April 7, 2025 • 21 mins
Sean Brace and Sam Oshtry talk all things #NationalChampionship TONIGHT as #Houston takes on #Florida.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Everybody runs down the floor. James Long passed down.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The floor, Quieter tips it, Bruse Pinnipple has it, throws the.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Proctor heaps up the three.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
No good, Kiston from behind.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I'm getting mad.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
I'm getting mad, get getting stop stop stop the audio
as I hit play.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Let me ask you about that play? Sam? What was
that the final play?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You're down three? You got four point three? And he
throws that Heath ye can? I can?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I just you watched the Warriors, right, Like that's coaching.
So the Warriors, like the I always hear the inbounders
the most dangerous man. They have this play where it's like,
who's the kid from Santa Clara Pajinski?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Right? Is that his name? Brandon? Yeah? Yeah, yeah. So
last week I saw see what curry?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Yeah, they imbound it and then Boone sprints up and
you get it right back to him, snap of the fingers.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
He's right at half half court. Why couldn't you do
something like that?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
You're right, they heave and then they didn't even get
a shot off.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Like what that's coaching, that's John Shi or what the
hell is he doing there? Now?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm with you and going back to flag right like
that that final play design from Flags. Look, Yeah, I
didn't hate to look like, look, you isolated him on
the left wing, he gets he gets a decent look.
I mean that's a tough shot. It's a fade away
contested too. It's a shot he's capable of making. You
see guys at his level make that all the time.
(01:57):
So I didn't think it was a bad look. But
Chuan rob I mean credit to him, Like they didn't
even Houston'd even think about double it. I mean maybe
they thought about it, they didn't double like. They just
let Juwan Roberts out there on an island. It's like,
all right, you're a strong, physical guy, good foot speed,
you do your thing. And he did a phenomenal job
on that coverage garden Cooper flag forcing a tough contested too.
But I didn't hate a lot of people were really
(02:18):
critical of that and flagged. I thought it was a
good look. It doesn't mean Cooper flag isn't clutch. He's
had some poor late moments throughout the season. I didn't
think that was necessarily one of them. It was just
he missed a shot. It was a decent look though.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah, I have no issues with that play at all,
but the final play come on as we just heard
right there. Courtesy of the Houston Cougars Radio Network, Go
by the way, Houston. They're on a historic quest. Obviously,
this is their first opportunity or they are seeking their
first ever national title of five slam A jama dominated.
(02:52):
I think they went to multiple final fours. I think
they went to back to back championship games. I know
they lost to NC State three when it was survive
in advance, but man, that's pretty surprising to hear that
they weren't able to ever win one.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
When you think about it, Could it be tonight? We'll see.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
There's a lot to love about the Houston Cougars, but
I don't want to sleep on the Florida Gators here either,
do you.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Let's just die.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
We're gonna dive right into this and I'm gonna pepper
you with some questions. It's not gonna be smooth here,
but let's just talk this. We got to We're sitting
at the bar. We got a couple beverages in front
of us. So as far as the style is concerned,
Houston feels it, and I think they got their way
against Duke in that second half. And we've seen a
(03:40):
lot of these games with Houston. They slow it down
and the game plays to their pace. Florida is a
different monster.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Though.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Do you think tomorrow when we discussed this game, we're
gonna be saying Houston, their pace of play dominated that game.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
They were able to break it down to way they wanted.
Will it be.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Florida and what we saw somewhat of a contrast in
that Auburn game where it was just Burner in possession
after possession after possession. Important conversation to have for the
for the total which on DraftKings sportsbook.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I believe was one forty one forty and a.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Half, I think Houston is gonna control the pace and look,
Houston's it's Houston's defense that doesn't we know what they're
all offensively, but it's Houston's defense. And you saw it
against Duke where even Duke was up I think it
was like eighteen to nine early on in the game,
they were their defense was still so locked in they
were present preventing Duke from going on these crazy runs
even while their offense was struggling. And that's how you
(04:39):
can really control the pace with with just getting timely
stops and they held Duke, the number one offense in
the country, to sixty seven points, their their lowest scoring
output other than a wake Forest January game where they
only scored sixty three. So it was just it was
really Houston's defense they got done. I think you're gonna
see the same thing against Florida again, a Florida team
that it was a top three offense in the country,
(05:02):
But you're gonna see Houston control the pace with their
defense because they're gonna limit Florida's guards. And if you
can really limit Florida's guards, they're in trouble then yeah.
I mean they have great bigs too, like Alex ConA
obviously phenomenal passing big. But if you limit Florida's guards,
you're cooked. Yeah, And I think that's what Houston's gonna do,
and in turn, they're gonna control the pacing.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
It's gonna be a pretty low scoring game. I think
you're on Houston, I am. Do you think this is
an easy win? No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think we talked about these these teams. They've been
two of the best teams in the country all year. Yeah,
but they're also two of the best clutch teams in
the country. I told you earlier that Houston is the
number one, excuse me, Florida, number one true shooting percentage
in the country and the clutch number one in turnover
percentage in the country. In the clutch, they shoot seventy
eight percent from the free throw line in the clutch. Like,
those are great numbers. But on the flip side, Houston,
(05:51):
here's a clutch staff for you. They hold their opponent's
three point shooting twenty eight percent in the clutch. Their
defense locks in on a whole other level where they
make it impossible to drill threes against them late in
the games. Houston seventy four percent free throw shooting team
on the year, eighty two point six percent in the clutch. Like,
they shoot thirty eight pit cent from three themselves in
(06:13):
the clutch. So I keep using this word clutch. We
have two of the clutches teams in the country. This
is not an easy win. It's not an easy game.
