Speaker 1: All right, let's get it started. Welcome in, Happy hump Day,
Speaker 1: another beautiful, beautiful day here in the fine city of Louisville, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: College basketball is on. I mean, I'm saying the same
Speaker 1: thing I said to start the show yesterday, but it's
Speaker 1: worth repeating because once again we've got another beautiful day
Speaker 1: and we've got college hoops on. In fact, more games
Speaker 1: on today, as we're getting a little bit later in
Speaker 1: the week, as these conference tournaments are getting rolling, and
Speaker 1: as it as of right now looks like we've got
Speaker 1: a close one between well and the YouTube TV is great,
Speaker 1: but if you ever watched it on your this is
Speaker 1: not something really worth complaining about it. It's just iderotates me.
Speaker 1: So I keep YouTube TV on in a window like
Speaker 1: a Google Chrome window on one of the monitors here,
Speaker 1: and it's convenient. I can mute YouTube TV to where
Speaker 1: I can still play sound from the studio and it's
Speaker 1: not you know, pulling in the feed from the game.
Speaker 1: But whenever you have it minimized, there's like that little
Speaker 1: thing that hovers over that shows you know, pau rewind
Speaker 1: fifteen seconds again, a really useful tool that I use
Speaker 1: quite a bit. However, it gets in the way to
Speaker 1: where I can't actually see the score. It blocks the
Speaker 1: score bugs, so I got to move the mouse over it.
Speaker 1: So again, not that big of a deal, but I
Speaker 1: was trying to get an update on the game here
Speaker 1: as far as the score, and I couldn't see it.
Speaker 1: But anyways, we'll get you updated on all the games
Speaker 1: going on, because, believe it or not, as of three o'clock,
Speaker 1: we already have had some games conclude. We've got many
Speaker 1: games coming up. So again, it's an awesome thing. In fact,
Speaker 1: one of the things I noticed last night I was
Speaker 1: watching the Horizon League championship game. It was down to
Speaker 1: Youngstown State and who was it? Was it Robert Morris.
Speaker 1: I did watch it, but I've been really taking in
Speaker 1: a lot of college hoops lately. Basketball overload for me,
Speaker 1: So I know Youngstown State lost, and I can't remember
Speaker 1: who it was that they ended up losing to. But
Speaker 1: either way, there are now a handful of teams, in fact,
Speaker 1: more than I realized now that I look at it,
Speaker 1: that have already punched their ticket, that have won their
Speaker 1: conference tournament. And as much as college basketball, I'm really
Speaker 1: college sports in general at the high level, mostly college
Speaker 1: football and men's basketball, women's basketball, and I'm sure there's
Speaker 1: other sports where you can see athletes making a lot
Speaker 1: of money in it, and it's you know, it's confirmation
Speaker 1: essentially that they can call it an IL, they can
Speaker 1: call it revenue sharing. But at the highest level, we
Speaker 1: now have professional sports within college sports, and it makes
Speaker 1: some people uncomfortable, and I get it, We've had those
Speaker 1: conversations before. But if you are someone that's still longs
Speaker 1: for those days of the pure wholesome moments in college
Speaker 1: sports that you you know, really just get hit in
Speaker 1: the fields because you can tell these student athletes men,
Speaker 1: they're playing for the love of the game. They're playing
Speaker 1: for the name on the front, not the back. They
Speaker 1: don't care about an IL. They're not paying They just
Speaker 1: you know, they don't They don't get an IL. And
Speaker 1: I'm sure some of these guys that play at the
Speaker 1: lower level do. But what I'm getting at here is
Speaker 1: if you are some that really really misses those days
Speaker 1: where you could just easily distract yourself because right now
Speaker 1: you can if you just watch between the lines, you
Speaker 1: wouldn't know that these guys are getting paid a lot
Speaker 1: of money. But it's really this day and eight. It's
Speaker 1: hard to not know that, right. It's such a factor.
Speaker 1: If you're a fan of the sport and you want
Speaker 1: to keep up at the sport and keep up with
Speaker 1: your team, you're going to probably know that money was
Speaker 1: a big factor and this guy transferring here or there.
Speaker 1: So watching last night, it was it was Robert Morris
Speaker 1: who I saw ended up knocking off Youngstown State in
Speaker 1: the Horizon League Championship. And then also last night you
Speaker 1: and see Wilmington they got back to the tournament and
Speaker 1: then over the weekend Drake, which was actually kind of cool.
Speaker 1: They've been to the tournament more so than a lot
Speaker 1: of teams of the mid major level. But cool story, right.
Speaker 1: Ben McCollum, the former D two dominant coach, a guy
Speaker 1: who's a legend at the D two level. He jumped
Speaker 1: up this year from D two Missouri Valley State. I
Speaker 1: think it was to go to Drake. Brought his whole
Speaker 1: team with him essentially. I mean not every but the
Speaker 1: majority of the guys who play for him just came
Speaker 1: with him when he left his old school to go
Speaker 1: to Drake. So you know, these guys think about this
Speaker 1: a year ago, they're the D two level. They probably
Speaker 1: didn't know for sure if their coach was going to
Speaker 1: be leaving or not. And now a year later they've
Speaker 1: been able to jump up to the Division One level
Speaker 1: and now they're going to the tournament. So I'm someone
Speaker 1: that will always enjoy watching that because just making the
Speaker 1: tournament when you've got sixty eight teams is really not
Speaker 1: a high bar to set, especially when you are a
Speaker 1: college basketball program that has actually accomplished some things. I mean,
Speaker 1: even if you're not a program that has even like
Speaker 1: made multiple final fours. You know, just making the tournament
Speaker 1: in most instances should never be your bar. Now, you'd
Speaker 1: rather be there than not. But in Louisville, this year
Speaker 1: clearly is gonna make it. And this would have been
Speaker 1: a ran. You know, this would have been a very
Speaker 1: unusual exceptions given how bad we were for the previous
Speaker 1: three years. So these guys who play for High Point
Speaker 1: by the high Point is in from a big South
Speaker 1: Lipscomb they won the Atlantic Son Wafford, they won the
Speaker 1: SoCon Troy was your winner of the Sun Belt, Omaha,
Speaker 1: the Mavericks making their first appearance, they won the Summit League.
