March 18, 2025 • 10 mins
Lee Sterling from Paramount Sports joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to share his best bets for games in the NCAA Tournament starting this week, including analysis on each region, how many teams can actually win it all, and underrated, underdog teams.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
We gottaming a little extra pocket change for this weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I do well look no further than Paramount Sports leasterly
did tell you about. All right, if you're filling a
bracket out, you might want to just kind of hit
pause on that. A guy who was ten and one
during the NFL playoffs and won seven of his last
eight March Madness tourneys. By the way, he's going to
give us some games, some picks go through every region.
(00:29):
Our friendly sterling Paramount Sports, joins us right now on
the radio show Lee, how are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Couldn't be better? Winning well and got to keep it going.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Let's start in the South region. That's the Auburn region.
Give us a take and what you kind of see there,
what you're looking for and what jumps off the page?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Do you men?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
This is a two team region. There's only six seven teams.
I think they can win the whole thing. Number three
Iowa State lost your best two players, Texas A and
m metrics on offense. The last six games are horrendous
Michigan State or Auburn here. The only other teams that
might be able to do some damage is Louisville. I
(01:12):
liked them in the first round shouldn't have been an
eight seed. I think they'll win and cover. And an
underrated team. You see San Diego plus two and a
half against Michigan Michigan, those kids probably could tell you
their ring size, couldn't tell you anything about what's going
on with this U see San Diego team. Take the
San Diego plus two and a half. I think Michigan
(01:33):
State's gonna pull it off behind tom Izzo and make
the final four.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
All right, let's head down to who Michigan State would
be playing in the final four. That's the West Region,
the Florida Gators with the one seed.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Toughest region, I mean, top to bottom. One Florida with
Walter Clayton red hot over twenty points in four of
the last five games. Saint John's obviously is really good.
Texas Tech is red hot with JJ topp and the
transfer came over from Mexico. He averaged almost twenty points
per game. And even Maryland and down the bracket Arkansas.
(02:10):
I liked them in the first round plus four and
a half against Kansas. I think the wrong team is
favored there. Take them money line and the most underrated
team in the tournament, Number twelve Colorado State. They are
a favorite, never seen this before, by two and a
half over Memphis, and for good reason, they'll win. They
came also, so I think Florida is going to have
(02:32):
to fight their way through it. But I think Florida
just too good and they'll make the final four.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Okay, how about the Midwest? The Houston region a little underrated, overrated.
Who comes out of there alive in the final four?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So I would say overrated is going to be a
team that people talk about left and right is Kentucky.
I think that if they're lucky enough to face Tennessee,
Tennessee will knock them off. Also, Purdue as a number
four seed, they're only favored by eight points for a reason.
(03:04):
High Point is gonna slow down that game also a lot.
Like I said, we think that this is one of
the regions. It's we're gonna see Chalk Houston. If they
can get toarm and Lipsey healthy, I think he's gonna
miss the first weekend. They're gonna win this game. When
they lost to Miami twenty twenty three shot only thirty
(03:25):
eight percent. They're much better offensively, and that year they
did not have a starter shoot above seventy percent from
the free throw line. They've got guys that shoot seventy
eighty and above ninety percent and they're starting five. Houston's
gonna make the final four year by Slama Jama two.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
And then you look at the Duke region, the East Region.
I remember that Duke nineteen ninety nineteen. They had the
Freshman of the Year that year and Julia logofor three
freshmen starters that year.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So does this Duke team what do you think?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, I mean, they were able to run the table
here in the conference tournament with Eave with Cooper flagout
missing the last two games. They can overcome double digit
deficits with no problem at all. Alabama no defense, they
need Nick Saban, Wisconsin and Arizona are fine. Underrated team.
Virginia Commonwealth twenty eight and six on the year, they've
(04:18):
won twelve to the last thirteen, top forty on offense and defense.
I would have liked to have seen them playing a
power five team, that high profile team, but they're gonna
have to play another team that's hot BYU. But give
me Virginia Commonwealth plus the three and a half here
in the first round. Duke's gonna make it my final
four duke in Houston. Houston pulls off the upset there,
(04:40):
and on the other side, I think it's good. We're
gonna see Florida. I think we're gonna see Houston plus
six point fifty to win the tournament. Wow, win it
again in their home state in San Antonio by Slama
Jama two.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I love it. Well, you're the man, great stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So we got Michigan State, Florida Houston, Duke Houston, Florida
Houston and wins the whole thing. So bet the Cougars
have bet him big time, says Lee Sterling.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That's right. If we win, we'll all go to St.
Bart's for the summer.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, that's a little closer to you than it is
to us. Pell.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Why don't you come out here and go to Hawaii
for the first time in your life? For crying out loud, Hey, listen,
great Stuff, appreciate it, Good luck, and we'll talk soon, Buddy,
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Palace man sounds good.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Guys, take care all right.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Lee Sterling Paramount sports dot Com give him call eight hundred,
four hundred ninety seven four to one. He gave us
a lot of intel there by the way Louisville to
win and cover versus Creighton UCSD. We talked about that
yesterday against Michigan. They they take the ball away and
Michigan likes to turn the ball over a lot. I
like that, pick a lot Arkansas plus the points against Kansas,
he says, bet the razorbacks on the money line. He says,
(05:43):
take Colorado State minus the points against Memphis. He said
Kentucky's totally overrated. Did he say take high point against Perdue?
By the way, he said he didn't like Purdue.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I don't know if he I think he said to
high point plus the point.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I don't stray Alabama. Uh, he's not a fan of them.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Says they play no defense, and he says take VCU
and the points against BYU. With Michigan State, Florida, Houston
Duke making the final four, Houston, Florida on Monday, Houston
wins the whole Well.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
I'm wondering if nil has something to do with how
good these number one seeds are, because the number one seeds,
you know, Ken Palm's been doing this thing for like
almost thirty years now, right this The analytics say these
are the best one seeds of all time. Wow, since
he's been doing them just collective as a group of four.
In fact, Tennessee is a number two would have been
(06:31):
a top two team in fifteen in the last twenty
eight NCAA tournaments. So that's five teams right there that
are elite, elite, elite, and your heard, lease.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
What do you say seven?
Speaker 4 (06:40):
He only sees seven teams that can win it, right,
So I mean, I just don't think you're getting a
lot of value up top if you're betting those teams
to win, because you're only getting seven eight to one
odds on those teams.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Well, speaking of that, and when it comes to ken Palm,
I saw this tweet from FanDuel ninety six percent of
national champions since one had a top twenty one ken offense,
ninety one of them had a top thirty one Ken
pum defense. Eight teams have both Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston, Tennessee, Wisconsin,
Iowa State, and Gonzaga. Those are the eight teams that
(07:13):
harf Hey real quick before we get to a break
the big news of the day, Cooper Cup introduced today
as the Seahawkey joined me and Dick. If you missed
the interview What's Up on the podcast at ninety three
to three kjar dot comrace check out the iHeartRadio app.
I thought he was Austin to talk to on the year.
I was telling Dick Jackson off the year. For a
guy that's making fifteen million dollars a year, former Offensive
(07:35):
Player of the Year in the NFL, he doesn't have
much of an ego. He just seems like a real cool,
chill dude. But he was asked and we didn't get
to this on purpose because it was brought up in
the press conference about the slot numbers. Now Jackson Smith
and Jigba Hugh told us on Friday eighty one point
two percent in the slot, number one in the NFL
among receivers with one hundred targets or more, Cooper Cup
(07:56):
sixty four percent, sixth in the NFL. Something's got to give.
Where does Cooper Cup play? Does he play inside? Does
he play outside? Here's how Cooper Cup answered that question today.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
In eight years with the Rams, I think it's tagged
with the slot bug. You know, I don't know how
you determined that. When we're in condensed formations, I'm outside,
but I'm running a slot route. You know, I'm you know,
I'm out. A lot of times I was outside and
I'm not sure if there was being tagged as slot
routes or not, but you know, I think the ability
to move in an offense and the ability for you know,
(08:28):
in this offense, and what Koopy actually done is being
able to you know, formation guys to be anywhere. And
that's how that's how I had learned this offense originally
was that you had to learn the whole thing because
you can be in any one of these spots at
any time, right, so you might think of yourself as
you can't think of yourself as just a slot. You
got you got to see yourself as paying any one
of these positions at any time because you could be
asked run any one of these routes.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So I love what Hughes said Friday, and I feel
a little more comfortable about Jackson Smith and Jag. But
now that Cooper Cup is here, by the way, but
he got to those numbers last year in the slot, right,
eighty one point two percent? So how much does he
play outside? How much does he play inside? Do the
numbers drop it all? Does he get the screenplay action
that he got a year ago with DK metcalf block
(09:12):
and form. I think it's one of the real kind
of interesting sidebars to see how this thing develops.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Well, you're gonna see it.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Like he mentioned the condensed sets, You're gonna have Cooper
Cup at the hash marks and he's gonna be the
most outside receiver on that side. So he's technically an
outside receiver, but playing out of slot. You're gonna see
the bootlegs, You're gonna see the play actions, the quick releases.
I'm really anxious to see a who's gonna play like
the X right, who's gonna play the big receiver?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Is it gonna be mbs?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Are they gonna put Jackson Smith and Jigba out there
playing that sit?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
You know, here's one more thing about Cooper Cup.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
I think he might be the only person I've ever
looked at where I can say his father and grandfather
both have a page at Pro football reference dot Com.
Says his dad played one game for the Cardinals in
the early nineties, and his grandfather, Jake Cupp, played back
in the nineteen sixties for Washington, New Orleans, Atlanta in Dallas.
We've got three Cups at Pro Football Reference. We're gonna break.
Everett fits you. He doesn't have a pro football reference page,
(10:07):
but his mom went to high school my mom, so
that's pretty cool. He'll join us from Chicago before the
cracking Blackhawks next on ninety three three kJ A RFM
We gottaming a little extra pocket change for this weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I do well look no further than Paramount Sports leasterly
did tell you about. All right, if you're filling a
bracket out, you might want to just kind of hit
pause on that. A guy who was ten and one
during the NFL playoffs and won seven of his last
eight March Madness tourneys. By the way, he's going to
give us some games, some picks go through every region.
(00:29):
Our friendly sterling Paramount Sports, joins us right now on
the radio show Lee, how are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Couldn't be better? Winning well and got to keep it going.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Let's start in the South region. That's the Auburn region.
Give us a take and what you kind of see there,
what you're looking for and what jumps off the page?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Do you men?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
This is a two team region. There's only six seven teams.
I think they can win the whole thing. Number three
Iowa State lost your best two players, Texas A and
m metrics on offense. The last six games are horrendous
Michigan State or Auburn here. The only other teams that
might be able to do some damage is Louisville. I
(01:12):
liked them in the first round shouldn't have been an
eight seed. I think they'll win and cover. And an
underrated team. You see San Diego plus two and a
half against Michigan Michigan, those kids probably could tell you
their ring size, couldn't tell you anything about what's going
on with this U see San Diego team. Take the
San Diego plus two and a half. I think Michigan
(01:33):
State's gonna pull it off behind tom Izzo and make
the final four.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
All right, let's head down to who Michigan State would
be playing in the final four. That's the West Region,
the Florida Gators with the one seed.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Toughest region, I mean, top to bottom. One Florida with
Walter Clayton red hot over twenty points in four of
the last five games. Saint John's obviously is really good.
Texas Tech is red hot with JJ topp and the
transfer came over from Mexico. He averaged almost twenty points
per game. And even Maryland and down the bracket Arkansas.
