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: And almost exactly two hours we'll get our first Sweet
Speaker 2: sixteen game tipped off. And we spent some time earlier
Speaker 2: talking about the Alabama BYU game. In fact, it's come
Speaker 2: up here and there throughout the week, just because I
Speaker 2: think when you consider both teams their style of play.
Speaker 2: Alabama is a team that's coming off of a Final
Speaker 2: Four a year ago, and there's really not anything about
Speaker 2: them as far as the resume or even the analytics,
Speaker 2: if you're somebody who pays attention to that kind of stuff,
Speaker 2: there's nothing that would indicate that they're not good enough
Speaker 2: to get back to a Final four, maybe win the
Speaker 2: whole thing. It's just at times, they've looked a little
Speaker 2: bit complacent looking. They've looked not bored, but just vulnerable
Speaker 2: in a way that they shouldn't because they're loaded with talent.
Speaker 2: By the way I mean Alabama is. I mean Mark
Speaker 2: Sears is one of the best point guards in the country.
Speaker 2: He has been that for the last couple of years.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's he's a special player. And Grant Nelson
Speaker 2: another guy who was instrumental in their final four run
Speaker 2: last year, who's back? And you know overall, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're sitting at number six in the kin Pom there.
Speaker 2: Every one of their losses outside of one is to
Speaker 2: really really good teams. In fact, they are twenty seven
Speaker 2: and eight and only wow, this is this is We
Speaker 2: talked yesterday about teams in the Sweet sixteen that have
Speaker 2: wins against other teams in the Sweet sixteen. Auburn has
Speaker 2: more than anybody because they've got some really impressive SEC
Speaker 2: wins obviously, but they also went out of conference and
Speaker 2: beat Houston and I believe it was Purdue, so Alabama.
Speaker 2: I was kind of thinking maybe I shouldn't trust him
Speaker 2: to cover here, but during the break, Austin and I
Speaker 2: all I needed. All I needed was him to give
Speaker 2: me the nudge because I was leaning, Look, when it
Speaker 2: comes down to it, both teams want to do the
Speaker 2: same thing. One team is simply better at that. If
Speaker 2: they were playing a team that was really good at
Speaker 2: taking away pace and possessions, be a different story. But
Speaker 2: that's what BYU wants to do. And I just think
Speaker 2: they're gonna get in the ring with somebody that's better
Speaker 2: at doing what they want to do. But anyways, I'm
Speaker 2: now taking Bama to cover tonight and their losses. The
Speaker 2: only loss they have to a team that's not left
Speaker 2: in the tournament is Oregon, who just lost a close
Speaker 2: game in the round of thirty two to Arizona and
Speaker 2: then also they lost to Missouri. Other than that, they've
Speaker 2: got losses to Florida twice, see Auburn, Ole, miss and Purdue.
Speaker 2: All those teams are still dancing. So as much as
Speaker 2: at times I feel like they've looked complacent and I,
Speaker 2: you know, eight losses, I guess that's I mean, that's
Speaker 2: to me, that's not a ton But anyways, I'm trusting Bama.
Speaker 2: Maybe it'll be something because the reason I've gone so
Speaker 2: back and forth on this one is that when I've
Speaker 2: watched Alabama at times this year, again, I've never doubted
Speaker 2: like what they can do. It's like, Okay, are they
Speaker 2: really in it? Did they get bored after a final four?
Speaker 2: Are they not hungry to get back there and maybe
Speaker 2: cut down nets at a final four? But it's never
Speaker 2: been about like, you know, again, questioning what they can do.
Speaker 2: It's like are they in it? And NATO It's is
Speaker 2: a good enough coach to where I just don't see
Speaker 2: his team in this moment coming out coming out flat.
Speaker 2: But BYU again, when you look at what they've done
Speaker 2: since early February, I mean their only loss was in
Speaker 2: the Big twelve Tournament to Houston, who you know, is
Speaker 2: a once and one of the best teams in the country,
Speaker 2: so should be a good game. That'll be the first one.
Speaker 2: And then after that you have Maryland Florida and Florida
Speaker 2: Florida minus six and a half. As much as I
Speaker 2: love Maryland and I've talked about him here and there
Speaker 2: throughout the year, just because I think despite not having
Speaker 2: a whole lot of depth and despite not having you know,
Speaker 2: consistent shooting, like, they got guys who can get hot,
Speaker 2: and they've got a freshman who's really really good, and
Speaker 2: I think Kevin Willard's a good coach. I just I
Speaker 2: was so some would say Florida looked vulnerable because they
Speaker 2: you know, they needed a late run and maybe some
Speaker 2: luck too. I mean that's not a knock at them,
Speaker 2: but I think when you continue to move on in
Speaker 2: the tournament, sometimes you're going to look back at a
Speaker 2: game that was close and realized that you were fortunate
Speaker 2: because of a good call or maybe just a bad
Speaker 2: break that went against the opponent, but they needed that
Speaker 2: late run against Duke. I'm sorry against Yukon to pull through,
Speaker 2: but it made me more impressed with Florida than I've
Speaker 2: ever been, just because that game was played at the
Speaker 2: way Yukon wanted to play it as far as style.
Speaker 2: It was a low grind, physical, beat you up kind
Speaker 2: of match up and they prevailed. And I know Yukon
Speaker 2: is was clearly not the same team they were the
Speaker 2: previous two seasons, but Florida was in a tough spot
Speaker 2: where it looked like they were they were about to
Speaker 2: you know, they're about to slip, and they they didn't.
Speaker 2: And Walter Clayton Junior clearly one of the best guards
Speaker 2: in the country. I've never seen somebody.
Speaker 1: Have.
