Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: I'd say the Monday after the second weekend of NFL
Speaker 2: playoffs is usually where we were reacting to a whole lot. Obviously,
Speaker 2: we now have the AFC NFC Championship matchup set. We've
Speaker 2: talked a lot about that. Today college basketball in full swing.
Speaker 2: Tonight we've got the national championship in college football. I've
Speaker 2: been mentioning kind of here and there over the last
Speaker 2: couple of weeks, and really today, I know I've mentioned
Speaker 2: it a few times. I keep having to remind myself
Speaker 2: that this game is happening, And a big factor is
Speaker 2: because I really don't care. There's not a whole lot
Speaker 2: that I like, Ohio State will probably win and that won't.
Speaker 2: That's not going to be something that really bothers me.
Speaker 2: But it's also not going to be something that I'm
Speaker 2: happy about. So I don't even have like a villain
Speaker 2: here right Like I'm gonna pull for a Notre Dame,
Speaker 2: which kind of feels weird. So I'm sure that's a
Speaker 2: factor too. But I also think because typically by now
Speaker 2: when you get this far into the NFL playoffs, college
Speaker 2: football's come and gone like the season's been over for
Speaker 2: really at times, you know, roughly three weeks. But now
Speaker 2: it's not because again they expanded the playoff, which I'm
Speaker 2: all in on and I think it's great and it's
Speaker 2: been great. I just you know, it's new to us,
Speaker 2: so we haven't really talked a whole lot about that tonight,
Speaker 2: but you know, I've said it since they've been on
Speaker 2: this run in the playoffs, Marcus Freeman has made Notre
Speaker 2: Dame likable and just the way things have played out
Speaker 2: for Notre Dame in the last I don't know how
Speaker 2: ever many years. I mean, it kind of feels like
Speaker 2: they can justifiably claim they are kind of like Rudy.
Speaker 2: They're kind of the underdog, which is weird because you know,
Speaker 2: they're filthy rich by themselves. They don't need all the
Speaker 2: money that every school relies on from their conference revenue share.
Speaker 2: They can do everything independently and still be one of
Speaker 2: the biggest brands in all of sports. And usually if
Speaker 2: you're somebody that's that privileged and you know, that successful,
Speaker 2: that elite, and you're arrogant about it, at least your
Speaker 2: fans have been for the most for the majority of
Speaker 2: my life, Like, you're pretty easy to dislike. But again,
Speaker 2: they've been doubted for a long time now because when
Speaker 2: they have been in previous situations with successful seasons that
Speaker 2: give them opportunities in the four team playoff or in
Speaker 2: the BCS ere they played for national championships, and when
Speaker 2: they would lose, people would claim that they didn't belong
Speaker 2: and that they you know, their loss was that was
Speaker 2: proof that they were overrated, and really that was never
Speaker 2: the case. Like, I don't think Notre Dame's ever been
Speaker 2: given a spot in any thing by a committee, rather
Speaker 2: it be you know, or I guess the formula with
Speaker 2: BCS or with the four team playoff, Like just because
Speaker 2: they got in and got killed, that mean they weren't
Speaker 2: good enough to be there. The team that probably just
Speaker 2: missed it would have probably gotten blown out too, So,
Speaker 2: you know, I think Notre Dame has always been a
Speaker 2: team that it just seems like more often than not,
Speaker 2: if you don't have any feel for them as far
Speaker 2: as positivity, you're going to find them pretty easy to
Speaker 2: not like. But this group just because you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're talent, but like I do believe that Marcus Freeman,
Speaker 2: he's he's done such a good job. And again it's here,
Speaker 2: here's where it sounds disingenuous, like Marcus Freeman's working with
Speaker 2: some of you know, the best talent that you'll get,
Speaker 2: because Notre Dame gets a lot of talent, but maybe
Speaker 2: not to the level of you know, in Ohio State.
Speaker 2: So they're they're understandably the underdog tonight, and I do
Speaker 2: kind of feel like if they won, it would be
Speaker 2: one of those natural moments that you have in sports
Speaker 2: where people find themselves kind of happy the underdog. Right,
Speaker 2: David got Goliath, and you know that's just normal, that's natural.
Speaker 2: But usually it's not programs like Notre Dame that are
Speaker 2: in this spot. But the Ohio State stories kind of
Speaker 2: good too.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: Like again, I think I think both of these teams
Speaker 2: now that I think about it, and maybe I'm just
Speaker 2: a hater, but I feel like both of these teams
Speaker 2: have that in common where if you're not a fan,
Speaker 2: you probably more often than not, when you feel one
Speaker 2: way or another about them, you don't like them, and
Speaker 2: you are maybe happy they when.
Speaker 3: They aren't good.
Speaker 2: But these are the two teams that are gonna be
Speaker 2: playing for the NASH Championship tonight, and you know, hope
Speaker 2: we get a good game. I'm going to try to
Speaker 2: try to win some money at it. Probably won't. I've
Speaker 2: got no momentum right now when it comes to wagering,
Speaker 2: but hey, it's the National Championship game.
Speaker 3: I can't not get in on the action.
Speaker 2: And I'm still at this point able to claim, you know,
Speaker 2: even if I don't win, having some action, having a ride,
Speaker 2: it still has enhanced the overall experience of watching sports.
