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: All right, five o'clock on a Friday, or at least
Speaker 2: close to it, five oh eight. Very late start here
Speaker 2: for us in the third hour. But that's okay. We'll
Speaker 2: make the most of the time we have left because
Speaker 2: once the show ends today, I'm out for a week.
Speaker 2: I'm on vacation next week, and I don't really know
Speaker 2: what our plans are as far as what you'll have
Speaker 2: without me, but just know I.
Speaker 3: Heard we're getting mister Benetti Monday and Tuesday.
Speaker 4: Okay, good good. I love now that. Like, so I'll
Speaker 4: still be here. There's there's usual Well that's great.
Speaker 2: Usually there is, uh, you know, there's a lot of
Speaker 2: back and forth about you know, what the plans are
Speaker 2: whenever I'm not here because for a while we've just
Speaker 2: been in a position to where there really hasn't been
Speaker 2: you know, we don't really have we have a lot
Speaker 2: of bodies, you know, it's soeting somebody to come in
Speaker 2: and sit here and fill in. It's just one We
Speaker 2: wouldn't just let anybody do it. But also, you know,
Speaker 2: as far as our staff. We just don't have a
Speaker 2: lot of people that are available to do it. So
Speaker 2: it used to be kind of stressful getting ready for vacation,
Speaker 2: having to, like cause even even if I had no like,
Speaker 2: for example, I didn't even know we had Tony filling
Speaker 2: in for a couple of days, which, honestly, you know,
Speaker 2: I'm glad to hear that, but I've had I've had
Speaker 2: no involvement, and that's the way it should be, right, Like,
Speaker 2: let me go on vacation and you guys worry about it,
Speaker 2: which they're doing, which is great. But yeah, even though
Speaker 2: I'm not involved, like I'm still gonna be at time's
Speaker 2: thinking like, well, I hope, I hope the show's in
Speaker 2: good shape just because I'm a warrior. That's that's my nature.
Speaker 2: So enjoy the week without me. I know you'll miss me.
Speaker 3: Oh, I know, I already know that you're going to
Speaker 3: tune in when you're somewhere on the beach. Let me
Speaker 3: see how coffee and companies do when you're just gonna
Speaker 3: hear ember flames and then you're gonna hear Gus yelling,
Speaker 3: and then Tony like apologizing for something, and then just somehow.
Speaker 2: D White's involved and it's weird. Yeah, I could see it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And I'll just be here just being chick yep, just
Speaker 2: trying to you know, trying.
Speaker 4: To get by.
Speaker 2: So I'll be out for a week back the following week.
Speaker 2: It'll set up nice because it'll be right in time
Speaker 2: for the National Championship game, and who knows who it's
Speaker 2: going to be playing, but we do know who is
Speaker 2: at least advanced to the elite ad. After last night,
Speaker 2: we had a it would ended up being a blowout,
Speaker 2: but a really entertaining game because Alabama was on fire.
Speaker 2: Twenty five to three pointers made broke a record, and
Speaker 2: that version of Bama nobody's beating them. And that don't
Speaker 2: just mean twenty five threes, but like I think they
Speaker 2: could have made eighteen threes and it would be tough
Speaker 2: to beat them when they're playing that well. I mean,
Speaker 2: they were efficient, and they weren't great defensively, and they
Speaker 2: just aren't in general. But they also played a team
Speaker 2: that you know, is one of the best offenses in
Speaker 2: the country. So that's why Bama is a head scratcher
Speaker 2: for me, because they're a victim of their own offensive success.
Speaker 2: They know they don't have to prioritize defense because they
Speaker 2: could score with anybody. Now sometimes it's bit them and
Speaker 2: they've just laid an egg. But when you play good
Speaker 2: teams that you know, last night the worry was that
Speaker 2: b may just be hot enough to match them. Well, no, BYU,
Speaker 2: just try to do the same thing. BYU is a
Speaker 2: very mild version of what Alabama is. And that's how
Speaker 2: it played out. Second game Maryland, they fought hard for
Speaker 2: in the first half but got away from in the
Speaker 2: second half. Is Florida moves on. Maryland season ends, and
Speaker 2: maybe Kevin Willard's time in Maryland has come to it.
Speaker 2: And we'll get to that in just a second. But obviously,
Speaker 2: what an unusual last week or so it's been for
Speaker 2: Kevin Willard at Maryland and.
Speaker 4: Then the later games Arizona.