Speaker 2: I guess maybe i'm i'm I'm maybe using the the
Speaker 2: young terminology incorrectly here, But uh, do they still say
Speaker 2: in his bag Austin, is that still a thing?
Speaker 3: That's still a thing because he's.
Speaker 2: Got he's got he's got some tools in his bag
Speaker 2: that a lot of people would know how to use.
Speaker 3: Hear me out like he can.
Speaker 2: Get sped up and then just stop on a dime
Speaker 2: and elevate and square up and just knock down shots
Speaker 2: that sometimes aren't super contested, but like even get there
Speaker 2: to just you know, to elevate and get a look.
Speaker 2: It's a shot most people wouldn't be comfortable taking. That's
Speaker 2: why I say he's got some tools that most wouldn't
Speaker 2: know how to use. He knows how to use them,
Speaker 2: and he's very efficient at using them. Oh, he's him,
Speaker 2: I mean, he is him. He's he is really good.
Speaker 2: And you know, he was struggling against against Yukon. I mean,
Speaker 2: at least for a stretch. I don't even know what
Speaker 2: his numbers were. I'll pull it up here. Against Yukon,
Speaker 2: he had twenty three and he made yes. So but
Speaker 2: he was he was one of six from the floor
Speaker 2: from two point range, and I remember seeing maybe all
Speaker 2: of those misses and I'm thinking, Okay, this guy's just
Speaker 2: not as night. He's coming up short, shots just aren't falling.
Speaker 2: In fact, I remember three of his shots just very
Speaker 2: much just being short, and sure enough, he ended up
Speaker 2: catching fire. And doesn't mean he's going to be able
Speaker 2: to do that again. But I just think Florida kind
Speaker 2: of getting that real big challenge against a team with
Speaker 2: championship pedigree and then being able to kind of pull
Speaker 2: through like they should be writing a lot.
Speaker 3: Of momentum right now, and Maryland really give them credit.
Speaker 2: Hell of a bucket game winner by the freshman Derrek Queen,
Speaker 2: and he certainly has made the most of that moment
Speaker 2: by what he said afterwards. And you know, he's just
Speaker 2: been He's been great all year for Maryland, but I
Speaker 2: feel like he's finally getting a lot of attention because
Speaker 2: they've moved on here to the Sweet sixteen. And of
Speaker 2: course I believe he's the only one who hit a
Speaker 2: buzzer beater to end a game in the first weekend.
Speaker 2: But yeah, this Maryland team, I like him. I just
Speaker 2: don't like him against this Florida squad because Florida's I mean,
Speaker 2: I think they're the best team in the country. But
Speaker 2: there's a reason that these sports books make a lot
Speaker 2: of money. One of them is because they know how
Speaker 2: to set lines that make it really tough for you
Speaker 2: to decide which way to go when it comes to
Speaker 2: betting against the spread. Because I think Alabama is four
Speaker 2: and a half. I feel confident in that one, just
Speaker 2: because if Alabema wins. I don't see it being by
Speaker 2: I mean, I think they'll probably win this thing by
Speaker 2: seven to eight. But Maryland Florida, like that's where like
Speaker 2: I could see Maryland being down you know, twelve thirteen
Speaker 2: points and then making a late push. But what has
Speaker 2: me more so leaning Florida minus six and a half
Speaker 2: is that when you end up playing a really good
Speaker 2: team and you and you give up a big run
Speaker 2: and you're you know, do you dig yourself a hole?
Speaker 2: Technically you're still in it, right, It's possible for you
Speaker 2: to mount to come back. I mean, look, it's not
Speaker 2: like you're down thirty. But good teams like if they
Speaker 2: are able to give themselves some distance, create some separation.
Speaker 2: I should say.
Speaker 3: You got to keep in.
Speaker 2: Mind you can do everything on your end to get
Speaker 2: right and get yourself back in it to an extent,
Speaker 2: but when you've given up so much early on and
Speaker 2: you've dug such a hole, you got to bank on
Speaker 2: that team kind of you know, unraveling a little bit,
Speaker 2: not combusting, but just you know, being off their game,
Speaker 2: getting complacent, and that can happen. In fact, maybe maybe
Speaker 2: it happens tonight. But a lot of these teams that
Speaker 2: got here that's not in their DNA because they're good teams,
Speaker 2: and that's that. That is one of the factors that
Speaker 2: I think makes this second weekend with really good teams
Speaker 2: better than having a Cinderella there, because now maybe it
Speaker 2: won't make for exciting finishes or big come from behind
Speaker 2: victories for somebody, which again I guess that would be
Speaker 2: entertaining to see. But like Florida's the kind of team
Speaker 2: that if they end up getting up seventeen in the
Speaker 2: first half against Maryland, nobody'd be surprised. And the scenario
Speaker 2: where Maryland comes back and wins almost seems impossible because again,
Speaker 2: teams are going to make their runs.
Speaker 3: It happens.
Speaker 2: Even when you have like top five teams playing teams
Speaker 2: in the three hundred, you see runs happen. But when
Speaker 2: you get to this late in the season, these teams
Speaker 2: have played so many games. Again, everybody in this field
Speaker 2: of sixteen is a really good team and has been
Speaker 2: a good team all year outside of Arkansas just because
Speaker 2: you know they were late bloomers, as I guess would
Speaker 2: be the best way to describe it. So it's not interesting,
Speaker 2: but there's no dogs barking in these first two games
Speaker 2: for me, Austin, I think both both plays here are
Speaker 2: Florida mintus six and a half in Alabama minus four
Speaker 2: and a half, and you're leaning in Arizona plus nine
Speaker 2: and a half. And I just I'm going with my
Speaker 2: my heart on that. Okay, then that tells me all
Speaker 2: I need to know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So if I'm gonna be transparent with you on
Speaker 4: what I'm feeling like because I've told you when I
Speaker 4: get that stomach feeling, I can tell you. But I
Speaker 4: just I'm just trying to go with the I'm trying
Speaker 4: to ride Arizona as my emotional final team to really
Speaker 4: kind of that's what's kept me more or less caring
Speaker 4: about the tournament other than betting for it obviously, But
Speaker 4: I would like to see something big for them.