Speaker 1: Saint Francis, the Red Flash they won the Northeastern Conference Final. Gonzaga,
Speaker 1: they count, but they're you know, they're a regular. They
Speaker 1: won last night. So you know, every school I mentioned
Speaker 1: outside of Gonzaga, I feel like has guys who the
Speaker 1: dream is to play D one and they probably, you know,
Speaker 1: they had options. I'm sure if you're playing at those
Speaker 1: level schools. But my point is this, they go to
Speaker 1: college at that level. I would imagine if you're going
Speaker 1: to high Point or you're going to Wafford, the majority
Speaker 1: of the schools you chose high Point or Wafford over
Speaker 1: are probably in that same level. So you enter your
Speaker 1: college career knowing that it's unless you're going to a
Speaker 1: powerhouse who wins their conference tournament every year. I mean,
Speaker 1: you don't know if you're ever going to make the
Speaker 1: Big Dance, right, So it's really a different world for
Speaker 1: this level of college basketball. They're not. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: sure if they can make some anile money, they're gonna say,
Speaker 1: hell yeah, sign me up. I'll take some money. Who
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to do that? But they also live in
Speaker 1: reality where the bag's not being dropped at Troy University
Speaker 1: for you to come and play in the Sun Belt
Speaker 1: Conference at least not to the extent of you know,
Speaker 1: going to a SEC Big ten or ACC school. So
Speaker 1: to see these guys you know, clearly still get such
Speaker 1: satisfaction and have their hard work paid off by getting there,
Speaker 1: it does kind of remind me that as much as
Speaker 1: this is pro sports and it's very much a transactional industry,
Speaker 1: now college athletics is, you still have some moments like
Speaker 1: this that can really again fill that void if you're
Speaker 1: somebody that misses the old amateurism model, which is archaic
Speaker 1: and it's insane that it lasted as long as it did.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I enjoyed watching the few teams in the
Speaker 1: last couple of days be able to actually get it
Speaker 1: done because look, you can be a let's say you
Speaker 1: win your league and maybe I can pull some numbers
Speaker 1: here because I'd be interested to see this, because it
Speaker 1: really does point out that just making the tournament, even
Speaker 1: if you're a sixteen seed and you know that you're
Speaker 1: probably going to get your butt kicked, or even a
Speaker 1: fifteen seed, I mean, you're still going to in your
Speaker 1: mind think, okay, let's go be Cinderella. Let's go let's
Speaker 1: go find a slipper and put it on and try
Speaker 1: to ride some march magic into a deep run. You
Speaker 1: could tell yourself that, but you're aware of you know
Speaker 1: who you are. So just getting there, regardless of where
Speaker 1: your seed is, even if you're the playing game, is
Speaker 1: a big deal because you can be really, really good
Speaker 1: and not winning your conference tournament every year, right like
Speaker 1: winning your league. And this is a conversation that probably
Speaker 1: isn't something many people care about because again different levels.
Speaker 1: People who care about college basketball around here don't really
Speaker 1: get into the weeds of low level college basketball, understandably so,
Speaker 1: but I've always felt like you should make the tournament
Speaker 1: if you win your conference, not your conference tournament at
Speaker 1: that lower level, because that's actually a more impressive thing,
Speaker 1: and that actually is i think a bigger accomplishment from
Speaker 1: you know, the gauntlet, if you can even call it that.
Speaker 1: I'm sure some of these teams maybe they run through
Speaker 1: their league, but I wouldn't be shocked if you've got
Speaker 1: a school that wins their conference regular season title, let's
Speaker 1: say four out of every six years they're regular season
Speaker 1: champs or co champs, I would not be shocked if
Speaker 1: that results in only one or two actual trips to
Speaker 1: the tournament, because you know, there's teams you know that
Speaker 1: are good, but you know, only one team gets to
Speaker 1: go from these conferences. There's no bidstealers in these leagues
Speaker 1: that we're watching here right Like high Point Winthrop's not
Speaker 1: going to get in because high Point snuck past them
Speaker 1: in the championship game. So it is such a big
Speaker 1: rewarding thing that even if you're good and you had
Speaker 1: you know, two games to spare in your conference and
Speaker 1: you've got the one seed, you still have that pressure
Speaker 1: of winning sometimes four straight days in order to actually
Speaker 1: get the you know, get the ticket to the big dance.
Speaker 1: And I'm not sure if there are championship games tonight
Speaker 1: we'll get we'll get a look at the scores that
Speaker 1: have already you know, we've already got some games that
Speaker 1: have concluded. We also have some games that are getting
Speaker 1: ready to start. So a full day at college hoops
Speaker 1: will get you caught up on all that. I should
Speaker 1: let you know that this is Coffee and Company. I
Speaker 1: haven't let you know that. I assume you did know that.
Speaker 1: The fancy voiceover guy let you know when the show started.
Speaker 1: But again, it is Coffee and Company, and we are
Speaker 1: fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety's
Speaker 1: taking you up till six o'clock. So sit back, relax,
Speaker 1: make yourself at home. We do not have Austin with
Speaker 1: us today. He's out he's got to do his other gig.
Speaker 1: But when I say other gig, he's got like four
Speaker 1: jobs within our company here at iHeart. So when I
Speaker 1: say other gig, you know he's not out bartending or
Speaker 1: you know, working on the assembly line or I don't
Speaker 1: know whatever other gig he could have. He's also he's
Speaker 1: just doing another job for us here. So there's an
Speaker 1: event he's got to be at. So it's okay, It's okay. Look,
Speaker 1: you want depth, you want to be able to go
Speaker 1: to your bench when it matters most, and that's March.