(02:10):
I liked them in the first round plus four and
a half against Kansas. I think the wrong team is
favored there. Take them money line and the most underrated
team in the tournament, Number twelve Colorado State. They are
a favorite, never seen this before, by two and a
half over Memphis, and for good reason, they'll win. They
came also, so I think Florida is going to have
(02:32):
to fight their way through it. But I think Florida
just too good and they'll make the final four.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Okay, how about the Midwest? The Houston region a little underrated, overrated.
Who comes out of there alive in the final four?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So I would say overrated is going to be a
team that people talk about left and right is Kentucky.
I think that if they're lucky enough to face Tennessee,
Tennessee will knock them off. Also, Purdue as a number
four seed, they're only favored by eight points for a reason.
(03:04):
High Point is gonna slow down that game also a lot.
Like I said, we think that this is one of
the regions. It's we're gonna see Chalk Houston. If they
can get toarm and Lipsey healthy, I think he's gonna
miss the first weekend. They're gonna win this game. When
they lost to Miami twenty twenty three shot only thirty
(03:25):
eight percent. They're much better offensively, and that year they
did not have a starter shoot above seventy percent from
the free throw line. They've got guys that shoot seventy
eighty and above ninety percent and they're starting five. Houston's
gonna make the final four year by Slama Jama two.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
And then you look at the Duke region, the East Region.
I remember that Duke nineteen ninety nineteen. They had the
Freshman of the Year that year and Julia logofor three
freshmen starters that year.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So does this Duke team what do you think?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, I mean, they were able to run the table
here in the conference tournament with Eave with Cooper flagout
missing the last two games. They can overcome double digit
deficits with no problem at all. Alabama no defense, they
need Nick Saban, Wisconsin and Arizona are fine. Underrated team.
Virginia Commonwealth twenty eight and six on the year, they've
(04:18):
won twelve to the last thirteen, top forty on offense and defense.
I would have liked to have seen them playing a
power five team, that high profile team, but they're gonna
have to play another team that's hot BYU. But give
me Virginia Commonwealth plus the three and a half here
in the first round. Duke's gonna make it my final
four duke in Houston. Houston pulls off the upset there,
(04:40):
and on the other side, I think it's good. We're
gonna see Florida. I think we're gonna see Houston plus
six point fifty to win the tournament. Wow, win it
again in their home state in San Antonio by Slama
Jama two.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I love it. Well, you're the man, great stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So we got Michigan State, Florida Houston, Duke Houston, Florida
Houston and wins the whole thing. So bet the Cougars
have bet him big time, says Lee Sterling.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That's right. If we win, we'll all go to St.
Bart's for the summer.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, that's a little closer to you than it is
to us. Pell.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Why don't you come out here and go to Hawaii
for the first time in your life? For crying out loud, Hey, listen,
great Stuff, appreciate it, Good luck, and we'll talk soon, Buddy,
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Palace man sounds good.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Guys, take care all right.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Lee Sterling Paramount sports dot Com give him call eight hundred,
four hundred ninety seven four to one. He gave us
a lot of intel there by the way Louisville to
win and cover versus Creighton UCSD. We talked about that
yesterday against Michigan. They they take the ball away and
Michigan likes to turn the ball over a lot. I
like that, pick a lot Arkansas plus the points against Kansas,
he says, bet the razorbacks on the money line. He says,
(05:43):
take Colorado State minus the points against Memphis. He said
Kentucky's totally overrated. Did he say take high point against Perdue?
By the way, he said he didn't like Purdue.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I don't know if he I think he said to
high point plus the point.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I don't stray Alabama. Uh, he's not a fan of them.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Says they play no defense, and he says take VCU
and the points against BYU. With Michigan State, Florida, Houston
Duke making the final four, Houston, Florida on Monday, Houston
wins the whole Well.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
I'm wondering if nil has something to do with how
good these number one seeds are, because the number one seeds,
you know, Ken Palm's been doing this thing for like
almost thirty years now, right this The analytics say these
are the best one seeds of all time. Wow, since
he's been doing them just collective as a group of four.
In fact, Tennessee is a number two would have been
(06:31):
a top two team in fifteen in the last twenty
eight NCAA tournaments. So that's five teams right there that
are elite, elite, elite, and your heard, lease.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
What do you say seven?
Speaker 4 (06:40):
He only sees seven teams that can win it, right,
So I mean, I just don't think you're getting a
lot of value up top if you're betting those teams
to win, because you're only getting seven eight to one
odds on those teams.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Well, speaking of that, and when it comes to ken Palm,
I saw this tweet from FanDuel ninety six percent of
national champions since one had a top twenty one ken offense,
ninety one of them had a top thirty one Ken
pum defense. Eight teams have both Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston, Tennessee, Wisconsin,
Iowa State, and Gonzaga. Those are the eight teams that
(07:13):
harf Hey real quick before we get to a break
the big news of the day, Cooper Cup introduced today
as the Seahawkey joined me and Dick. If you missed
the interview What's Up on the podcast at ninety three
to three kjar dot comrace check out the iHeartRadio app.
I thought he was Austin to talk to on the year.
I was telling Dick Jackson off the year. For a
guy that's making fifteen million dollars a year, former Offensive
(07:35):
Player of the Year in the NFL, he doesn't have
much of an ego. He just seems like a real cool,
chill dude. But he was asked and we didn't get
to this on purpose because it was brought up in
the press conference about the slot numbers. Now Jackson Smith
and Jigba Hugh told us on Friday eighty one point
two percent in the slot, number one in the NFL
among receivers with one hundred targets or more, Cooper Cup
(07:56):
sixty four percent, sixth in the NFL. Something's got to give.
Where does Cooper Cup play? Does he play inside? Does
he play outside? Here's how Cooper Cup answered that question today.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
In eight years with the Rams, I think it's tagged
with the slot bug. You know, I don't know how
you determined that. When we're in condensed formations, I'm outside,
but I'm running a slot route. You know, I'm you know,
I'm out. A lot of times I was outside and
I'm not sure if there was being tagged as slot
routes or not, but you know, I think the ability
to move in an offense and the ability for you know,
(08:28):
in this offense, and what Koopy actually done is being
able to you know, formation guys to be anywhere. And
that's how that's how I had learned this offense originally
was that you had to learn the whole thing because
you can be in any one of these spots at
any time, right, so you might think of yourself as
you can't think of yourself as just a slot. You
got you got to see yourself as paying any one
of these positions at any time because you could be
asked run any one of these routes.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So I love what Hughes said Friday, and I feel
a little more comfortable about Jackson Smith and Jag. But
now that Cooper Cup is here, by the way, but
he got to those numbers last year in the slot, right,
eighty one point two percent? So how much does he
play outside? How much does he play inside? Do the
numbers drop it all? Does he get the screenplay action
that he got a year ago with DK metcalf block
(09:12):
and form. I think it's one of the real kind
of interesting sidebars to see how this thing develops.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Well, you're gonna see it.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Like he mentioned the condensed sets, You're gonna have Cooper
Cup at the hash marks and he's gonna be the
most outside receiver on that side. So he's technically an
outside receiver, but playing out of slot. You're gonna see
the bootlegs, You're gonna see the play actions, the quick releases.
I'm really anxious to see a who's gonna play like
the X right, who's gonna play the big receiver?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Is it gonna be mbs?
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Are they gonna put Jackson Smith and Jigba out there
playing that sit?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
You know, here's one more thing about Cooper Cup.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
I think he might be the only person I've ever
looked at where I can say his father and grandfather
both have a page at Pro football reference dot Com.
Says his dad played one game for the Cardinals in
the early nineties, and his grandfather, Jake Cupp, played back
in the nineteen sixties for Washington, New Orleans, Atlanta in Dallas.
We've got three Cups at Pro Football Reference. We're gonna break.
Everett fits you. He doesn't have a pro football reference page,
(10:07):
but his mom went to high school my mom, so
that's pretty cool. He'll join us from Chicago before the
cracking Blackhawks next on ninety three three kJ A RFM
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