3.21: Getting Over It - Hour 2

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's time for Coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Not looking good for Memphis, not looking good for the
last leg of my three leg parlay and the other
parlay I've put together for the second wave of games
in the early afternoon. Not up to a great start.
This Saint Mary's team, you know, weird and something you
typically don't You don't say about Vandy, but it just

(00:35):
looks as like Vanderbilt has a real superior edge when
it comes to just talent. I mean, again, I know
they're in the SEC, but I mean we're talking about Vanderbilt.
But now they're up twenty four to sixteen with four
minutes and twenty seconds left in the first half. So
I I mean, Vandy. You know, they were one of
the teams that ended up being seated, probably better than

(00:58):
they anticipated. I mean, I felt like they were more
of a I don't know, they're ten seeds. I guess
that's about fair. But nonetheless, anything that they did to
make them a tournament team is even consideration. It all
took place in Memorial Coliseum, and that made me think that,
you know, neutral site, they're going to be the Vandy

(01:19):
when they're they're not at home, and that Vandy team
has not been real impressive, but they're off to a
good start here, no doubt, and Saint Mary's can certainly
come back and win. It's early. But what you have
to consider is there are teams that play and it's
really not even about like I mean, yes, they're both
the same thing, but it's not necessarily it's just their

(01:40):
identity as a team. So like, if you could turn
it up and play different styles and do different things,
that makes you great, especially if you're a good team.
But there's certain teams that their identity and what they
do and them doing it well kind of makes them
the team you would be worried about, and that's Saint Mary's.
So the fact that it's they've already dug themselves a whole,
Saint Mary's is not a team that typically would be

(02:00):
built to kind of dig out of a hole. And
Vandy's the kind of team I feel like when they
get hot, they get hot. But we got a minute
fifty left in the Colorado State Memphis game, and Colorado
State is up is up nine, so Memphis looks like
they're done and you know, that's what I get for

(02:22):
betting on Memphis. And but the first time since yesterday evening,
I'm kind of going back to the I was gonna
say the sadness, but it's really not even I mean
getting louis A lost yesterday to Creighton, and I I
mean Creighton was better they if they I mean from

(02:45):
what we saw yesterday. If these teams play in a series,
I mean, if you were saying that you believe Lowell
would win, I think it would be just based off
wishful thinking, right because Crayton was better really in every way,
could have done things better. Louisll didn't have rain Smith
and all that. I mean, so, but but I just

(03:05):
Memphis getting the five. It didn't make sense. And if
you look at the committee, there's a lot of complaints
about certain things. Absolutely the biggest talking point was that
Carolina got it in West Virginia didn't. But that's not
even really something that comes down to, like, there's really
no comparison as far as how you put the last

(03:26):
four in the last four teams that make that may
you know, last four in that end up in those
playing games the eleven seeds in Dayton, there's a pool
of teams that are kind of all in the same category.
The committee just decides and then they have to justify
why they made those decisions. And again with Carolina, they
really couldn't justify it. Carolina getting in over West Virginia.

(03:47):
The only thing that could make any sense of it
was in fact that the chairman of the committee was
the athletic director in North Carolina. So what I'm getting
at is, despite all of the complaining that we did,
and really there's complaints everywhere, I'm sure as far as
seeding and that kind of stuff, the one thing that
didn't make any sense as far as consistency was Louisville

(04:10):
being seeded where they were right Like Clemson getting a
five clearly didn't look great. Now Carolina getting in, I mean,
they won, but again we just discussed why a lot
of people think they got in. What I'm saying is
that I feel even more I guess comfortable in saying

(04:32):
it without sounding like a lunatic, that I could be
more more now than ever I could be convinced that
they just made a goof and put Memphis where Louisville
was supposed to be, and they just got it, got
they got it mixed up. You would ask like, how
does that happen? Well, also, how does Louisville being an
eight seed getting a home game happen? Probably by mistake, right,

(04:58):
Like what eight seeds getting a home game? Eight seeds
are usually lucky to get the invite. And who knows
if louisll would have played Colorida State instead of Memphis,
no clue what happened. But I also know that this
Creighton team that Louisville lost to yesterday, I mean that

(05:19):
Creton team, not only do they have I mean they
they don't have any real bad loss outside of one
that's the Georgetown. But that's to a conference opponent, right,
That's not like a loss to a team in the
three hundreds. They beat Saint John's one of four teams
to do that. And they also have a third team

(05:39):
All American who is a different kind of opponent because
of like Craig's a different opponent because of that guy.
No matter who you are or how good you are,
there's a good chance you're gonna have some adjustments to
your identity because more often than not, you aren't ever
facing somebody like that. And it's not to say that
he's the best player in the country. He's just different.