Speaker 2: But like I feel like if that's the case, if
Speaker 2: that's the case, like and you're you know, you're it's
Speaker 2: for the it's the fan element?
Speaker 3: Is it play here? Wouldn't it be to win, not
Speaker 3: just to cover? You know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Like, sure if you win, if you win a parlay
Speaker 2: in Arizona loss, but they covered plus nine and a half, Like, well,
Speaker 2: I just want them.
Speaker 4: To play really good then, yeah, that you know what
Speaker 4: I mean, And so it would be an added bonus
Speaker 4: if they did.
Speaker 2: When I get it, I've I've made wagers that you know,
Speaker 2: and I like to do both. I enjoy let's see
Speaker 2: betting games that it's there's no element of emotion involved,
Speaker 2: it's just I have It's I don't care at all
Speaker 2: who wins. I'm just going to try to figure out
Speaker 2: what I think is going to happen and try to
Speaker 2: make some money doing it. Then I have the you know,
Speaker 2: the fan bets that are more so in fact, mostly
Speaker 2: they're they're put together based off of what I want
Speaker 2: to happen, maybe not necessarily what I believe will happen,
Speaker 2: and when those win, like that's the best of both worlds, right,
Speaker 2: But those are obviously a lot of all right, absolutely,
Speaker 2: although Louisville early when they were hot in January, if
Speaker 2: you would take them to cover you were you were
Speaker 2: making money.
Speaker 3: You're looking pretty nice. Yeah.
Speaker 4: So Arizona is man plus four twenty five, like and
Speaker 4: Duke is minus five seventy five. So they're like, it's
Speaker 4: like it's to the book. So it's like it's a
Speaker 4: no brainer. It's obvious it's a lock. So I mean,
Speaker 4: I'm I'm sort of scared of that. But plus four
Speaker 4: twenty five isn't isn't.
Speaker 3: Bad, bait?
Speaker 4: I mean, I do have five dollars in the account.
Speaker 2: Put it all on it, baby, I mean bet at
Speaker 2: big time. I just, I just I just looked this
Speaker 2: up because I wasn't I wasn't away. Obviously, Caleb Love
Speaker 2: has played against Duke a lot of times because he
Speaker 2: was at Carolina for I feel like ten years and
Speaker 2: then he's been at Arizona for.
Speaker 3: A couple more.
Speaker 2: Did he play did he play at Michigan or did
Speaker 2: go to Michigan and he couldn't get in? That's what
Speaker 2: it was, right, he couldn't get in at Michigan. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so he ended up So he's only played at those
Speaker 2: two schools. But anyways, he's clearly, you know, energized to
Speaker 2: get a chance to go up against the Dukies once more. Obviously,
Speaker 2: if if Carolina, sorry, if Arizona's able to beat Duke somehow,
Speaker 2: then like Carolina, should you know, retire his number, because
Speaker 2: that would you know that rivalry is real. And I'm
Speaker 2: sure I don't know if you're a Carolina fan since
Speaker 2: Caleb Love left, Like, are you cheering against him?
Speaker 3: Like, We've never had that happen.
Speaker 2: At least yet to where we lost a player that
Speaker 2: like was like Caleb Love played in the National Championship
Speaker 2: a few years ago. So to see him playing elsewhere
Speaker 2: for a program, you know, meaning he was at a
Speaker 2: program like Carol Line of you would never think would
Speaker 2: lose players. But obviously there was a tricky dynamic there
Speaker 2: between him and R. J.
Speaker 3: Davis.
Speaker 2: That was a backward that got you to a title.
Speaker 2: And then they couldn't work lead on Kansas.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Oh, they were up ten a half and they choked
Speaker 2: it away like a bunch of bums. I made a
Speaker 2: lot of money in that tournament. I would have made
Speaker 2: a lot more had they won that game. And I
Speaker 2: bet them money line as dogs and they were up
Speaker 2: ten and half and lost.
Speaker 3: I mean, just Hubert Hubert Davis for you.
Speaker 2: But anyways, there's a rite up here from the Associated
Speaker 2: Press that tells you what Caleb Love has done in
Speaker 2: his previous games against against Duke, which trying to skim
Speaker 2: through here, this will be this, this is the second
Speaker 2: time he will have played Duke in the postseason, right,
Speaker 2: So he.
Speaker 4: Hit the game winner against him to go to the
Speaker 4: to the final championship game.
Speaker 2: How did I forget about that legendary coach last game.
Speaker 2: I forgot about that. Yeah, he hit that dagger three
Speaker 2: against Duke in Shoushewsky's final game. I forgot about that
Speaker 2: because at the end, like Kay got owned by Duke,
Speaker 2: didn't or Kay got owned by Carolina on his way out, which.
Speaker 4: They like they lost in the they was the ACC
Speaker 4: tournament to them too, Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I didn't And I forgot that. They played earlier
Speaker 2: this year and obviously Duke held on to win, but
Speaker 2: that was when Duke was kind of like when Duke
Speaker 2: lost to because because if you look at and this
Speaker 2: makes total sense for a team that was built the
Speaker 2: way that they're built. But when Duke lost to Kentucky
Speaker 2: and then Kansas earlier this year, you know, there was
Speaker 2: some question of Okay, like they're talented, and they look
Speaker 2: like they've got an elite talent Cooper Flag looks looks legit.