Speaker 1: We go to the bench today. We bring in Carl
Speaker 1: filling In, who will take us up till six o'clock.
Speaker 1: So again we're we're locked and loaded. If you want
Speaker 1: to take us with you wherever you go, you can
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Speaker 1: want to be a part of the show today, obviously
Speaker 1: today's day where you can certainly you have a better
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Speaker 1: little bit lighter when it comes to the contribution that
Speaker 1: we're going to get. So FABO two BOBS seven seventy
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Speaker 1: go to break here and just just about five six
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Speaker 1: three eight ninety seventy three. Again FABO two four three
Speaker 1: eight ninety seventy three. So before we do take our
Speaker 1: first break, I did want to kind of pick up
Speaker 1: where we left off yesterday. However, I don't think we
Speaker 1: actually had at least I hadn't talked about it on
Speaker 1: I don't think I talked about it. Towards the end
Speaker 1: of the show. It started to appear that way. But
Speaker 1: the tragic news about Junior Bridgeman a Louisville legend, not
Speaker 1: only because of his impact on on the city of Louisville,
Speaker 1: the Louisville basketball program, the business world, really just the
Speaker 1: community as a whole. So again I feel silly kind
Speaker 1: of resetting this because I assume everybody listening is well
Speaker 1: aware of what happened, because you know, it was something
Speaker 1: that we did bring up here and there throughout the
Speaker 1: show yesterday, but I was not going to address anything
Speaker 1: that wasn't confirmed by you know, legitimate outlets out there.
Speaker 1: So it was in an event yesterday he was being
Speaker 1: interviewed by Kent Taylor and had a heart attack. And
Speaker 1: he knew he had a heart attack. Apparently he had
Speaker 1: told people that he feels like that that's what had happened.
Speaker 1: But he was at the Gold House and at seventy
Speaker 1: one years old, had a heart attack and passed away.
Speaker 1: So very very sad. You know, I can't think of
Speaker 1: many people that have been as impactful and successful as
Speaker 1: Junior Bridgeman, right. I mean I obviously was not around
Speaker 1: to see him play. He's a lot older than I am,
Speaker 1: but I think you could be substantially younger than me
Speaker 1: and know who Junior Bridgeman is because of just how
Speaker 1: successful he is and how I mean he's a philanthropist.
Speaker 1: He's somebody that was able to create an insane amount
Speaker 1: of wealth for himself and it just became, I think
Speaker 1: second nature for him to just share that wealth and
Speaker 1: give back and do good things for people who need it.
Speaker 1: So again, very sad thoughts in prayers with his family,
Speaker 1: his loved ones, and of course his louisl basketball family.
Speaker 1: You know, Junior for good reason became a mentor and
Speaker 1: a guy that a lot of his peers other former
Speaker 1: Louisville basketball players looked up to, because how could you not.
Speaker 1: And you know what really stood out to me about
Speaker 1: Junior One, I knew he was a good player, but
Speaker 1: I'm somebody that really just I learned about him at
Speaker 1: a young age. But by the time I learned who
Speaker 1: he was when I was young, he was already a
Speaker 1: super successful businessman. And now here he is at seventy one.
Speaker 1: He was a billionaire. But he was an All American
Speaker 1: for the Cards in seventy five and of course was
Speaker 1: part of that national semi finals team in seventy five
Speaker 1: as well, two time Missouri Valley Player of the Years.
Speaker 1: Only he's only yeah, he's got He's one of only
Speaker 1: twenty players to have his jersey honored. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: a part of the Athletic Hall of Fame as you
Speaker 1: could expect. I mean, this is a guy who was
Speaker 1: a phenomenal player, here for Denny Crumb. Early in Denny's
Speaker 1: days at Louisville and then in the NBA, had a
Speaker 1: hell of an impact there as well. First round pick
Speaker 1: in the seventy five draft, played twelve seasons for the Bucks,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, twelve seasons in the NBA, ten for the
Speaker 1: Bucks and two with the LA Clippers. His jersey's retired
Speaker 1: by the Bucks. Played in seven hundred and eleven games
Speaker 1: for that franchise. And this is another thing that really
Speaker 1: isn't surprising, but I didn't know this until yesterday. It
Speaker 1: makes total sense. But the guy's got a lengthy resume
Speaker 1: of impressive accomplishments. I did not realize. But for four
Speaker 1: years he served as the president of the NBA Players Association,
Speaker 1: And that may be the gig that really nobody else
Speaker 1: that's ever played basketball in the NBA is more deserving
Speaker 1: of having that that honor. Meaning their peers have have
Speaker 1: named them the person who is the president of their
Speaker 1: you know, basically of their union if you want to
Speaker 1: call it that. Right, it's the players Association who collectively
Speaker 1: they're looking out for themselves, the players, the employees essentially, right,
Speaker 1: And he was the leader of that for four years
Speaker 1: which again is a sign of respect that he has
Speaker 1: from his peers. So, you know, Junior Bridgman's somebody that
Speaker 1: around here. You hear of him and you're like, oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, nobody's unaware of his status and his accomplishments
Speaker 1: and his success. But because we're just understandably so proud
Speaker 1: that he's connected to us. He's a former cardinal, he
Speaker 1: still is very much involved in the city of Louisville,
Speaker 1: cares a lot about the city of Louisville, has done
Speaker 1: so many great things. You know, we just we just
Speaker 1: it's almost like we just take claimed him. Yeah, Like
Speaker 1: when we think of him, it's not as much about
Speaker 1: what he did, you know, globally, it's just knowing he's
Speaker 1: super success and he's one of ours, right, He's he's
Speaker 1: he's somebody that that that represented this city, represented the program,
Speaker 1: and he's a Louisville legend, right, And I don't just
Speaker 1: mean the University of the basketball program. I mean a
Speaker 1: Louisville legend, really a Kentucky legend, to be honest. So
Speaker 1: you know, I when I when I think of him,
Speaker 1: for years, I've kind of had the same mindset. While
Speaker 1: that guy's super successful what a great story. And and
Speaker 1: yesterday a lot of folks, you know, as you could expect,
Speaker 1: sharing their condolence, is sharing stories about him because you know,
Speaker 1: they knew him well and he meant a lot to them.