(06:03):
Right like you saw it yesterday, Creighton can can be
half assed defensively from the perimeter and let guys get
loose because they have that rim protector. I mean, it's
a wise thing to do if you're Creton, to be
honest with you, and it worked out well with them yesterday.
So again, Sarah Grapes, of course, you know, sore loser
kind of stuff. I get it. I'm sure that's what
it sounds like here. But Memphis getting a five is

(06:27):
the least talked about thing from the committee that never
made any sense. Yes, they did have a good record.
They won their league, but they won a one bid league.
They also had two losses to teams that you know
were I mean, I think they were Quad three, and
I know Louisville losing makes it seem like, oh no,
they got it right. I don't think they did. I

(06:49):
think they missed. I think they messed up. I think
they made and made it. I think they made a goof,
not a mistake by just a decision. I think it
was a goof because Clemson being seated as a five,
Carolina being in in Louisville, being the eight where they
were and Memphis being like it just doesn't make any sense.
And if you go compare, I'm not gonna do it
now because you know, we don't need to invest more

(07:09):
time than we already have. But if you just go
look at every team where they seated them in those
ranges of five and eight, and you look at the
profile the numbers that they you know that they pay
attention to, that's the one that just it looks like
they just mixed them up. And again, I'm not saying

(07:30):
that to think we should still be playing, but to
see Memphis lose to Colorado State at twelve seed, who
by the way, had to really go on a run
in their conference tournament to get in. And the Mountain
West sucks. I mean San Diego State they gotta be
about forty to Carolina. Who else in the Mountain West

(07:50):
is even alive? Utah State, they were really good in
the Mountain West, got their ass kicked last night by
a very mid Mick cro and UCLA team. I'm not bitter,
I'm just more so not convinced either. I now, again,

(08:14):
I go back to what I said when I tried
to use my words carefully there, I'm now less uncomfortable
in saying that they might have just made a mistake
as far as how they put it together. And it's
not just because of the Louisville seed line. It's because
of Memphis's seed line as well as Louisville being an
eight seed with a home court game yesterday. That's also

(08:38):
something that we didn't really talk a whole lot about yesterday,
just kind of in the moment of it being over,
not a whole lot of you know, I mean, the
ride is really what we discussed and this team having
them fall short and really what specifically led to them
having a tough time against Creighton. But it was a
home game yesterday, and that makes it even more tough
to deal with, right because you had a home court

(08:58):
advantage and you still really, I mean, you never I
mean outside of the first two segments, right after the
first two media timeouts, I kind of feel like it
it didn't didn't seem as if louisv was going to win.
So again, that's that's an added you know, bummer for
those that made the trip to RUP and then to
see that happen. But I also want to acknowledge just

(09:23):
the overall vibe that was there the send off at
the hotel that was insane, the amount of people that
were there at noon on a Thursday, Like it fell short,
and that's never what Louisville wants. We don't just want
to make the tournament and say that we're happy to
be there, but with perspective included, like this was a

(09:44):
season that did bring us back to life and what
I keep, you know, thinking about, and I shouldn't, you know,
hammer it home, because I think a lot of folks
probably understand and it doesn't need to be overstated. But
we went through a season this year with Pat Kelsey
in year on one, and we made humongous leaps as

(10:05):
far as they get back, right. I mean, Louisville started
this week as a top ten team in the eight people.
And I don't look at Louisville losing to Creighton as
any kind of a sign that they were never any good. Now,
you can make of it what you want. Everybody can
make their own opinion that kind of stuff. But I mean,
we made a huge step forward after a few disastrous years,

(10:29):
and I still feel great about where Louisville's going moving forward,
and it's gonna be fun. I now, I now have
a season of Pat Kelsey here, there's been proof of
concept to where when we look at who he gets
in the portal, we're gonna be able to say, Okay,
I know the way Pat Kelsey coaches, I've seen what

(10:50):
he can do. This guy's gonna be this guy's gonna
be a perfect fit. I mean, in the reality is
you never truly know. But my point is last year
he put together a good roster and we were just
happy with mostly anybody because hey, this guy, Terrence Edwards,
he's Mountain West player of the some up player of
the year. Hell yeah, will take him. I mean, Cason

(11:10):
Pryor was a guy from South Florida. That what made
him intriguing is we knew how badly everybody else wanted him.
Arkansas's dropping bags. Villanova feels like he could be the
added piece for them, cal at Arkansas got in the mix,
and then we got him. And then of course you
watch highlights, you look at his numbers and you feel
good and then you realize, hey, he picked us over them.