Speaker 2: I'm still able to say it. But man, a few
Speaker 2: more losses and I may be like, you know what, No,
Speaker 2: I'm not enjoying sports as much because it reminds me
Speaker 2: how bad I suck it picking the outcome and things
Speaker 2: like that. So but hey, all it takes is one win,
Speaker 2: and then I'm like, you know what, Like maybe I
Speaker 2: don't need a full time shop, Like maybe I don't need,
Speaker 2: you know, to do anything other than just steal money
Speaker 2: from these books because I'm smart and they're not. Like
Speaker 2: it's a wild ride you go through as a gambler,
Speaker 2: but you know, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 2: I know you're with me, Austin. It's what we sign
Speaker 2: up for, right, this is what we do. Degenerate gamblers.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, there's nothing more than I love just sweating out
Speaker 4: of bet. Like at ten o'clock at night. Wife fiance
Speaker 4: is like already asleep and already knows that she's not
Speaker 4: getting you for the night because you got to watch
Speaker 4: anytime touchdown cash or you're yeah, you're at that the
Speaker 4: fifth leg and that four legger that you put in
Speaker 4: and just sweating and over. And I talked about this
Speaker 4: as somebody I know that we've talked about this before,
Speaker 4: But why don't the networks? Is there something against like
Speaker 4: them just kind of being all out with the with
Speaker 4: the gambling because you still always hear though, oh well
Speaker 4: that that play is really gonna see some people. That's
Speaker 4: why don't they have like the ticker that says the
Speaker 4: over is in the threat or at the very end
Speaker 4: under Kansas City covered. I mean Draft Kings and Fandel
Speaker 4: are all over the GD place anyways.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so they're in bed with them. Yeah, the NFL
Speaker 2: the like, here's here's what gets me. And this has
Speaker 2: actually been something I have.
Speaker 3: Talked about before. So you're right, this this.
Speaker 2: Is something that I don't notice it quite as much,
Speaker 2: but you still see it from time to time, and
Speaker 2: that is the attempt to be funny and cute is
Speaker 2: if you're being a bad boy because you're not allowed
Speaker 2: to talk about gamling like that, that's I don't think
Speaker 2: they need to necessarily be putting up like the live odds,
Speaker 2: but like if they did, I wouldn't be shocked and
Speaker 2: I would probably find myself appreciating that because you know,
Speaker 2: I'm interested.
Speaker 3: I'm interested in that. But the uh oh that late
Speaker 3: that late bucket.
Speaker 2: There might might have meant something to somebody like like
Speaker 2: it's not it's it's like not funny, like it's and
Speaker 2: you don't need to like it's such a I don't know,
Speaker 2: like it shouldn't bother me.
Speaker 3: I shouldn't care.
Speaker 2: But this this notion that like you're still like you know,
Speaker 2: you're in the cool kids club, if you know, you know,
Speaker 2: like everybody knows, because it's literally it's in your face.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is absolutely in your face.
Speaker 2: Like I I've been into sports gambling and meaning interest
Speaker 2: in and and and participated in it before it became
Speaker 2: legal here and before it became kind of what it
Speaker 2: is now where it's everywhere in your face, like you
Speaker 2: mentioned Austin, but I wonder what those that have never
Speaker 2: been interested before and still aren't, which, by the way,
Speaker 2: there's still are people that do that. They're not anti gambling,
Speaker 2: it's just not what they do. Like, is it annoying
Speaker 2: to you because it's it's a big I don't want
Speaker 2: to act like it's like it's my life, but I
Speaker 2: spend a lot of time, like if I'm on my phone,
Speaker 2: I'm looking at what's that, what's not, what's available to
Speaker 2: bet on every single second. But like for tonight, like
Speaker 2: this is a little different because it's national championship game,
Speaker 2: but if this was like a normal college basketball night,
Speaker 2: like I will probably have been on the app throughout
Speaker 2: the day here and there, not betting every five seconds,
Speaker 2: but just looking to see changes because I know I'm
Speaker 2: gonna get involved later that night. So to me, it's
Speaker 2: I don't even really notice quite how much it is
Speaker 2: in my face. But if you're somebody that maybe is
Speaker 2: an anti gambling, you just aren't interested in it, Like
Speaker 2: you're probably annoyed at this point because it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's so embedded in how you experience sports. And
Speaker 2: again I'm fine with it, but you know, I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe others aren't.
Speaker 4: But think the the XFL when that was a thing
Speaker 4: where it came back for like a year, I think
Speaker 4: they fully like embraced it. They would have that on
Speaker 4: like the bottom ticker, the over the under, who was
Speaker 4: favoriteed and I'm pretty sure at the end of the
Speaker 4: game that it showed the result and then it said
Speaker 4: like the battle Hawks covered six and the overhit. Like,
Speaker 4: I just don't understand why it gives.
Speaker 2: You a time of year to bet on football whenever
Speaker 2: you know it's it's typically a time where football wasn't
Speaker 2: going on. So, like I remember when it became legal
Speaker 2: in Kentucky or it was on the way to become illegal,
Speaker 2: the process was happening. A lot of coaches around here
Speaker 2: were asked about it, and there weren't really many statements
Speaker 2: or quotes that really stood out during that time. I
Speaker 2: think most coaches kind of said what you would have expected.
Speaker 2: But Jeff Wall said something that I hadn't thought about,
Speaker 2: and it's true and I'm not sure if they've seen
Speaker 2: the results from this yet or the benefit, but he
Speaker 2: mentioned that that's just another way to where women's college
Speaker 2: basketball could potentially bring in more viewers. If people want
Speaker 2: something to bet on, they like betting on basketball. Maybe
Speaker 2: they don't even like, maybe they won't claim that they
Speaker 2: enjoy the product. But if it gives them something to
Speaker 2: get some action on and it brings them to watch,
Speaker 2: then that's good for everybody involved.
Speaker 3: So I'm paraphrasing. That's not exactly what he said, but
Speaker 3: he brought that up, and he's right. You know, I don't.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'll be honest with you straight up, just
Speaker 2: because I'm not saying I'd be great at it, but
Speaker 2: I feel like if I was forced to, like really
Speaker 2: you know, survive off of winning and losing when it
Speaker 2: comes to this stuff, and it wasn't something I just
Speaker 2: do for fun. Again, I have no clue if i'd
Speaker 2: be good or not, but I feel like I know
Speaker 2: more about basketball the sport than I do anything else.