This game is gonna come down to those final five
four minutes. It's gonna be the team that that that
is more resilient late when these both these teams have
been that throughout the throughout the tournament.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Yeah, it's gonna see who's going to break in the
final minute or two of the game. As as you
just pointed out, both teams have been awesome in that
spot in Florida more than anything has been eye opening.
But maybe we haven't been paying attention enough to the
clutch numbers because of the dirty work they're doing on
the defensive side with Houston.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Mark Henry Jr. He's been mister koug for a long time.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Kuge cement themselves tonight as one of the best teams
of all time with the hardest path of all time.
Go Cook's I'm mad at Mark Henry Junior because he
put the reverse curse on my dupe. He put that
text out, Oh, I was five minutes in the game
and he's like, oh, I was wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I can't believe I took Houston in this game. And
I've looked at the text and I didn't say things
because I was on cloud nine and that reversed nonsense
worked and Houston came out on top.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
I'm so marry to reverse the reverse Jeteah, I got it.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I'm gonna have also, I mean to to that text
for thirty nine minutes of that game. Duke, Well, it
looked like Duke he couldn't be jinx. They had that game,
there was no chance of them losing, and then that
final minute. Everybody, nobody has an answer for how that
played out. And it just you gotta give Houston another
credit in the world. All right, let's talk about Walter
(07:39):
Clayton Junior here to do it.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
He's been on fire, back to back thirty point performances,
first time since Larry Bird I want to say, an
Elite eight in Final four and uh he had thirty
four points against Auburn.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
He's about as smooth as it gets. He just has
He's got Curry in him. Like that's that's That's all
you gotta say, is that? And that's just another level.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
What when it comes to Houston, they have the bulls
eye and they know, hey, look you cut the head
of the snake off.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
They're gonna struggle. Can Florida score enough if Walter.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Clayton is limited to let's say eighteen twenty whatever it
may be, not reach a twenty five to thirty point margin.
Do you think Florida can get enough scoring to win
this game? If Walter Clayton is shut down?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I think Walter Clayton is gonna score in the teams,
and I think that's gonna be the difference. And what
Houston's gonna do is they're going to trap and blitz
Walter Clayton constantly, like you are, getting the ball out
of his hands. And what it's gonna come down to
is the Florida has a bunch of good passing bigs
that we discussed, like Thomas Hugh, Alex Condon. Those guys
(08:44):
are great in the short role as passing bigs. Those
guys can make plays. So it's gonna come down to
the others for Florida other than Walter Clayton. Those guys
are gonna make plays in the short role. After you're
gonna see Walter Clayton get blitzed and trapped a ton,
It's gonna come down to Elijah Martin, will Richard. Are
those guys gonna hit shots? Both them shoot thirty five
percent from three. They shot way better against Auburn from
(09:05):
three as a team than the team average. But those
guys are thirty five percent three point shooters, So you
really never know which way it could trend. If those
guys are making shots and impacting the game. Offensively at
a high level. It then Florida's gonna win. But it's
gonna come down to them because they are going to
do everything. Houston is going to do everything to sell
out on Walter Clayton Junior, and that's going to include
(09:25):
trapping and blitzing him, and they have the personnel for it.
Like we know Houston's defense, all all their guards who
are just phenomenal defenders and can and even even Juan
Roberts who who can guard on the perimeter. All of
them are just so great at limiting downhill drives and
preventing paint penetration that I think Houston is just gonna
(09:48):
eat up Florida's offense. What's the key for the Florida
Gators to come out on top tonight. I think it's rebounding.
I think rebounding is gonna have a huge impact on
this game. Florida's been the fourth best rebounding offensive team
in the country all year, and you saw that against Auburn.
They dominated the offensive glass, more so in the second
half against Auburn. But Houston's also a great offensive rebounding
(10:09):
team and their good defensive rebound team, so it's really
can Florida get an edge rebounding creating extra possessions, because
that's what their offense relies on a lot, it's crashing
the offensive glass and creating extra possessions. But on the flip,
Houston is has the personnel on the glass to limit
a lot of Florida's second chance opportunities. So if Florida
can get an edge rebounding, then they could win the game.
(10:30):
If Houston limits that, that favors Houston.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Are you surprised about the spread? Yeah? Yeah, I am.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It did open up at one and a half. We're
holding steady at one. Should we be making anything of that?
