first two
days of the tournament were pretty low key.

Speaker 1 (01:37:12):
No, I mean not really. I really want your opinion
just because I already know it because I asked you
about this this morning and your response was so on
point and so much common sense, And I even read
some articles since we chatted, and basically they were just saying, yeah,
there's not a whole lot of upsets, but there's no

(01:37:33):
there's no new information, like there was no diagnosis as
to why this was happening. But I will say that
I made the point to you over the last few
weeks that I've enjoyed this college basketball season more than
many in recent memory, at least this last handful of years,
because I don't know, it just felt like the level

(01:37:53):
of play was better amongst a lot of the teams
that I watched a good bit of their games during
the season, And you said you know, I agree that
that was that that made sense. So I just want
to give you the floor and then I'll react to
what you say, just because I know where you're going
and it's just an opinion that I'm surprised I haven't
seen anywhere else because it makes total sense.

Speaker 2 (01:38:14):
Yeah, first of all, I thought of you, you know,
kind of when the bracket comes out. I'm reading a
few different things from different people, and I'm not you know,
I don't read a ton of other people's stuff, but
I just bring it up.

Speaker 3 (01:38:26):
I'm trying to find the article now.

Speaker 1 (01:38:29):
CJ.

Speaker 2 (01:38:30):
Moore from The Athletic brought up basically, he brought up
some advanced analytics that seem to indicate that basically, the
top of college basketball is actually better. The teams themselves
are better than they've been in really quite some time,
like you know, not thirty years, not fifty years, but

(01:38:51):
probably better than they were ten years ago. And the
argument was, and I think this is why we had
so few upsets. I think it's pretty simple. Is the
mid May the starman major players are just going to
the power conferences and you know, one I think everybody
kind of knows, but for people who don't. And by
the way, I thought Will Wade kind of shedded a
lot of light on this in mcneese's win, where he

(01:39:14):
basically said, yeah, you know, everyone's asking me about the
NC State job, but it's great for these guys because
they're gonna have coaches in their dms left and right
after this game.

Speaker 3 (01:39:23):
And I bring it up because what has.

Speaker 2 (01:39:27):
Happened is, you know, I think everybody knows this, but
it's not just that NIL has come into college sports.
It's that NIL is coming to sports with unlimited transfers.
And so what has happened is is that basically these
mid major rosters just getting cherry picked year over year
over year. I mean, it's crazy because the portal is

(01:39:48):
about to open on Monday, but you kind of know
guys are starting to announce, Hey, I'm planning on entering
the portal whatever, blah blah blah blah blah. And it's like, basically,
if you average double figures in the mid major, you're
trying to transfer up. And what's happened and is now
these high major teams, the SEC, the Big Ten, the
Big twelve, they just have so much money to spend
that you kind of have to like. It's it's no

(01:40:09):
longer you want to stay at the school you like
because your girlfriend's there, you like the coach, like, you
just have to go. The money is getting so big
at the high major levels, and so I think it's
just pretty straightforward, is what you see is the best
man major players are now virtually all transferring up to
the high majors, and all you gotta do is essentially
look at the All American teams. Yeah, you have a

(01:40:30):
Cooper Flag's who's a freshman, and you know, one and done.
But Jed I Broom at Auburn maybe the national player there.
He started his career at Morehead State. Walter Clayton at
Florida started ironically, we're just talking about Rick Patino. He
played for Rick Patino at Iona before transferring Florida. Atlantic
makes that run of the Final Four a few years ago,
and their whole roster. Janelle Davis was on the court

(01:40:53):
for Arkansas today, Vlad Golden was on the court for
Dusty May in Michigan today. Who's the other one? Elijah Martin,
their third star plays for Florida. And so it's just
I think it's really actually a pretty simple diagnosis. I
think the top of the sport, the analytics would tell you,
is actually better because you're getting teams are able to

(01:41:13):
kind of reload their rosters. And then unfortunately the mid
majors are not as good as they've been because all
the best players are leaving now. I don't think that
necessarily means that we'll never see a five we'll never
see a thirteen seed or a fourteen seed win a
tournament game again. But I just think the top of
the sport has gotten better because all these guys are

(01:41:34):
transferring up to the high major level.

Speaker 1 (01:41:36):
Yeah, and so you're not getting then the mid major
that that's like juniors and seniors like guys that have
been there a while that are part of that system
that have just gotten better and better and better. And
this is you know, kind of maybe their last shot
or whatever like that those guys are already gone. I
think the big one that you mentioned that I just

(01:41:57):
happened to notice in the same kind of time for
him as you mentioning, was Davis. Like I saw him
you made that point in the like ten minutes later,
I saw him shooting free through for Arkansas. Yeah, and
it all of a sudden clicked with me again, like,
oh yeah, he was part of that New Yor championship
crazy run. Fau went on. And it's not just the

(01:42:17):
coaches that are getting cherry picked anymore, it's all the players.
And so it just becomes an arms race where the
arms are all these mid major programs because of the
unlimited transfers and the non delay, not having to sit
out a year, all this kind of stuff. It's just
there's no way for those those smaller schools really to compete.

(01:42:39):
And you're right, like Will Wade has got real candid
this week on a couple of different things, and I
think that's a big one. It's just I feel good
for these guys, even though yeah, I'm gonna leave. They're
all going to be out of here too, because they
got an opportunity and shined and showed that they can
help a team. And the truth of the matter is,

(01:42:59):
you're they can't afford not to go because most of
them are not going to the NBA. They become part
of a championship like run or part of a top
flight team in one of these big schools and get
some money and that's more than they were gonna make
in the first place. And it's not like they're gonna
be a somebody's gonna play in the association. So they

(01:43:22):
get their opportunity to cash in at the college level
earlier to the detriment of about eighty five to ninety
percent of the sport, which at this point the chances
that they had before they're just not gonna have anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:43:36):
Yeah, and you know, and that's exactly right?

Speaker 2 (01:43:38):
Is that basically I think even like the when nil
was first introduced and nobody really kind of knew exactly
what was going on, I think these mid majors could
kind of sell a kid, Hey, come back, we'll help
you get set up with some stuff. But listen, it
is what it is. It's become pay for play. And
now again we hear story. You know, listen, this is

(01:43:59):
an extra dream example. And this is in a mid
major to a high major. But like we know what
Carson Beck is reportedly making at Miami, right, it ain't
pocket change, Like we're talking about millions of dollars. And
so do we have a number on Jani Broom at Auburn. No,
But I feel pretty comfortable saying he's making a crap
ton of money. He may never play in the NBA,

(01:44:20):
and it's certainly more money than he could have made
uh staying at the mid major level. And so it
just it is what it is. It's unfortunate, but it's
just the reality. The other thing I was thinking too,
we were talking about the Florida State or the Florida
Atlantic example. A great example of the team that you
talked about of guys just developing within that within a program.
The San Diego State team that they played in the

(01:44:42):
Final four, that played Yukon two years ago. I remember
being there and looking at their roster. This was San
Diego State. Basically every guy was a fifth or sixth
year senior that had all been at San Diego State
and they loved being there. And again it was before
nil really blew up, and it was all fifth and
six of your guys that have been there forever. And
then again time goes on, those guys get phased out.

(01:45:05):
They're starting point guard actually is now at Kentucky. But
that was the perfect example of a team that was
able to kind of grow together, had made a few tournaments,
and then that final year could make a run.

Speaker 3 (01:45:17):
And now I just again, there will be eleven.

Speaker 2 (01:45:20):
Seeds or thirteen seeds or whatever that make the second weekend.
I don't think that that's gone forever. But I think
the idea, like you said, of a team coming in
as freshmen and then like they's sophomore year they make
the tournament, and then their junior year they like, I
think those days, unfortunately are over.

Speaker 1 (01:45:36):
So I mean, look, I think the question that it's
we can ask it even though you don't have a
choice in this matter. If you're a viewer, are you
willing to sacrifice Thursday and Friday for more competitive games
a little bit faster moving forward? Because we'll see what
happens today, but we know what happened yesterday. You had

(01:45:58):
some pretty solid games with less of the digit seeds,
and so maybe the storylines were a bit different, but
the level of basketball was higher and so the games
were better. So the question is what is the NCAA
Tournament to you? Is it the Thursday Friday crazy upset
for UNC, you know, Wilmington or whoever it might be

(01:46:21):
in that moment. Is it the Northern Iowa Ali Farutemanesh
Bryce Drew Valparaiso, that kind of thing? Is it that?
Or is it more about the final four? Is it
more about making sure, the elite teams, the teams that
are the most talented, are in the Sweet sixteen, are
in the Elite eight. Have gotten through all of those