Speaker 2: Meaning I could watch a couple like I feel like
Speaker 2: i'd be able to maybe you know, have better success
Speaker 2: with that than other sports. So you know, I don't
Speaker 2: bet on women's college basketball. I'd be a liar if
Speaker 2: I said that I did, But I had before, and
Speaker 2: you know, it's usually because there's a big game that
Speaker 2: I want to watch right, like women's college basketball this year.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's clearly like I don't know if many
Speaker 2: people have noticed it, because you know, I get it
Speaker 2: if you haven't, and I'm not like taking a dig
Speaker 2: at it, but you really just kind of stop and
Speaker 2: think the attention women's college basketball is getting currently in
Speaker 2: this current season is a billion times less than what
Speaker 2: it was the last few years.
Speaker 3: Oh but but.
Speaker 2: Because that was kind of the rare era, that two
Speaker 2: three stretch with Caitlyn Clark and Angel, you know, that
Speaker 2: was like that was rare, so like it's not like
Speaker 2: your your feend and for it you miss it.
Speaker 3: It was kind of a rarity. It was the outlier really.
Speaker 2: When it comes to the amount of attention women's basketball
Speaker 2: has gotten. So look, I'm sure viewership will be good
Speaker 2: when it comes to the postseason, but I'm sure there's
Speaker 2: many of you right now that hadn't thought about it
Speaker 2: until I just said it. I think Austin's one of them,
Speaker 2: Like you haven't been like why aren't they talking to
Speaker 2: women's college basketball?
Speaker 3: But like it was, it was such a big.
Speaker 2: Storyline in sports last year with Angel coming back and
Speaker 2: obviously Caitlin Clark's I mean they're both still super famous
Speaker 2: when it comes to sports men or women. But man,
Speaker 2: that that was a big year. And again, I wouldn't
Speaker 2: be shocked if you see again, I'm not I'm not
Speaker 2: trying to dog the sport like it's like it's in trouble.
Speaker 2: But I think what you saw last the last couple
Speaker 2: of years was probably it's probably gonna be insanely tough
Speaker 2: to ever recreate that now.
Speaker 3: Again, safe to say that's when it peaked, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2: And look that era any it was beneficial, Like you
Speaker 2: clearly have more people aware of your product and consuming
Speaker 2: it now than you did. But like the level of
Speaker 2: maintaining that is, that's that's unrealistic, you know. But and again,
Speaker 2: if I had to bet on women's college basketball, I
Speaker 2: shouldn't say if I had to, but like I wouldn't
Speaker 2: you know, maybe if I keep losing and all the
Speaker 2: other things I bet on, maybe I'll just go there
Speaker 2: and see if I can find success, because clearly it's
Speaker 2: not been great for me as of late.
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna act like I watch either, but it
Speaker 4: just seems like they're trying to build up that young
Speaker 4: lady from US is a juju wat Yeah, and she's
Speaker 4: super talented, but she's been like you, so little steam
Speaker 4: around it. Yeah, well yeah, you like, look, let's be honest,
Speaker 4: Kaitlyn Clark playing at Iowa in the Big Ten, where
Speaker 4: she plays in a state that like if somebody in
Speaker 4: any sport is the status of Kaitlyn Clark, that whole
Speaker 4: state's going to rally around to where you know, I mean,
Speaker 4: it's just different. I mean, I think we all know that,
Speaker 4: Like USC women's basketball is not even in the top
Speaker 4: fifteen as far as draws in sports in that market.
Speaker 3: You know, it's not not her fault.
Speaker 2: She's great, but like there's just there's not as you know,
Speaker 2: Kaitlyn Clark being the young girl from rural Iowa that
Speaker 2: went to play for her home state school when she
Speaker 2: could have gone anywhere, and clearly she's I think she's
Speaker 2: the best women's college basketball player of all time. So
Speaker 2: you know, Juji Watkins probably won't play and actually she should, right,
Speaker 2: Like she should stay in college four years. Like you
Speaker 2: rarely see anybody leave early for the WA draft because
Speaker 2: now you can make a lot more money. In fact,
Speaker 2: sure you know that that that's that's really what you
Speaker 2: strive to do, is I mean weird.
Speaker 4: The peak is being Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese, and
Speaker 4: I do think that she's reached that yet. A couple
Speaker 4: more years in college and Garner and more hype would
Speaker 4: probably help her out a little bit. But like, if
Speaker 4: you wanted to be more than that, you haven't reached
Speaker 4: that on the hype this year probably benefits you to
Speaker 4: stay kind of build your name up again. And I think, like,
Speaker 4: look at me, knowing women's college basketball.
Speaker 3: The page is it Paige Uker's page? Yes? From is
Speaker 3: that your name? Yes?
Speaker 2: I feel like she's been in college and she hasn't.
Speaker 2: She's she's a fifth year now because she got injured,
Speaker 2: and she's really good and and I think she's a
Speaker 2: good example of kind of just what that what that
Speaker 2: rare probably never going to see it again before or
Speaker 2: never see it again era of of Angel of Angel
Speaker 2: and and and Kaitlyn Clark, because that girl Page was
Speaker 2: was the biggest star in college basketball before they became
Speaker 2: as big as they were, because she was phenomenal as
Speaker 2: soon as she got there playing for Geno. She was
Speaker 2: kind of bringing Yukon back to that insanely dominant era.