Speaker 1: I mean, there were guys in the NBA last night,
Speaker 1: coaches and even Shaquille O'Neil, who was on set with
Speaker 1: inside the NBA, I mean getting very emotionally choked up
Speaker 1: because they they they they absolutely looked up to Junior
Speaker 1: Bridgeman and and thought he was somebody that you know,
Speaker 1: they could they could get advice fro him, and he's
Speaker 1: one of those guys that it takes, unfortunately, something like this,
Speaker 1: meaning him passing away unexpectedly, for you to really truly
Speaker 1: understand the impact that he had, the amount of people
Speaker 1: he impacted, and you know, the links in which he
Speaker 1: went to to, you know, to be a guy that
Speaker 1: after seventy one years of life, I mean, he seems
Speaker 1: like a very well, very well beloved guy. And I
Speaker 1: thought last night hearing it was it was Doc Rivers,
Speaker 1: who of course spent some time with the Milwaukee Bucks franchise,
Speaker 1: and obviously he's I mean, he's people know who Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers is, but he he, like many, had a very
Speaker 1: very close connection to Junior Bridgeman, and he was choked
Speaker 1: up and talking about it last night. And I don't
Speaker 1: know if I've heard anybody in you know, a minute
Speaker 1: in a minute and a half here, ninety seconds roughly
Speaker 1: that really can put into perspective you know why Junior
Speaker 1: Bridgeman is in fact the absolute model professional basketball player.
Speaker 1: He's the guy that the National Basketball Association should always
Speaker 1: point to as the best example of somebody who used
Speaker 1: basketball to get an education, used basketball to make a
Speaker 1: great living, but then used everything that came with his
Speaker 1: basketball career to become a billionaire, to use that wealth
Speaker 1: to help people, not only when it comes to helping
Speaker 1: you know, monetarily, but also with guidance other athletes who
Speaker 1: don't have the awareness of like finances and that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. But here's Doc Rivers yesterday, and I thought
Speaker 1: this was really, really, really heartfelt and certainly worth hearing
Speaker 1: given the unfortunate circumstances here. So again I knew there
Speaker 1: was a connection with Doc Rivers and the Bucks. For
Speaker 1: some reason, I was thinking that he was the Bucks
Speaker 1: coach and then got fired and went to Philadelphia. But
Speaker 1: it's the other way around. He was Philadelphia, got canned,
Speaker 1: and now he's now he's in he's in Milwaukee. So yeah, condolences,
Speaker 1: I mean, just really sad. But man, what a life
Speaker 1: and what an impact Junior Bridgman had. And I mean,
Speaker 1: I think you could really get lost in these next
Speaker 1: few days, maybe even longer than that, just hearing different
Speaker 1: stories that others have about Junior Bridgeman, how much they
Speaker 1: looked up to him. He's probably a guy that in
Speaker 1: the circle of high level sports entertainment, basketball mostly, but
Speaker 1: not just basketball. I mean, he had a level of
Speaker 1: wealth that probably could call anybody he needed to because
Speaker 1: he's just that's the kind of you know, company he
Speaker 1: could keep, that's the kind of circles he ran. And
Speaker 1: he was one of the most successful businessmen in America.
Speaker 1: So you know, there's so many He's not an A
Speaker 1: list celebrity, right, he doesn't walk down the street and
Speaker 1: everybody know who he is, but the people who are
Speaker 1: like this is something I thought that was really really
Speaker 1: well said. And I don't remember which player it was.
Speaker 1: It might have been Dangelo Russell, of course, Louisville native
Speaker 1: who apparently had some connection some relationship with Junior a
Speaker 1: lot of guys did, but he was your favorite player's
Speaker 1: favorite player, probably not only because he was a great,
Speaker 1: I mean phenomenal NBA player himself. Again, he's got his
Speaker 1: number retired by the Bucks. Was a first round pick,
Speaker 1: had a hell of a career, right but NBA stars
Speaker 1: looked up to him and really loved just soaking up
Speaker 1: his guidance and his you know, his knowledge on on
Speaker 1: you know, how to be a businessman, how to you know,
Speaker 1: how to carry yourself, how to be a pro off
Speaker 1: the court. So it's always nice to see former cardinals
Speaker 1: and guys who represent, you know, the program you care about,
Speaker 1: have success really at any level doing anything you want.
Speaker 1: You want these guys to do well. But Junior did it,
Speaker 1: and then it's just it's also it's just I don't know,
Speaker 1: it's one of those things that I would have never
Speaker 1: thought about it until, of course something like this happens.
Speaker 1: But think about the best NBA players ever, Think about
Speaker 1: your favorite NBA player ever, like somebody that you really
Speaker 1: just idolized that you think the world of. Be a
Speaker 1: real big surprise if Junior Bridgeman wasn't one of their
Speaker 1: role models, which is pretty cool to say. I really
Speaker 1: do believe that. All right, quick break, we got a
Speaker 1: lot to get into. We'll get you caught up on
Speaker 1: all the scores from around the country. We've got some
Speaker 1: games going on as we speak, some games coming up.