(11:31):
He must be you know, the other photo schools are
prioritizing him. He must be pretty good. Corn Johnson six
Man of the Year in the in the PAC twelve.
So again, all these all these guys were it was
easy to be excited about for a couple of reasons. One,
you could tell these guys were pretty good players, but
also you know they wanted to come and help get
this thing turned around and chuck you Hepburn another guy

(11:53):
that I didn't mention there, but I mean, obviously we
knew what he was as far as high level point
guard from from a Big ten school that was very successful.
So who knows who they end up getting. I mean,
obviously there's a lot of talk out there right now
about Louisville and what they're gonna spend in nil. I
don't know if any of that's real or not. Be
honest with you, I shouldn't say that, like there's no

(12:14):
way that's real. But if the reports are true that
Louisville is will is looking to be spending eight to
ten million dollars for the roster next season, I mean,
that would be great. I just don't really know how
much I see that as being like realistic, because that
would be spending more than anybody spends, which hey, we do,

(12:37):
I mean, we do care about basketball as much as anybody.
Certainly more than the vast majority of programs. So I
hope that's the case. But I'm already to the point
now where you've got you got your freshman point guard
who is a top ten guy. I mean, mock drafts
already have Mark Hel. Why do I keep forgetting his

(13:01):
name Mikel Brown? Okay, I keep wanting to say Mark
Kel Brown, And that's a real person. He played college
basketball and was really really good, but it was many
years ago, so that I mean Mikel Markel clearly different
names easy to get mixed up. I got to get
it figured out because Mikel Brown junior is one of

(13:21):
the highest ranked kids that have ever committed to Louisville,
so I should get familiar with his name. And you
can clearly Nil was a factor in his decision. But
now there's talk that NATAMNT is still viewed to be
most likely committing to Louisville when that decision is made
because of one Louisville staff, and clearly there's a strong

(13:42):
connection there, but also money. And I don't want to
say this and it sound like I'm complaining about anything
because nobody know. I mean, who knows if they get
NATA men who knows who they get in the portal.
It's so early, but I am absolutely one thousand percent
in the camp of if we have a big pool

(14:02):
of money to spend on the roster, I want almost
the entire bit of it spent on portal rather than freshmen.
I mean, I know the freshmen stars. There's a lot

(14:22):
of flash, a lot of sizzle, because everybody wants the
best players in the country. If louisvill gets Native Man,
they'll be getting him from really. I mean, he's the
guy who can pick where he wants to go to school.
They can go where he once So Louisa geting him
would be a real big statement in the recruiting world,
and clearly you would have a gift when it comes
to talent. But you'd have him one year. And I

(14:44):
know every player you should just consider to be a
one year rental because guys can leave and go wherever
they want, they can transfer as many times. But I
just I think this year you are able to see
the value you get in grown ass men that a
laid a lot of college basketball, and also you know
that are good. Now, if you get these two guys

(15:05):
and you got prior back, you get Koren back, you
get Javon back, Let's say you get I mean, could
I you get him back? I mean that would be
a great I mean, that would be a good balance,
a good mixture of Okay, you've got some veterans who
a couple of guys, we know how good they are.
Ali Khalif is somebody who hadn't played, but I feel

(15:26):
like he'll fit. Really He'll have a role that is
very important, and that role will be crucial to Pat
Kelsey's team. So again, I'm not anti paying whatever you
got to get to get the best talent, but I
just think moving forward, how you use your money is
going to be It's going to become a new element
of how we cover and talk college basketball, if that

(15:49):
makes sense. Because when you look at Kansas, they had
the most expensive roster in college basketball this year and
it sounds like it wasn't close. So with that, they
lose last night to Arkansas, a ten seed, in a
game that like you know, Kansas had no momentum for