Speaker 2: And then she gets hurt and you know she was clearly,
Speaker 2: she's still clearly a star. She's she's elite, But like
Speaker 2: I bet a lot of people don't even realize she's
Speaker 2: still playing college basketball because there's just no attention on
Speaker 2: the on the on the women's side right now compared
Speaker 2: to what it was last year. Again, I know it
Speaker 2: sounds like I'm I'm I'm dissing them, but more than anything,
Speaker 2: it just speaks to how crazy it was that it
Speaker 2: was such a talking point. Like I remember, it's just
Speaker 2: a rare thing. With Louisville and Kentucky. It's different because obviously,
Speaker 2: you know, those are your teams, Like you're gonna notice
Speaker 2: if they're having a good season. You're gonna notice when
Speaker 2: they're playing in the and Sibelly Tournament. But like team
Speaker 2: games that didn't involve the local teams that I would
Speaker 2: care about, Like I would make it a point, Hey,
Speaker 2: I want to watch this tonight because the product's good
Speaker 2: and you know, storylines were good. I mean it was,
Speaker 2: it was fun, and I'm sure I could enjoy watching
Speaker 2: women's college basketball now if I you know, if I
Speaker 2: went looking for it because I love basketball, but they
Speaker 2: the storylines and you know, the star fame that you
Speaker 2: had with that era, that two three year window, whatever
Speaker 2: it was like that that actually brought me in to
Speaker 2: watch it more so than I probably ever will. So
Speaker 2: I mentioned how bad I am at gambling. Usually I
Speaker 2: use gambling to try to find joy because my team
Speaker 2: has sucked in recent years. Well now I'm not as
Speaker 2: bothered by the loss as because Louisville they're winning, and
Speaker 2: that spill on the void and we'll talk more about that.
Speaker 2: On the other side. This team's got a good test
Speaker 2: tomorrow against a good SMU team at least, you know,
Speaker 2: one of the better teams in your league. Probably says
Speaker 2: more about your league. But we'll get to that and
Speaker 2: a lot more as we roll along. Here. It's coffee
Speaker 2: and Company fuelbou Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: So as of right now, it looks like, you know,
Speaker 2: the latest bracketology update that I can find is is
Speaker 2: Jerry Palm of CBS. Lenardi is the one that ends
Speaker 2: up getting way more attention, you know, because it's kind
Speaker 2: of what he does. You know, he kind of made
Speaker 2: bracketology become what it is today, and he's pretty good
Speaker 2: at it in the grand scheme of things, but I
Speaker 2: don't know his schedule. Like I feel like when he
Speaker 2: does update it, it doesn't make any sense, like, hey, wait,
Speaker 2: why are you doing this now? Like when you would
Speaker 2: expect there to be a big update, because you know,
Speaker 2: a bunch of games just happen over the weekend, you
Speaker 2: have a little downtime. I feel like that's when you
Speaker 2: would crank out an update, But he typically seems to
Speaker 2: be really random about when he updates his But Leonardi,
Speaker 2: I'm sure he'll crank went out here soon. But we've
Speaker 2: got just within the last few hours. Jerry Palm at CBS.
Speaker 2: You know, maybe he's I don't know, maybe he's uh,
Speaker 2: maybe he's correct in this, but only Tom will tell.
Speaker 2: But I feel like he's higher on the acc than
Speaker 2: I would have expected, and certainly higher than Leonardi and
Speaker 2: the other bracketologists that that you see out there, because
Speaker 2: he has and maybe this is maybe.
Speaker 3: I'm doubting Louisville, but to see Louisville.
Speaker 2: As a six seed here, you know, I don't see
Speaker 2: them as a six seed anywhere else. I think mostly
Speaker 2: it's been seven but I don't know, maybe the latest
Speaker 2: update with other teams losing in Louisville continuing to win
Speaker 2: and continuing to look pretty good in the metrics, maybe
Speaker 2: a six is where they're going to be. You know,
Speaker 2: consider instantly throughout all the bracketology that's out there, but
Speaker 2: Clemson and Louisville both are sitting at six seeds according
Speaker 2: to h to Jerry Palm. And then you've got three
Speaker 2: bubble teams in the ACC, meaning three teams that really
Speaker 2: it's a it's a it's well, I guess you got four.
Speaker 2: It's really a coin flip if they get in right now.
Speaker 2: I mean, Pittsburgh has kind of played themselves in a
Speaker 2: position where if they don't make the tournament, I can't
Speaker 2: say that I'm going to be stunned, because you know,
Speaker 2: they started off pretty solid, did pretty well in the
Speaker 2: non conference, got off to a good start in conference play,
Speaker 2: and then uh Duke got him, and then Louisville got him,
Speaker 2: and then I don't think they've won a game since.
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, they're on a four game losing streak
Speaker 2: with a home loss to to Clemson on Saturday and overtime.
Speaker 3: So that was a good win for Clemson.
Speaker 2: So they're they're no longer looking like a bubble team
Speaker 2: as of now, they're safely in and maybe they're as
Speaker 2: high as a six. But there with Louisville, Louisville is
Speaker 2: listed as the you know, the higher six seed because
Speaker 2: clearly they've got a better resume and do have the
Speaker 2: the head to head win over them. But I know
Speaker 2: it's hard to imagine they're only being three teams from
Speaker 2: the ACC that get in, but I do think it's
Speaker 2: a real possibility because when I see where he has
Speaker 2: the other teams, like, I can't say that it's that
Speaker 2: it's surprising. You've got Carolina and Pittsburgh both as ten seeds.
Speaker 2: They're they're not in the last four in, but they're
Speaker 2: close to it. And then in the last four in
Speaker 2: is wake Forest, who's currently in is one of the
Speaker 2: playing teams, and SMU is in the first four out.
Speaker 2: Indiana currently is the first team to not make it in,
Speaker 2: meaning they're they're they're number one in the first four outs.
Speaker 2: So again it's just a reference point. But you know,
Speaker 2: if you think about it, when it comes to what
Speaker 2: value you really have in bracketology updates throughout the season,
Speaker 2: it's kind of just to check in and and more
Speaker 2: often than not, I don't want to say, like again,
Speaker 2: for what I look at and what I reference it for,
Speaker 2: I think it's it's it's certainly worth keeping up with
Speaker 2: because it's kind of easy to do. I'm not going
Speaker 2: to say that I would be as good as others,
Speaker 2: but like, I don't even look at who they have
Speaker 2: Louisville playing because I know that's just true. That's just
Speaker 2: purely a guess, right, I mean, if you look at
Speaker 2: it for what it is, knowing that, look, there's a
Speaker 2: lot of basketball to he played, things are gonna change.