Speaker 2: But they started the season four and two and in
Speaker 2: their first you know, first six games, two of their
Speaker 2: wins were again I mean, I guess, yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: They beat Arizona, and at the time everybody thought Arizona's
Speaker 2: gonna be good, and then we realized later on that
Speaker 2: Arizona wasn't that great. So in the game they played
Speaker 2: earlier this year, it was actually in twoson right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was on the road, true road game for Duke.
Speaker 2: They played them at Arizona, right, and Duke Duke won
Speaker 2: by fourteen, And Caleb Love did not have a good
Speaker 2: game in that one. He was three or thirteen with
Speaker 2: just eight points. So he's five and four over all
Speaker 2: about that game. In his five seasons as a college player,
Speaker 2: Caleb Love is five and four straight up against Duke,
Speaker 2: And I'm trying to see what is Yeah. For his career,
Speaker 2: he averaged sixteen points on thirty seven point six percent shooting,
Speaker 2: and he scored twenty or more three times, including that
Speaker 2: twenty eight point performance in the twenty twenty two final four.
Speaker 2: So it sounds like he's he's you know, he's not
Speaker 2: super efficient, but he's other than the game. Yeah, other
Speaker 2: than the game earlier this year, he's been he's been productive.
Speaker 2: I just don't you know. Again, I if I knew
Speaker 2: more about Arizona, i'd feel a little bit more confident
Speaker 2: in this one. But I know a lot about Duke,
Speaker 2: and I think they're scary talented.
Speaker 3: And this is where you just you know, you.
Speaker 2: Got to you got to chalk it up as the
Speaker 2: books just knowing how to get you, because I think
Speaker 2: nine and a half is the perfect number here.
Speaker 3: When I say that, I mean it's.
Speaker 2: Very hard to decide which way to go because nine
Speaker 2: and a half, like part of me says, Arizona should
Speaker 2: be able to keep it within single digits if they
Speaker 2: play well. But then again, you know, if Duke ends
Speaker 2: up winning this thing by seventeen, I'm not going.
Speaker 3: To be shocked either.
Speaker 2: Sure, this one screams stay away, but I can't stay away.
Speaker 4: It's the sweet sixteen to who the books think we are,
Speaker 4: I mean, stay away.
Speaker 3: Never never heard of her?
Speaker 2: Yeah, don't know her, don't want to know her. And
Speaker 2: then the Arkansas Texas Tech Game, I may do a
Speaker 2: straight bet just to take Arkansas money line, because I
Speaker 2: just when it's plus five and a half, I just
Speaker 2: I and I truly think that, like them, winning wouldn't
Speaker 2: be a real big surprise. I'm gonna parlay and I'm
Speaker 2: gonna put Arkansas plus five and a half, but I'm
Speaker 2: gonna do money line as well. As as a side bed,
Speaker 2: just because you know that's something I'm not in the
Speaker 2: necessarily like super confident in. But I really think that
Speaker 2: game's kind of come down to being a toss up,
Speaker 2: which is why I'm trusting that Arkansas plus five and
Speaker 2: a half will you know, we'll we'll be a safe bet,
Speaker 2: but again, you never know. I mean, look, it's all luck.
Speaker 2: I love I love betting on college hoops, and I've
Speaker 2: been you know, I've had some good, good days, bad
Speaker 2: days overall. But if I was really good at.
Speaker 3: It, you know, I wouldn't be doing this.
Speaker 4: Probably if you were to place a four leg parlay
Speaker 4: right now on all the underdogs a plus money teams
Speaker 4: to win, five dollars will get you seven hundred and
Speaker 4: seventy eight dollars.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that reminds me of something my dad sent me
Speaker 2: earlier today, because he he every now and then will
Speaker 2: share with me what he's betting. And he made a
Speaker 2: bet on Sunday. And if I know my dad, I
Speaker 2: think I know how this played out. He made a
Speaker 2: bet on Sunday and one of those things that he
Speaker 2: bet was Kentucky winning, so like he didn't want to
Speaker 2: watch them winning, so probably just like, you know, the
Speaker 2: get all emotional bet checked out, but like he knew
Speaker 2: that maybe it would be good for the for the
Speaker 2: for the account, but like, I don't want to see
Speaker 2: it happen, right, because nobody wants to see your rival
Speaker 2: win and dance on, especially when you lost. But my
Speaker 2: dad did a four leg parlay where he did the
Speaker 2: Saint Mary's and Alabama game, and he did same game
Speaker 2: parlays in these two matchups. So he took Alabama minus
Speaker 2: twelve and a half hit, he took under one fifty
Speaker 2: one and a half hit. In the Kentucky Illinois game,
Speaker 2: he took Kentucky minus five and a half. They covered clearly,
Speaker 2: and by the way, he got that live. These were
Speaker 2: live bets. And then he got the under one sixty
Speaker 2: two and a half. So he put five dollars and
Speaker 2: that was plus over eleven hundred and the five bucks
Speaker 2: paid sixty. And I'm thinking, Dad, if you bet like
Speaker 2: you know, if you imagine mean again, just think about it,
Speaker 2: like if five bucks got you sixty, imagine if you
Speaker 2: bet twenty, Imagine if you bet fifty, which I net.
Speaker 2: Look I I normally if I'm betting something like ten
Speaker 2: dollars is now like a rare thing, but usually I'm
Speaker 2: between like fifteen and twenty twenty five in most like
Speaker 2: in most bets, but I'm not like making fifty bets
Speaker 2: a day, like I'm doing parlays for the most part.