Like for me, that was that was the determining factor
for me to take the Gators over Auburn.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I know what I am dealing with with Houston. Houston.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I felt like we talked about this game, the both
games a ton last week and I simply said my
favorite was Florida. I would not be surprised if Duke
lost to Houston, and what happened. I was surprised at
the end, But again, you know, Houston is that good.
But you talk about us a tournament where it has
been nothing but chuck yep for the first time in history,
(11:14):
Favorites went twelve and oh straight up Sweet sixteen and
late eight or at laite eight. Overall, Favorites have won
fifteen straight tournament games, dating back to Iowa State's loss
to Ole Miss in the round thirty two.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And you talk about the national championships since nineteen.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Seventy thirty two and twenty two are excuse me, forty
one and thirteen favorite straight up?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So here we are, Florida's favored in this any read
on that any surprise? What do you do with that?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I thought auburns should have been favored in that game,
and I read it wrong, obviously, and it was a
good call by you just to scalp that out and
got one Florida and scout that Out'd be like, Florida
is favored for a reason, And so maybe that's saying
something here too. I just look at these teams, and
Houston's the better team than We're seeing defense prevail time
and time again. Like even that Duke Alabama game, Duke's
(12:02):
defense is the reason Duke escaped Alabama and had a
twenty point wings.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
They shut off Alabama's offense.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Houston's defense in the final ten minutes of that game
is the reason why they won. It's the best defense
in the country. It's one of the best defenses of
all time. They're just so physically daunting. Florida played a
really difficult acc schedule. They played a ton of great teams.
They have not played a defense all season as good
as as Houston. And it's the old adage that defense
(12:28):
wins championships.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
That's not always true.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Necessarily, you gotta have a reliable defense, not the best necessarily. Here,
I think Houston's defense.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Is just so good.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
They're gonna shut off Florida's water take away Walter Clayton
junior with these traps, make other guys make plays, and
I just I think Houston's gonna win the game.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I think Houston's the better team and they deserve to
be favored. It's hard not to make the case for
Houston here. I will not lie that I hate Wagered.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
On Saturday night after that game went final and I
put everything on Florida, so I'm riding with the Gators.
I'm so mad at Duke for blowing that. It would
have been the greatest National championship game that I can remember.
Uh if I had two straight with Yukon. But I
was going to be so excited just to get that
exact matchup right, but it didn't happen. Oh well, we're
gonna let that one go and see if we can
(13:16):
cash in tonight once again. DK's where we're showing where
we're getting our numbers from. And uh with one forty
and a half one point spread, what is your favorite
play for tonight?
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Is it Houston or do you like anything with the total?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Let me give out a player prop for people to
can give player props out and speaks to what I
was just talking about. Walter Cleyton Junior under twenty two
and a half points, twenty two and a half, number
twenty two and a half.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
If he stays under that, they lose one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
And that's why I think Houston's gonna win, because I
think it's gonna come down to the others where where
they're gonna Walt Clean Junior is not going for another
thirty Bowl. I mean what he just did with back
to back thirty eight thirty Bowls and final four then
Florida's national champions and credit to that guy. Maybe you
should draft him second overall, but he's not. He's not
going for another thirty Bowl. I think they're selling out.
I keep talking about they're selling it. They're going to
(14:04):
sell out to take the ball out of Walter Clayton
Junior's hands and make Florida's bigs make plays. You're gonna
have to rely on guys like Elijah Martin and Will
Richard to make shots, and whether they do or don't,
the ball is not going to It's not gonna be
a Walter Clayton junior game. And I think Houston's defense
is going to be geared towards limiting him. And I
don't think he's gonna have one of these great scoring outputs.
(14:26):
Iud see him scoring maybe like sixteen or eighteen still,
but I think comes under twenty two and a half.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Florida first national championship since, of course that great run
back in six and oh seven. Billy Donovan. Yeah, it's
been eighteen years since they won a national championship. As
I pointed up with Houston never had one. It's crazy
when you start talking about these coaches sixty nine and
thirty nine, huge difference in age, and Golden could be
the youngest head coach to ever win a national championship.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Since Jim Valvano did it back in eighty three.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Win they beat Houston. So how about that? Sports fans
interesting up there? I can't wait for tonight. It's been
a hell of a tournament. Eight fifty tip time, just
to tab it earlier, I would assume that's probably like a.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Nine o'clock start.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
You can people stop complaining tonight, No, no, why we
got it from nine twenty to eight fifty everyone's stopped complaying.
Starting at fifty, like eight fifty seven will start stter
than a nine to twenty six start time, and we'll
get we can get the little one shining moment.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
At the end. Everyone can stand for that. You ready
for my hot take? You don't like one ship? I
hate one shot moment. I will say the quality's gotten worse,
But why don't you like it? Just it's cool. You
remember all the great tournament moments, not that there were
that many.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
This, yeah, exact, but most use and hate is a
strong word.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
But yeah, I'm a good soundtrack. I think people are
a little over the top of one shining moment.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
I like it, and I think a little bit more
kicks in that.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
It's sadness that everything is coming to an end, you know, like,
now we got Phil's baseball and that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Come on, what what else do we got? NBA? Yes,
well here love play? Yeah. Yeah. Locally, I'm all about.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
The NBA playoffs. You're right, Wes, we broke down the West,
but like, what are you selling me on the East?