(16:09):
like the last six weeks two months of the year,
and it was never because of talent. Same thing with
Indiana and he didn't make the tournament. Mike Woodson, he
apparently had these second or third most expensive roster in
college basketball. So having money is great. What you do
with the money and how your investments look down the

(16:30):
line is what it all comes down to. And that's
I think at times impossible to know. It was impossible
for Kansas to think they'd be this bad, right, So
you just don't know. There's always going to be the
role of the dice. You don't know. But what I
feel like we do know, in the early stages of
this new world that is pro sports but not called

(16:50):
pro sports, your wiser investments are on experienced players who've
shown what they can do more so than a freshman
in high school. Now again, with all that said, if
Louisville Ed's dropping the bags to get Michel Mikel bro,
Mikel Brown, McHale m and now now I'm in my

(17:12):
head about how to say Mikel Mikel Brown almost like
Michael Mikel Mikel Brown junior and Nata men. If anything,
you can at least say, well, we didn't just pay
for a kid that had some offers. We paid for
two top ten players in the country. So again you
could say money is well spent there, But I think
you have to have a good supporting cast around them.
I mean, no better example this year than Rutgers. And

(17:33):
I know Rutgers doesn't have any like winning DNA, but
also Rutgers has two guys that put up big numbers
this year that were two of the top three players
in the country. And you know, I mean they didn't
they weren't even I mean they were they were an

(17:53):
average team. And that's a comp that that's that's that's
a stretch to say. So if you can have two
of the top three freshmen in the country that are
not only putting up numbers that prove they were justifiably
ranked where they were ranked, they're also going to be
drafted in the top five, both of them, which again

(18:14):
proves that like nobody can claim there's anything that shows
these guys weren't as good as build, but that is
you got to have a lot more than just that
to win in this day and age. And I think,
more than anything, the biggest factor in why and you know,
I guess the biggest change in college basketball as I
watched the tournament and really just watch it all year,

(18:36):
it's not about the ability to just you know, build
your I mean Again, clear there's a lot of changes
that have led to college basketball just being different now.
But what I believe has been really really under valued,
and I guess maybe not even as recognizable as I
see it, is that there are so many guys that

(19:00):
are playing four or five or as many years as
they can at college basketball that before the Portalan, before
in IL, they would just call it a career and say, look,
I'm never going to go to the NBA. I need
to leave college and go play overseas while I'm still
twenty or twenty one years old. Like older. You know,
there are certain dudes who are clearly are way too
old to be playing college basketball, it seems, and it's

(19:21):
because of the COVID year and all that stuff, the waivers.
But if every player played, every player that wasn't surely
an NBA guy played every year possible as far as
eligibility in college. If that was just the way it
was for the last twenty years, we'd have a ton
of dudes playing college basketball that are twenty three and

(19:43):
twenty four. Well, you don't realize is that a lot
of these guys come out of high school. They were
held back a year, they did a year of prep,
prep school, postgrad or maybe they did both, and they
enter college as twenty year old freshmen. So again, some
of the dudes that are playing on six years is
because of the pandemic. Sure, Judeco stipulation, that kind of thing,

(20:04):
but that's the biggest change that because again, if you're like,
let me give you some guys that that that would
give you three names for three names of Louisville basketball players,
they just simply moved on because of what the world
used to be in college troops. Terrence Jennings, Remember Terrence Jennings,

(20:25):
guy left early, knew he wasn't gonna be drafted, but
what else was he going to do in college? Smarto
Samuels played two years, just left because you know, I
gotta I gotta maximize me at twenty rather than me
at twenty two. I don't want to be in college
for two years. Yeah, I'll be playing for an elite program,

(20:45):
but I ain't making no money. Jalen Johnson b J King.
BJ King wasn't a great player, but again, like he
would have transferred out of Louisville and got money to
go somewhere else because he was a five starring out
until American, right, like I mean, so, that to me
is the most I guess influential change in college basketball

(21:09):
that just doesn't seem to get mentioned by a lot
of people is that there were so many guys that
you've never heard of, that you didn't know, didn't care about,
because they weren't on the NBA radar, they didn't play
for elite teams, they weren't all Americans, but they were
good college players, and they just decided, I got to
go make money. Well, now their best beat to make
money is to stay in school. All right, we got