Speaker 2: But when we get later in the tournament, like I'll
Speaker 2: bet fifty bucks on something just because I know that,
Speaker 2: you know, this is my time to you know, bet
Speaker 2: more than I typically do, because I'll stop betting for
Speaker 2: months as soon as college basketball ends. I may get
Speaker 2: in on the NBA, but like I probably won't.
Speaker 3: Because it'll be here.
Speaker 2: Here's the example I always use, at least whenever I'm
Speaker 2: looking at numbers, I guess more than anything, wasting time
Speaker 2: and trying to, you know, come up with what I
Speaker 2: think is going to happen and make a formulated guess
Speaker 2: essentially as far as.
Speaker 3: My bet that that's action that's fun for me.
Speaker 2: That's at least making me feel like, you know, if
Speaker 2: I do win, well, hell yeah, I know what I'm doing.
Speaker 3: Eat that sports book.
Speaker 2: But if I'm betting on something and like I wouldn't
Speaker 2: even know what to look up to make a to
Speaker 2: make an educated get you know, pick and bet, then
Speaker 2: it's like just going and pulling the lever on a
Speaker 2: slot machine. And look, if you win money on a
Speaker 2: slot machine, hell yeah, winning money in any ways awesome.
Speaker 2: But it's more fun at least for me whenever it's
Speaker 2: something that, like, at least I can convince myself and
Speaker 2: lie to myself and say, you know what, well, you
Speaker 2: you're just that good man, like you know your stuff, brother,
Speaker 2: Like that's that's what I'm telling myself whenever I do
Speaker 2: research and I win. I mean, look, winning is winning,
Speaker 2: and it's all at the end of the day, it's
Speaker 2: all luck. But college basketball lets me kind of disguise
Speaker 2: it to where I could you know, it's it's a
Speaker 2: fun ride, all right. Quick break will come back on
Speaker 2: the other side. A lot more to get into before
Speaker 2: we get out of here, so stick around. It is
Speaker 2: Coffee and Company fuel by 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: We'll kind of have a rapid fire here as we
Speaker 2: close out the show. When I say rapid fire, I
Speaker 2: mean rapid fire of topics. This is I mean, I
Speaker 2: won't say I'm plugged in as to what's going on
Speaker 2: with former Kentucky women's basketball coaches. But Matthew Mitchell, years
Speaker 2: after retiring and being away from coaching, has decided to
Speaker 2: coach again. So Houston has hired him. And I don't
Speaker 2: know a whole lot about I mean, I think his
Speaker 2: retirement initially was like health related, but like he was
Speaker 2: really successful for UK women's basketball and stepped away. I
Speaker 2: guess just because he was done. Maybe there's more to
Speaker 2: it than I know. I'm sure there is, but you know,
Speaker 2: I didn't know he was looking to get back in.
Speaker 2: But he's now coaching at a Big twelve school, so
Speaker 2: I feel like he's been gone for a long time.
Speaker 2: But yeah, Matthew Mitchell heading back into coaching. Also, the
Speaker 2: comment earlier that I referenced from Tom Izoh that made
Speaker 2: me laugh, I mean, it's really not that funny. More
Speaker 2: than anything, it's just it speaks to my maturity, I think.
Speaker 2: But he was asked about the joy from winning NCAA
Speaker 2: tournament games, which I mean, I feel like, no matter
Speaker 2: what you've done, how much you've accomplished, to know that
Speaker 2: it's winner go home, outside of being like a sick
Speaker 2: versa one or I'm sorry a one versus sixteen, or
Speaker 2: a two versus fifteen, and maybe even a three verses
Speaker 2: of fourteen. I feel like, you know, outside of that,
Speaker 2: really the round of thirty two on, I feel like,
Speaker 2: no matter who you are, because you know that if
Speaker 2: you lose, it's over, even if you are a one
Speaker 2: seat playing an eight seed, like there should be not
Speaker 2: necessarily like ultimate satisfaction as if you've accomplished the ultimate goal.
Speaker 2: But I do think, you know, once you've gotten to
Speaker 2: the sweet sixteen, regardless of expectations, was there's a sign
Speaker 2: of relief that you got past that hurdle. Right now
Speaker 2: you got two more games to see if you can
Speaker 2: get to a final four. Well, tom Izzo, he's made
Speaker 2: many final fours. He only has one national championship. And
Speaker 2: I say that like it's you know, anybody having a
Speaker 2: national championship is something that they should, you know, be
Speaker 2: celebrated for. But his came so long ago, and he's
Speaker 2: been so good since that championship. He just hasn't broke
Speaker 2: through to win another one. And I really like tom
Speaker 2: Izzo because I think what you see is what you get.
Speaker 2: I think he's done a pretty good job of balancing
Speaker 2: the New World right, Like he hasn't made a complete
Speaker 2: identity switch, and he's made the necessary adjustments, but he's
Speaker 2: still kind of himself like his is this Michigan State team.
Speaker 2: One of the reasons why I think they're they're they've
Speaker 2: got a good chance to make a Final four is
Speaker 2: because like, this isn't his O kind of team, Like
Speaker 2: this is a team that I feel like when I
Speaker 2: watched them play, they've got his DNA.
Speaker 3: All over them.