(01:46:41):
other kinds of things and a lot of the chaff.
I hate to say it that way, but a lot
of the chaff's been separated. It's been winnowed. You've thrown
it up into the air. The seeds have hit the ground,
and the rest of it's been pushed away. The husk
of the corn is gone. Now you can actually just
enjoy the harvest. Like is that okay with you? Because
I think most people would say that the NCAA tournament

(01:47:02):
is more about Thursday and Friday than it is about
the rest of the tournament. But I think from a
sports watching perspective, how we evaluated Aaron and how most
I would think of our listeners view it. It's important
that the final four, the Elite eight, and all those
things are good. It's important that you have really competitive
matchups with top flight deals, and you're more likely to

(01:47:25):
have that at the expense of the madness, so to speak,
of March or the bracket being busted. I saw you
my brackets in pretty good shape. I think it was
like second or third, tied for third or something in
our fox bracket or whatever. And I wasn't like blown
away by that, just because there weren't a lot of upsets,

(01:47:47):
so my bracket didn't have a chance to get busted.
So I imagine most people's brackets are in better shape
this year than they have been in most because if
you didn't pick a lot of upsets, you're in pretty
good shape right now.

Speaker 3 (01:47:57):
Yeah, it's funny. I was actually thinking about that is
one quality of play.

Speaker 2 (01:48:01):
I think there's three things that actually help that people
would say, oh, I love the upsets, but it helps.
One is that you get a better quality of play
the deeper the tournament goes on. Two, you could sit
there and say that, oh, you love the upsets, but
the ratings would reflect that the average fan wants the
big brands and the star players, the Cooper Flags, the Dukes,
the Kentucky's, the Hoomever's. And then three, I think it

(01:48:24):
helps because it keeps people invested because their brackets are
doing well. Whereas you know, three seed upsets of fourteen seed,
it's gonna be hard for you to make a run
if you have that team going deep. So it's something
to think about. It's something to consider. But I will
say is again, I'm not saying that we'll never see
a big upset, but I do think that it does
feel like the days of those mid majors I think

(01:48:46):
are done. And then I think, as well, I just
think it's gonna be harder to topple these teams because again,
they can just build with established college players every spring,
get a roster together and go from there. Fox Sports
Radio air tors Jason Martin Bront casting live from the
tyreq dot com studios, will come back start to look
ahead to a fun slate of games on Sunday. Before

(01:49:06):
we do though final time this evening, let's get it
to the news desk to Sega.

Speaker 3 (01:49:09):
What is trending?

Speaker 6 (01:49:10):
What you have mentioned before has happened in sports where
you get no upsets early but tons of excitement late. Famously,
in baseball, nineteen eighty six playoffs came after there were
no division races that went down to the stretch. It
was nothing at the end of the regular season, and
then you got the absolute classic Red Sox Angels ALCS

(01:49:32):
and the legendary Red Sox Mets World Series.

Speaker 3 (01:49:34):
And it Mets Astros game six go like eighteen names.

Speaker 6 (01:49:38):
Absolutely it did, and that was the clinching game. So
you did wind up with games that are still talked about,
you know, yeh forty years or so later. So hopefully
that's what we're getting what you were referencing with the
top four seeds in each region going undefeated. It was
sixteen and zero for the first round. That has happened
five times before since the expansion in the eighties. But

(01:49:59):
what was the the record was the blowouts. They didn't
They weren't just undefeated. It was an average margin of
victory of twenty three points for the top four.

Speaker 3 (01:50:08):
Next tournament or women's tournament, which what are we talking
about here?

Speaker 6 (01:50:11):
Really imitating the latter. We will go to get a
lot more college hoops in just a moment, but I
must mention this shocker of a late game in the NBA.
The Lakers are completely healthy now and they lost at
home to the Chicago Bulls one forty six one to
one point fifteen, which means the Lakers tied their franchise

(01:50:31):
record allowing one forty six in a home game. That's
their most ever non overtime. They also in nineteen eighty
four allowed one forty six to a Nuggets team that
seemed to score one forty six every night back then.
But Josh Giddy of the Bulls not only had a
triple double in LA tonight fifteen points, ten rebounds, seventeen assists,

(01:50:52):
Giddy had eight steals as well lab assists. He had
seventeen assists, only two turnovers and eight ste.

Speaker 1 (01:51:00):
I mean, but the Bulls are clearly the best team
in the leage of meat.

Speaker 6 (01:51:04):
So there's a team that entered thirty and forty and
the Lakers are completely healthy, including Lebron back and Luca
had about thirty points in three quarters, and my goodness,
was it lops well.

Speaker 2 (01:51:15):
Josh Gitty is the guy that went for thirty twenty
Oh no, that was that was Nicole Jokic.

Speaker 3 (01:51:19):
My badness. I get them confused by.

Speaker 6 (01:51:22):
The way Josh Gitty almost a quadruple double in this game.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets will miss another game on Sunday.
Bad ankle out for a four straight game. Jalen Brown
and the Celtics is out this weekend at least with
a bruce knee. He'll be re evaluated on Monday. We'll
see when Steph Curry is coming back. He was out
tonight as they lost in Atlanta. Pelvic contusion after the
fall is the problem. Among the NHL games, LA seven

(01:51:45):
to two over Carolina, Edmonton five to four winners against Seattle.
You did reference the women's hoops. Yukon won its opener
one to three, thirty four against Arkansas State USC seventy
one to twenty five over UNC Greensboro. Oklahoma had a
tournament record seventy two rebounds at its win against Florida
Gulf Coast eighty one fifty eight FGC is seventeen of

(01:52:10):
seventy two from the floor, So there were those misshots
that Oklahoma had, plus the offensive rebounds. Seventy two boards
in a forty minute college game.

Speaker 1 (01:52:20):
Anybody seventy sorts.

Speaker 6 (01:52:21):
That is a tournament record. So if they say that,
I'm guessing somebody in some lopsided regular season game has
done that before. But it is insane. That's a good word.
South Dakota State beat Oklahoma State. By the way. For
the men's NCAA tournament, of course, is going on. NIT
had Bradley and Chattanooga each winning the other six games
in their second round Sunday, including Oklahoma State SMU and

(01:52:45):
the CBI Attorney opens on Sunday with four games, including
Army against Elon. Check your local listings. In the NCAA
Tournament second round, two seed Tennessee eliminated UCLA sixty seven
to fifty eight. Houston and Purdue each one. They'll face
each each other Friday. In the Sweet sixteen. Houston beat
Gonzaga eighty one seventy six. Purdue's win was against mcnee's

(01:53:07):
seventy six sixty two. Texas Tech over Drake seventy seven
sixty four. Texas Tech on two pointers twenty six for
thirty eight in this game. Thursday in San Francisco, they'll
be facing Arkansas. In the Sweet sixteen. Hogs beat two
seed Saint John seventy five to sixty six. Auburn and
Michigan each one. They'll face each other in Atlanta Friday.

(01:53:28):
In the Sweet sixteen, one seed Auburn beat Creighton eighty
two to seventy. Creighton went scoreless for over six minutes
in the second half and fell behind by fourteen points.
This game had been tied fifty to fifty in the
second half, but Auburn in the second half shot sixty
percent from the floor. The Michigan win was ninety one
seventy nine against Texas A and m Michigan actually trailed
by ten with about thirteen minutes to go. This Wolverine's

(01:53:51):
team has five wins in the last nine days, and
these last two wins are at altitude in Denver. Very impressive.
This was a three point lead with one minute left.
Ninety one seventy nine the final and BYU eliminated three
seed Wisconsin ninety one eighty nine. John Tangia the Badger's
thirty seven points, but he airbowled the final shot. Big

(01:54:12):
ten teams had been ten to zero in the tournament
until that game and a final notes, we had a
no hitter at spring training with the Orioles beating the
Pirates for nothing. Pirates did have regulars in there for
a couple of a bats. Eventually, oh for twenty seven
at the plate with ten strikeouts and three walks.

Speaker 2 (01:54:28):
Back to you, Thank you very much, Steve de Saga,
have a great evening to Sega. Will be back on
Sunday with the Gang Spaniard and Plank, Willard and Ephraim.
Busy Sunday ahead. Speaking of busy Sunday, well come back.

Speaker 3 (01:54:40):
We will look ahead to the Sunday slate of college
hoops Duke Yukon, Florida among many in action. That's next.

Speaker 1 (01:54:47):
Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (01:54:50):
Mary's just feeling herself tonight. She's just taking it back
to like nineteen ninety nine, every single break and I
love it. Fox Sports Radio aerzors Jay Smartin broadcast sting
live from the tire rack dot com studios. Tractor Supply
knows that a winning season takes practice, teamwork, and a
can do attitude. Thankfully, when you have a neighbor like

(01:55:11):
Tractor Supply, teamwork comes easy. Whether you're caring for petch
chickens or a few acres, our team members will help
you succeed season after season. Tractor Supply for Life out here,
and be sure to check out the Tractor Supply Fox
Sports Radio Bracket Challenge at Fox sports Radio dot com.
See how our hosts are doing with their picks and
who the top ranked listeners are. The listener with the

(01:55:33):
best bracket at Foxsports Radio dot com will win a
twenty five hundred dollars gift card to Tractor Supply. Eight
teams have advanced to the Sweet sixteen after Saturday's results. Again,
by the way, you missed any of it, make sure
to go back and download the podcast. Make sure you're
subscribed on Fox Sports Radio YouTube. Eight teams have advanced

(01:55:54):
though Arkansas, Tennessee, Houston BYU. I'm not gonna do all
of them, but you get the point. A lot of
good teams are advancing to next weekend. Eight games on Sunday,
J Marts starting at twelve ten Eastern time, the two
time defending champion Yukon Huskies against the Florida Gators. That
leads into Duke trying to get to the Sweet sixteen
against Baylor, and from there it goes on and on.

(01:56:16):
Any game, any storyline has your attention for Sunday, Jmart.

Speaker 1 (01:56:22):
I'm trying to think if there's anything that really stands out.
I mean, I don't feel like Duke or Florida either
one is gonna face too much. No disrespect to Yukon.

Speaker 3 (01:56:30):
I just I'm with you.

Speaker 1 (01:56:31):
We haven't talked about our brackets, but I've got Florida
winning the whole thing, sure, and I just I look
at the talent and everything else. I don't think Yukon's
got the got the horses for this one. And I
just kind of look down the rest of this slate
and I'm just where is the possible upset. Michigan State
struggled for a half and then they looked pretty good
in the second half of their first round matchup Ole

(01:56:53):
miss Iowa State. That could be an interesting, interesting matchup.
I would say Kentucky in this moment, but Kentucky fans
are going to really really have a problem if they
don't get out of the first weekend and Cal did well.
Not only this, I kind of want to see Illinois
win next yame.

Speaker 3 (01:57:10):
Not only that.

Speaker 2 (01:57:11):
Remember Mark Pope left BYU B yusing the Sweet sixteen
as well.

Speaker 1 (01:57:15):
Oh yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2 (01:57:16):
Yeah, so that that is a little internet thing, is that?

Speaker 3 (01:57:19):
Listen?

Speaker 2 (01:57:20):
I think Mark Pope's a good a good coach. They
have actually dealt with a ton of injuries.

Speaker 1 (01:57:24):
Yeah, they have.

Speaker 2 (01:57:25):
I think he shared a stat on selection Sunday. They're
bottom ten in the country in like basically the minutes
that would have been like like basically the minutes that
could have been played by the players that were expected
to play versus the minutes that were actually played. In
other words, they've basically had starters out all year long.
I'm with you, j Mart. I even saw something like

(01:57:48):
the message board Genius Posts, which is like they just
browse message boards where it was there's a lot There
were a lot of Kentucky fans on the message boards
today basically saying if we lose on Sunday, I am
not going to be very happy.

Speaker 1 (01:58:00):
So yeah, I mean, I'm telling you, like, it's gonna
be really ugly because and again, they've put themselves out
there and tried to mock Cal for whatever reason, and
now it's on them. And they're a team that you
talk about the injuries. They just haven't been at their
best down the stretch of this season, similar to Auburn,
but worse. And so they're going against an Illinois team

(01:58:22):
that absolutely will have no problem beating them if they
don't show up to play in that game. So I
mean that I think maybe is the most intriguing storyline
because Cal is in is what happens to Kentucky. And again,
if one of the two to one seeds are challenged
at all, I think that becomes interesting. Yeah, but yeah,
I'm not sure that the other ones anything particularly jumps out.

(01:58:45):
I don't really think Saint Mary's will be able to
compete against Alabama, for example, but there's some interesting stuff
there is.

Speaker 3 (01:58:52):
I'm with you.

Speaker 2 (01:58:53):
I love my Huskies, but this is not their year.
I think Florida rolls in that opener, Duke the same
against Bailey.

Speaker 3 (01:58:58):
We gotta get out of here one. I thank the
crew of Mary Mack.

Speaker 2 (01:59:00):
I'm the board producer Ian Steve Disaga from my partner
Jason Martin, I'm here, Torres. Make sure to download the podcast.
A lot of college hoops and beyond. Coming up next.
Bernie Fratto of The Bernie Fritto Show. Can't wait to
hear Bernie, That's next.

Speaker 3 (01:59:14):
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