(21:31):
to get to a break way too late. I'm sorry.
Stick with us at is Coffee and Company, and we
are field about Thorton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
My buddy Andy, he texted me. He's a good friend
of mine who listens to the show. He lives in
Philadelphia now, but he and I known each other for
a long time. He's from a louis a big Louisville fan,
and he made a good point. I didn't even noticed it.
I'm not watching his club because you know, I'm hosting
the show, but seeing Drey Davis in Jalen Withers plage
against each other in the NSAA tournament for obviously other

(22:09):
teams when they haven't played here in a long time,
both of them, it is just another reminder of, like,
college basketball is so different than it used to be.
I mean, Jalen is a sixty year senior because he
redshirted at Louisville in his first year and Drey I
believe Dre is a fifth year guy that just took

(22:31):
advantage of the COVID rule. But because of how I mean,
this felt like a new world for Louisville basketball this
year because it was based off of you know, the
previous really the last three and a half years or
so four years. I mean, it feels like those guys
played here twenty years ago and yet they're still playing
in college. So yeah, and right now it's it's Drey

(22:52):
Davis's squad getting the best of Jalen Wethers squad because
it's a twenty nine to sixteen league for ole Miss
and I. Austin and I were talking before the show
started as far as what to do with these games
in the second wave here in the first first half
of the day, and I was very tempted to take
Carolina money line just because of what I saw the

(23:12):
other night. And I've never once doubted Carolina's talent, but
also ole Miss. They're one of those teams that I
feel like they you know, they're not where they are
because they're just loaded, they're well coached, they're tough, and
they're good, clearly, But it just came down to me

(23:33):
thinking Carolina could still come back. There's a lot of
ball left. I just feel like I had to remind
myself of who Carolina was because they showed us all
year who they were, and Ole Miss is just a
better team and they're showing that. They're showing that right
now now. The other game that I that I'm in
on in the second wave at half is not great
because Saint Mary's is down seven twenty nine to twenty
twos to score at half against Fandy. Still hanging around

(23:55):
they are, but I just I feel like they've got
to start. Here's my thing is they've got a I
got him at minus four and a half, which I
should So you took the spread too, Yeah I should have. Okay,
I just took him. Yeah I should have taken mL
but I just I have confidence in Saint Mary's and
I have very little in Vandy. But Vandy again, they

(24:17):
feel like they are a team that whenever you feel like,
all right, cute story, Vandy's not dead. They made the tournament,
but they're also still Vandy, and they're gonna get humbled.
I mean, so far, it just looks as if Vandy's
been able to score enough that it's made Saint Mary's,
and Saint Mary's would be fine winning a game first

(24:37):
to thirty, and so far this game has already gotten
off to a start in the first half to where
Saint Mary's going to have to get comfortable playing not
necessarily fast, but if they can't trade baskets at this
point because they're not built offensively to go on big runs.
So all right, a couple of things to get hit
on here in our second segment in the four o'clock hour,

(24:58):
doyone to remind you that this is coffee company, and
we at feel about Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven
ninety Nick Coffee. That's me the tribal chief, as to
Montgomery alongside producing this afternoon and day two of a
two day stretch where I believe it is the best
that we get in sports, especially for those that love
college basketball. And Louisville losing yesterday sucked, but I'm feeling

(25:19):
still very very good about Louislle basketball overall what happened
this year, where we're going to where that I'm not
I'm not even I'm not salty about watching the rest
of the tournament. But a couple of things Kentucky plays
done against Troy, and I can't lie to you and
say that I feel like Troy is a team that
that really, you know, can exploit where Kentucky's vulnerable because

(25:43):
I just I just don't believe that. Also, I don't
know enough about Troy to even say that if I
wanted to believe it. But overall, if you're Kentucky, I'm
curious as far as like what your what your feel
slash vibe is for the first weekend because you got
three seed, you're playing a fourteen seed, and you are

(26:05):
expected to win eighty two to seventy going off of
the Ken Palm. The spread in your game is eleven
and a half, like you should win. I doubt that
you're sweating and nervous about losing and I and I
wouldn't be either. So I'm not trying to like say
that you should be worried. But when you wait to
see your team on the dance floor and you look
at what's played out since the tournament started, basing it

(26:30):
off of other teams you've played that kind of stuff,
I mean I would be a little bit more nervous
now than I was twenty four hours ago, because take
tore out of the equation. You know, Kentucky, like the
last win they had that anybody would claim was like
a win that did in fact confirm their seed line