Speaker 2: I thought if I was an Arizona fan, I wouldn't
Speaker 2: be happy today because you know, sucks when it's over.
Speaker 2: But I thought they competed and they just ran in
Speaker 2: like I didn't think that Arizona looked fraudulent or man,
Speaker 2: they played awful. They just played a duke team that's
Speaker 2: really good and they're playing really well right now. And
Speaker 2: I don't think they're gonna be easy to beat. And
Speaker 2: I'm loving the idea of seeing potentially a Florida Duke
Speaker 2: national championship game.
Speaker 4: Others may have something to say.
Speaker 2: About that, but Duke's playing really well, and so is
Speaker 2: this Florida team. And then of course Caliperry crumbles, and
Speaker 2: it was It was a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 4: It really was.
Speaker 2: And one thing I've mentioned here and there throughout the
Speaker 2: show today is that when Cal got it rolling at
Speaker 2: the end of the season, well he didn't really, and
Speaker 2: in fact he was. I was surprised they got a
Speaker 2: ten seed, really, but the SEC got a lot of
Speaker 2: seeds and a lot of teams in and you know,
Speaker 2: makes sense. But when he beat Bill self and then
Speaker 2: he beat Patino and he became I think the biggest
Speaker 2: storyline of the Sweet sixteen, Kentucky fans, at least some
Speaker 2: of them, well, all good for him, you know, I'm
Speaker 2: happy for him. Maybe they wouldn't go that far to
Speaker 2: say they're happy for him, but they would say, you know,
Speaker 2: oh yeah, good for him.
Speaker 4: You know, I'm glad. We're happy over here.
Speaker 2: Like it worked out better for everybody, see, like we
Speaker 2: get you know, everything's fine, but like deep down, you
Speaker 2: didn't want to see him in the sweet sixteen. You
Speaker 2: know that when you woke up Sunday after he'd already
Speaker 2: punched his ticket to the second weekend, you knew that, like, oh,
Speaker 2: this would be a really bad look. It wouldn't really
Speaker 2: say anything about our coach of the future. But man,
Speaker 2: if they go to the Sweet sixteen in the first
Speaker 2: year with cal and we don't with Pope again, has
Speaker 2: nothing to do with the future, but like it's it's
Speaker 2: something you clearly want to avoid because that's your ex.
Speaker 2: You got divorced, and you want to be winning the breakup.
Speaker 2: And Kentucky won the breakup in the regular season in
Speaker 2: every way as far as just being a lot better
Speaker 2: than Arkansas, But could you really feel that way when
Speaker 2: they beat you when they weren't good at one in
Speaker 2: five in the SEC And if they would have gone
Speaker 2: to the sweet sixteen and you didn't, like I think
Speaker 2: you know the wild world of college basketball as far
Speaker 2: as how we view it, I think despite knowing you
Speaker 2: were a better team, I think you'd have to say
Speaker 2: they won the breakup. Now again, you avoided that because
Speaker 2: you did make the Sweet sixteen, and now they've lost
Speaker 2: and I'm sure, most Kentucky fans are very happy, feeling
Speaker 2: much more loose and relaxed today, and now they're going
Speaker 2: to see if they can get it done tonight. But
Speaker 2: real quick, just back to the Caliperry crumbling. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's his x's and o's clearly are his weakness as
Speaker 2: a coach. He is so good at other things that
Speaker 2: he's been able to have a lot of success.
Speaker 4: He's a Hall of.
Speaker 2: Famer, and he's probably not the worst when it comes
Speaker 2: to sexas and o's, but man, last night was a
Speaker 2: good reminder of how bad he is. And anytime you
Speaker 2: think of Kentucky or even Arkansas for that matter, being
Speaker 2: really successful Memphis go back to UMass. When his teams
Speaker 2: are at their best, there's rarely things you can point
Speaker 2: to when it comes to strategy or plays or style
Speaker 2: that's like, Wow, this guy's really really good. You just
Speaker 2: realize that he's got really good players and they're playing
Speaker 2: really well and they're confident. So he's been able to
Speaker 2: be super successful and really for the most part, not
Speaker 2: hide his weakness of x's and o's, but clearly still
Speaker 2: be really good despite him falling short in that category.
Speaker 2: He's a really good recruiter, no doubt about that. Clearly
Speaker 2: a good leader, I think when it comes to coaching
Speaker 2: and developing I don't think developing players when it comes
Speaker 2: to like, wow, this guy couldn't use his.