Speaker 1: We've got more bracketology updates to look at them. Getting scared, guys,
Speaker 1: I'm not not about, you know, any one specific matchup,
Speaker 1: but I think there's a big difference in being a
Speaker 1: seven in and eight for obvious reasons, because if you're seven
Speaker 1: and it goes chalk, you get a two seed. I
Speaker 1: think there's a big gap between these one seeds and
Speaker 1: two seeds this year, which is why I really hope
Speaker 1: Louisville can find a way to avoid the eight or
Speaker 1: nine line. But we shall see. Also, Indiana, are they
Speaker 1: going to hire Brad Brown? Well, please don't do that, Indiana.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know why I would really care.
Speaker 1: I don't like I'm not an Indiana fan, but that
Speaker 1: just seems to be like such a I mean, that
Speaker 1: to me would be such an Indiana move to where
Speaker 1: they are just going to remind us once again they've
Speaker 1: got all the resources, all the tools to be successful,
Speaker 1: but they can't find the right coach. You could do
Speaker 1: worse than Brad Brown. Well, but like I just to me,
Speaker 1: that's a flat higher. And speaking of the Hoosiers, we'll
Speaker 1: talk to the company man himself, Mister John Owen's going
Speaker 1: to stop by around four o'clock. We'll chat with him
Speaker 1: and keep this thing rolling along. Again. It's coffee and company,
Speaker 1: and we are fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports
Speaker 1: Talk seven to ninety. That's right, it's coffee and company,
Speaker 1: fueled by Thornton's. You're on Sports Talk seven ninety five
Speaker 1: point two five seven seventy nine hundred is the number.
Speaker 1: If you want to give us a call. We'll get
Speaker 1: to the text lin in just a moment, but real quick.
Speaker 1: Some scores from the from the afternoon so far. Let's
Speaker 1: see of the game. I know, yeah, the SCC just had. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Arkansas survived South Carolina seventy two to sixty eight. So
Speaker 1: John Caliperry, I feel like this is the first SEC
Speaker 1: Conference tournament win for him in quite some time. But
Speaker 1: again they win seventy two to sixty eight, and I
Speaker 1: think they're safely in because of what the can you
Speaker 1: call it the bubble? Like for example, Arkansas and Indiana,
Speaker 1: they could have some bid Steelers make some magic happen
Speaker 1: to where they would end up back on the bubble
Speaker 1: to where maybe they're sweating on selection Sunday. But like
Speaker 1: Indiana and Arkansas, because of just how bad the bubble is,
Speaker 1: they're like they're ahead of that group of teams that
Speaker 1: are sweating it out, like North Carolina. By the way,
Speaker 1: they're up, looks like thirteen or so at half. What's
Speaker 1: the score? So so North Carolina, it's just just the
Speaker 1: first half just concluded forty three to twenty nine. So look, Carolina,
Speaker 1: I don't I mean, I don't think that they belong in.
Speaker 1: But then again, when you look at as much as
Speaker 1: I think they've Carolina is a school that you probably,
Speaker 1: at least I do. I probably at times am a
Speaker 1: little more harder on them than I should be, and
Speaker 1: I oftentimes probably think that they're worse than they actually are.
Speaker 1: But they're thirteen and seven in the league, twenty and
Speaker 1: twelve overall. In no way are they a world beater,
Speaker 1: and I'm not even really sure how good they are,
Speaker 1: but they do have a record and a resume to
Speaker 1: where like it's not crazy that they could get in.
Speaker 1: But I think they need to obviously win today and
Speaker 1: at that point then probably just hope other bubble teams fall.
Speaker 1: But Carolina is a team that should just be better
Speaker 1: than they are, and the fact that they are, Like,
Speaker 1: there's certain teams in the ACC, like, for example, like
Speaker 1: Boston College. I mean, I'm not really I'm not really
Speaker 1: that mad at them for being four and sixteen and
Speaker 1: twelve and nineteen overall because like, I don't know if
Speaker 1: they even could possibly be a whole lot better than
Speaker 1: they are. They just don't have many great players. It's
Speaker 1: Boston College. But the league to be where it is
Speaker 1: right now, meaning the ACC, I mean, wake Forest should
Speaker 1: be safely in. Carolina should be safely in. Like here's
Speaker 1: the thing. If these teams did a little bit better
Speaker 1: when it comes to the non conference and they didn't
Speaker 1: have the slip up games against the awful teams in
Speaker 1: the ACC, they would all be safely in. And imagine
Speaker 1: the difference that you would have as far as the
Speaker 1: narrative about the ACC if it wasn't just Duke Clemson
Speaker 1: in Louisville, but it was Duke Clemson Louisville, SMU, wake Forest,
Speaker 1: North Carolina. And I'm even gonna throw Pittsburgh in there
Speaker 1: because they stunk towards the end, but they should have
Speaker 1: been better. So like those teams were all, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: more than capable of doing enough to make the tournament.
Speaker 1: In fact, all of those teams that aren't gonna make it,
Speaker 1: it's their fault. And again because technically, if you didn't
Speaker 1: do enough, then it's your fault. You got to look
Speaker 1: in the mirror, right, The results matter, but you you goofed.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you're gonna slip up and lose games, but to
Speaker 1: do some things with your schedule to where like wake
Speaker 1: Forest is the best example. I mean, they're thirteen and seven,
Speaker 1: twenty one and ten, and yet the numbers for them
Speaker 1: are terrible and you already have that working against you,
Speaker 1: and then you end up losing to teams like n
Speaker 1: C State in Virginia, who we all know are terrible.
Speaker 1: Florida State got them at home too. I mean, like
Speaker 1: Florida State and NC State are teams that Wake Forest
Speaker 1: in you know, mid maybe early mid whatever it was February.
Speaker 1: You can't look at where you are and then lose
Speaker 1: to teams like n C State or Florida of Florida
Speaker 1: State and blame anybody but yourself if you don't make
Speaker 1: the tournament. So again it's all would it, could have,
Speaker 1: should have. But imagine what Clemson and Louisville could be
Speaker 1: as far as potential NCAA tournament seeds right now if
Speaker 1: you know the teams I just mentioned that aren't going
Speaker 1: to make the tournament had a little bit better of
Speaker 1: resumes themselves. I mean, that's just what it really what
Speaker 1: it comes down to. And that's why when you look
Speaker 1: at updated bracketology out there from Lenardi, Jerry Palm, whoever,
Speaker 1: and look, this is the there's one time to remind
Speaker 1: people it's now, and that is that these people have
Speaker 1: nothing to do with the tournament. They don't have any
Speaker 1: I mean, I think they're pretty good as far as
Speaker 1: guessing and assuming the range which teams are going to be,
Speaker 1: as far as the seed, but as far as like
Speaker 1: what's I mean, there's human beings that are going to
Speaker 1: be having conversations this weekend that truly determine who's on
Speaker 1: the right side of the bubble and who's not. So,
Speaker 1: because it's such a constant thing, as you get close
Speaker 1: to selection Sunday, all the updated bracketology out there, sometimes
Speaker 1: you get a little lost in taking in so much
Speaker 1: that you don't realize. Oh yeah, these people. No disrespect
Speaker 1: to Jerry Palm, Jolinardi, those guys, they don't have anything
Speaker 1: to do with how the tournaments put together. They're just guessing, right,
Speaker 1: so you know, we'll see how it you know, how
Speaker 1: it all shakes out. But I mean, Louisville on the eight,
Speaker 1: I'm not telling you, hey, because Lenardi and Jerry Palm
Speaker 1: says they're an eight, that's what they're going to be,
Speaker 1: because again we don't know, but it wouldn't shock me
Speaker 1: if they are. And it all comes down to other
Speaker 1: teams that you're fighting for seed line opportunities. They have
Speaker 1: way better likelihood of bumping up their resume this week
Speaker 1: and then you do. And really that's I mean, that's
Speaker 1: just that's that's the ACC's fault, top to bottom. All right,
Speaker 1: some other scores. Let's see, let's see. I'm trying to
Speaker 1: find the games that have already that have already wrapped up.
Speaker 1: So I mentioned Arkansas did get past South Carolina. Iowa
Speaker 1: State hammered Cincinnati, which Wes Miller not not working out
Speaker 1: real well for him at Cincinnati. I mean, they've been
Speaker 1: they they've missed the tournament every year he's been there,
Speaker 1: and their athletic director. I only know of his name
Speaker 1: because I want if I saw him, i'd kiss him.
Speaker 1: Not really, that'd bed be I probably shouldn't do that,
Speaker 1: but you know, it was a bad joke. He's the guy,
Speaker 1: John Cunningham is his name. He's the one who paid
Speaker 1: Louisville so he could take Scott Satterfield off of our hands.
Speaker 1: And that brought Jeff Brohm home. So like, I'll always
Speaker 1: love him for that. But if you're a Cincinnati fan,
Speaker 1: this guy replaced Luke Fickle with Scott Sadderfield, and now
Speaker 1: he's got Wes Miller on a crazy buyout, and that
Speaker 1: doesn't seem to be working out there at Cincinnati. So
Speaker 1: I remember the Bearcats. I remember being jealous of them
Speaker 1: and thinking this is weird, this is gross. They're kind
Speaker 1: of a rival, right They made the fourteen playoff as
Speaker 1: a G five team, and you know, Louisville couldn't you
Speaker 1: know that point, you know, couldn't really get over the
Speaker 1: hump with Sadderfield. Never thought i'd be in a position
Speaker 1: in ving Cincinnati football, and sure enough we were. And
Speaker 1: then now you know, life's a little different for both
Speaker 1: programs basketball and football. Wasn't that long ago Wes Miller
Speaker 1: or Who's not Great, was beating the hell out of
Speaker 1: Kenny Payne's team when Louisville went to the Maui Invitational
Speaker 1: a couple years ago. So anyways, other scores, Davidson, they
Speaker 1: got past Richmond for those who care about that game.
Speaker 1: And then also in the ACC, the first game today
Speaker 1: was Georgia Tech and Virginia. Georgia Tech was able to
Speaker 1: hold on and win that one sixty six to sixty.
Speaker 1: So again today, a little bit later on, you'll have
Speaker 1: the I guess it's the next game after this one
Speaker 1: in the ACC tournament. That'll be between Virginia and not sorry,
Speaker 1: Virginia Tech Cal who was able to beat Virginia Tech yesterday.
Speaker 1: And then also Stanford. So if it goes chalk, meaning
Speaker 1: the favorite wins, you'll have a rematch between Louisville and Stanford.
Speaker 1: The team they just played will be who they play
Speaker 1: the first game in the ACC Tournament. That is, of course,
Speaker 1: if they win, maybe Cal can can pull off the upset,
Speaker 1: but that game will take place at seven o'clock, and
Speaker 1: again the winner we'll get Louisville, and then later today
Speaker 1: in the SEC you've got is that the night game? Yeah,
Speaker 1: not already late late late night. You've got Oklahoma and Georgia,
Speaker 1: and the winner of that one will play Kentucky in
Speaker 1: their first game in Nashville tomorrow. I just goed the
Speaker 1: text line five O two four three eight ninety seventy three.
Speaker 1: I'm not there yet, but I'll be there soon. For
Speaker 1: those who don't know what I'm talking about, we got
Speaker 1: a new text line number. It's still the eleen Int
Speaker 1: Federal Credit Union text line, but I I'd somehow lost
Speaker 1: the number we've had for years, so now we had
Speaker 1: to get a new one. And it's it's not as
Speaker 1: you know, we have the same one for like eight years,
Speaker 1: so it was programmed in my brain. This one not
Speaker 1: as much. And what happens is, I do I feel
Speaker 1: like I could, you know, if I was forced. I
Speaker 1: feel like I could remember the new text line FIBO
Speaker 1: two four three eight ninety seventy three. I feel like
Speaker 1: I could remember that on the spot, but I almost
Speaker 1: say the old number. So then I just trip myself up,
Speaker 1: and then I got to go pull up the actual
Speaker 1: text line to make sure I'm giving you guys the
Speaker 1: right number, so apologies. The number is FIBO two four
Speaker 1: three eight ninety seventy three. This is from Danny who
Speaker 1: asks if there's any up there on rain Smith, and
Speaker 1: he also mentions that Louisville should sit him and just
Speaker 1: let him get healthy. Yeah, I mean, I hadn't even
Speaker 1: thought about that, Danny, But you're right. If rain Smith's
Speaker 1: situation with his ankle is he just it's something he's
Speaker 1: going to have to play through. So from here on out,
Speaker 1: he just got to be off his feet rest as
Speaker 1: much as possible. That way, whenever he is, you know,
Speaker 1: when he is playing, he's you know, he's he's able
Speaker 1: to fight again. You could rest and still have pain
Speaker 1: that you're gonna have to deal with, and what I
Speaker 1: think a lot of us, I don't know. Maybe he's
Speaker 1: practicing to see what the pain tolerance is. I would
Speaker 1: imagine that would make sense to at least let him
Speaker 1: try to give it a go, but also still kind
Speaker 1: of be aware that you want to keep him off
Speaker 1: his feet because you want to keep him as fresh
Speaker 1: as possible for when it matters, you know, in games.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, if he doesn't put it this way,
Speaker 1: if he doesn't play tomorrow, I would hope that it's
Speaker 1: just because they feel like they can get past the
Speaker 1: quarterfinals without him, But I'll also kind of be worried
Speaker 1: that man, he still can't go. Been over a week,
Speaker 1: and that's just me being you know, the paranoid person,
Speaker 1: because louisll is gonna need to play well to be
Speaker 1: really anybody, I think when it comes to I mean
Speaker 1: just the tournament, not even just INSTAA tournament, but I
Speaker 1: mean they can't lay an egg against the Stanford or
Speaker 1: a Caw tomorrow and not you know, potentially be vulnerable
Speaker 1: to lose that game. So with that said, I kind
Speaker 1: of feel like with it being such a like, I
Speaker 1: feel like if he if he can go, he can go.
Speaker 1: And I don't mean like he's gonna be fully healthy.
Speaker 1: But I just don't know, even though this is a
Speaker 1: game that technically won't you know, it's not as big
Speaker 1: of a challenge as who you would get in the
Speaker 1: semis if it's Clemson, or maybe even if you beat them,
Speaker 1: you get Duke. But I don't know. I like the
Speaker 1: thought of just you know, now, if he can't go,
Speaker 1: he can't go, But I would I would feel a
Speaker 1: little bit better if he was out there tomorrow, just
Speaker 1: as a sign that you know, it's not so bad
Speaker 1: that he simply is unable to go. I mean, it
Speaker 1: sounds like on Saturday he was still in pain, which
Speaker 1: again is not great. Doesn't mean he can't fight through it.
Speaker 1: And maybe he's made some big improvement with the ankle
Speaker 1: in the last few days. But we'll see. But to
Speaker 1: answer your question, I haven't heard any kind of an update.
Speaker 1: And look, they're gonna do what they're gonna do, and
Speaker 1: we'll just have to wait and see. But this is
Speaker 1: where I just get I get a little selfish as
Speaker 1: a fan, because if he doesn't play, I would love
Speaker 1: some context that we probably won't get. Meaning, all right,
Speaker 1: did you guys decide to encourage him to rest longer
Speaker 1: or was it one of those things where he or
Speaker 1: the training staff simply told Pat Kelsey he's unable to go.
Speaker 1: Because there's a big difference there, real big difference. All right,
Speaker 1: quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Keep
Speaker 1: this thing rolling along. There's a lot to get into
Speaker 1: before we wrap it up today, So hang out again.
Speaker 1: We're gonna bring him in. He is the one and
Speaker 1: only the company man, mister John Alton. He'll join us
Speaker 1: at about four o'clock. Wet's talk some college hoops. Also,
Speaker 1: he's an Indiana fan, so he's kind of got the
Speaker 1: best of both worlds. His team's got some momentum. They're
Speaker 1: gonna be in the NAA Tournament, but they're also going
Speaker 1: to make a coaching change at the end of the
Speaker 1: year regardless of what happens. And we'll talk to John
Speaker 1: about that coaching search, because I mean, I just I
Speaker 1: don't know if it's Brad Brown, well, you could do worse,
Speaker 1: but I kind of feel like I would have just
Speaker 1: Ken Woodson if it was going to be Brad Brown. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm just being real with you. Also, at five o'clock,
Speaker 1: we'll bring in mister Kent Spencer from WHS eleven. He's
Speaker 1: on his way to Charlotte. We'll get his thoughts on
Speaker 1: both the local teams here as we get set for
Speaker 1: postseason play, stick around coffee and company. Feel about Thorton's
Speaker 1: right here on Sportsbox seven ninety. That's right, we're wrapping
Speaker 1: up the three o'clock hour here on a beautiful, beautiful
Speaker 1: Wednesday afternoon. They didn't get much better than this as
Speaker 1: far as the weather. Also, I mean, we got college
Speaker 1: basketball on Carolina now running away with it against Notre Dame.
Speaker 1: They're up fifty three to thirty four with just about
Speaker 1: sixteen minutes left. So he had a decent lead at
Speaker 1: halftime and off to a quick start here in the
Speaker 1: second half. All right, So let's go to the text
Speaker 1: line the Ellen and Federal Credit Union tax line FABO
Speaker 1: two four three eight ninety seventy three. This text comes
Speaker 1: in from Ben, who says, Nick, big UK fan here,
Speaker 1: but I'm curious, what do you think the ceiling is
Speaker 1: for Kentucky seating? How high can they climb if they
Speaker 1: make it all the way to the SEC Championship game.
Speaker 1: It's a good question. So right now, Kentucky is a
Speaker 1: is a three everywhere I've seen as far as the bracket,
Speaker 1: the bracketology updates. I think Palm still has them at four.
Speaker 1: But I mean, a win tomorrow is really just kind
Speaker 1: of what you're supposed to do, and a neutral court
Speaker 1: win against Oklahoma and Georgia doesn't do anything to really,
Speaker 1: I mean, it doesn't really help you as far as
Speaker 1: jumping up a seat or anything like that. And if
Speaker 1: you end up getting yeah, it'll be Alabama because Alabama
Speaker 1: doesn't play until Friday in the quarterfinals. So win against
Speaker 1: al Obama, I mean that would be right now, Auburn's
Speaker 1: the only Elite SEC school that Kentucky hasn't beat yet.
Speaker 1: I mean the Ken Paul Alabama's number six. So what
Speaker 1: I'm getting at is this would give Kentucky a win
Speaker 1: against all the top teams in the SCC not named Auburn,
Speaker 1: and another win against the top six team. So you
Speaker 1: would have and I'm just looking at the net here,
Speaker 1: Kentucky would have two wins against Tennessee, one win against Florida,
Speaker 1: and one win against Alabama. Hypothetically speaking of Corse, you
Speaker 1: throw in the fact that they also have a win
Speaker 1: against Gonzaga, who will not be seated great and they
Speaker 1: shouldn't be, but they're number eight in the net. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think what that would do just that game, and
Speaker 1: they could beat Alabama. I don't know if they will,
Speaker 1: but they could beat Alabama. I mean, in Kentucky, there
Speaker 1: will be nobody in the country that'll have that many
Speaker 1: wins against the net top ten, right. I mean again,
Speaker 1: you're talking. I forgot Duke. They went against Duke, who's
Speaker 1: the number one team in the net. So that gives
Speaker 1: you that would be let's see, six wins against the
Speaker 1: top ten in the net. If they are able to
Speaker 1: get past Alabama, like that alone makes it to where
Speaker 1: they'll they're not going to fall farther than a two
Speaker 1: or than a three if they beat Alabama. And then
Speaker 1: the thought of because here's what you have to consider,
Speaker 1: can like right now, if you are behind a Texas
Speaker 1: Tech or a Michigan State or even in Alabama, if
Speaker 1: you're behind them for the two line, can they fall
Speaker 1: enough to where you would jump ahead of them? Right?
Speaker 1: Like I know, beating Bama would say well, hey we
Speaker 1: should jump ahead of them because we just speed, and
Speaker 1: well no, you would have been one and two against them,
Speaker 1: and they're win against you interrupt is way more valuable
Speaker 1: than any than the win you have. So I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think some of these teams, man, they're just like
Speaker 1: I don't think there's anything that could happen for Duke Auburn, Houston, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama,
Speaker 1: Texas Tech, in Michigan State to not be ones and twos.
Speaker 1: I really believe that that is what you're in no
Speaker 1: particular order, but those eight teams I think have locked
Speaker 1: down the top two seeds and I don't really know
Speaker 1: if there's going to be enough movement one way or
Speaker 1: the other for them to drop. But if there's a
Speaker 1: team that could do it, it would be the team
Speaker 1: that if Kentucky beats Bama again, that gives them a
Speaker 1: sixth win against the top ten, and then they'd have
Speaker 1: an opportunity to play Florida if Florida ends up getting
Speaker 1: there to the Semis, and Florida would give them another mean,
Speaker 1: they already beat Florida once he beat them. I mean Florida,
Speaker 1: by the way, would be a better win technically on
Speaker 1: paper than beating Alabama. So answer your question, I think
Speaker 1: three is the highest they can go now. They end
Speaker 1: up winning the SEC tournament, then maybe it's different, but
Speaker 1: I'm not even like put it this way. Winning the
Speaker 1: SEC Tournament would be another really really really impressive thing
Speaker 1: about Kentucky's resume that that that you know, would would
Speaker 1: would help them in a major way as far as
Speaker 1: just their resume would be better. But that's not going
Speaker 1: to drop the other teams off the two line, and
Speaker 1: it shouldn't because at this point they've done enough to
Speaker 1: where one loss isn't gonna make them fall that much.
Speaker 1: So I think I think honestly three is the highest
Speaker 1: Kentucky can get, which is where they are right now.
Speaker 1: Gives you some real house money to play with when
Speaker 1: when you when you get to Nashville, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: they get no they they have no pressure at all,
Speaker 1: and they really can't fall either. I don't even think
Speaker 1: a loss to Oklahoma or Georgia would fall, would have
Speaker 1: them fall past a four and some some would probably
Speaker 1: still have them as a three. And I'm definitely jealous
Speaker 1: not of you know, not of much, but I'm jealous
Speaker 1: that Kentucky is able to have those opportunities to play
Speaker 1: games where you get value. And look, I know Louisville
Speaker 1: would not have the twenty five and six record if
Speaker 1: the ACC didn't stink, But you could also have a
Speaker 1: worse record but a way better seed if we're in
Speaker 1: the previous world where the ACC was a respected conference.
Speaker 1: All right, we got two hours left. We will bring
Speaker 1: him in on the other side. He's the one and
Speaker 1: only John Alden. I feel like I don't need to
Speaker 1: tell you guys who he is. He was the producer
Speaker 1: of this show for a long, long time. Until he
Speaker 1: got ripped away from me by the Big Stick News
Speaker 1: Radio eight forty whas they get what they want around here,
Speaker 1: and they took him from me. But we'll bring him back.
Speaker 1: We'll have some funs, coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's
Speaker 1: right here on Sportsbox seven ninety