(26:53):
was when they went on the road and beat Missouri,
who at the time, Missouri was like a top fifteen
team I think top twenty teams certainly, And Kentucky went
down there and won, and they didn't have Butler. I
don't think they did. Maybe they did, I'm not sure.
I don't think they did, but they didn't have I
don't think they had Butler. I know they didn't have
Robinson and they went and won at Missouri. Well, Missouri,

(27:13):
they ended up really kind of bowing out like Missouri
at the end of the day. They had a win
against Kansas earlier this year that didn't look nearly as
valuable in the end as it did when it happened.
They had that rare win against Florida, and I guess
they're winn against Alabama was valuable, But like Missouri to

(27:33):
close out the season February twenty second on, they only
beat South Carolina and then Mississippi State in the first
game of the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State, as an eight seed,
has now lost in the tournament. Missouri again lost to Drake.
So that doesn't prove anything about who you are, but
signs of optimi, signs, you know, signs of optimism as

(27:55):
you head into the actual Instabralay tournament. I don't really
know where they are for Kentucky because again as Kentucky
wrapped up their season, they beat Oklahoma on the road
and then they beat Oklahoma in the tournament. They needed
buzzer beaters to do both. I don't think anybody would
try to sell you right now that Oklahoma's very good.
They got beat by thirty against Alabama. Alabama nearly lost

(28:18):
to Robert Morris today, and that's not really an exaggeration.
Alabama needed the final segment of the game to in
fact pull away to where they didn't lose. I mean
they I mean it was a close game really throughout
and again LSU they beat them by a billion, but
LSU awful. So you got to go back to the

(28:44):
Tennessee win at home, which again still counts. Hell, you
could say that's a reason to be optimistic. You beat Tennessee,
who's really good, but having Tennessee's number, I kind of
feel like in the back half of the you know,
from let's say from January on, and I don't even

(29:08):
really know if that's even worth mentioning because at that
point Kentucky was a different team. When they played Florida
and beat them and RUP they had everybody other than
kerk Creasa. So they beat Mississippi State on the road.
Mississippi State. Again, I'm not saying they were incorrectly added
to the tournament or incorrectly seated, but the value that

(29:31):
was deserving on the resume based off of the conference
being loaded did not play out for them in the
NCAA tournament. And even then you had a healthy I
mean Jackson Robinson I think went for like thirty in
that game. So you beat A and M at home.
That was a good win, certainly but then you lost.

(29:53):
Obama lost to Andy, beat Tennessee, and Knoxville lost to
cal in Arkansas, got killed by Ole, Miss at Ole,
miss beat South Carolina, who sucks. Then again big valuable
win against Tennessee, lost to Texas on the road, who

(30:14):
got in the playing game and lost. Beat Vandy at home,
lost to Alabama, beat Oklahoma on the road, got smoked
by Auburn, beat a bad LSU team, beat Missouri, then
beat Oklahoma in the SEC tournament, both buzzer beaters needed
to beat Oklahoma, and then you lost to Alabama by thirty.

(30:36):
I just they're not going to get upset tonight. It'd
be a real shocker if that actually happens. But I
think the SEC's early results and I'm not saying that
there's anything that proves the league was a fraud or cause. Again,
the teams that are losing, I mean, I guess Missouri
losing as a six is the first bad look, But

(30:56):
like it was in eight to nine with miss if
you stay losing to Baylor Texas was a play in game.
Who else is lost in the SEC? I feel like
I'm missing somebody. I mean, Vandy's off to a good
start against Sint Mary's. But long story short, I think
the early results from the SEC take underwhelming Georgia out

(31:19):
of it. Yeah, Georgia got killed. Who beat Kentucky by
the way, when Kentucky was a full strength. So what
I'm getting at is that I just think the belief
that you could lose as many games as Kentucky lost
because look, they went ten and eight in their league
when you look at I mean because of how their conference.
Think I mean again, because of how their conference works.