Speaker 2: Like they they're tough, they're balanced, They're not relying upon
Speaker 2: one guy to go get twenty a night for you
Speaker 2: to beat good teams. I mean, they're as balance as
Speaker 2: any team in the country. So Iso, you know, he's
Speaker 2: he wears his heart on his sleeve whenever he was
Speaker 2: asked about, like a lot of coaches I think would
Speaker 2: have been real chippy being asked about how hard is
Speaker 2: it to, you know, get to a Final four again
Speaker 2: only to lose. It was right after they lost to
Speaker 2: Texas Tech when Beard was there, because they beat Duke
Speaker 2: and Zion and Cam Reddish and those guys, and it
Speaker 2: looked as say, if okay, if you can beat those guys,
Speaker 2: you can beat anybody. Well, then they lost to Texas tech,
Speaker 2: and he was pretty emotional, but he wasn't like mad
Speaker 2: at the reporter for asking the question. A lot of
Speaker 2: coaches would have shown their ass I think had been
Speaker 2: like you kidd me, like they would have just gone
Speaker 2: they would have gone full resume on him, like you
Speaker 2: think I'm you know, basically are you questioning how accomplished
Speaker 2: I am?
Speaker 3: He didn't do that.
Speaker 2: He was very emotional, not like crying, but like pissed
Speaker 2: and saying, yeah, it's hard, it sucks.
Speaker 3: I want to win, damn it. Like he was, you know,
Speaker 3: letting you know.
Speaker 2: And he still has that he because he was asked
Speaker 2: about the joy in winning tournament games, and his quote
Speaker 2: was this, once you win a national championship, winning a
Speaker 2: tournament game means nothing. It doesn't turn me on. So
Speaker 2: tom Izzo not aroused by winning any tournament games unless
Speaker 2: it's the ultimate game, meaning the championship, and you're cutting
Speaker 2: down nets a lot easier said than done. And again,
Speaker 2: he should know how hard it is because he's been
Speaker 2: that close many times. I mean, how many final fours
Speaker 2: does Zzo have? I'm gonna say he's got like six.
Speaker 2: Maybe I'm maybe I'm selling him short. Take a guess Austin.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna look at it, Howny. How many final words
Speaker 2: you think is oas.
Speaker 4: He has five?
Speaker 3: Izzo has eight final fours.
Speaker 4: Wow, I meander.
Speaker 2: I mean, so he's and he hasn't been since twenty nineteen,
Speaker 2: and you know obviously that that's not I mean, that's
Speaker 2: a long time ago. However, keep in mind we did
Speaker 2: have a year with no tournament and then we had
Speaker 2: a year with uh with you know, twenty twenty one,
Speaker 2: we had a tournament, but like it was a weird
Speaker 2: year and I don't really think when you consider what
Speaker 2: happened that year, like it was if there were teams
Speaker 2: that were good out of nowhere, that was really an outlier. Right,
Speaker 2: they haven't been like they have been great since, Like
Speaker 2: McK cronin made a final four after getting the playing game. Like,
Speaker 2: I don't think mc cronin is gonna be making any
Speaker 2: more final fours. I mean, it could happen, but anyways,
Speaker 2: the most impressive thing about Izzoh is that when.
Speaker 3: He was win, I mean, he went.
Speaker 2: He's been at Michigan State since nineteen ninety five as
Speaker 2: the head coach. He made his first final four in
Speaker 2: ninety nine. He won a championship in two thousand, So
Speaker 2: in twenty five years. This is the first time in
Speaker 2: his twenty five years that he is gone more than
Speaker 2: five years without making the final four.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 2: So if you play it again in a previous world,
Speaker 2: like Iso was built different man like because he didn't
Speaker 2: have he only had one, one and done until who's
Speaker 2: the guy, the big man who is playing what is
Speaker 2: his name, big fellow who plays for the Grizzlies, really
Speaker 2: good defensive player, can shoot it as well. It's gonna
Speaker 2: drive me crazy, but he's I think he might have
Speaker 2: been like defensive Player of the Year in the NBA
Speaker 2: you talked goodness crazy recently the last few years or so.
Speaker 2: He plays with with Jared Jackson, Yeah, Jared Jackson. Yes,
Speaker 2: So Jared Jackson was a one and done towards kind
Speaker 2: of the end where that was like a you know
Speaker 2: back you know those pre and ile days. And then
Speaker 2: obviously Zach Randolph was a one and done many years
Speaker 2: ago in like the early two thousands. But other than that,
Speaker 2: like Isoud was the guy who did build teams, and
Speaker 2: those guys who played for him, I felt like they
Speaker 2: played there at least three or four years. Right, So
Speaker 2: if you played for Izzoh for like, you know, the
Speaker 2: first twenty years of his time, twenty five years of
Speaker 2: his career at at Michigan State, you went to a
Speaker 2: final four. Now his drought now from twenty nineteen to
Speaker 2: now again it is a drought. But like, I think
Speaker 2: they got a good chance to get back, and I
Speaker 2: think iso A lot of people knock him because I
Speaker 2: he's overrated, only one title, but like he's always close
Speaker 2: to getting right back here, and I wouldn't be shocked
Speaker 2: if they're in the final four once again. So I
Speaker 2: kind of want Michigan State to get one more for
Speaker 2: Rizzo out of you know, out of my respect for him,
Speaker 2: but again he should know better than anybody. Getting to
Speaker 2: the final four is really difficult, and he's done that
Speaker 2: plenty of times. But winning at all, especially when you
Speaker 2: get there against other really good teams, it's not easy.
Speaker 2: There's no random national champions, folks. There are random final
Speaker 2: four teams, a lot of them, but aren't there aren't random.
Speaker 2: Even Yukon is the only random title winner that I
Speaker 2: could think of. But they're not random because they have
Speaker 2: more than anybody in my lifetime. The year was random,
Speaker 2: like their's season, but like the brand, the program. Collecting
Speaker 2: that championship in twenty fourteen, like it's still is insane
Speaker 2: to think about.
Speaker 3: But they're Yukon.
Speaker 2: And Baylor I think may eventually be looked at as one, right,
Speaker 2: because I don't think, I mean, is he has he
Speaker 2: been in.