Speaker 2: But you see, you know, as of now, Louisville's looking
Speaker 2: like a six seed, so you know what they'd play
Speaker 2: an eleven seed. The teams that are in that eleven
Speaker 2: seed range. You got UC Irvine, You've got you know,
Speaker 2: New Mexico, which I could totally see that New Mexico
Speaker 2: and Pat Kelcey, the Patino connection.
Speaker 3: Heck, he was.
Speaker 2: He was interested in the job until Louisville kind of
Speaker 2: made it clear, Hey, love you, we're just not gonna
Speaker 2: go in that direction. I mean, that's that's kind of
Speaker 2: how it played out. I know Rick was gonna be
Speaker 2: an issue, and it would have been a process. But
Speaker 2: if Louisll would have offered to Beatino the job, he
Speaker 2: would have taken it. I mean, and he would have
Speaker 2: been smart to do so. Most people wouldn't turn it down,
Speaker 2: but I could, you know, And look, he's the guy
Speaker 2: who Louisville lost to in the last tournament game when
Speaker 2: he was at Minnesota. So anyways, the team teams like Nebrasca,
Speaker 2: San Diego State, Iowa, like that's the caliber team you'll
Speaker 2: be facing in the first game, because again, like it's
Speaker 2: pretty you know, again, you never know, like maybe there's
Speaker 2: a team that's an eleven seed that the committee would
Speaker 2: actually give a nine seed, or maybe there's a team
Speaker 2: that's a that's a force or a six seed like
Speaker 2: Louisville here and maybe the committee would say, no, the
Speaker 2: AC seed is not good.
Speaker 3: They're an eight.
Speaker 2: So you never know for sure. But I think when
Speaker 2: you just consider where teams appear to be on seed line,
Speaker 2: your team, and you know, maybe the caliber team that
Speaker 2: you know you're gonna play given on where you are
Speaker 2: in the seed line, Like that's what interests me. And
Speaker 2: I don't think you know, it's crazy to pay attention
Speaker 2: to that pretty consistently, because that, to me, is pretty
Speaker 2: easy to determine. I guess where you really get into
Speaker 2: nerding out on bracketology as far as who's great at it,
Speaker 2: I guess it's also those predicting you know, like seeds
Speaker 2: thirteen through sixteen, which I can't tell you that I've
Speaker 2: ever even paid attention to those those seeds because it's usually,
Speaker 2: you know, the lower level conferences. And if you're Kentucky fan,
Speaker 2: you probably were starting to pay more attention to them
Speaker 2: with Oakland and with Saint Pete. But I imagine now
Speaker 2: you're probably not worried about that because you know you
Speaker 2: got Mark Pope and he's clearly a better coach. Which
Speaker 2: I want to get to the Kentucky side of things
Speaker 2: coming up here in a moment, because they'll probably bounce back,
Speaker 2: and I would imagine Kentucky's currently on a stretch of
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna have some real consistency here where
Speaker 2: they're gonna end up losing games along the way to
Speaker 2: good teams in the league play like they did on
Speaker 2: Saturday against Alabama, but then they'll also go win a
Speaker 2: game that you know against a team that you know
Speaker 2: is capable of beating Kentucky, but hey, they bounced back,
Speaker 2: Like I think they're gonna end up getting some losses
Speaker 2: along the way because how good their league is, but
Speaker 2: they've also shown that despite losses, they usually are able
Speaker 2: to bounce back and then go show that, hey, yeah
Speaker 2: we can slip up and lose to other really good teams,
Speaker 2: but we're a really good team as well, And they've
Speaker 2: really done that all year. But that Arkansas game, Arkansas
Speaker 2: is so bad right now, and Kentucky clearly has proven
Speaker 2: at this point they they should win that game and
Speaker 2: it shouldn't be close.
Speaker 3: But there's clearly a.
Speaker 2: Real obvious element to this matchup that if I was
Speaker 2: a Kentucky fan, I was trying to think, like would
Speaker 2: I be worried about it? And I kind of think
Speaker 2: I would, just because like, that's a huge that's the
Speaker 2: biggest storyline in college basketball this year, not that game specifically,
Speaker 2: because you know Arkansas thinks, but cal leaving Kentucky to
Speaker 2: take over at Arkansas one of the big storylines in
Speaker 2: college basketball this year.
Speaker 3: No doubt.
Speaker 2: But what I'm seeing that's kind of lame, in my opinion,
Speaker 2: is like Kentucky fans, I'm not I'm not no way.
Speaker 2: I'm getting confident in this game because Cal always this
Speaker 2: will be a super Bowl. Cal always always wins a
Speaker 2: game or two he's not supposed to. Like, he's gonna
Speaker 2: have them so ready, and they're they're gonna hit every
Speaker 2: They're gonna hit every shot they take. Just watch, well, Like,
Speaker 2: to me, that that shows you're scared, like that, you're
Speaker 2: not like you're not scared because you think Arkansas is good.
Speaker 2: You're scared because like, big bad Cal may come in
Speaker 2: here and be big bad daddy to you. Like, I
Speaker 2: think you guys are kind of still in fear of
Speaker 2: a guy that you're happy is gone. You enjoyed some
Speaker 2: good times. And look, I'm sure it won't take long
Speaker 2: for Kentucky fans to start texting in or calling in saying,
Speaker 2: we ain't scared, bring him in, We're gonna beat him down.
Speaker 2: And I'm with you. You should have that mindset, but
Speaker 2: there's some that don't. And like, I think you know,
Speaker 2: you just know Cal wants to beat you so bad.
Speaker 2: And what's wild to say is that he could not
Speaker 2: make the tournament. He could be a complete failure when
Speaker 2: it comes to the record at the end of the season.
Speaker 2: But if he has that winn against Kentucky. Against Kentucky,
Speaker 2: I kind of feel like he won't care. I mean,
Speaker 2: surely he wants to win. It's not good for him
Speaker 2: when they lose. But like, if you really think about
Speaker 2: it in the way it's playing out right now, I
Speaker 2: think cal just went to Arkansas as a lifeline and
Speaker 2: you know, a school that was also willing to pay
Speaker 2: him way too much money, and he wanted to kind
Speaker 2: of go win and put it in your face. And
Speaker 2: clearly he's not doing that right now. But like, if
Speaker 2: he's able to come into Rup Arena on February first
Speaker 2: and beat you guys, it won't really mean anything because
Speaker 2: you know you're still gonna be safely in the tournament.
Speaker 2: That will be maybe be an opportunity them to maybe,
Speaker 2: like you know, go on a run. Like it won't
Speaker 2: really matter when it comes to like your resume and
Speaker 2: how you're viewed as a team this season. It'll be
Speaker 2: looked at as a fluky upset. But there's clearly a
Speaker 2: personal element here that, like, you know, you don't want
Speaker 2: to lose to anybody the rest of the season, obviously,
Speaker 2: but if there's one team you don't want to lose
Speaker 2: to it's got to be Arkansas, and I get it,
Speaker 2: like I would be, I'd be in the same position.
Speaker 2: But all right, so Louisville in SMU tomorrow. I mean,
Speaker 2: maybe SMU is better than I'm than I'm you know,
Speaker 2: And I'm not like not giving him credit. I just
Speaker 2: to me, they're the kind of team that they're new, right,
Speaker 2: They're new in the ACC. They're they're currently in the
Speaker 2: first season of a new era. Andy Enfield from USC
Speaker 2: of course, Florida Gulf Coast is where he made a
Speaker 2: name for himself Dunk City, and he did well at
Speaker 2: USC for the most part, didn't really ever max out,
Speaker 2: but he was fine there. And now he's at SMU
Speaker 2: and they're off to a pretty good start. It's like
Speaker 2: I just can't tell, Like I don't know if I
Speaker 2: think that they're you know, more so like are they
Speaker 2: truly a top thirty five caliber team like the net says,
Speaker 2: or are they one of these teams that's just been
Speaker 2: able to, you know, beat the teams they're supposed to
Speaker 2: beat and you know, lose to only good teams. I mean,
Speaker 2: and maybe some people are still saying that about Louill
Speaker 2: because Louisville's best win. I mean, right now, it's West Virginia,
Speaker 2: and West Virginia is kind of tricky because they're currently
Speaker 2: right next to Louisville and just about every metric including
Speaker 2: the A people. But they also have like some real
Speaker 2: big wins, meaning West Virginia does like wins that louisll
Speaker 2: doesn't have.
Speaker 3: But Loui will beat them.
Speaker 2: So you know, I have no clue really what to
Speaker 2: expect with us with SMU. But it's not a game
Speaker 2: where I'm saying to myself I have no clue what
Speaker 2: to expect, because again, Louisville has been so consistently good
Speaker 2: in the last few weeks. And again maybe when I
Speaker 2: say that, there are some people triggered, because I know
Speaker 2: there's some people because some of you text in quit
Speaker 2: saying Louisville is so good they play in the lousy
Speaker 2: acc well, like that's the fact that you feel the
Speaker 2: need to say that probably mean you're in a little
Speaker 2: bit of denial that you might actually deep down think
Speaker 2: they're good too and you don't like it, which I
Speaker 2: don't even I'm not going to get int the weeds
Speaker 2: on that because there's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 2: And I happen to think and maybe this is just
Speaker 2: wishful thinking on my end, I don't really care louis
Speaker 2: was playing right now, like they're not playing you know, Bellerman's,
Speaker 2: they're playing teams that you know, like, for example, they
Speaker 2: beat West Virginia. That's a good win. West Virginia has
Speaker 2: gone out and beating some of the best teams in
Speaker 2: the country. They beat Clemson. I don't think Clemson's great,
Speaker 2: but Clemson was good enough to beat Kentucky. So again,
Speaker 2: I don't I'm not going to use that in like
Speaker 2: hold it up, hold a sign up saying hey, you're
Speaker 2: all wrong about Louisville, look at this stab. But like,
Speaker 2: I feel good enough about how they're playing, and they've
Speaker 2: played a really, really tough schedule and that matters. So
Speaker 2: here's where these two teams kind of stack up. When
Speaker 2: it comes to like resume and number. Louisvell's twenty nine
Speaker 2: in the net SMU is thirty fifth, currently Louisville ranked
Speaker 2: twenty fifth, they're not ranked SMU is not and then
Speaker 2: the Ken Palm Louisvill's twenty ninth kN palm SMU is fortieth.
Speaker 2: And then if you look at strength of schedule. You know,
Speaker 2: Louisville has played the fifth teenth toughest schedule in college
Speaker 2: basketball currently and that's you know, that's not even you know,
Speaker 2: that's not even. That's the whole schedule out of conference
Speaker 2: strength of schedule. That used to be a stat that
Speaker 2: I really like valued. But the number, the raw number
Speaker 2: that you get from these formulas is so misleading because
Speaker 2: Louisville strength of schedule in the non conference is number
Speaker 2: twenty four. But like it's because for every team they
Speaker 2: played in the non conference that's you know, really really
Speaker 2: good and highly ranked. They also played teams that are
Speaker 2: in the two hundreds and Bellerman's in the three hundreds,
Speaker 2: so that's going to weigh it down. So like you
Speaker 2: really do more of an eye test, right, like you
Speaker 2: go look at who they play, and you know who's.
Speaker 3: Good and who's not.
Speaker 2: And if you just factor you know, non conference teams
Speaker 2: that they've played that you know are good teams, like
Speaker 2: they played a lot of them.
Speaker 3: So if Louisville had.
Speaker 2: Gone through, like if Louisville's number looked like SMU because
Speaker 2: again Louisville's number fifteen right now, they have the fifteenth
Speaker 2: toughest schedule in college basketball. SMU's is ranked one seventeen,
Speaker 2: So if Louisville was closer to one seventeen than they
Speaker 2: are fifteen than one, they probably wouldn't be ranked. And also,
Speaker 2: you know, I would be more so I would still
Speaker 2: enjoy it and I'd be embracing this team, because man,
Speaker 2: it's been one hell of a ride, but I probably
Speaker 2: would have a little bit more of a doubt as to, like,
Speaker 2: you know, how much we can really take from from
Speaker 2: their wins. I mean again, they've they've been battle tested.
Speaker 2: Fourteen and five overall, they now have three quad one wins.
Speaker 2: All five of their losses are in the quad one range.
Speaker 2: So you know, it's not to say they've got a
Speaker 2: perfect resume. But when I say, I'm not really in
Speaker 2: the I don't know exactly what's gonna happen.
Speaker 3: None of us ever do for sure.
Speaker 2: But like Louisville has has been consistent enough in the
Speaker 2: last seven games or so really since January this month
Speaker 2: to where I don't even really care about SMU.
Speaker 3: Right, if SMU was Duke, then yeah, I would know.
Speaker 2: Hey, I hope louis plays really well, but man, they're
Speaker 2: gonna need their opponent to you know, not have a
Speaker 2: great game because you know you're playing one of the
Speaker 2: best teams in the country. It's not like I'm thinking
Speaker 2: SMU stinks, but like Louisville has shown me that they
Speaker 2: should be able to keep doing what they're doing and
Speaker 2: doesn't mean they're guaranteed to win, but they should win
Speaker 2: and it's just nice to have that feeling. Right. It's
Speaker 2: not like I've got like this this Maybe next year
Speaker 2: is when it starts again. But I don't really look
Speaker 2: at this as a a r You've got really a
Speaker 2: little bit to gain and a lot to lose, because
Speaker 2: that's that's oftentimes what happens when you're when you're at
Speaker 2: the top, right like for Kentucky it's not there this
Speaker 2: year because the SEC is so loaded. But you oftentimes,
Speaker 2: like when you're supposed to win because you're really good.
Speaker 2: You can even be playing other teams that you know
Speaker 2: are supposed to go to the tournament, but like, you
Speaker 2: have not a whole lot to gain, but more to lose,
Speaker 2: because you know if you slip up to a team,
Speaker 2: it's not the end of the world, but you know
Speaker 2: it's going to damage your resume. A laws aid SMU,
Speaker 2: I don't really know what it would do to Louis's resume,
Speaker 2: but I don't care because if they slip up and lose,
Speaker 2: I'm sure others won't react and feel.
Speaker 3: The same way.
Speaker 2: But I'm still gonna know that, Like, hey, I've seen
Speaker 2: enough to think this team should still be able to
Speaker 2: get to you know, to bounce back and continue to
Speaker 2: win more games. Of course, then they're going to lose
Speaker 2: the rest of the way, And I just think that
Speaker 2: kind of speaks to this being the honeymoon phase, Like
Speaker 2: this is just so fun and enjoyable, the entire thing
Speaker 2: from top to bottom. Yeah, we've talked a lot about
Speaker 2: bracketology today in the tournament, so it's clearly on my
Speaker 2: mind because that's just kind of what you do during
Speaker 2: the college basketball season when you've got a team that's
Speaker 2: having some success. But I mean, I'm just this it's
Speaker 2: kind of like I'm just you know, enjoying the ride
Speaker 2: more than feeling like, hey man, I hope we hope
Speaker 2: we don't. Like, I'm sure there's some bands, and it's
Speaker 2: all about how you're wired. Everybody's different as human beings,
Speaker 2: Like I'm sure there's some that anytime Louisville continues to
Speaker 2: improve their situation. Maybe you start to think about, who knows,
Speaker 2: maybe they could get up to like a five seed.
Speaker 2: Like I'm sure there's some people that when they get there,
Speaker 2: their mind goes to, well, hope they don't do that
Speaker 2: and then blow it and lose to a twelve seed.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm kind of like that in you know,
Speaker 2: in a previous life, because I guess I was just
Speaker 2: a spoiled fan that like felt like I felt an
Speaker 2: entitlements as a fan, like my team, you know better,
Speaker 2: you better make at least the Sweet sixteen, because you
Speaker 2: know we're Louisville. Well, obviously been a long time. In fact,
Speaker 2: this season makes it a decade. It has been ten
Speaker 2: years this year since Louisville made it out of the
Speaker 2: first week into the INSTABA Tournament. Think about that. Ten
Speaker 2: years ago they went to the Elite eight, lost to
Speaker 2: Michigan State. We actually talked about that last week. That's
Speaker 2: ten years ago, which one that's crazy to think about
Speaker 2: that it's been that long. But since then, Louisville's only
Speaker 2: been in the tournament a couple of times and they
Speaker 2: lost in the first appearance. In their last appearance, which
Speaker 2: was Max's first year, and they didn't go back, of course,
Speaker 2: and then they lost in the second round in twenty
Speaker 2: seventeen when they were a two seed that was Donovan
Speaker 2: and Dgadel and those guys.
Speaker 3: Rix.
Speaker 2: Last year they lost as a two seed to Michigan.
Speaker 2: So I mean, just being in the tournament is never
Speaker 2: gonna be something we just get, you know, like can
Speaker 2: you believe it happened? But like, let's be real with ourselves,
Speaker 2: like let's not let's not try to rewrite history and
Speaker 2: act like we haven't gone through a drought that we
Speaker 2: never thought we'd see. Like even when Denny would have
Speaker 2: a year where he won like ten to eleven games,
Speaker 2: which was rare, but like he had some down years.
Speaker 2: Maybe that's a stretch, but like even Dinny had years
Speaker 2: where you kind of knew we aren't terrible, we're not
Speaker 2: going to the tournament, but you also knew the next
Speaker 2: year he probably mess around go to sweet sixteen. Like
Speaker 2: you know, even you know the type of run we've
Speaker 2: had here including you know, not just not just the
Speaker 2: draft of success, but like all the drama, all the
Speaker 2: off the court stuff, like it's been a circus, Like
Speaker 2: louisvill basketball for ten years, I've been able to still
Speaker 2: find some joy within there because you know, you had
Speaker 2: some good players and there were some good moments and
Speaker 2: some good teams, but more often than not, it's been,
Speaker 2: you know, not fun stuff. So I'm just worried people
Speaker 2: maybe like maybe people may think, like, all right, come on, Nick,
Speaker 2: like it's just the tournament.
Speaker 3: Well, damn it.
Speaker 2: It's been a long time and I love the tournament.
Speaker 2: There's nothing better.
Speaker 3: A tournament means everything to me right now.
Speaker 2: There's nothing like touning in on selections Sunday knowing you're
Speaker 2: gonna get in and you just want to see the draw,
Speaker 2: you want to see the seed.
Speaker 3: It's it's you want to be excited for filling brackets.
Speaker 2: Yes, and it's you want to be you want to
Speaker 2: be ready to tell the contee that they're not valuing
Speaker 2: your team and all that. Like, it's just an experience
Speaker 2: that is special and it's been a long long time
Speaker 2: coming right quick break, we'll come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: Wrap it up right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: No late movement in the in the line here tonight
Speaker 2: of the National Championship Game. In the College Football Playoff,
Speaker 2: Ohio State sitting at eight and a half point favorites.
Speaker 2: I think that's an understandable line I would have. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think I was thinking it'd be a little bit
Speaker 2: lower than that. But in the grand scheme of things,
Speaker 2: Ohio State is now playing at a level that I
Speaker 2: think everybody thought they could be at this year, even
Speaker 2: if you don't necessarily believe a whole lot in Ryan Day.
Speaker 2: I mean, this team is loaded to where he doesn't
Speaker 2: have to do a whole lot, right. You know, not
Speaker 2: to say coaching isn't valuable, but you know, this team
Speaker 2: is so stacked that they're playing to their potential and
Speaker 2: it's you know, it's impressive, but really not that surprising.
Speaker 2: There's some that said just when it comes to the
Speaker 2: over depth they have, meaning how good they are.
Speaker 3: Like too deep at just about every position.
Speaker 2: Again, sounds like an exaggeration, and maybe it is, but
Speaker 2: I mean, those who follow it closely think this is
Speaker 2: one of the most talented teams that has ever been
Speaker 2: in college football. Now they win the night and they
Speaker 2: win big, maybe that'll be confirmed, but I still believe
Speaker 2: that going through the low that they had where it
Speaker 2: kind of felt like anything they did the rest of
Speaker 2: the way, even if it's the National Championship. I mean,
Speaker 2: this is going to sound dramatic, but like them losing
Speaker 2: to Michigan in that circumstance, the way Michigan had a
Speaker 2: really down year in Ohio State was loaded and that's
Speaker 2: like the one thing you couldn't do was lose that game,
Speaker 2: and you did. I mean, the fan base was so
Speaker 2: low on Ohio State that like, no, they didn't even
Speaker 2: that didn't even let them realize that they still actually
Speaker 2: had a chance to go win the whole thing, because
Speaker 2: they're that good, and you know, it's a twelve team playoff,
Speaker 2: but here they are. I think getting that out of
Speaker 2: the way going through that, not to give you the
Speaker 2: cliche corny line about like you know, it only made
Speaker 2: them better, but it did kind of I think make
Speaker 2: them looser because they went through i mean some real
Speaker 2: toxicity within their fan base and their program top to
Speaker 2: bottom and kind of just you know, there's nothing that
Speaker 2: could happen the rest of the way that it's gonna
Speaker 2: be worse than that. So I think it kind of
Speaker 2: loosening them up, and they're playing some really, really good football.
Speaker 2: But you know what, so is Notre Dame. So I'm
Speaker 2: hoping we get a competitive game, but I wouldn't be
Speaker 2: shocked if it's competitive for about sixty five percent of
Speaker 2: the way and then you see Ohio State pull away late,
Speaker 2: maybe win this thing by like I don't know, seventeen
Speaker 2: or something. I could see that happening. I kind of
Speaker 2: want to take Notre Dame plus eight and a half.
Speaker 2: But that's me not using my brain. It's me just
Speaker 2: kind of wanting to wager on something that I hope
Speaker 2: will happen. You's falling into the sports books, hanyeah. But
Speaker 2: I also don't know that, like I truly trust Ohio
Speaker 2: I do. I trust Ohio State probably more than any
Speaker 2: team in the last few rounds of this tournament, because
Speaker 2: that's how good they've looked. So I don't know I'll
Speaker 2: end up doing something. Maybe I do the maybe I
Speaker 2: do the under forty five and a half seems kind
Speaker 2: of low.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I'm so I second guess everything right now because of
Speaker 2: how much I've struggled that, Like, I may just flip
Speaker 2: a coin and and do whatever, let's do it the
Speaker 2: coin tells me to do. You got any action on
Speaker 2: this one tonight.
Speaker 4: No, but that under kind of does sound like a play.
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna lie. But at the same time, forty
Speaker 4: five seems like that's what Ohio State can get in
Speaker 4: like three quarter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like I'm not I'm not confident. Notre
Speaker 2: Dame is going to light it up, and I think
Speaker 2: I think Ohio State, like you know, they'll score, but
Speaker 2: Notre Dame will keep it respectable to where that I
Speaker 2: just getting completely rottled. So yeah, maybe here we did it.
Speaker 2: As we wrap up the show, I'm going I'm going
Speaker 2: under forty.
Speaker 3: Five and a half. Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 2: That's right, let's see what happens. Right, We're back tomorrow
Speaker 2: and it'll be fun. It'll be like it'll be a
Speaker 2: game day of issue where Louisvill's in the top twenty five.
Speaker 2: When we watch them play tomorrow night, they're gonna have
Speaker 2: that number next to their name, and even though they
Speaker 2: don't have a whole lot of value, it's just another
Speaker 2: sign that things are things are getting back to where
Speaker 2: they where they should be.
Speaker 3: We're healing.
Speaker 2: Have a good night, everybody,