Speaker 4: Left hand, but Manny went.
Speaker 2: He went with like the whole member the camp cal
Speaker 2: thing where they would he'd you know, I mean cal
Speaker 2: used to kind of either lean into it or just
Speaker 2: have no self awareness. Remember when he would talk about
Speaker 2: the tweak with a tweak, of course they're smiling and
Speaker 2: practice like the tweak. I mean again, he either had
Speaker 2: no self awareness that like.
Speaker 3: The fans bought it though, or he was.
Speaker 2: Playing a joke on himself and leaning into it because
Speaker 2: nobody they're just started playing better, like they didn't do
Speaker 2: anything different, there's no tweak, And all I do was
Speaker 2: bring more attention to when you watch them play like,
Speaker 2: there's really not a whole lot of you know, deep
Speaker 2: strategy to it. So he's always going to be dangerous
Speaker 2: because he's always going to one bring in talent, rather
Speaker 2: it be the portal now or from the freshman ranks,
Speaker 2: and he will he I think we'll get the young
Speaker 2: guys better prepared to perform in college than any other coach,
Speaker 2: and I was very careful with my words there, because
Speaker 2: what I'm saying is that he will like when he
Speaker 2: babies them in press conferences, Oh, they're young, they're young,
Speaker 2: and then all the fans think of.
Speaker 4: What are you talking about, dude, you chose to be young.
Speaker 4: You can't use that as an excuse.
Speaker 2: I think he does that just to piss fans off,
Speaker 2: because he likes doing that, likes pushing buttons. But I
Speaker 2: think behind the scenes he doesn't baby them. I mean
Speaker 2: he says things like, you know, we can't hide you here.
Speaker 2: I think that's a real thing that he instills in
Speaker 2: them from day one, that like, doesn't matter that you're eighteen,
Speaker 2: you've got to play.
Speaker 4: This is what we do here.
Speaker 2: And they take lumps early, they look like freshmen early,
Speaker 2: but usually by the end of February March. I mean, they're,
Speaker 2: as the saying goes, not freshmen anymore, and they're showing
Speaker 2: why they were five star recruits that are believed to be,
Speaker 2: you know, lottery picks. So I don't see that changing.
Speaker 2: And with that, he'll always be dangerous like he was
Speaker 2: in the first weekend. But the guy hasn't won a
Speaker 2: second championship. And you've got to think about all the
Speaker 2: great teams he had where it was right in front
Speaker 2: of them and he couldn't He couldn't get it done
Speaker 2: because he would lose to coaches who we don't think
Speaker 2: are great. He'd lose to teams that you think, how
Speaker 2: the help they beat that Kentucky team, And all falls
Speaker 2: back to his inability to end games, strategize and scheme
Speaker 2: and not to you know, say something that makes it
Speaker 2: seem like I'm connected to.
Speaker 4: Coaches at a high level. I'm not.
Speaker 2: But like I know enough to know that coaches behind
Speaker 2: the scenes, like they respect cal in a way that like, yeah,
Speaker 2: he's he gets it done. He's gonna put a team
Speaker 2: on the floor that I know more often than not,
Speaker 2: I'm not going to have the edge when it comes
Speaker 2: to talent. But like they all just talk about like
Speaker 2: they don't do anything, Like they don't, they don't like
Speaker 2: there's not a.
Speaker 4: Whole lot to it.
Speaker 2: There's not a lot of structure. It's just you know,
Speaker 2: really talented players, you know, taking turns. I mean not
Speaker 2: to not to make it sound so simple, but like
Speaker 2: and not that it's that way every play, but like
Speaker 2: a lot of what a lot of you know, the
Speaker 2: foundation of Kentucky offensively and even Deepen is just hey,
Speaker 2: we got better talent, let's just go show it. I mean,
Speaker 2: not to not to take a complete left turn here,
Speaker 2: but like remember Kenny Payne, look who he learned from.
Speaker 2: And look Kenny Payne tried to do and he you know,
Speaker 2: he doesn't have the ability to you know, like do
Speaker 2: anything that Cal can do.
Speaker 4: That's a good thing.
Speaker 2: He just tried to utilize the thing that Cal's bad
Speaker 2: at and he brought it here and didn't do all
Speaker 2: the good things. So you know, anyways, but it was
Speaker 2: wild to see a sixteen point lead disappear. I mean
Speaker 2: they actually were up six with one minute and fifteen
Speaker 2: seconds left. I mean it was the careless turnover that
Speaker 2: Billy Richmond had that led to a Texas Tech bucket
Speaker 2: and then they got an offensive rebound. DJ Wagner jacks
Speaker 2: up a quick three pointer when he is not a
Speaker 2: good shooter, misses that. Jenelle Davis got tied up for
Speaker 2: that jump ball, which led to uh Texas tag getting PSS.
Speaker 4: So I mean.
Speaker 2: A masterclass of Cal not handling late game situations well
Speaker 2: when it comes to decisions and just strategy, and those
Speaker 2: are two different things. By the way, decisions you know,
Speaker 2: like the fouling are not fouling those kind of things,
Speaker 2: like that's a decision. That's a stance that coaches have.
Speaker 2: Some are different than others. But then strategy is like, okay,
Speaker 2: situational here we are, let's do this. We've got six
Speaker 2: options here because we practiced this, we knew we were
Speaker 2: going to be in this late. And I don't want
Speaker 2: to act like the guy has never picked up a clipboard,
Speaker 2: but like there's I mean, last night really screamed.
Speaker 4: We don't really have a plan.
Speaker 2: All right, We'll talk more about tonight's games in just
Speaker 2: a second, but real quick, Kevin Willard, I mean last
Speaker 2: night seeing Maryland go down the way they did, and
Speaker 2: just everything about it, like he got booed when he
Speaker 2: was walking to the bus from the hotel, like his
Speaker 2: fans hate him, which I I tried to put myself
Speaker 2: in their shoes last night as far as like if
Speaker 2: I was a fan of this team and this was happening,
Speaker 2: Like how would I deal with it? Because you've got
Speaker 2: such a distraction, You're in turmoil, and yet you're playing
Speaker 2: in the Sweet sixteen for the second time in twenty
Speaker 2: five years, like it should be a good day, and
Speaker 2: there's just like there's so much uncertainty, Like it was
Speaker 2: such an unusual thing that.
Speaker 4: I couldn't relate.
Speaker 2: But I thought, Okay, if in fact, if in fact
Speaker 2: this was Louisville and this was playing out, one thing
Speaker 2: that would hit me in the fields more than anything
Speaker 2: was just the realization that with and this is not
Speaker 2: a surprise, but I think the Maryland and Willard situation
Speaker 2: just gives you another reminder that this is all transactional,
Speaker 2: all of it. Like Kevin Willard, he coached at Maryland.
Speaker 2: He knows he can stay at Maryland and get a
Speaker 2: you know, sign a contract that's going to make him
Speaker 2: one of the top ten paid coaches in the country,
Speaker 2: or he can go to Villanova and be another you know,
Speaker 2: and clearly, you know, like he's he's not connect he's
Speaker 2: not connected to Maryland fans. He's not worried about like
Speaker 2: anything with Maryland, because again, it's all transactional, and with
Speaker 2: coaches it always really has been. For the most part,
Speaker 2: players they couldn't leave. They were stuck with us. So
Speaker 2: you know, through the good and the bad, we develop,
Speaker 2: you know, a relationship, and I mean player and fan
Speaker 2: to where they do get that connection because even if
Speaker 2: they wanted to leave, they couldn't and wouldn't. So they
Speaker 2: stay at a place for three years, maybe they fall
Speaker 2: in love with it. Well, Maryland players, they don't care.
Speaker 2: Most of these guys from Maryland have been there two
Speaker 2: years at most, or one year from the portal or
Speaker 2: you know, they're freshman dere queen.
Speaker 4: It's like they're not.
Speaker 2: Worried about what Kevin Willard's gonna do because you know what,
Speaker 2: if they want to keep playing college basketball, they have
Speaker 2: eligibility left. Kevin Willard gets another job, though us go
Speaker 2: with him. They don't care, like it's never it's not
Speaker 2: about your brand, your fan base, your like you know
Speaker 2: why Villanova, if they don't get Willard, they're gonna have
Speaker 2: to go get a very underwhelming hire, I'm sure compared
Speaker 2: to what they have with Jay Wright is because that
Speaker 2: kind of stuff, it's all transactional, it's all money, it's
Speaker 2: all opportunity. And that's just why, you know, it is
Speaker 2: wild to think that there are programs that now have
Speaker 2: built their they have built it up to where they're
Speaker 2: so successful. They have been for generations that they're top
Speaker 2: dogs and they had some like what they were able
Speaker 2: to utilize to build it over time to be one
Speaker 2: of the best ever.
Speaker 4: What they utilized that others didn't have now means nothing.
Speaker 4: So be thankful if you are.
Speaker 2: A blue blood that has deep pockets because you've been
Speaker 2: a successful program forever and like it's just a priority,
Speaker 2: always going to be because what got you there that
Speaker 2: gave you the advantage of everybody else that didn't achieve
Speaker 2: the status that you have. I don't want to say
Speaker 2: it's worthless, but it kind of is. It helps you,
Speaker 2: but like it can't just be it. You can have
Speaker 2: countless championships, you can have, you know, the biggest fan
Speaker 2: base in the world. You can have opportunity to play
Speaker 2: in front of a big crowd and on national television
Speaker 2: because you are that kind of a program. But if
Speaker 2: you don't got you don't have the check to match
Speaker 2: it anymore. That alone doesn't do it. I'm gonna makeing sense,
Speaker 2: like if you because Villanova is a rare situation. I
Speaker 2: don't know if they're a blue blood, but look, they
Speaker 2: got three titles. They're up there. You know they're not
Speaker 2: They're not in the Uh you know, they're not in
Speaker 2: the poor section. They're they're up there. I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't know where they'd rank, but again, we're talking about
Speaker 2: a program that is clearly in the top you know
Speaker 2: ten of all time.
Speaker 4: Top fifty, certainly.
Speaker 2: But yet they they have the success, they have the tradition,
Speaker 2: they have the championships, they have the you know, they
Speaker 2: have some relevancy they have I don't they don't have
Speaker 2: a big fan base, but like if they don't, they
Speaker 2: don't have money though, and that will get them buried forever.
Speaker 2: Just one of those things that I'm not sure. Like
Speaker 2: last night, Maryland players weren't worried about Maryland fans being
Speaker 2: in turmoil. And I don't want to say they're heartless
Speaker 2: and they don't care about fans, but like it just doesn't.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's you're not gonna have that connection that
Speaker 2: you used to get. And because of that, I mean,
Speaker 2: fans will because they love their program. This isn't every
Speaker 2: year thing, like coaches come and go, players come in
Speaker 2: and go every year now, but like you couldn't quit
Speaker 2: it if you tried, so you as a Maryland fan
Speaker 2: yesterday are thinking like this is insane.
Speaker 4: We're back in the Sweet sixteen. I love Kevin Willard.
Speaker 2: I love this team, but the way he's handled it now,
Speaker 2: I hate him and I don't know if he's gonna stay. Well,
Speaker 2: it didn't really bother your team, because again, like what
Speaker 2: do they care? They'll just they if they are still
Speaker 2: eligible and they want to keep playing. There's a good
Speaker 2: chance Kevin Willard will bring them with him wherever he goes.
Speaker 2: Or maybe they'll just stick around at Maryland and get
Speaker 2: it begin Aisle deal and play for a new coach,
Speaker 2: which isn't a big deal anymore, because you know what, nowadays,
Speaker 2: you can play for four coaches in four years if
Speaker 2: you want. It's just a new world, man. I know
Speaker 2: I've really talked about that a ton this week, but
Speaker 2: as the tournament progresses, I just think there are more
Speaker 2: and more blatant signs that, man, this is not at
Speaker 2: all what it once was. All right, quick break, we'll
Speaker 2: talk about tonight's matchups on the other side and figure
Speaker 2: out what we want to wager. Also, we will talk
Speaker 2: a little more about these transfers that Kentucky's already landed
Speaker 2: one in the portal today, Louisvill's got one visiting, and.
Speaker 4: As you could expect.
Speaker 2: There's also a lot of guys in the portal mentioning
Speaker 2: certain schools I think to you know, boost their brand.
Speaker 2: That happened yesterday. We'll talk about it right here on
Speaker 2: 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: A couple of you have asked if I have heard
Speaker 2: anything on the Nate ament and recruitment, and I haven't.
Speaker 2: I'm sure you probably have followed it better than I have.
Speaker 2: He I mean, it just very much seems like it's
Speaker 2: gonna come down to the highest bidder and if Louisville
Speaker 2: can make it work, great, If not, I'm not going
Speaker 2: to lose sleep over it, because yes, there's a lot
Speaker 2: of cachet that comes with an elite level freshmen of
Speaker 2: that caliber, but we already have one and mckail brown
Speaker 2: junior and he's maybe not ranked as high as Nate event,
Speaker 2: but not far off. I mean, he's a top ten player.