An Eastern Conference final?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Cool? That takes a little lot. That's in May. Knick
Celtics second round will be really good series. I don't
think the Knicks will win that they can't beat in
the regular season playing.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Good ball, they still haven't beat the best teams in
the league. Jalen Brunson's back, bron Celtics will be a
good second round series.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Man, he's missed a ton of times since that that
ankle injury.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
I think he spend a little more time out just
to rehab it a little bit because the next are
kind of lost three seed.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
He'll be good for the playoffs, all right. Can I
say something about Kelvin Sampson real quick? Well? Please do?
One of the most underrated culture builders in the sport.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, you know, he doesn't really get as much
credit as some of these guys like Izzo's or Caliperi's
or Patino. He's finally starting to get it and it's
well deserved. Like it's really hard to win a national title,
and whether he does or doesn't tonight doesn't really change how.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Great of a coach. Unbelievable for years, unbelievable And.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
You know what a lot of people thought there was
gonna be a big transition going from mid major to
the Big twelve.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Not at all. Has dominated the Big twelve since he's
been there all time.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Great culture builder, the toughness, the grit he instills in
his players. His son is going to be getting the
job when he leaves, so we'll see it if he
can continue that success. But such a great coach that
doesn't get as much love, maybe because he's one of
these older guys people love like the newness of Todd
Golden and John Shire. But he's done a phenomenal job,
(17:32):
like same with guys like Rick Barnes, and people are
critical of his tournament success is oh uh, he hasn't
won in twenty five years, even though Michigan State's consistently
in the tournament. It is really hard to win a
national title and you shouldn't necessarily be judged on whether
they've won national titles or not, especially when when you
build up a program like Kelvin Sampson has with Houston,
so win or lose tonight. He is an under he's
(17:54):
become an underrated coach and he's one of the best
in the country.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
So credit to him.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yeah, there's no doubt about that. And well put Oh,
by the way, Houston's jerseys are fire.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Yeah, they're great. Wow, those jerseys are hot. Man on
Saturday night, as I would love one of those jerseys.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
And then they actually bought in that group chat today,
I bought one of those Tennessee hats.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you Yeah, it was a little different, but it
was like the voles. I like the dog, Smoky the
dog I think his name is Smoky. Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I don't know his name exactly, but I get Smokey.
I bought one of those for the Smoky Mountains. That
would make sense.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yeah, all right, great stuff, Sam, What do you got
cooking over there at the score?
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Sarah? What can we read? What can we find this week?
What's happening?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
A lot of NBA stuff come up later this week.
I mean a lot of golf stuff too, But that's
not really from me at all, but would they do
great golf covers, So check out their golf content for
the Masters. A lot of NBA stuff coming up for
me later this week, Awards playoff race and then into
the playoffs can be diving in.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Just yeah, stay tuned to the Twitter, to the app
all of it.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of Masters coverage coming
your way here on the Daily Ticket, you'll pick.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Not yet, not yet, got to talk to my people.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
We have Chris Powers who will be joining me tomorrow
live from Augusta. Really yeah, he's a writer over at
the Golf Digest. He's been on the show before. He's
a fantastic follow sea Powers fourteen. Got a local dude
that's gonna be joining me from a podcast, a golf
podcast in Jersey called The Drop that's doing awesome things.
(19:26):
Of course, we're gonna have Moose Mays and Dan Yelle
for you. It's swinging and dang it. So a lot
of Masters conversation come in your way.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Do I have a pick? I feel like Rory's got
to do it this year.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Really, I don't principal, I can't bet that guy, I know,
would I bet it? No?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But it would not surprise me if Rory's finally able
to check that box. He's playing great golf.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, if I've heard as a casual golf guy who
loves tuning in for weekends like the Masters, I've watched
Rory choke on Sundays too much. I can't bet the guy.
I can't ever actually believe he's gonna win a big one.
So I don't know and take it. I like, I
like taking some long shots for the Masters.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah, I got your long shot right here. And I
don't think he played all that well in Texas. But actually,
but T is my guy. He's my long shot that
I'll be firing on.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Literally never even heard of that. He's a stun he's
a big left. He can smash it.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Damn did he not even make the cut and that
in this one anytex That's not good Anyways, he's a
hell of a player.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Look, it's a lot of fun, and my schedule is
so packed. I'm so mad this weekend. Oh my god, Well,
you're not gonna be locked, not gonna be able to
watch one much. I got work, I gotta leave, I
got a baby shower, I got this, I got that.
Can you get Sunday at two o'clock. Fore No, that's
my baby shower for you, for you or for someone else. No,
it's for me.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Yeah, well man, we gotta go up to Scramp for
the baby shower. I'm just like, all right, I guess
I'll be watching it on the phone. Yeah, I can't complain,
all right, folks, make sure you tune in tomorrow if
we recapping a victory for you out there Houston and Florida.
Good luck in all your players, Sam great stuff as always,
Luke Arcaney.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
I'll be back live tomorrow at three pm. Fox Sports
Radio is next piece.