(31:40):
They don't have any non conference games past January. So no,
they went ten and eight in their last eighteen, with
some losses to clearly teams that aren't great, losses to
teams that you know are great, but the majority of
their wins, especially after the Law, after the win against Florida,
whenever they were fully healthy. Like what I just think,

(32:01):
if you're Kentucky and you wanted to be worried about
your team, the opportunities there, because when you can go
ten and eight in your league and get a three seed,
it's based off you would think that it's because your
league is great and your league was great, but to
see how the rest of your league has fared up
to this point would make me think that one Troy

(32:22):
shouldn't be a loss, but like, we better buckle up,
got to play well, and they might beat them by forty,
but I can think. I guess the bigger thing for
me would be if I'm playing Illinois and I'm Kentucky,
based off of what I've seen so far, I would
be scared. Not to say you can't beat them, not
to say you're facing Goliath, but everything about Kentucky since

(32:43):
the injury stuff really got a hold of them, and
everything you've seen from their opponents in the tournament tells
me that like Illinois, like I won't be shocked if
Illinois's favorite in that game. I mean, we'll see, I
mean Illinoi's got to get past Xavier before anything. And

(33:05):
by the way, when wins that game, that's later, right,
let me see, Yeah, that one will be a Yeah,
Illinois and Xavier is a nine to forty five tip,
and Illinois is a four point favorite based off the
Ken Palm. As far as the actual spread in that
one looks like it's uh, let's see four and a half.

(33:30):
I mean, Sean Miller did a good job the other night,
but I mean Illinois better, right, I mean Xavier to
me again, maybe the Big East will be maybe the
Big East will look like the league that was underseated
because they were. I mean, Marquette got a six, Creighton
got an eight, they finished second in the league and

(33:50):
played in the championship game. I mean, who else got
in from the Big East. I feel like I'm missing
some Big East teams here that if Yukon will play
to night against Oklahoma, that yeah, Crade, Marquette, Yukon, Saint
John's is that it? Yeah? I feel like there was
one more. Maybe I'm wrong. Yeah, if you go to

(34:13):
so so let's see in the Big East it was
Saint John's, Creighton, Connecticut, Marquette, Xavier, and Xavier was a
play and they won. So anyways, I'm not trying to
build up like, uh oh, Kentucky's gonna lose tonight because
I don't. I don't believe that. And in these kind
of games against these kind of teams. It's only been
one season, but like they dominated these kind of teams

(34:37):
in the non conference portion of their schedule. However, at
that time that was December and November. Different team. I mean,
they don't have Lamon Butler and Jackson Robinson, Butler's expected
to play, but like for the last six weeks, it
seems as if when available, and sometimes he's not been
available when available, like, it doesn't take much for him
to re injure himself and and and leave and not

(34:57):
come back. Now we'll say this, I think Amari Williams
is a matchup problem for anybody.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
You know.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
He's somebody that I think could just be a different
type of dude that a lot of teams in this
tournament have seen, just because he's a rare player in general.
He's a very good passer, a fiscal presence that you
just don't see. So if I if I was Pope,
I would I would I would enter this tournament looking
to play through him in every way. And of course

(35:26):
Otaga Away is just a just a gamer, tough guy
who you know, like I think he's just going to
get his you know, with when when the time presents itself.
All right, quick break, we'll come back and wrap at
the four o'clock hour. On the other side, keep it
locked right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (35:42):
Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Sports Talk seven to nine day.

Speaker 2 (35:48):
So Carolina is still still in a in a big
hole here. It's now forty one to twenty three with
a couple of minutes left in the first half. Ole
miss controls. Yeah, and Greg Canyon's up five to zero
against uh just Maryland team. Actually now it's five to two.
Just started, but we're about four minutes in and Maryland
took him that long to score. So I'm already sort

(36:09):
of questioning my decision there. And you know, it's more
so just my belief in Maryland, but Grant Canyon, I mean,
they are a team coach coached by one of the Druids,
and I mean they've just they've had a winning program
for a while. But yet they excuse me, had they
been a team that had broke through the tournament won

(36:30):
a game, because I feel like they've been here quite
a few times now, just because you know, since they've
had even when Dan Marley was there, easy to forget
that he was there. But I think they've shown that
they they they've got a good thing going. But I
just it was hard for me to see them being
able to get a win against a team like this,
and I mean, maybe I should have just not touched

(36:51):
this win or taken Maryland moneyline, I did take Maryland
to cover and Maryland as well as Baylor or two
teams that I just when I watched them, I know
what they have to work with from a personnel standpoint,
that I just them beating anybody is not going to
shock me. Now. Maryland is a team that the resume
played out that way like they they deserve the seed
that they got. I think you could have made a

(37:12):
case Maryland could have been a three. Baylor is the
team that really they have. They don't have a whole
lot to like as far as just numbers and what
they've done and when it comes to results. But today,
like they had stretches to play against against Mississippi State,
where I mean they got nor chattle Meer, a guy
who's played in the Final Four, who's who's Who's one
of the best bigs you'll see in college basketball. I