Speaker 3: A Final four other than that one. Scott Drew and Baylor.
Speaker 2: Was really good that year, Like they were loaded, but
Speaker 2: Gonzaga got all the attention and then they got smacked
Speaker 2: by Baylor when they got there. But again, I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like that could be another example of like
Speaker 2: an outlier, like that twenty twenty one season where we
Speaker 2: played but games got canceled left and right, there were
Speaker 2: no fans in attendance. It's a weird year and I'm
Speaker 2: glad we at least had a season, but like it
Speaker 2: wasn't it wasn't normal, and that was that was the
Speaker 2: only Final four that that Scott Drew's been to.
Speaker 4: He's kind of a weird dude too. I don't know
Speaker 4: what it is about Scott drewy.
Speaker 2: He's kind I mean, look, he turned down Louisville and
Speaker 2: Kentucky last year. And again, like I'm not saying he's
Speaker 2: a bad coach at all, but the dude's been to
Speaker 2: war one second weekend since twenty sixteen, and of.
Speaker 3: Course he won a title. But it was a weird year,
Speaker 3: you know, like this year, they should have been a
Speaker 3: lot better.
Speaker 2: Like I'm not, I mean, long story short, both fans
Speaker 2: would have been ecstatic to get Scott true, had Kentucky
Speaker 2: got him or Louisville. But I think here we are
Speaker 2: a year later, and like I mean, I'm glad. I
Speaker 2: think both both sides are clearly glad that it played
Speaker 2: out the way that it did.
Speaker 3: All Right, we'll say this.
Speaker 2: For I guess we can say it for tomorrow. But
Speaker 2: did you hear about what Szekai Zigiler did? Actually want
Speaker 2: to get to it now because it's not something that's
Speaker 2: gonna take a lot of time. But there's a photo
Speaker 2: of se KaiA Ziggler from when Tennessee played at Rup
Speaker 2: last week in the first weekend where he is posing
Speaker 2: for a picture holding the middle finger up in front
Speaker 2: of like the UK wall. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 2: if it's I don't know if it's like the locker
Speaker 2: room or what it is. I'm not sure if they
Speaker 2: use Kentucky's actual locker room or not. But It wasn't
Speaker 2: just a photo taken by a random teammate for the
Speaker 2: gram or for snapchatting he didn't know would get out.
Speaker 2: It was taken by like a professional photographer that followed
Speaker 2: Tennessee to cover their tournament. And I just think, like,
Speaker 2: that's a really I don't know Zakay Ziggler at all.
Speaker 2: That probably doesn't surprise you. But like he's you know,
Speaker 2: he's mature, he's he's he's a grown man, and I
Speaker 2: don't really see a whole lot of like antics from
Speaker 2: him on the court that would make me, you know,
Speaker 2: in a way, this is kind of harmless, kind of silly,
Speaker 2: and maybe he's thinking, you know, he's just having fun.
Speaker 2: He wasn't doing he wasn't thinking that Kentucky would see it,
Speaker 2: but you know they did, and I doubt that Kentucky
Speaker 2: needs and he added like motivation, but I mean, very
Speaker 2: a very unexpected. I wouldn't even call it a storyline,
Speaker 2: but it's certainly been a talking point in this matchup
Speaker 2: for tomorrow because I feel like Kentucky one of the
Speaker 2: reasons why I think they've got a good chance to
Speaker 2: win this game. I mean, there's a lot of factors.
Speaker 2: One they've already beat him twice. Also there to me,
Speaker 2: it seems like they've got a pretty like there's no
Speaker 2: pressure there. In a way you would think, well, they
Speaker 2: can't lose to if they fall short here in the
Speaker 2: sweet sixteen, and it's to a team that they already
Speaker 2: beat twice, Clearly there's proof they can when they should win,
Speaker 2: and if they don't, man, they're gonna you know, I
Speaker 2: just I think in a weird way, just like Louisville
Speaker 2: fans are bummed they lost last week, there's a level
Speaker 2: of being content because man, you took a big step
Speaker 2: forward and the future looks bright in year one of
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey, I kind of feel like Kentucky would be
Speaker 2: able to say the same thing, like, they'll be upset,
Speaker 2: they'll be emotional. You go online if they lose tomorrow,
Speaker 2: you'll see people acting like a lunatic, because that's just
Speaker 2: how it works. But also I think they'll they'll have
Speaker 2: a level of reflection quicker than they usually do. That
Speaker 2: will that will, you know, maybe surprise you because I
Speaker 2: think they realize even if they lose, it's gonna be
Speaker 2: hard for them to look at that team and look
Speaker 2: at what they did getting to the Sweet sixteen and
Speaker 2: feeling like they, you know, they should have been so
Speaker 2: much better. I think Pope did a lot with what
Speaker 2: he had to work with. I don't want to act
Speaker 2: as if they got a bunch of bums there and
Speaker 2: he's playing with a bunch of Rudy walk Ons. But
Speaker 2: I don't Again, I don't think Kentucky is you know,
Speaker 2: superior talented compared to you know, some of the teams
Speaker 2: they beat this year. Our quick break will come back
Speaker 2: on the other side. Final segment. Wrap it up right
Speaker 2: here on a Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: So tom Izzo, as we just discussed, he doesn't get
Speaker 2: turned on by tournament wins because he's already won a
Speaker 2: national championship.
Speaker 3: That could be it.
Speaker 2: Or maybe it's because he's got low T. Maybe he
Speaker 2: can't get turned on because the t's low. I mean
Speaker 2: low testosterone does impact your sex drive, and that's the case.
Speaker 3: He needs to go see the.