Everybody runs down the floor. James Long passed down.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The floor, Quieter tips it, Bruse Pinnipple has it, throws the.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Proctor heaps up the three.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
No good, Kiston from behind.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I'm getting mad.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
I'm getting mad, get getting stop stop stop the audio
as I hit play.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Let me ask you about that play? Sam? What was
that the final play?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You're down three? You got four point three? And he
throws that Heath ye can? I can?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I just you watched the Warriors, right, Like that's coaching.
So the Warriors, like the I always hear the inbounders
the most dangerous man. They have this play where it's like,
who's the kid from Santa Clara Pajinski?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Right? Is that his name? Brandon? Yeah? Yeah, yeah. So
last week I saw see what curry?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Yeah, they imbound it and then Boone sprints up and
you get it right back to him, snap of the fingers.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
He's right at half half court. Why couldn't you do
something like that?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
You're right, they heave and then they didn't even get
a shot off.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Like what that's coaching, that's John Shi or what the
hell is he doing there? Now?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm with you and going back to flag right like
that that final play design from Flags. Look, Yeah, I
didn't hate to look like, look, you isolated him on
the left wing, he gets he gets a decent look.
I mean that's a tough shot. It's a fade away
contested too. It's a shot he's capable of making. You
see guys at his level make that all the time.
(01:57):
So I didn't think it was a bad look. But
Chuan rob I mean credit to him, Like they didn't
even Houston'd even think about double it. I mean maybe
they thought about it, they didn't double like. They just
let Juwan Roberts out there on an island. It's like,
all right, you're a strong, physical guy, good foot speed,
you do your thing. And he did a phenomenal job
on that coverage garden Cooper flag forcing a tough contested too.
But I didn't hate a lot of people were really
(02:18):
critical of that and flagged. I thought it was a
good look. It doesn't mean Cooper flag isn't clutch. He's
had some poor late moments throughout the season. I didn't
think that was necessarily one of them. It was just
he missed a shot. It was a decent look though.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah, I have no issues with that play at all,
but the final play come on as we just heard
right there. Courtesy of the Houston Cougars Radio Network, Go
by the way, Houston. They're on a historic quest. Obviously,
this is their first opportunity or they are seeking their
first ever national title of five slam A jama dominated.
(02:52):
I think they went to multiple final fours. I think
they went to back to back championship games. I know
they lost to NC State three when it was survive
in advance, but man, that's pretty surprising to hear that
they weren't able to ever win one.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
When you think about it, Could it be tonight? We'll see.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
There's a lot to love about the Houston Cougars, but
I don't want to sleep on the Florida Gators here either,
do you.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Let's just die.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
We're gonna dive right into this and I'm gonna pepper
you with some questions. It's not gonna be smooth here,
but let's just talk this. We got to We're sitting
at the bar. We got a couple beverages in front
of us. So as far as the style is concerned,
Houston feels it, and I think they got their way
against Duke in that second half. And we've seen a
(03:40):
lot of these games with Houston. They slow it down
and the game plays to their pace. Florida is a
different monster.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Though.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Do you think tomorrow when we discussed this game, we're
gonna be saying Houston, their pace of play dominated that game.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
They were able to break it down to way they wanted.
Will it be.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Florida and what we saw somewhat of a contrast in
that Auburn game where it was just Burner in possession
after possession after possession. Important conversation to have for the
for the total which on DraftKings sportsbook.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I believe was one forty one forty and a.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Half, I think Houston is gonna control the pace and look,
Houston's it's Houston's defense that doesn't we know what they're
all offensively, but it's Houston's defense. And you saw it
against Duke where even Duke was up I think it
was like eighteen to nine early on in the game,
they were their defense was still so locked in they
were present preventing Duke from going on these crazy runs
even while their offense was struggling. And that's how you
(04:39):
can really control the pace with with just getting timely
stops and they held Duke, the number one offense in
the country, to sixty seven points, their their lowest scoring
output other than a wake Forest January game where they
only scored sixty three. So it was just it was
really Houston's defense they got done. I think you're gonna
see the same thing against Florida again, a Florida team
that it was a top three offense in the country,
(05:02):
But you're gonna see Houston control the pace with their
defense because they're gonna limit Florida's guards. And if you
can really limit Florida's guards, they're in trouble then yeah.
I mean they have great bigs too, like Alex ConA
obviously phenomenal passing big. But if you limit Florida's guards,
you're cooked. Yeah, And I think that's what Houston's gonna do,
and in turn, they're gonna control the pacing.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
It's gonna be a pretty low scoring game. I think
you're on Houston, I am. Do you think this is
an easy win? No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think we talked about these these teams. They've been
two of the best teams in the country all year. Yeah,
but they're also two of the best clutch teams in
the country. I told you earlier that Houston is the
number one, excuse me, Florida, number one true shooting percentage
in the country and the clutch number one in turnover
percentage in the country. In the clutch, they shoot seventy
eight percent from the free throw line in the clutch. Like,
those are great numbers. But on the flip side, Houston,
(05:51):
here's a clutch staff for you. They hold their opponent's
three point shooting twenty eight percent in the clutch. Their
defense locks in on a whole other level where they
make it impossible to drill threes against them late in
the games. Houston seventy four percent free throw shooting team
on the year, eighty two point six percent in the clutch. Like,
they shoot thirty eight pit cent from three themselves in
(06:13):
the clutch. So I keep using this word clutch. We
have two of the clutches teams in the country. This
is not an easy win. It's not an easy game.
This game is gonna come down to those final five
four minutes. It's gonna be the team that that that
is more resilient late when these both these teams have
been that throughout the throughout the tournament.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Yeah, it's gonna see who's going to break in the
final minute or two of the game. As as you
just pointed out, both teams have been awesome in that
spot in Florida more than anything has been eye opening.
But maybe we haven't been paying attention enough to the
clutch numbers because of the dirty work they're doing on
the defensive side with Houston.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Mark Henry Jr. He's been mister koug for a long time.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Kuge cement themselves tonight as one of the best teams
of all time with the hardest path of all time.
Go Cook's I'm mad at Mark Henry Junior because he
put the reverse curse on my dupe. He put that
text out, Oh, I was five minutes in the game
and he's like, oh, I was wrong.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I can't believe I took Houston in this game. And
I've looked at the text and I didn't say things
because I was on cloud nine and that reversed nonsense
worked and Houston came out on top.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
I'm so marry to reverse the reverse Jeteah, I got it.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I'm gonna have also, I mean to to that text
for thirty nine minutes of that game. Duke, Well, it
looked like Duke he couldn't be jinx. They had that game,
there was no chance of them losing, and then that
final minute. Everybody, nobody has an answer for how that
played out. And it just you gotta give Houston another
credit in the world. All right, let's talk about Walter
(07:39):
Clayton Junior here to do it.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
He's been on fire, back to back thirty point performances,
first time since Larry Bird I want to say, an
Elite eight in Final four and uh he had thirty
four points against Auburn.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
He's about as smooth as it gets. He just has
He's got Curry in him. Like that's that's That's all
you gotta say, is that? And that's just another level.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
What when it comes to Houston, they have the bulls
eye and they know, hey, look you cut the head
of the snake off.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
They're gonna struggle. Can Florida score enough if Walter.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Clayton is limited to let's say eighteen twenty whatever it
may be, not reach a twenty five to thirty point margin.
Do you think Florida can get enough scoring to win
this game? If Walter Clayton is shut down?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I think Walter Clayton is gonna score in the teams,
and I think that's gonna be the difference. And what
Houston's gonna do is they're going to trap and blitz
Walter Clayton constantly, like you are, getting the ball out
of his hands. And what it's gonna come down to
is the Florida has a bunch of good passing bigs
that we discussed, like Thomas Hugh, Alex Condon. Those guys
(08:44):
are great in the short role as passing bigs. Those
guys can make plays. So it's gonna come down to
the others for Florida other than Walter Clayton. Those guys
are gonna make plays in the short role. After you're
gonna see Walter Clayton get blitzed and trapped a ton,
It's gonna come down to Elijah Martin, will Richard. Are
those guys gonna hit shots? Both them shoot thirty five
percent from three. They shot way better against Auburn from
(09:05):
three as a team than the team average. But those
guys are thirty five percent three point shooters, So you
really never know which way it could trend. If those
guys are making shots and impacting the game. Offensively at
a high level. It then Florida's gonna win. But it's
gonna come down to them because they are going to
do everything. Houston is going to do everything to sell
out on Walter Clayton Junior, and that's going to include
(09:25):
trapping and blitzing him, and they have the personnel for it.
Like we know Houston's defense, all all their guards who
are just phenomenal defenders and can and even even Juan
Roberts who who can guard on the perimeter. All of
them are just so great at limiting downhill drives and
preventing paint penetration that I think Houston is just gonna
(09:48):
eat up Florida's offense. What's the key for the Florida
Gators to come out on top tonight. I think it's rebounding.
I think rebounding is gonna have a huge impact on
this game. Florida's been the fourth best rebounding offensive team
in the country all year, and you saw that against Auburn.
They dominated the offensive glass, more so in the second
half against Auburn. But Houston's also a great offensive rebounding
(10:09):
team and their good defensive rebound team, so it's really
can Florida get an edge rebounding creating extra possessions, because
that's what their offense relies on a lot, it's crashing
the offensive glass and creating extra possessions. But on the flip,
Houston is has the personnel on the glass to limit
a lot of Florida's second chance opportunities. So if Florida
can get an edge rebounding, then they could win the game.
(10:30):
If Houston limits that, that favors Houston.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Are you surprised about the spread? Yeah? Yeah, I am.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It did open up at one and a half. We're
holding steady at one. Should we be making anything of that?
Like for me, that was that was the determining factor
for me to take the Gators over Auburn.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I know what I am dealing with with Houston. Houston.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I felt like we talked about this game, the both
games a ton last week and I simply said my
favorite was Florida. I would not be surprised if Duke
lost to Houston, and what happened. I was surprised at
the end, But again, you know, Houston is that good.
But you talk about us a tournament where it has
been nothing but chuck yep for the first time in history,
(11:14):
Favorites went twelve and oh straight up Sweet sixteen and
late eight or at laite eight. Overall, Favorites have won
fifteen straight tournament games, dating back to Iowa State's loss
to Ole Miss in the round thirty two.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And you talk about the national championships since nineteen.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Seventy thirty two and twenty two are excuse me, forty
one and thirteen favorite straight up?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So here we are, Florida's favored in this any read
on that any surprise? What do you do with that?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I thought auburns should have been favored in that game,
and I read it wrong, obviously, and it was a
good call by you just to scalp that out and
got one Florida and scout that Out'd be like, Florida
is favored for a reason, And so maybe that's saying
something here too. I just look at these teams, and
Houston's the better team than We're seeing defense prevail time
and time again. Like even that Duke Alabama game, Duke's
(12:02):
defense is the reason Duke escaped Alabama and had a
twenty point wings.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
They shut off Alabama's offense.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Houston's defense in the final ten minutes of that game
is the reason why they won. It's the best defense
in the country. It's one of the best defenses of
all time. They're just so physically daunting. Florida played a
really difficult acc schedule. They played a ton of great teams.
They have not played a defense all season as good
as as Houston. And it's the old adage that defense
(12:28):
wins championships.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
That's not always true.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Necessarily, you gotta have a reliable defense, not the best necessarily. Here,
I think Houston's defense.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Is just so good.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
They're gonna shut off Florida's water take away Walter Clayton
junior with these traps, make other guys make plays, and
I just I think Houston's gonna win the game.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I think Houston's the better team and they deserve to
be favored. It's hard not to make the case for
Houston here. I will not lie that I hate Wagered.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
On Saturday night after that game went final and I
put everything on Florida, so I'm riding with the Gators.
I'm so mad at Duke for blowing that. It would
have been the greatest National championship game that I can remember.
Uh if I had two straight with Yukon. But I
was going to be so excited just to get that
exact matchup right, but it didn't happen. Oh well, we're
gonna let that one go and see if we can
(13:16):
cash in tonight once again. DK's where we're showing where
we're getting our numbers from. And uh with one forty
and a half one point spread, what is your favorite
play for tonight?
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Is it Houston or do you like anything with the total?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Let me give out a player prop for people to
can give player props out and speaks to what I
was just talking about. Walter Cleyton Junior under twenty two
and a half points, twenty two and a half, number
twenty two and a half.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
If he stays under that, they lose one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
And that's why I think Houston's gonna win, because I
think it's gonna come down to the others where where
they're gonna Walt Clean Junior is not going for another
thirty Bowl. I mean what he just did with back
to back thirty eight thirty Bowls and final four then
Florida's national champions and credit to that guy. Maybe you
should draft him second overall, but he's not. He's not
going for another thirty Bowl. I think they're selling out.
I keep talking about they're selling it. They're going to
(14:04):
sell out to take the ball out of Walter Clayton
Junior's hands and make Florida's bigs make plays. You're gonna
have to rely on guys like Elijah Martin and Will
Richard to make shots, and whether they do or don't,
the ball is not going to It's not gonna be
a Walter Clayton junior game. And I think Houston's defense
is going to be geared towards limiting him. And I
don't think he's gonna have one of these great scoring outputs.
(14:26):
Iud see him scoring maybe like sixteen or eighteen still,
but I think comes under twenty two and a half.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Florida first national championship since, of course that great run
back in six and oh seven. Billy Donovan. Yeah, it's
been eighteen years since they won a national championship. As
I pointed up with Houston never had one. It's crazy
when you start talking about these coaches sixty nine and
thirty nine, huge difference in age, and Golden could be
the youngest head coach to ever win a national championship.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Since Jim Valvano did it back in eighty three.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Win they beat Houston. So how about that? Sports fans
interesting up there? I can't wait for tonight. It's been
a hell of a tournament. Eight fifty tip time, just
to tab it earlier, I would assume that's probably like a.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Nine o'clock start.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
You can people stop complaining tonight, No, no, why we
got it from nine twenty to eight fifty everyone's stopped complaying.
Starting at fifty, like eight fifty seven will start stter
than a nine to twenty six start time, and we'll
get we can get the little one shining moment.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
At the end. Everyone can stand for that. You ready
for my hot take? You don't like one ship? I
hate one shot moment. I will say the quality's gotten worse,
But why don't you like it? Just it's cool. You
remember all the great tournament moments, not that there were
that many.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
This, yeah, exact, but most use and hate is a
strong word.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
But yeah, I'm a good soundtrack. I think people are
a little over the top of one shining moment.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
I like it, and I think a little bit more
kicks in that.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
It's sadness that everything is coming to an end, you know, like,
now we got Phil's baseball and that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Come on, what what else do we got? NBA? Yes,
well here love play? Yeah. Yeah. Locally, I'm all about.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
The NBA playoffs. You're right, Wes, we broke down the West,
but like, what are you selling me on the East?
An Eastern Conference final?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Cool? That takes a little lot. That's in May. Knick
Celtics second round will be really good series. I don't
think the Knicks will win that they can't beat in
the regular season playing.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Good ball, they still haven't beat the best teams in
the league. Jalen Brunson's back, bron Celtics will be a
good second round series.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Man, he's missed a ton of times since that that
ankle injury.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
I think he spend a little more time out just
to rehab it a little bit because the next are
kind of lost three seed.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
He'll be good for the playoffs, all right. Can I
say something about Kelvin Sampson real quick? Well? Please do?
One of the most underrated culture builders in the sport.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I mean, you know, he doesn't really get as much
credit as some of these guys like Izzo's or Caliperi's
or Patino. He's finally starting to get it and it's
well deserved. Like it's really hard to win a national title,
and whether he does or doesn't tonight doesn't really change how.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Great of a coach. Unbelievable for years, unbelievable And.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
You know what a lot of people thought there was
gonna be a big transition going from mid major to
the Big twelve.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Not at all. Has dominated the Big twelve since he's
been there all time.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Great culture builder, the toughness, the grit he instills in
his players. His son is going to be getting the
job when he leaves, so we'll see it if he
can continue that success. But such a great coach that
doesn't get as much love, maybe because he's one of
these older guys people love like the newness of Todd
Golden and John Shire. But he's done a phenomenal job,
(17:32):
like same with guys like Rick Barnes, and people are
critical of his tournament success is oh uh, he hasn't
won in twenty five years, even though Michigan State's consistently
in the tournament. It is really hard to win a
national title and you shouldn't necessarily be judged on whether
they've won national titles or not, especially when when you
build up a program like Kelvin Sampson has with Houston,
so win or lose tonight. He is an under he's
(17:54):
become an underrated coach and he's one of the best
in the country.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
So credit to him.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yeah, there's no doubt about that. And well put Oh,
by the way, Houston's jerseys are fire.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Yeah, they're great. Wow, those jerseys are hot. Man on
Saturday night, as I would love one of those jerseys.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
And then they actually bought in that group chat today,
I bought one of those Tennessee hats.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you Yeah, it was a little different, but it
was like the voles. I like the dog, Smoky the
dog I think his name is Smoky. Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I don't know his name exactly, but I get Smokey.
I bought one of those for the Smoky Mountains. That
would make sense.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Yeah, all right, great stuff, Sam, What do you got
cooking over there at the score?
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Sarah? What can we read? What can we find this week?
What's happening?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
A lot of NBA stuff come up later this week.
I mean a lot of golf stuff too, But that's
not really from me at all, but would they do
great golf covers, So check out their golf content for
the Masters. A lot of NBA stuff coming up for
me later this week, Awards playoff race and then into
the playoffs can be diving in.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Just yeah, stay tuned to the Twitter, to the app
all of it.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of Masters coverage coming
your way here on the Daily Ticket, you'll pick.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Not yet, not yet, got to talk to my people.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
We have Chris Powers who will be joining me tomorrow
live from Augusta. Really yeah, he's a writer over at
the Golf Digest. He's been on the show before. He's
a fantastic follow sea Powers fourteen. Got a local dude
that's gonna be joining me from a podcast, a golf
podcast in Jersey called The Drop that's doing awesome things.
(19:26):
Of course, we're gonna have Moose Mays and Dan Yelle
for you. It's swinging and dang it. So a lot
of Masters conversation come in your way.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Do I have a pick? I feel like Rory's got
to do it this year.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Really, I don't principal, I can't bet that guy, I know,
would I bet it? No?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But it would not surprise me if Rory's finally able
to check that box. He's playing great golf.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, if I've heard as a casual golf guy who
loves tuning in for weekends like the Masters, I've watched
Rory choke on Sundays too much. I can't bet the guy.
I can't ever actually believe he's gonna win a big one.
So I don't know and take it. I like, I
like taking some long shots for the Masters.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah, I got your long shot right here. And I
don't think he played all that well in Texas. But actually,
but T is my guy. He's my long shot that
I'll be firing on.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Literally never even heard of that. He's a stun he's
a big left. He can smash it.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Damn did he not even make the cut and that
in this one anytex That's not good Anyways, he's a
hell of a player.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Look, it's a lot of fun, and my schedule is
so packed. I'm so mad this weekend. Oh my god, Well,
you're not gonna be locked, not gonna be able to
watch one much. I got work, I gotta leave, I
got a baby shower, I got this, I got that.
Can you get Sunday at two o'clock. Fore No, that's
my baby shower for you, for you or for someone else. No,
it's for me.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Yeah, well man, we gotta go up to Scramp for
the baby shower. I'm just like, all right, I guess
I'll be watching it on the phone. Yeah, I can't complain,
all right, folks, make sure you tune in tomorrow if
we recapping a victory for you out there Houston and Florida.
Good luck in all your players, Sam great stuff as always,
Luke Arcaney.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
I'll be back live tomorrow at three pm. Fox Sports
Radio is next piece.
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