(37:32):
mean Edgecombe clearly one of the best freshmen in the country,
and at this point he's not really a freshman. He
made two clutch free throws to close out the game earlier.
Jeremy Roach from Duke is one of their guards who
can flat out shoot it. So we'll see what the
number is when we get there. But I really, I
really like Baylor to cover against against Duke because they're

(37:54):
going to be dogs and it may be a big number,
may not, but I like, I think Baylor could beat
I'm not necessarily going to tell you right now that
I'm predicting it, but I think Duke could run into
something that didn't get talked about a whole lot. Duke
could run into a team that isn't better than them
when it comes to talent, doesn't have a better resume.

(38:16):
But the ACC sucked out loud this year. And yes,
Duke played that random non conference game against Illinois and
they won big. But Baylor's going to give them, just
from a pure talent perspective, something that they have not
seen in a long time, or maybe even all year.
I mean, I know they played a loaded schedule, but

(38:37):
Baylor on paper, And that's why I like Scott Drew.
He's easy to forget because he coaches at Baylor. He's
not a big personality, but he turned down Louisville and
Kentucky last year, and you know, I get that. He's
a guy that has won a championship and clearly he
has a good track record at Baylor, but he's coached
a long time and like this year's Baylor team, their results,

(38:59):
it's actually most consistent with what he's done his whole career.
So again, I think when you look at their roster
as far as who they added in the portal, who
they brought in from as freshmen, like, Baylor will be
a challenge to Duke from a talent perspective that I'm
not sure they faced all year. I mean, Auburn, they
played them, and obviously they lost to Auburn, and Auburn's great,

(39:20):
But outside of that, I mean Baylor just you know, again,
I'm not talking from like a resume, and again that's
what like. At this point, you've proven who you are.
But if you get there's a team that could get
hot in March and also just rely on guys who
just simply are built different. Baylor could be that team.
But again, I here I am talking up Maryland and

(39:41):
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All right, not looking good for Saint Mary's. I mean
it's not over Austin, but they're down thirty nine to
twenty seven. And it just when I see them sitting
at twenty seven, I'm still thinking, Okay, when's the run
gonna start. Yeah, they can't get any footing under them

(40:24):
whatsoever because they can't get stops, and that's usually what
they rely on. Like they've they probably haven't gone on
many runs this year as a team. That would that
would be, you know, like they went on a fourteen
to two run, Like if they did, it would have
taken them a half to do it because they just
play so slow. Well you would know better than I would.
I mean, Randy Bennett, a guy who wins enough at

(40:47):
Saint Mary's to certainly, I mean they wouldn't you say,
Saint Mary's. They're clearly no Gonzaga, but they have like
they they're visible within the college basketball right right, absolutely
as one of those kind of teams. But it's all
always there, but it's always based off of him building
a team that is built to do what he knows

(41:07):
can succeed. And when they lose players to the in fact,
they don't lose many guys at the portal because the
guys that are there they realize I know who I
am as a player. My best case scenario, the best
chance for me to be a successful player on a
successful team is to play at Saint Mary's. So when
you run it like when you run into when you
run into a team that just simply has been able
to get by what you try to keep them from doing,

(41:31):
but also you know they're stopping you like it. I
have no number to reference, and I doubt it exists
without somebody doing a deep dive. And I know I'm
not doing it, and I know but nobody else will,
but I'd be I would love to see a Saint
Mary's breakdown of when they get down double digits, do
they ever win? Because again, there's teams that are built
to just keep it at the pace to where they

(41:52):
could easily within a few possessions, they're back in it.
That's not Saint Mary's. So they're gonna have to have
an identity change here if they a clawback, because twelve
I put it this way with the Virginia. Remember we'd
be down seven to Virginia. I feel like you're down thirty.
You remember that, right? Yeah, I was just dragging it
through the mud. I mean, I feel like that's kind
of Saint Mary's if they're down for who they are.

(42:13):
Like if you but if you had Virginia down big,
you felt like you were killing them, right, if you'd
had him down it, if you had him down eight,
you felt like it was over. So we'll see what happens.
But I do know we got to get to a break.
We'll finish strong here in the five o'clock hour. Keep
it locked. It's coffee and company fee about Thornton's right
here on Sports Talk seven ninety