Speaker 2: One and only Doctor Wood at the Louisville Men's Clinic
Speaker 2: because he can help you with low testosterone get your
Speaker 2: levels where they need to be, gets you back to
Speaker 2: feeling you know your age, well.
Speaker 4: Can you imagine Izzo with Wood?
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't even want to imagine it would scary,
Speaker 2: of course, doctor Wood. Yes, yeah, I mean that's a
Speaker 2: that's a duo that you know, could do a lot
Speaker 2: of damage.
Speaker 3: My championships.
Speaker 2: You they came, I mean, they're nothing. They're hanging banners,
Speaker 2: that's what they're doing. So Louisllman's clinic, they can help
Speaker 2: you with the rectile dispunction, low testosterone, Peroni's disease, weight
Speaker 2: loss therapy, hair restoration. When it comes to just being
Speaker 2: a healthier man, they can do it and you may
Speaker 2: not even realize that you could be happier and healthier.
Speaker 2: That was me, Like, I didn't really feel like I
Speaker 2: had anything like wrong with me, and I guess technically,
Speaker 2: I mean, I wasn't in danger. But there was a
Speaker 2: reason why thirties hit me harder than I was anticipating.
Speaker 2: And I'm sure some of it was in fact, because
Speaker 2: you know, there is a difference in your life when
Speaker 2: you're thirty three and when you're twenty three. But now
Speaker 2: that my levels are where they need to be for
Speaker 2: somebody my age, I mean, I mean I feel younger
Speaker 2: now than I did for a good stretch of my
Speaker 2: early thirties. And I think, more than anything, it's because
Speaker 2: of me learning what low TI was and realizing that
Speaker 2: I can treat it and be better for it. And
Speaker 2: it's all thanks to the friends that I have over
Speaker 2: at the Little men Clinic. Check them out online Little
Speaker 2: Men's Clinic dot com or give them a call. Five
Speaker 2: oh two four four four four thousand. All right, very
Speaker 2: little time left here before we get out of here.
Speaker 2: And We've talked, of course, a lot about the matchups tonight,
Speaker 2: and I'll just tell you what I'm going to roll
Speaker 2: with you guys, can you know, fade, you can tail
Speaker 2: whatever you want to do, do you? But I'm going
Speaker 2: Arkansas plus five and a half. I'm going Alabama minus
Speaker 2: four and a half, Florida minus six and a half.
Speaker 2: And I am going to take the under one fifty
Speaker 2: four and a half in the Duke game.
Speaker 3: I'm doing the same thing.
Speaker 4: We got the exact same thing, do we?
Speaker 3: Yeah, how about it? We've kind of been brewing this up,
Speaker 3: how about it?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Now about I've been through throughout the whole breaks of
Speaker 4: inside baseball, but I like it the under completely tailing
Speaker 4: the under.
Speaker 2: Is uh is is really from a competitives from an
Speaker 2: entertainment standpoint, it's it's it's no way to live, as
Speaker 2: they say, right like, but if you think that's like
Speaker 2: and it's a point, this will probably be, you know,
Speaker 2: considered a jinx by some. But when I bet unders,
Speaker 2: I know, going in like, I'm only doing it because
Speaker 2: I just think that's the best move here, because you
Speaker 2: don't want to bet the under unless you just and
Speaker 2: I've I've had success in betting the unders. And it's
Speaker 2: a weird feeling to like, yeah, give me, give me
Speaker 2: a segment where combined they score, you know, in between
Speaker 2: TV timeouts, the teams combined for six points, like, and
Speaker 2: it's crazy how it just passed in just in just
Speaker 2: stretches of play. You know. Okay, that's really good for
Speaker 2: the over or really bad for the over vice versa.
Speaker 3: That was really good for the under or really bad.
Speaker 2: And I mean, hell, we were riding on Sunday and
Speaker 2: that meaningless buzzer beater from Baylor gave us the over.
Speaker 3: Wouldn't that the Baylor do game?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 3: It was Yukon Yukon Florida.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know, and that's one that, let's be honest,
Speaker 2: like that's luck. I mean, that's what it was. But
Speaker 2: sometimes that's that's what it takes to beat the book.
Speaker 2: But yeah, looking forward to tonight's games and tomorrow we
Speaker 2: got another round of them. We'll be back tomorrow to
Speaker 2: of course react to what happened last night and get
Speaker 2: you set for tomorrow evenings matchups. And I know I've
Speaker 2: said it many times this week, and I guess we'll
Speaker 2: see when we get to next week what the numbers
Speaker 2: look like as far as viewership. But as I look
Speaker 2: at these matchups here on the uh on the sports book,
Speaker 2: on drafting sports book, and it's showing, you know, all
Speaker 2: eight matchups tonight and tomorrow, I know there's no Cinderella,
Speaker 2: and I know that you know, there's really not even
Speaker 2: a I mean, I think when it comes to storylines
Speaker 2: coming from the first weekend, it was the fact that
Speaker 2: there wasn't a Cinderella and the Kevin Willard stuff that's
Speaker 2: certainly one of them. So therefore, like without there being
Speaker 2: a lot of other outside, you know, off the court
Speaker 2: entertaining storylines, it's kind of boring. But man, we should
Speaker 2: have some really good games, and I'm someone that still
Speaker 2: chooses to believe that that's important.
Speaker 3: And again that's what we.
Speaker 2: Have here, and hopefully it plays out that way, and
Speaker 2: of course hopefully you know, the parlay hits all right.
Speaker 3: Quick break.
Speaker 2: In fact, again I lie, not a quick break. I'm
Speaker 2: just so used to saying that. It's a long break,
Speaker 2: twenty one hour break. We're back at it tomorrow right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety