March 21, 2022 • 39 mins
Mike and Gus recap an amazing opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:16):
Welcome do the Screen the Screen orCollege Basketball podcast with your hosts, Mike
Randall and Gus Kerns. Welcome inlisteners to the Screen the Screen or College
Basketball podcast where we're always talking everythingcollege hoops. You could have been anywhere
else on the dial, but youchose to be here with us Mike and
Gus. Mike, we are deepinto this tournament. Somehow it happened,
(00:40):
but I'm enjoying the slow burn thatis March. Mike, is there anything
you want to gloat about for yourinitial round into the sweet sixteen or is
there something else that you'd like tomaybe even complain about? Glows. I
want to thank God for today's recovery, folks. I've been hitting at fifty
seven percent all document in the Actionapp gained one hundred and seventy units over
(01:04):
fourteen fourteen months, as good asI've done so far ever, and we've
entered the NSA Tournament. Gus Thursdaybrutal finish. I think it was like
five and eleven, okay, andyou're like, okay, fine, Friday
comes five hundred, even Stephen eightand eight, you know, very vanilla
(01:26):
hit. Some props lost a couple, so like five hundred day and then
yesterday was an abject disaster, justawful from start to finish. I mean,
you name it. I got itwrong. Thank God for UCLA against
Saint Mary's because that may have justput me over the edge. But today,
(01:46):
my friend, we've responded in ahuge way and I felt locked in
all day long and had a greatday. So it giveth it taketh away.
I get it. We just wantto be fifty three percent because that's
what the numbers. I get it. But my friend, Saturday was rough,
but today it was great. Andhere we are again, and I
(02:07):
think that we should just run downSaturday. If it's not too painful,
the listeners will love it. Itwas, it was just horrific. Yes,
please go ahead, all right?So I think we have to start
in the original starting point for Saturday, where our buddy Jared Kuller, who
we've talked to from the Connecticut Scoreboardpodcast for for Yukon, I saw one
(02:28):
of his tweets where he said,I can't believe they put this as a
standalone game. We need an optionor you know, like this game stinks
and it ends up being an overtimeclassic. And I don't know, Mike,
where should we start here? Dowe go with the officiating, do
we go with the transformation that isUNC, or do we say hmm?
(02:50):
Baylor was gonna get bitten at somepoint because of the roster and the injuries.
Where where do we go first?Here, Pardoner, I'm gonna tell
you takelock on Unc, I admittedI had takelock. I sometimes you want
to have an opinion on a teamand you want to stick with it,
and sometimes you have to be basianin your process and take new information.
(03:12):
And North Carolina I had takelock.I didn't think it through, and it
bit me because this is not Ididn't like North Carolina to start the year
for all the reasons we discussed.But then something happened about halfway through the
year. Hubert figured it out andwent with his guys right when they were
twelve and six, four and threein conference, lost to Miami, lost
to Wake Forest. From that pointon, bang Virginia Tech, Boston College,
(03:37):
NC State, Louisville and overtime,overtime, Big Win loses the duke
by twenty Clemson. Florida State losesto pit at home. That also gus
threw me off. The scent alittle bit. Yeah. I think that's
a game that people might like,you know, you know pin on their
map as like how do you navigateunc? Yeah yep. But they won
five in a row to end theyear. They beat a good Virginia team
by twenty never easy, lost toVirginia Tech. Then they smoked Marquette,
(04:00):
and I should have realized, ArmandoBaycott, thank you for the over on
your twelve and a half rebounds,is gonna be able to get some boards.
I should have also realized that Flagglerwas not totally healthy. LJ.
Cryer is out. There was alot of warning signs with Baylor, and
you and I have talked about howthe eight nine game is always frisky.
YadA, YadA, YadA. Myfault I had take clock. So I
(04:20):
bet you had a better read onthis game than I did, because like
five minutes in, I go badpick. I could just tell we're hitting
threes. They're firing shots all overthe place. R J. Davis is
on fire, Mannock is doing thiswith his hands. The parents is a
bad pick. It was a badpick. North Carolina took out Baylor.
They were the better team. Theygave it back late. I thought that
(04:43):
was gonna happen early and it didn't. Great win for Hubert Davis, great
win for North Carolina Baylor. Greatcomeback would have been the greatest comeback in
NCA twenty history. I believe we'retied at twenty five points, but in
the end five and a half,No bueno. UNC win's out right and
mighty takeaways from this, just tofollow the what you said beautifully is that
okay, yeah, UNC is goodagain. And the reason that they're good
(05:04):
again is because the roles are definedin cement. Everybody knows what they're doing,
and everybody expects and doesn't expect exactlywhat's gonna come down the pike each
of every game. Those guys knowthat they're gonna play thirty eight minutes and
they know that they're gonna get,you know, maybe a minute or two
there, and the bench players arefine with it. They're along for the
(05:26):
ride. And then the second takeawayI think is Bailer as tough as nails.
Scott Drew's an amazing coach. Idon't know if you can take away
somebody's leading scorer, takeaway a starterfrom a championship team that's anchoring your defense,
which is one of your hallmarks,and then figure out how to get
a one seed and then like almosthave one of the greatest comebacks of all
(05:49):
time in March Madness history. Soare those are my two quick takeaways from
that. I mean, I don'tknow what else if you if you have
anything else on your mind or anythingthat you your eyes viewed. And I
wish I had the Joker gift becausethat was and here we go, moving
on next game. All right,let's go Creton, Kansas. And I
feel like I had a good readon this, and because you know,
(06:10):
we had the privilege of going tosee the Big East Tournament at Matson Square
Garden and seeing something in person sometimesreally helps clarify, like where your stances
and it just it clarified to methat this Creton team had a little something
figured out, and they unlocked afew things that were in previous categories.
And now that Columa was gonna bethe stud he was going to be the
(06:34):
bucket getter. He was very fine. He was very comfortable in that role.
They did point guard a little bitby committee, you know, with
Alexander and O'Connell. They shot theball with confidence from three and even losing
the defensive player of the year,Calf Brunner from the Big East. They
played live against Kansas. Super oppressive. Yeah, Creton this year has cost
(06:58):
me a lot of money. Wentout to dinner Doctor Tony and his wife
earlier this year hammering Nebraska at home. I believe getting a couple of points
against Creton. Blew that one backon November sixteenth. Creton this year gus
thirty point thirty point eight percent,three hundred and fifth in the country in
three point shooting percentage. They're veryyoung. We talked to john nyatawas that's
the greatest recruiting class in Creton history. They are three hundred and nine inexperienced,
(07:23):
very young team. They lose Nemhart, they lose colk Brenner, but
the line didn't move that much,which should have woke me up, because
of course there's always Bill Self doingBill Self stuff and five minutes in partner
klooma for three, Hawkins for three, O'Connell for three, I said him
tasted. I didn't read it write. They had nothing to lose. McDermott
(07:46):
is a great coach. Kansas gota little tight and of course Casper the
friendly Ghost o Chaya Boji, letthe game come to me, non exist
until late in the game, hitshis unders on the prop. He just
doesn't take games over. Maybe wellat the next level, looks very Wayne
Seldon to me. Whatever, he'sgot to get his team on his back.
But this is a well coached Cratonteam. They turned the ball over
(08:09):
a lot, they don't force alot of turnovers. Doesn't really matter.
Twelve of twenty eight from three pointrange, guys for a team that shot
three hundred something in the country thisyear. But you were right. We
went to the game with doctor Tony. We should have saw this come in.
You did, I didn't, Andhere we go. Kansas moves on.
(08:31):
And I still think that they aredangerous, especially what's you know,
especially what's happened and unfolded within theirbracket here, all right, Mike,
what about what about Michigan in Tennessee? Yeah? I was wrong here.
I was very on Tennessee in thisparticular game and in this particular bracket,
to be honest. And Michigan isone of those teams that needed to hit
(08:52):
the reset button and start a newmuch like Duke, much like LSU.
That didn't work for them. Butsome of these teams look forward to just
having the slate cleaned off, andMichigan definitely fits the bill. There still
not buying Michigan. But what didn'tI didn't like partner right in front of
(09:13):
this game. It's like eighty fivepercent of the handle and eighty percent of
the bets were in Tennessee. Iheard that. I said, this isn't
gonna be good. Tennessee got up, they were able to move ahead,
they could not put them away.Tennessee's issue is they don't have a go
to guy. I love their players, I love their team. Josiah Jordan
James had thirteen points early in thesecond half. I took his under on
(09:35):
his props thirteen and a half.He ended with thirteen. Kennedy Chandler is
a wonderful player. You saw himhugging with you want Howard after game.
Love Kennedy Chandler tremendous. But theydidn't have a go to guy. Only
two guys partner in doubles. Inthis entire game, you score sixty eight
points. Only Jordan James and Chandlerhad thirty two of them. Everybody else
in single digits. That's a problemon the other side, Hunter Dickinson turns
(09:58):
into the new ball. He's bangingthrees, he's three or five from three
point range, grabs eleven boards,does a great job, and then we
have some people chipping in threes.Azreeli Brooks gives two here, Terrence Williams
gives one. They got it goinghalftime of the Colorado State game. Partner,
they got it going. I stilldon't like them. I'm going to
(10:18):
fade them again. Thank you takelock. But it's a great win and Tennessee
was super hot. The one thingwe worried about is can they execute late
in a close game, and theycould note they did not. And I
think my two takeaways from this arehello to Frankie Collins. Yeah, six
one freshmen played thirty plus minutes inboth of their wins. And again,
(10:39):
when you extract like you're starting pointguard, that's supposed to matter. He
made it not matter. So wewe saw what kind of talent level he
does, and you know what,to be honest, like I felt like
after watching those two games, hewas more impactful than like Caleb Houston.
Yes, like absolutely as far aslike contributing to wins. And then the
second part of that Also is theTennessee side. I kind of thought that
(11:01):
Tennessee might have something rolling here thatwith those three guards that was similar to
Baylor last year, and their defensiveprowess again similar to Baylor last year.
One difference, no go to guylike you illustrated. And also I think
we have to pay attention to thebench. Yes, yes, it's clear
that Barnes schemed Houston out of thegame. He's been schemed out now twice.
(11:24):
He looked so good earlier in theyear thirty two minutes and no points
oh of one from two point range? Because how is that possible for players
talented as Caleb Houston. But itdoesn't matter, It doesn't matter. Michigan
gets the win and they move on. They're playing Nova. Hey, all
right, and let's continue and ateam that you have close connections with,
(11:45):
and maybe we're on a little bitProvidence beat my Richmond Spiders. Love that
Richmond got that initial win. Unbelievablyfantastic way that they took down Iowa the
Providence like everybody had. I'm sureinto the Sweet sixteen that might have been
like the little blow up racket slashpod that I think many people had.
But I don't. I don't.Providence just look the part and they I
(12:11):
mean Horkler with you know, isaveraging a double double in the tournament.
Right now, they look great.Yep, this game was over really quick.
I took Richmond in the points.Jacob Gilliard. I don't think Gilliard
had a chance to do anything becauseright off the bat al Dorm for three,
al Dorm for three, Horkler forthree, Horcler for three, Meniah
for three. Games over. Richmondis not constructed. They did have the
(12:33):
amazing comeback against Dayton, but Ido think that was Malachi Smith aided.
It's not that they can't. It'sjust a Providence. If they make their
threes, they're gonna be tough becauseHorkler and Watson did a decent job.
Grant Golden's not great inside, he'sfunctional for Richmond, but they just got
up by too much and then theycontrol the game. Look, I think,
Gus, this is gonna be aphenomenal game against Kansas. I'm already
(12:54):
telling you I'm grabbing the points.Do with that as you may, everybody,
by the way, but I loveit. I think Providence is going
to either win this game or godown swinging. This is not going to
be a blowout. They are legit. They have the mojo. Had a
bad game there against Creighton, ithappens, but came back beat a good
South Dakota State team, pounded Richmondthere with house Money now won the regular
(13:16):
season title, first one in Providencehistory, won a game in the Big
East Tournament, made a sweet sixteenHouse Money dangerous against our good friend Bill
self. You're a good friend,Bill self, all right, Mike West
Coast Special Ucla Saint Mary's. Thoughtthis one would end up a little bit
tighter than it did. Felt likethat UCLA might get caught up in that
(13:39):
Saint Mary's slowdown pace. And thenof course we had you know, some
injury issues with UCLA as well.But UCLA pulls away seventy two fifty six.
I still like this UCLA team.I love their construction and I they
they've done it in recent history.The bracket has really opened up for them
on their side. Yeah, andlisten, Saint Mary's did much better than
(14:03):
I thought they would. Randy Bennett'sa superior coach. Saint Mary's did great,
and in the end, the winover Gonzaga meant a win over Gonzaga
and that should have really I shouldhave paid more attention to that. They
in the first round just absolutely destroyedIndiana took care of that. Playing game
always gets hot, but I guessNotre Dame took care of that. Then
they play Ucla. My issue withthis game and why I finally got a
(14:24):
game right, was I know thatSaint Mary's wants you to take difficult twos.
Their defense is structured, but that'swhat UCLA wants to do. Uzang
and Yakez they love pull up shots. I mean, Johnny Juzang was living
on the pull up jumper. SoI just thought that in the end,
much like Michigan you said got ittogether, I thought UCLA would get it
(14:48):
together and pull away, and theydid. And now we have the Bruins
here playing against North Carolina. Whata contrast in styles there. It's going
to be fun. But yes,Saint Mary's excellent job by Randy Bennett,
Mata toss. This is not atalent team. Tommy Coozy played great.
Love also, by the way forthem, really I underrated him all year.
Logan Johnson, which is some timeit takes to the basket, big
(15:09):
time athlete, and Ducas makes histhrees. Great job, but yes,
Ucla got it going. Now they'regonna be dangerous. I think they're very
dangerous moving forward, as long astheir health holds together, all right,
And then the Muss Bus rolls backinto the sweet sixteen takes down a very
dangerous New Mexico State team coached byChris the now departed Chris Jans. But
(15:31):
they have that unbelievably talented backcourt withTeddy Allen and Rice and McCanns came to
play like he wasn't he wasn't afraid. But the Muss Bus and note get
it rolling and move into the sweetsixteen. Yeah, almost to cover here.
I think it was six six anda half and they ended up winning
by five, which is fine.Great job by Jans. They were down
(15:52):
early and came back. Hard todo against Arkansas. I thought it was
a brilliant defensive game planned by Musselman. He actually put a lot of pressure
and was willing to play a slowplace, slow pace here. McCants got
sixteen points, Teddy Allen got twelve, but Teddy Allen only got on three
of ten from the two point range. And Jabari Rice, a guy who
could really wreck a game from threepoint range, only one of five,
(16:15):
and everything came from me on theark that was the key note with eighteen,
Jaylen Williams with ten and away wego. I think it's a phenomenal
game against Gonzaga. Am I rightnow I have to analyze it, but
I do like Arkansas a little bitbetter. I just think it's great.
And I think, what great jobby Musk, great job by Jens.
Where you go Mississippi State, Ithink he's a mission state. Yeah he
(16:36):
took over Allen. Yeah, goodguy, great guy, and great game
and they didn't cover, but itwas close, very close. And then
the last part about that is wehave to mention Williams. Williams did a
great job on the interior, reboundingthe ball and being efficient as usual.
And then hometown Peacocks get it done. I mean, I don't even know
(16:56):
where to kind of start with thisbecause of the uy you know a game
previously, but good golly, whata story, what a team you go
first, I'll go second. Ihave a couple of things on that.
On the Peacocks, of course,the Shaheen Holloway has done a masterful job
at Saint Peter's they won ten andtwenty two, eighteen and twelve in twenty
(17:18):
twenty and really worry team that theywere fourteen and six in the MAC that
year. They were actually one gamebehind Sienna. So really liked Saint Peter's
coming into the COVID year of twentytwenty one. But they struggled. They
struggled with the pauses. They threwus off the scent only fourteen, eleven,
ten and eighteen conference. Next yearthey come out fourteen and six and
(17:41):
the defense is legit. You've talkedabout Casey and defu inside Banks is flammable.
Who doesn't love Doug Eggert for three? Just a great job. I
love them against Murray State. Ithought eight was crazy. I thought the
point was too much. They MurrayState, love Murray State, love what
they do. But they were crampingup. They had a massive battle there
to get by at the end againstSan Francisco, and now they have to
(18:03):
turn around and play a really soliddefensive team that's going to get up and
make you guard. They want outrightby ten. Saint Peter's only three of
thirteen from Beyond the Ark, butthey were twenty three of thirty one.
That's seventy five percent from the freethrow line. Just did a great job,
and they really clamped down on MurrayState. Murray State can give you
some turnovers, they did not givea lot. Saint Peter's only ten.
(18:26):
What a wonderful job. I thoughtthe line was too high. This one
was a comfortable cover. Murray Stategreat year as well. I just think
that first game took a lot outof them. The Peacocks are moving on
Shaheen Halloway. Kevin Willard is alreadyencouraging him to take over the ball job
publicly. Amazing job. This iswhat march is about. Yeah, the
couple of things you mentioned in defo, like he is such an impactful player
(18:47):
on both ends of the floor.You know, I think earlier this season
and even you know in season's past, we've we've mentioned him on the podcast.
You know, he two seasons agohe averaged almost four blocks a game
at six seven, which is totallyinsane. So his impact in this particular
game against Murray State was he wasthe best player on the floor. Seventeen
(19:11):
points, ten boards, three assists, six blocks, Like, I don't
know what else you want from yourstar player. And the other part about
and you brought this up and mentionedthis with a couple of teams, right,
I just wanted to highlight this,and I think this is the perfect
place to do That is the relianceon the three. I don't know if
(19:32):
it's the same that it has beenin the past. Saint Peter's three made
threes, Miami three made threes,Arkansas three made threes, Texas Tech four
made threes, Iowa State three madethrees. Even Ucla they only made four
and only took nine. Like youmentioned earlier, Perdue probably not going to
(19:53):
make a bunch of threes. Michiganonly six made threes, in Kansas only
six made three. So this lionsand the floor stretching that we've seen in
the NBA this year, I mean, correction back to the mean. Or
maybe defenses are just scheming to takethe three point three point ball out of
play. Yeah, so maybe ifyou have a great two point shooting team
(20:15):
like Saint Peter's is and they've rungreat offense, really impressive, excellent,
excellent point about that, partner.I think that teams are recognizing you have
to defend the three to win.So it's not surprising to me to see
some of the top teams in thecountry at three point defense. Actually in
this tournament right now, you havelooked at teams that really locked down from
(20:40):
beyond the arc, teams that havebeen strong. Iowa State, Houston are
both in the top ten. SaintPeter's is in the top sixteen. They're
still alive even if you stay withinthe top fifty. That's also going to
include Providence, Kansas, Gonzaga,and Villanova. So I agree, it's
a great astute observation. Teams arenot necessarily getting threes. They have to
(21:03):
score other ways, and when theycan't, you see what happens with some
of these upsets. Yeah, andit just goes back to, you know,
some of the conversations that you andI have had, but also a
conversation we you know, we've hadwith John Gasaway. I feel like a
couple of different times where the goodtwo and the teams that shoot the good
two at a high percentage are reallyunderrated and find success in March. All
(21:25):
right, Mike, anything else youwant to do for Saturday? You're ready
to move on to the Sunday gameshere, Yes, let's bury this one
partner in the backyard very very muchmore enjoyable betting Sunday. Thank you good.
All right, let's start where everythingstarted off. We'll start with,
you know, Ohio State and Villanova. I loved Ohio State in this spot.
(21:47):
I was all about fading Villanova.I feel like they are gonna win
a game or gonna win a nationaltitle. I felt like this year,
like we discussed earlier on the podcast, they were more of the more of
the ladder, like more of thethey're gonna win a game. They're good,
but I don't know if they're gonnamake a run for a title.
I might still be in that camp. But here they are again, Wildcats
(22:07):
into the Sweet sixteen. Any takeawaysfrom Ohio State in Villanova. This game
reeked to me. It's one ofthe few that I got a wrong today.
It reeked to me Villanova wins andOhio State covers. I just kept
saying that in my head, Liddellhaving a big game. I know they
couldn't. They're not great at defendingthe three Ohio State this year. The
metrics haven't been great on them.I just thought they would play well.
(22:29):
It was a two point game withfour minutes left. I felt good.
I got really a Kylie Young beingback off the concussion was a big help.
He played well at nine and sevenin the prior game and the win
over Loyalist Chicago. Loyalist Chicago playsa lot like Villanova, slow paced,
relies on the three, not greaton the interior. I'd like the matchup,
but it didn't work out. Greatwin for Villanova. They do what
(22:49):
they do. If you're going tobeat them, they are the two time
champion in the last five years.If you're gonna beat them, you better
beat him early because they're gonna makefree throws late. And that's exactly what
they did to eke out this coverhere. That's a great point. And
then also you mentioned Young Young wentout with an injury later on in this
game, and I think that definitelyimpacted because Ohio State had brought it within
a possession and then, like youmentioned, very stutely, they pulled away
(23:12):
with free throws and just sound decisionsas always. Uh hey, did you
did you feel like this could havebeen coach K's last game? It was?
It was right there right. Uh, this this one annoys me.
The only one I got wrong today. A bunch of props, good stuff
over unders. Great right, Yes, the idea that Michigan State didn't cover
seven and a half is just it'sjust they had that they were winning with
(23:33):
two minutes left. I mean,everything fell apart. They couldn't They turned
the ball, but they couldn't makea shot at the end of the game.
They don't know they could. Theycouldn't not not make a shot.
They couldn't even get a shot withintheir offense. And is always the king
of the quick hitters. Yes,that's exactly right. And Ben Carol got
a couple of rebounds. I doa couple of things and a couple of
silly turnovers, but should have actuallybeen a cover. Michigan State played great
(23:53):
iso phenomenal, I point out inthe live stream of betting Proszzo, Um,
I have it here. Yeah,it is a twenty three and six
GUS with one day rest. Yeah, eighty percent of course going against Chefski,
who's beating him twelve out of fifteennow thirteen out of sixteen times.
Yeah, I loved it. Iloved the seven and a half. Look
good the whole game, and theyjust fell apart the end. Tyson Walker
(24:15):
actually showed up, he was carryingthem. I'm like, this is gonna
be the Tyson Walker game didn't workout. I was right there with you,
and I felt like, not onlycould they have covered, but they
had a legit chance to win thatgame and they just could not get anything
done those last two minutes on offense. Hoof Duke moves on to the Sweet
sixteen. All right, one ofthe surprises Iowa State beating Wisconsin in Milwaukee,
(24:40):
and I think both of us likethought, this smelled funny. You
know from the start, whether itwas going to be that first round against
Colgate. I think you were onColgate covering and boom, Johnny Davis doesn't
have a good game. Guess whatthey're in trouble Like they and Iowa State
won two games last year and notthey have two nca wins. This was
(25:03):
a bully. Yeah, my pickhere was a belief. I love the
under as well, the old album. Yeah it gus. The old adage
you take the over on the highesttotal and you take the under on the
lowest. I mean that's just Idon't know if that always works, but
if it's the narrative. Here Wisconsinwith a great year, but they're gus.
They're still very young, and Idon't like how the end of the
year. Nebraska home really big tenoutright title online, Michigan State. It's
(25:26):
Michigan State, but one and donethere in the tournament Colgate you don't cover.
And I know the game was inMilwaukee, which is why I actually
took Wisconsin but lost that one bya half point. The theme my weekend,
But I thought Iowa State controls tempo. I didn't trust Wisconsin offense.
We've talked about this old year thata typical Wisconsin team play solid defense and
(25:47):
shoot to three. Well, thisteam is not great on defense and doesn't
shoot the three. Well, veryodd. I thought they could do some
things defensively. I liked the threeand a half number. Money was piling
in on Wisconsin under Auslberg really couldget a lot of Coach of the Year
votes. I know it's Coolly anda couple of guys, but also Burger.
The job he's done. They werepredicted last in the Big twelve.
(26:07):
Here they are Iowa State. Greatjob, sweet sixteen and they upset Wisconsin.
No shame. Wisconsin a solid year, but playing at home in the
road, that's a big win forIowa State because that was a very partisan
home crowd in Milwaukee, no doubt. I think your your statement of him
of Utelberger getting some of those Coachof the Year votes, Yeah, I
think he's gonna pile up a bunchof those. And the candidates you mentioned
(26:32):
are definitely on the list, andwe can throw in we can throw in
Amrizona as well. All right,So, Mike, after the Texas Tech
Notre Dame, did you feel likeNotre Dame was gonna be that hot team
that the playing game and then goahead and get a couple of wins and
then boom they end up there.I felt like they were destined to be
that team after they won on SaintPatrick's Day. But Texas Tech takes destiny
(26:56):
into their own hands and makes freethrows down the stretch, huge defensive stops
and bothered Wesley on the last coupleof possessions. Yeah, bothered Wesley.
That was it. But I agreegrabbed the eight points right away. Texas
Tech blowing out Montana State in thefirst round was great because I think we
got a couple extra points of valuein this line playing game. Narrative always
gets hot, That's what it was. And I took all at the TCU
(27:19):
car Larry TCU the Texas Tech latethe year. How'd they do it?
They shot the three well and theywere one and done on the boards.
People don't realize that Notre Dame isalso top fifty in the country in defensive
rebounding, so I thought they couldstick with Texas Tech. I needed a
bad offensive game from Texas Tech,which I got, and I needed them
(27:41):
to make some threes, which Igot. Texas Tech twenty two and thirteen
this year against the spread, butthat was really bolstered by their fourteen of
sixteen covers in the middle of theyear. They failed to cover five of
their last seven games, and NotreDame was also nineteen and fifteen against the
spread. Too many points. Ithought it was Texas Tech by three on
Texas Tech with five. Great jobby Mike Bray. Great year, Texas
(28:03):
Tech moves on. They were adangerous team, but they do struggle to
score and Notre Dame really had thisgame, but again couldn't produce down the
stretch. Agreed, Texas Tech.Defensive presence is a real thing, and
their switchability at every position on defenseand superior coaching substitution. Late in that
game they bring in uh uh.They bring in a Santoda Silva and um,
(28:30):
he comes in and gets a blockin one of the final offensive possessions
and he made and he's, youknow what, at best fifty percent free
throw shooter. I love the superimpressive you know substitution. There so no
no talk about coach of the year. I mean we we we can throw
Marcus rich Um. How about HoustonIllinois? Do we want to talk about
(28:53):
another possible coach of the year.Yes, let me go first here on
this. Yeah, there's so muchsec I sat down last night with a
bourbon after my brutal day and Isaid, I go, okay, what
is my gut reaction to this game? And my gut reaction was Houston's a
higher seat to get in four anda half points. And I said,
(29:14):
okay, now that we know that'sthe gut, let me go deeper.
Here are some numbers, partner,and I put this on the live stream
to me, this was the automaticpick of the day. Ready. Calvin
Samson versus nonconference teams wallet to Houstonthirty six and twenty three. That's sixty
percent against the spread. Calvin Samsonverse nonconference teams as a favorite twenty eight
nineteen sixty percent against the spread.Calvin Samson versus nonconference teams as a favorite
(29:37):
by one to six points, youknow, a close favorite. Twelve and
four, seventy five percent against thespread in those games. Partner last eight
Kelvin Sampson eight no in those games, Partner last eleven Kelvin Sampson ten and
one. Houston against the spread thisyear sixty six percent last nine games,
eight and one. Look, Iknow it's a lot of numbers, but
(29:59):
this to me of when Shaka tookTexas into Kansas, and my gut reaction
was, it's got to be Kansas. And then I look at the numbers.
I go, Shaka's undefeated against thespread at fog Allen. It's while
with Texas, and that's exactly whathappened. They were begging you to take
Illinois. To me, it wasHouston, morning, noon, and night.
(30:19):
They're just great in these spots andIllinois barely beat Chattanooga and KOFE Coburn
isn't a great free throw shooter.How is this going to happen? I
didn't say it nice when for theCookers, and I felt like I felt
like it was an interesting move thatthey decided to Illinois decided to play a
couple of those freshmen over Curbello whenthe game was in balance, and it
(30:42):
fell completely out of balance for theAlin. I totally impressed with shid Yes,
one of my favorite players in collegebasketball. Yeah, I love this
guy. So he had twelve sevenand three against UAB and I like,
you AB in that matchup, SoI'm gonna idiot like I don't, I
don't know anything. And then hehad eighteen, three assists and three steals
(31:03):
in this win. And that videoof him picking up the garbage earlier this
season is one of my favorite momentsfrom the regular season. So great human
being, great college basketball player.I'm I'm on the Houston bus now I
like it to with everything said,Amen, all right, how about how
(31:26):
about how about Miami? What inthe I mean, I'm not gonna say
what in the world, because we'veliked Miami a little bit here, and
you know, when we talked toour buddy Luke near who's down in acc
country in Charlottesville, he was onboard with the Miami love and liked the
three guard alignment. Of course,he really adores Larenega as well. It
(31:48):
was I can't even believe it.Like they made it look way easier than
I thought they could. I thoughtthis was gonna be a one possession game.
Come down to the final minute.Those three guards played unbelievably well.
Charlie Moore has a triple double shesh. Yeah, I always gonna be one
possession game. Also grabbed the seven. Love the seven in this game.
Yeah yeah, But I certainly thoughtAuburn was gonna win ten seeds better winning
(32:12):
percentage in NCAA tournament henstory history sincethe expansion of nineteen eighty five. Then
they do over seven seeds, whichmeans if they get by the first round,
there's a better chance they're winning thesecond game than they won that prior
game. Larenegg in the tournament doingwhat he does after with Mason Mgusti,
Wong and more. I put upon Twitter Wong with the slam on Jabari
(32:32):
Smith. I mean incredible. Theydidn't put it with Jacksonville stayed away,
which made me concerned. Auburn Miami. I know it was the ACC world
down. They were number one infewest offensive turnovers Miami and the ACC,
and they were number one in turnoversforced. I thought they would not be
turned over by Auburn, and theywould turn Auburn over. Miami gets the
(32:55):
outright win, a comfortable win withseven points. Great job by Jim Larry
and you are doing it is Igus it came out two things I said.
I was wrong about Saint Mary's saidMary's was oversea, not true,
And I was right about Miami,said Miami's way too interesseed as a ten
seed. Loved it in this game. Great win for Miami. Uh yeah,
I loved the points there and evenyou know, entertained them winning it
outright and moving on. And bythe way that game against I mean,
(33:17):
I don't think they're going to befrightened playing Iowa State. No like that.
That seems like something that's like rightup Laron EGA's alley. And then
I guess the last two games arestill going underway and undecided at recording time.
But you know we have Purdue andTexas Purdue with a slight lead,
and then TCU keeping things pretty spicywith Arizona thus far, Mike, any
(33:38):
other further takeaways or any other placesyou want to take a look at for
Thursday and or Friday. No,I you know, I took Texas in
the three and a half here atseven with two minutes left, so they're
probably not gonna get that cover.And I took TCU with ten for the
main reason that TCU beat Kansas andTexas Tech back to back, and they
almost beat Kansas at the fog andthe subsequent game when Hans hit the big
(34:00):
twelve on the line gus TCU numberone in the country and offensive rebounding that's
gonna help against Arizona. And oh, by the way, they're shooting,
Oh, I don't know, thirtynine point six percent from the point range
of the last three games. SoI thought ten was too much anyway,
looking ahead for Thursday, part,I'm just gonna let me read the game.
See that we got lines out forand give me your reaction. Yeah,
sure, all right, So I'lljust got the lines are out.
I haven't even thought about it yet, but I'll just read them to you.
(34:22):
Let's see what we get on Thursday. GUS I got three so far,
okay, Gonzaga minus eight and ahalf versus Arkansas. We really got
to think about that one. It'sa lot of points. You really got
to think about that, you knowwhat. I gut reaction game gets away
(34:42):
in the second half, No Taegets into some foul trouble. Maybe Williams
has trouble guarding Timmy and Home grinneddown low. They're compromised roster wise and
foul. You know, foul's wise. So I guess if I a quick
lean, maybe Gonzaga with a sneakyten point win in the second half,
I'm gonna I'm gonna take I probablywill take Arkansas. I may wait because
(35:04):
this line could get higher, right, I can make an argument for arc
what's Arkansas on the money line?Here? I plus three thirty three to
one. I just think I thoughtthis was a rough road forgn Zag.
I'm gonna stick to it. Ifthey get it, good for them,
great job. I think they're gonnabother their guards. But I will tell
you something that was a Superman performancefrom Drew Timmy Superman performance. Just he
was who he was rolling major mustache, yeah, major must Yeah. Nova
(35:29):
minus five Michigan, mhmm, that'sjust the right number. Huh yeah.
I like No. One Nova,I like Nova two. I think Michigan
yeah yeah uh. And last whenwe got the Thursday partner. Right now,
I'm gonna make you guess duke TexasTech. Huh how about um,
(35:53):
duke Texas Tech. I how aboutif I say Texas Tech minus point five?
But that is freaking disturbing, man, that's exactly what it is.
Good you, Yes, it's TexasTech favored by a half point good for
you, partner. Wow, thankgod, thank you. That's I feel
(36:14):
like Terrell Owens. That's my podcastpartner right there. Uh Friday, man,
I got three really quick. I'llgive it three on Friday. Yeah,
let's do it. Ku minus sevenand a half, Providence too much,
too much, Ucla minus two uincay. Mmmm. I might look at
(36:35):
the number there for over under oneforty two. Mmmm. It's that's good.
They're they're good. There's big buildingsthere for a reason. Um.
I okay, quick lean. Ithink I like UCLA to win it,
so i'll take you know, ifit has to be two, it's two.
It's fine. Um, and Iwould maybe lean the under if you
(36:57):
do this one. I'm gonna upQuinton, give me the spread on my
Aami Iowa States last moment ago.It's it's got what it's gotta be like
Miami minus one, right, disturbingminus one and a half one and a
half. Guys, Hey, thisis my partner, right, it is
good. I don't have a clue. Yeah, I gotta analyze that one.
The overall. Yeah yeah, Imean I like Miami there for the
win, So if it's that tight, if the points are that close,
(37:20):
then why not just you know,go go with the money line there?
But who yeah, that's I don'tthink you think that line's gonna move anywhere.
I don't think so. I don'tknow. It opened at Miami minus
a half and has now been betup, so money's coming into Miami.
So people are bring Miami. They'sgonna go against Iowa State. They just
don't buy it yet. Um theall the over on has one thirty three.
I may go over on that becauseI think Miami really does push the
pace and they can get some stuffup inside. So I don't maybe I'll
(37:43):
hit the over That's all I got, partner. Let's close it up because
we got a minute ten left andproduce up three on Texas right now,
they're covering GUS and Horizon A TCUtied of course with fifteen minutes. All
right, let's go catch the endof those games that we can talk about
them on the next podcast, wheneverthat might be. If you really like
where you're listening to, please giveMicah follow over at Randall Rant and please
tune in to his live shows onBetting Pros. Do you like what you're
(38:08):
listening to here, give the podcastto follow at sds podcast Efficiency of Keystrokes,
of course. And you like whatyou're listening to, don't be afraid
to leave a nice, kind reviewon your podcast consumption vehicle of choice.
Kindness is always cool. Mike lookingforward to the end of these two games
and then catching up and trying todissect and figure out what's going to happen
(38:29):
in the sweet sixteen. Thank godwe got four days off. I need
a cigarette. Cheers lot, everybodyall right, got
Welcome do the Screen the Screen orCollege Basketball podcast with your hosts, Mike
Randall and Gus Kerns. Welcome inlisteners to the Screen the Screen or College
Basketball podcast where we're always talking everythingcollege hoops. You could have been anywhere
else on the dial, but youchose to be here with us Mike and
Gus. Mike, we are deepinto this tournament. Somehow it happened,
(00:40):
but I'm enjoying the slow burn thatis March. Mike, is there anything
you want to gloat about for yourinitial round into the sweet sixteen or is
there something else that you'd like tomaybe even complain about? Glows. I
want to thank God for today's recovery, folks. I've been hitting at fifty
seven percent all document in the Actionapp gained one hundred and seventy units over
(01:04):
fourteen fourteen months, as good asI've done so far ever, and we've
entered the NSA Tournament. Gus Thursdaybrutal finish. I think it was like
five and eleven, okay, andyou're like, okay, fine, Friday
comes five hundred, even Stephen eightand eight, you know, very vanilla
(01:26):
hit. Some props lost a couple, so like five hundred day and then
yesterday was an abject disaster, justawful from start to finish. I mean,
you name it. I got itwrong. Thank God for UCLA against
Saint Mary's because that may have justput me over the edge. But today,
(01:46):
my friend, we've responded in ahuge way and I felt locked in
all day long and had a greatday. So it giveth it taketh away.
I get it. We just wantto be fifty three percent because that's
what the numbers. I get it. But my friend, Saturday was rough,
but today it was great. Andhere we are again, and I
(02:07):
think that we should just run downSaturday. If it's not too painful,
the listeners will love it. Itwas, it was just horrific. Yes,
please go ahead, all right?So I think we have to start
in the original starting point for Saturday, where our buddy Jared Kuller, who
we've talked to from the Connecticut Scoreboardpodcast for for Yukon, I saw one
(02:28):
of his tweets where he said,I can't believe they put this as a
standalone game. We need an optionor you know, like this game stinks
and it ends up being an overtimeclassic. And I don't know, Mike,
where should we start here? Dowe go with the officiating, do
we go with the transformation that isUNC, or do we say hmm?
(02:50):
Baylor was gonna get bitten at somepoint because of the roster and the injuries.
Where where do we go first?Here, Pardoner, I'm gonna tell
you takelock on Unc, I admittedI had takelock. I sometimes you want
to have an opinion on a teamand you want to stick with it,
and sometimes you have to be basianin your process and take new information.
(03:12):
And North Carolina I had takelock.I didn't think it through, and it
bit me because this is not Ididn't like North Carolina to start the year
for all the reasons we discussed.But then something happened about halfway through the
year. Hubert figured it out andwent with his guys right when they were
twelve and six, four and threein conference, lost to Miami, lost
to Wake Forest. From that pointon, bang Virginia Tech, Boston College,
(03:37):
NC State, Louisville and overtime,overtime, Big Win loses the duke
by twenty Clemson. Florida State losesto pit at home. That also gus
threw me off. The scent alittle bit. Yeah. I think that's
a game that people might like,you know, you know pin on their
map as like how do you navigateunc? Yeah yep. But they won
five in a row to end theyear. They beat a good Virginia team
by twenty never easy, lost toVirginia Tech. Then they smoked Marquette,
(04:00):
and I should have realized, ArmandoBaycott, thank you for the over on
your twelve and a half rebounds,is gonna be able to get some boards.
I should have also realized that Flagglerwas not totally healthy. LJ.
Cryer is out. There was alot of warning signs with Baylor, and
you and I have talked about howthe eight nine game is always frisky.
YadA, YadA, YadA. Myfault I had take clock. So I
(04:20):
bet you had a better read onthis game than I did, because like
five minutes in, I go badpick. I could just tell we're hitting
threes. They're firing shots all overthe place. R J. Davis is
on fire, Mannock is doing thiswith his hands. The parents is a
bad pick. It was a badpick. North Carolina took out Baylor.
They were the better team. Theygave it back late. I thought that
(04:43):
was gonna happen early and it didn't. Great win for Hubert Davis, great
win for North Carolina Baylor. Greatcomeback would have been the greatest comeback in
NCA twenty history. I believe we'retied at twenty five points, but in
the end five and a half,No bueno. UNC win's out right and
mighty takeaways from this, just tofollow the what you said beautifully is that
okay, yeah, UNC is goodagain. And the reason that they're good
(05:04):
again is because the roles are definedin cement. Everybody knows what they're doing,
and everybody expects and doesn't expect exactlywhat's gonna come down the pike each
of every game. Those guys knowthat they're gonna play thirty eight minutes and
they know that they're gonna get,you know, maybe a minute or two
there, and the bench players arefine with it. They're along for the
(05:26):
ride. And then the second takeawayI think is Bailer as tough as nails.
Scott Drew's an amazing coach. Idon't know if you can take away
somebody's leading scorer, takeaway a starterfrom a championship team that's anchoring your defense,
which is one of your hallmarks,and then figure out how to get
a one seed and then like almosthave one of the greatest comebacks of all
(05:49):
time in March Madness history. Soare those are my two quick takeaways from
that. I mean, I don'tknow what else if you if you have
anything else on your mind or anythingthat you your eyes viewed. And I
wish I had the Joker gift becausethat was and here we go, moving
on next game. All right,let's go Creton, Kansas. And I
feel like I had a good readon this, and because you know,
(06:10):
we had the privilege of going tosee the Big East Tournament at Matson Square
Garden and seeing something in person sometimesreally helps clarify, like where your stances
and it just it clarified to methat this Creton team had a little something
figured out, and they unlocked afew things that were in previous categories.
And now that Columa was gonna bethe stud he was going to be the
(06:34):
bucket getter. He was very fine. He was very comfortable in that role.
They did point guard a little bitby committee, you know, with
Alexander and O'Connell. They shot theball with confidence from three and even losing
the defensive player of the year,Calf Brunner from the Big East. They
played live against Kansas. Super oppressive. Yeah, Creton this year has cost
(06:58):
me a lot of money. Wentout to dinner Doctor Tony and his wife
earlier this year hammering Nebraska at home. I believe getting a couple of points
against Creton. Blew that one backon November sixteenth. Creton this year gus
thirty point thirty point eight percent,three hundred and fifth in the country in
three point shooting percentage. They're veryyoung. We talked to john nyatawas that's
the greatest recruiting class in Creton history. They are three hundred and nine inexperienced,
(07:23):
very young team. They lose Nemhart, they lose colk Brenner, but
the line didn't move that much,which should have woke me up, because
of course there's always Bill Self doingBill Self stuff and five minutes in partner
klooma for three, Hawkins for three, O'Connell for three, I said him
tasted. I didn't read it write. They had nothing to lose. McDermott
(07:46):
is a great coach. Kansas gota little tight and of course Casper the
friendly Ghost o Chaya Boji, letthe game come to me, non exist
until late in the game, hitshis unders on the prop. He just
doesn't take games over. Maybe wellat the next level, looks very Wayne
Seldon to me. Whatever, he'sgot to get his team on his back.
But this is a well coached Cratonteam. They turned the ball over
(08:09):
a lot, they don't force alot of turnovers. Doesn't really matter.
Twelve of twenty eight from three pointrange, guys for a team that shot
three hundred something in the country thisyear. But you were right. We
went to the game with doctor Tony. We should have saw this come in.
You did, I didn't, Andhere we go. Kansas moves on.
(08:31):
And I still think that they aredangerous, especially what's you know,
especially what's happened and unfolded within theirbracket here, all right, Mike,
what about what about Michigan in Tennessee? Yeah? I was wrong here.
I was very on Tennessee in thisparticular game and in this particular bracket,
to be honest. And Michigan isone of those teams that needed to hit
(08:52):
the reset button and start a newmuch like Duke, much like LSU.
That didn't work for them. Butsome of these teams look forward to just
having the slate cleaned off, andMichigan definitely fits the bill. There still
not buying Michigan. But what didn'tI didn't like partner right in front of
(09:13):
this game. It's like eighty fivepercent of the handle and eighty percent of
the bets were in Tennessee. Iheard that. I said, this isn't
gonna be good. Tennessee got up, they were able to move ahead,
they could not put them away.Tennessee's issue is they don't have a go
to guy. I love their players, I love their team. Josiah Jordan
James had thirteen points early in thesecond half. I took his under on
(09:35):
his props thirteen and a half.He ended with thirteen. Kennedy Chandler is
a wonderful player. You saw himhugging with you want Howard after game.
Love Kennedy Chandler tremendous. But theydidn't have a go to guy. Only
two guys partner in doubles. Inthis entire game, you score sixty eight
points. Only Jordan James and Chandlerhad thirty two of them. Everybody else
in single digits. That's a problemon the other side, Hunter Dickinson turns
(09:58):
into the new ball. He's bangingthrees, he's three or five from three
point range, grabs eleven boards,does a great job, and then we
have some people chipping in threes.Azreeli Brooks gives two here, Terrence Williams
gives one. They got it goinghalftime of the Colorado State game. Partner,
they got it going. I stilldon't like them. I'm going to
(10:18):
fade them again. Thank you takelock. But it's a great win and Tennessee
was super hot. The one thingwe worried about is can they execute late
in a close game, and theycould note they did not. And I
think my two takeaways from this arehello to Frankie Collins. Yeah, six
one freshmen played thirty plus minutes inboth of their wins. And again,
(10:39):
when you extract like you're starting pointguard, that's supposed to matter. He
made it not matter. So wewe saw what kind of talent level he
does, and you know what,to be honest, like I felt like
after watching those two games, hewas more impactful than like Caleb Houston.
Yes, like absolutely as far aslike contributing to wins. And then the
second part of that Also is theTennessee side. I kind of thought that
(11:01):
Tennessee might have something rolling here thatwith those three guards that was similar to
Baylor last year, and their defensiveprowess again similar to Baylor last year.
One difference, no go to guylike you illustrated. And also I think
we have to pay attention to thebench. Yes, yes, it's clear
that Barnes schemed Houston out of thegame. He's been schemed out now twice.
(11:24):
He looked so good earlier in theyear thirty two minutes and no points
oh of one from two point range? Because how is that possible for players
talented as Caleb Houston. But itdoesn't matter, It doesn't matter. Michigan
gets the win and they move on. They're playing Nova. Hey, all
right, and let's continue and ateam that you have close connections with,
(11:45):
and maybe we're on a little bitProvidence beat my Richmond Spiders. Love that
Richmond got that initial win. Unbelievablyfantastic way that they took down Iowa the
Providence like everybody had. I'm sureinto the Sweet sixteen that might have been
like the little blow up racket slashpod that I think many people had.
But I don't. I don't.Providence just look the part and they I
(12:11):
mean Horkler with you know, isaveraging a double double in the tournament.
Right now, they look great.Yep, this game was over really quick.
I took Richmond in the points.Jacob Gilliard. I don't think Gilliard
had a chance to do anything becauseright off the bat al Dorm for three,
al Dorm for three, Horkler forthree, Horcler for three, Meniah
for three. Games over. Richmondis not constructed. They did have the
(12:33):
amazing comeback against Dayton, but Ido think that was Malachi Smith aided.
It's not that they can't. It'sjust a Providence. If they make their
threes, they're gonna be tough becauseHorkler and Watson did a decent job.
Grant Golden's not great inside, he'sfunctional for Richmond, but they just got
up by too much and then theycontrol the game. Look, I think,
Gus, this is gonna be aphenomenal game against Kansas. I'm already
(12:54):
telling you I'm grabbing the points.Do with that as you may, everybody,
by the way, but I loveit. I think Providence is going
to either win this game or godown swinging. This is not going to
be a blowout. They are legit. They have the mojo. Had a
bad game there against Creighton, ithappens, but came back beat a good
South Dakota State team, pounded Richmondthere with house Money now won the regular
(13:16):
season title, first one in Providencehistory, won a game in the Big
East Tournament, made a sweet sixteenHouse Money dangerous against our good friend Bill
self. You're a good friend,Bill self, all right, Mike West
Coast Special Ucla Saint Mary's. Thoughtthis one would end up a little bit
tighter than it did. Felt likethat UCLA might get caught up in that
(13:39):
Saint Mary's slowdown pace. And thenof course we had you know, some
injury issues with UCLA as well.But UCLA pulls away seventy two fifty six.
I still like this UCLA team.I love their construction and I they
they've done it in recent history.The bracket has really opened up for them
on their side. Yeah, andlisten, Saint Mary's did much better than
(14:03):
I thought they would. Randy Bennett'sa superior coach. Saint Mary's did great,
and in the end, the winover Gonzaga meant a win over Gonzaga
and that should have really I shouldhave paid more attention to that. They
in the first round just absolutely destroyedIndiana took care of that. Playing game
always gets hot, but I guessNotre Dame took care of that. Then
they play Ucla. My issue withthis game and why I finally got a
(14:24):
game right, was I know thatSaint Mary's wants you to take difficult twos.
Their defense is structured, but that'swhat UCLA wants to do. Uzang
and Yakez they love pull up shots. I mean, Johnny Juzang was living
on the pull up jumper. SoI just thought that in the end,
much like Michigan you said got ittogether, I thought UCLA would get it
(14:48):
together and pull away, and theydid. And now we have the Bruins
here playing against North Carolina. Whata contrast in styles there. It's going
to be fun. But yes,Saint Mary's excellent job by Randy Bennett,
Mata toss. This is not atalent team. Tommy Coozy played great.
Love also, by the way forthem, really I underrated him all year.
Logan Johnson, which is some timeit takes to the basket, big
(15:09):
time athlete, and Ducas makes histhrees. Great job, but yes,
Ucla got it going. Now they'regonna be dangerous. I think they're very
dangerous moving forward, as long astheir health holds together, all right,
And then the Muss Bus rolls backinto the sweet sixteen takes down a very
dangerous New Mexico State team coached byChris the now departed Chris Jans. But
(15:31):
they have that unbelievably talented backcourt withTeddy Allen and Rice and McCanns came to
play like he wasn't he wasn't afraid. But the Muss Bus and note get
it rolling and move into the sweetsixteen. Yeah, almost to cover here.
I think it was six six anda half and they ended up winning
by five, which is fine.Great job by Jans. They were down
(15:52):
early and came back. Hard todo against Arkansas. I thought it was
a brilliant defensive game planned by Musselman. He actually put a lot of pressure
and was willing to play a slowplace, slow pace here. McCants got
sixteen points, Teddy Allen got twelve, but Teddy Allen only got on three
of ten from the two point range. And Jabari Rice, a guy who
could really wreck a game from threepoint range, only one of five,
(16:15):
and everything came from me on theark that was the key note with eighteen,
Jaylen Williams with ten and away wego. I think it's a phenomenal
game against Gonzaga. Am I rightnow I have to analyze it, but
I do like Arkansas a little bitbetter. I just think it's great.
And I think, what great jobby Musk, great job by Jens.
Where you go Mississippi State, Ithink he's a mission state. Yeah he
(16:36):
took over Allen. Yeah, goodguy, great guy, and great game
and they didn't cover, but itwas close, very close. And then
the last part about that is wehave to mention Williams. Williams did a
great job on the interior, reboundingthe ball and being efficient as usual.
And then hometown Peacocks get it done. I mean, I don't even know
(16:56):
where to kind of start with thisbecause of the uy you know a game
previously, but good golly, whata story, what a team you go
first, I'll go second. Ihave a couple of things on that.
On the Peacocks, of course,the Shaheen Holloway has done a masterful job
at Saint Peter's they won ten andtwenty two, eighteen and twelve in twenty
(17:18):
twenty and really worry team that theywere fourteen and six in the MAC that
year. They were actually one gamebehind Sienna. So really liked Saint Peter's
coming into the COVID year of twentytwenty one. But they struggled. They
struggled with the pauses. They threwus off the scent only fourteen, eleven,
ten and eighteen conference. Next yearthey come out fourteen and six and
(17:41):
the defense is legit. You've talkedabout Casey and defu inside Banks is flammable.
Who doesn't love Doug Eggert for three? Just a great job. I
love them against Murray State. Ithought eight was crazy. I thought the
point was too much. They MurrayState, love Murray State, love what
they do. But they were crampingup. They had a massive battle there
to get by at the end againstSan Francisco, and now they have to
(18:03):
turn around and play a really soliddefensive team that's going to get up and
make you guard. They want outrightby ten. Saint Peter's only three of
thirteen from Beyond the Ark, butthey were twenty three of thirty one.
That's seventy five percent from the freethrow line. Just did a great job,
and they really clamped down on MurrayState. Murray State can give you
some turnovers, they did not givea lot. Saint Peter's only ten.
(18:26):
What a wonderful job. I thoughtthe line was too high. This one
was a comfortable cover. Murray Stategreat year as well. I just think
that first game took a lot outof them. The Peacocks are moving on
Shaheen Halloway. Kevin Willard is alreadyencouraging him to take over the ball job
publicly. Amazing job. This iswhat march is about. Yeah, the
couple of things you mentioned in defo, like he is such an impactful player
(18:47):
on both ends of the floor.You know, I think earlier this season
and even you know in season's past, we've we've mentioned him on the podcast.
You know, he two seasons agohe averaged almost four blocks a game
at six seven, which is totallyinsane. So his impact in this particular
game against Murray State was he wasthe best player on the floor. Seventeen
(19:11):
points, ten boards, three assists, six blocks, Like, I don't
know what else you want from yourstar player. And the other part about
and you brought this up and mentionedthis with a couple of teams, right,
I just wanted to highlight this,and I think this is the perfect
place to do That is the relianceon the three. I don't know if
(19:32):
it's the same that it has beenin the past. Saint Peter's three made
threes, Miami three made threes,Arkansas three made threes, Texas Tech four
made threes, Iowa State three madethrees. Even Ucla they only made four
and only took nine. Like youmentioned earlier, Perdue probably not going to
(19:53):
make a bunch of threes. Michiganonly six made threes, in Kansas only
six made three. So this lionsand the floor stretching that we've seen in
the NBA this year, I mean, correction back to the mean. Or
maybe defenses are just scheming to takethe three point three point ball out of
play. Yeah, so maybe ifyou have a great two point shooting team
(20:15):
like Saint Peter's is and they've rungreat offense, really impressive, excellent,
excellent point about that, partner.I think that teams are recognizing you have
to defend the three to win.So it's not surprising to me to see
some of the top teams in thecountry at three point defense. Actually in
this tournament right now, you havelooked at teams that really locked down from
(20:40):
beyond the arc, teams that havebeen strong. Iowa State, Houston are
both in the top ten. SaintPeter's is in the top sixteen. They're
still alive even if you stay withinthe top fifty. That's also going to
include Providence, Kansas, Gonzaga,and Villanova. So I agree, it's
a great astute observation. Teams arenot necessarily getting threes. They have to
(21:03):
score other ways, and when theycan't, you see what happens with some
of these upsets. Yeah, andit just goes back to, you know,
some of the conversations that you andI have had, but also a
conversation we you know, we've hadwith John Gasaway. I feel like a
couple of different times where the goodtwo and the teams that shoot the good
two at a high percentage are reallyunderrated and find success in March. All
(21:25):
right, Mike, anything else youwant to do for Saturday? You're ready
to move on to the Sunday gameshere, Yes, let's bury this one
partner in the backyard very very muchmore enjoyable betting Sunday. Thank you good.
All right, let's start where everythingstarted off. We'll start with,
you know, Ohio State and Villanova. I loved Ohio State in this spot.
(21:47):
I was all about fading Villanova.I feel like they are gonna win
a game or gonna win a nationaltitle. I felt like this year,
like we discussed earlier on the podcast, they were more of the more of
the ladder, like more of thethey're gonna win a game. They're good,
but I don't know if they're gonnamake a run for a title.
I might still be in that camp. But here they are again, Wildcats
(22:07):
into the Sweet sixteen. Any takeawaysfrom Ohio State in Villanova. This game
reeked to me. It's one ofthe few that I got a wrong today.
It reeked to me Villanova wins andOhio State covers. I just kept
saying that in my head, Liddellhaving a big game. I know they
couldn't. They're not great at defendingthe three Ohio State this year. The
metrics haven't been great on them.I just thought they would play well.
(22:29):
It was a two point game withfour minutes left. I felt good.
I got really a Kylie Young beingback off the concussion was a big help.
He played well at nine and sevenin the prior game and the win
over Loyalist Chicago. Loyalist Chicago playsa lot like Villanova, slow paced,
relies on the three, not greaton the interior. I'd like the matchup,
but it didn't work out. Greatwin for Villanova. They do what
(22:49):
they do. If you're going tobeat them, they are the two time
champion in the last five years.If you're gonna beat them, you better
beat him early because they're gonna makefree throws late. And that's exactly what
they did to eke out this coverhere. That's a great point. And
then also you mentioned Young Young wentout with an injury later on in this
game, and I think that definitelyimpacted because Ohio State had brought it within
a possession and then, like youmentioned, very stutely, they pulled away
(23:12):
with free throws and just sound decisionsas always. Uh hey, did you
did you feel like this could havebeen coach K's last game? It was?
It was right there right. Uh, this this one annoys me.
The only one I got wrong today. A bunch of props, good stuff
over unders. Great right, Yes, the idea that Michigan State didn't cover
seven and a half is just it'sjust they had that they were winning with
(23:33):
two minutes left. I mean,everything fell apart. They couldn't They turned
the ball, but they couldn't makea shot at the end of the game.
They don't know they could. Theycouldn't not not make a shot.
They couldn't even get a shot withintheir offense. And is always the king
of the quick hitters. Yes,that's exactly right. And Ben Carol got
a couple of rebounds. I doa couple of things and a couple of
silly turnovers, but should have actuallybeen a cover. Michigan State played great
(23:53):
iso phenomenal, I point out inthe live stream of betting Proszzo, Um,
I have it here. Yeah,it is a twenty three and six
GUS with one day rest. Yeah, eighty percent of course going against Chefski,
who's beating him twelve out of fifteennow thirteen out of sixteen times.
Yeah, I loved it. Iloved the seven and a half. Look
good the whole game, and theyjust fell apart the end. Tyson Walker
(24:15):
actually showed up, he was carryingthem. I'm like, this is gonna
be the Tyson Walker game didn't workout. I was right there with you,
and I felt like, not onlycould they have covered, but they
had a legit chance to win thatgame and they just could not get anything
done those last two minutes on offense. Hoof Duke moves on to the Sweet
sixteen. All right, one ofthe surprises Iowa State beating Wisconsin in Milwaukee,
(24:40):
and I think both of us likethought, this smelled funny. You
know from the start, whether itwas going to be that first round against
Colgate. I think you were onColgate covering and boom, Johnny Davis doesn't
have a good game. Guess whatthey're in trouble Like they and Iowa State
won two games last year and notthey have two nca wins. This was
(25:03):
a bully. Yeah, my pickhere was a belief. I love the
under as well, the old album. Yeah it gus. The old adage
you take the over on the highesttotal and you take the under on the
lowest. I mean that's just Idon't know if that always works, but
if it's the narrative. Here Wisconsinwith a great year, but they're gus.
They're still very young, and Idon't like how the end of the
year. Nebraska home really big tenoutright title online, Michigan State. It's
(25:26):
Michigan State, but one and donethere in the tournament Colgate you don't cover.
And I know the game was inMilwaukee, which is why I actually
took Wisconsin but lost that one bya half point. The theme my weekend,
But I thought Iowa State controls tempo. I didn't trust Wisconsin offense.
We've talked about this old year thata typical Wisconsin team play solid defense and
(25:47):
shoot to three. Well, thisteam is not great on defense and doesn't
shoot the three. Well, veryodd. I thought they could do some
things defensively. I liked the threeand a half number. Money was piling
in on Wisconsin under Auslberg really couldget a lot of Coach of the Year
votes. I know it's Coolly anda couple of guys, but also Burger.
The job he's done. They werepredicted last in the Big twelve.
(26:07):
Here they are Iowa State. Greatjob, sweet sixteen and they upset Wisconsin.
No shame. Wisconsin a solid year, but playing at home in the
road, that's a big win forIowa State because that was a very partisan
home crowd in Milwaukee, no doubt. I think your your statement of him
of Utelberger getting some of those Coachof the Year votes, Yeah, I
think he's gonna pile up a bunchof those. And the candidates you mentioned
(26:32):
are definitely on the list, andwe can throw in we can throw in
Amrizona as well. All right,So, Mike, after the Texas Tech
Notre Dame, did you feel likeNotre Dame was gonna be that hot team
that the playing game and then goahead and get a couple of wins and
then boom they end up there.I felt like they were destined to be
that team after they won on SaintPatrick's Day. But Texas Tech takes destiny
(26:56):
into their own hands and makes freethrows down the stretch, huge defensive stops
and bothered Wesley on the last coupleof possessions. Yeah, bothered Wesley.
That was it. But I agreegrabbed the eight points right away. Texas
Tech blowing out Montana State in thefirst round was great because I think we
got a couple extra points of valuein this line playing game. Narrative always
gets hot, That's what it was. And I took all at the TCU
(27:19):
car Larry TCU the Texas Tech latethe year. How'd they do it?
They shot the three well and theywere one and done on the boards.
People don't realize that Notre Dame isalso top fifty in the country in defensive
rebounding, so I thought they couldstick with Texas Tech. I needed a
bad offensive game from Texas Tech,which I got, and I needed them
(27:41):
to make some threes, which Igot. Texas Tech twenty two and thirteen
this year against the spread, butthat was really bolstered by their fourteen of
sixteen covers in the middle of theyear. They failed to cover five of
their last seven games, and NotreDame was also nineteen and fifteen against the
spread. Too many points. Ithought it was Texas Tech by three on
Texas Tech with five. Great jobby Mike Bray. Great year, Texas
(28:03):
Tech moves on. They were adangerous team, but they do struggle to
score and Notre Dame really had thisgame, but again couldn't produce down the
stretch. Agreed, Texas Tech.Defensive presence is a real thing, and
their switchability at every position on defenseand superior coaching substitution. Late in that
game they bring in uh uh.They bring in a Santoda Silva and um,
(28:30):
he comes in and gets a blockin one of the final offensive possessions
and he made and he's, youknow what, at best fifty percent free
throw shooter. I love the superimpressive you know substitution. There so no
no talk about coach of the year. I mean we we we can throw
Marcus rich Um. How about HoustonIllinois? Do we want to talk about
(28:53):
another possible coach of the year.Yes, let me go first here on
this. Yeah, there's so muchsec I sat down last night with a
bourbon after my brutal day and Isaid, I go, okay, what
is my gut reaction to this game? And my gut reaction was Houston's a
higher seat to get in four anda half points. And I said,
(29:14):
okay, now that we know that'sthe gut, let me go deeper.
Here are some numbers, partner,and I put this on the live stream
to me, this was the automaticpick of the day. Ready. Calvin
Samson versus nonconference teams wallet to Houstonthirty six and twenty three. That's sixty
percent against the spread. Calvin Samsonverse nonconference teams as a favorite twenty eight
nineteen sixty percent against the spread.Calvin Samson versus nonconference teams as a favorite
(29:37):
by one to six points, youknow, a close favorite. Twelve and
four, seventy five percent against thespread in those games. Partner last eight
Kelvin Sampson eight no in those games, Partner last eleven Kelvin Sampson ten and
one. Houston against the spread thisyear sixty six percent last nine games,
eight and one. Look, Iknow it's a lot of numbers, but
(29:59):
this to me of when Shaka tookTexas into Kansas, and my gut reaction
was, it's got to be Kansas. And then I look at the numbers.
I go, Shaka's undefeated against thespread at fog Allen. It's while
with Texas, and that's exactly whathappened. They were begging you to take
Illinois. To me, it wasHouston, morning, noon, and night.
(30:19):
They're just great in these spots andIllinois barely beat Chattanooga and KOFE Coburn
isn't a great free throw shooter.How is this going to happen? I
didn't say it nice when for theCookers, and I felt like I felt
like it was an interesting move thatthey decided to Illinois decided to play a
couple of those freshmen over Curbello whenthe game was in balance, and it
(30:42):
fell completely out of balance for theAlin. I totally impressed with shid Yes,
one of my favorite players in collegebasketball. Yeah, I love this
guy. So he had twelve sevenand three against UAB and I like,
you AB in that matchup, SoI'm gonna idiot like I don't, I
don't know anything. And then hehad eighteen, three assists and three steals
(31:03):
in this win. And that videoof him picking up the garbage earlier this
season is one of my favorite momentsfrom the regular season. So great human
being, great college basketball player.I'm I'm on the Houston bus now I
like it to with everything said,Amen, all right, how about how
(31:26):
about how about Miami? What inthe I mean, I'm not gonna say
what in the world, because we'veliked Miami a little bit here, and
you know, when we talked toour buddy Luke near who's down in acc
country in Charlottesville, he was onboard with the Miami love and liked the
three guard alignment. Of course,he really adores Larenega as well. It
(31:48):
was I can't even believe it.Like they made it look way easier than
I thought they could. I thoughtthis was gonna be a one possession game.
Come down to the final minute.Those three guards played unbelievably well.
Charlie Moore has a triple double shesh. Yeah, I always gonna be one
possession game. Also grabbed the seven. Love the seven in this game.
Yeah yeah, But I certainly thoughtAuburn was gonna win ten seeds better winning
(32:12):
percentage in NCAA tournament henstory history sincethe expansion of nineteen eighty five. Then
they do over seven seeds, whichmeans if they get by the first round,
there's a better chance they're winning thesecond game than they won that prior
game. Larenegg in the tournament doingwhat he does after with Mason Mgusti,
Wong and more. I put upon Twitter Wong with the slam on Jabari
(32:32):
Smith. I mean incredible. Theydidn't put it with Jacksonville stayed away,
which made me concerned. Auburn Miami. I know it was the ACC world
down. They were number one infewest offensive turnovers Miami and the ACC,
and they were number one in turnoversforced. I thought they would not be
turned over by Auburn, and theywould turn Auburn over. Miami gets the
(32:55):
outright win, a comfortable win withseven points. Great job by Jim Larry
and you are doing it is Igus it came out two things I said.
I was wrong about Saint Mary's saidMary's was oversea, not true,
And I was right about Miami,said Miami's way too interesseed as a ten
seed. Loved it in this game. Great win for Miami. Uh yeah,
I loved the points there and evenyou know, entertained them winning it
outright and moving on. And bythe way that game against I mean,
(33:17):
I don't think they're going to befrightened playing Iowa State. No like that.
That seems like something that's like rightup Laron EGA's alley. And then
I guess the last two games arestill going underway and undecided at recording time.
But you know we have Purdue andTexas Purdue with a slight lead,
and then TCU keeping things pretty spicywith Arizona thus far, Mike, any
(33:38):
other further takeaways or any other placesyou want to take a look at for
Thursday and or Friday. No,I you know, I took Texas in
the three and a half here atseven with two minutes left, so they're
probably not gonna get that cover.And I took TCU with ten for the
main reason that TCU beat Kansas andTexas Tech back to back, and they
almost beat Kansas at the fog andthe subsequent game when Hans hit the big
(34:00):
twelve on the line gus TCU numberone in the country and offensive rebounding that's
gonna help against Arizona. And oh, by the way, they're shooting,
Oh, I don't know, thirtynine point six percent from the point range
of the last three games. SoI thought ten was too much anyway,
looking ahead for Thursday, part,I'm just gonna let me read the game.
See that we got lines out forand give me your reaction. Yeah,
sure, all right, So I'lljust got the lines are out.
I haven't even thought about it yet, but I'll just read them to you.
(34:22):
Let's see what we get on Thursday. GUS I got three so far,
okay, Gonzaga minus eight and ahalf versus Arkansas. We really got
to think about that one. It'sa lot of points. You really got
to think about that, you knowwhat. I gut reaction game gets away
(34:42):
in the second half, No Taegets into some foul trouble. Maybe Williams
has trouble guarding Timmy and Home grinneddown low. They're compromised roster wise and
foul. You know, foul's wise. So I guess if I a quick
lean, maybe Gonzaga with a sneakyten point win in the second half,
I'm gonna I'm gonna take I probablywill take Arkansas. I may wait because
(35:04):
this line could get higher, right, I can make an argument for arc
what's Arkansas on the money line?Here? I plus three thirty three to
one. I just think I thoughtthis was a rough road forgn Zag.
I'm gonna stick to it. Ifthey get it, good for them,
great job. I think they're gonnabother their guards. But I will tell
you something that was a Superman performancefrom Drew Timmy Superman performance. Just he
was who he was rolling major mustache, yeah, major must Yeah. Nova
(35:29):
minus five Michigan, mhmm, that'sjust the right number. Huh yeah.
I like No. One Nova,I like Nova two. I think Michigan
yeah yeah uh. And last whenwe got the Thursday partner. Right now,
I'm gonna make you guess duke TexasTech. Huh how about um,
(35:53):
duke Texas Tech. I how aboutif I say Texas Tech minus point five?
But that is freaking disturbing, man, that's exactly what it is.
Good you, Yes, it's TexasTech favored by a half point good for
you, partner. Wow, thankgod, thank you. That's I feel
(36:14):
like Terrell Owens. That's my podcastpartner right there. Uh Friday, man,
I got three really quick. I'llgive it three on Friday. Yeah,
let's do it. Ku minus sevenand a half, Providence too much,
too much, Ucla minus two uincay. Mmmm. I might look at
(36:35):
the number there for over under oneforty two. Mmmm. It's that's good.
They're they're good. There's big buildingsthere for a reason. Um.
I okay, quick lean. Ithink I like UCLA to win it,
so i'll take you know, ifit has to be two, it's two.
It's fine. Um, and Iwould maybe lean the under if you
(36:57):
do this one. I'm gonna upQuinton, give me the spread on my
Aami Iowa States last moment ago.It's it's got what it's gotta be like
Miami minus one, right, disturbingminus one and a half one and a
half. Guys, Hey, thisis my partner, right, it is
good. I don't have a clue. Yeah, I gotta analyze that one.
The overall. Yeah yeah, Imean I like Miami there for the
win, So if it's that tight, if the points are that close,
(37:20):
then why not just you know,go go with the money line there?
But who yeah, that's I don'tthink you think that line's gonna move anywhere.
I don't think so. I don'tknow. It opened at Miami minus
a half and has now been betup, so money's coming into Miami.
So people are bring Miami. They'sgonna go against Iowa State. They just
don't buy it yet. Um theall the over on has one thirty three.
I may go over on that becauseI think Miami really does push the
pace and they can get some stuffup inside. So I don't maybe I'll
(37:43):
hit the over That's all I got, partner. Let's close it up because
we got a minute ten left andproduce up three on Texas right now,
they're covering GUS and Horizon A TCUtied of course with fifteen minutes. All
right, let's go catch the endof those games that we can talk about
them on the next podcast, wheneverthat might be. If you really like
where you're listening to, please giveMicah follow over at Randall Rant and please
tune in to his live shows onBetting Pros. Do you like what you're
(38:08):
listening to here, give the podcastto follow at sds podcast Efficiency of Keystrokes,
of course. And you like whatyou're listening to, don't be afraid
to leave a nice, kind reviewon your podcast consumption vehicle of choice.
Kindness is always cool. Mike lookingforward to the end of these two games
and then catching up and trying todissect and figure out what's going to happen
(38:29):
in the sweet sixteen. Thank godwe got four days off. I need
a cigarette. Cheers lot, everybodyall right, got
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