Speaker 2: So I mean, I I think you need to make
Speaker 2: sure that the portal is the priority when roster, you know,
Speaker 2: whenever you're building your roster in the off season. But
Speaker 2: you still I mean, I don't think you have to
Speaker 2: even go to go with freshmen. But you know there's
Speaker 2: still gonna be some freshmen out there that coaches think
Speaker 2: highly enough that say, okay, yeah, ninety percent of my
Speaker 2: new additions are going to be from the portal.
Speaker 4: But this guy, he's special. We can get him. Let's
Speaker 4: make it happen.
Speaker 2: So just like the Jaden quaintance from last year at
Speaker 2: Arizona State, I mean, it would have been great to
Speaker 2: get a guy like that just because of his presence,
Speaker 2: and man, what a statement it would have been for
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey right out of the gate.
Speaker 4: But you didn't. You save money and you used it wisely.
Speaker 4: All Right, it's Coffee and Company.
Speaker 2: Peilbout Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety so we've
Speaker 2: talked a little bit about the Kentucky game. I think
Speaker 2: that this just I mean, I just saw a stat
Speaker 2: about Kobe Brea that that it's got to be like
Speaker 2: another sign that there's just I shouldn't say there's no scenario.
Speaker 2: And lord, that's what it really comes down to for
Speaker 2: me is that I don't I don't want to be
Speaker 2: rooting for Kentucky so that I will win money. I
Speaker 2: don't want them losing. I don't want to grant them
Speaker 2: that sound yeah, and I don't want to. I don't
Speaker 2: want to. I don't want them losing and the joy
Speaker 2: that I typically get from that be weakened because I
Speaker 2: didn't win a bet, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 2: I just want to avoid it at all costs, But
Speaker 2: I don't know if I if I can, because I mean,
Speaker 2: Kobe Brea an elite shooter and has always shot it
Speaker 2: well in the tournament. This is from optastats. He has
Speaker 2: shot better than fifty percent from the field while also
Speaker 2: making three or more three pointers in all four of
Speaker 2: his career in C DOUBLEA tournament games. That's the longest
Speaker 2: streak by any player in the NC DOUBLEA tournament at
Speaker 2: any point in a career. And again, that seemed like
Speaker 2: a very you know, particular stat which it is, I guess,
Speaker 2: but still like I just think, if Kentucky plays well,
Speaker 2: they have to play great. But if they play well,
Speaker 2: they beat Tennessee because Tennessee is just I don't know
Speaker 2: where you give Tennessee the edge. I really don't, and
Speaker 2: defensively would would be I think what you would typically say,
Speaker 2: and maybe they are when it comes to you know,
Speaker 2: like Ken Palm, but Amari Williams is a great rim protector,
Speaker 2: good shot blocker, and they were vulnerable on the perimeter
Speaker 2: when it comes to defense at times this year. But
Speaker 2: when you've got Lamont Butler and he's healthy and playing
Speaker 2: the way he's playing, like those other guys don't have
Speaker 2: to be great. Clearly you can have some vulnerability defensively,
Speaker 2: but will take Away and Butler together, Like this team
Speaker 2: has gone from I think, you know, being a team
Speaker 2: that's vulnerable on the perimeter defensively to where maybe they
Speaker 2: can really get after you. Like, I just don't see
Speaker 2: where Tennessee in any way is you know, again they
Speaker 2: can win. I get why they're favorites. I'm not trying
Speaker 2: to act like it's David vs. Goliath, but I just
Speaker 2: think there's not an area where I feel like Tennessee
Speaker 2: is gonna really exploit and take advantage of Kentucky's a
Speaker 2: weakness for Kentucky or they're going to be able to
Speaker 2: just emphasize the strength of Theirs that Kentucky won't be
Speaker 2: able to account for. But I don't know if i'm'll
Speaker 2: be able to make the better or not. Probably gonna
Speaker 2: be stay away from me so, Michigan State Ole miss.
Speaker 2: This is the rematch from the twenty nineteen final four.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry twenty yeah, twenty nineteen final four, not between
Speaker 2: these two teams, I should say.
Speaker 4: Sorry.
Speaker 2: I'm seeing if there's an updated in line here, but
Speaker 2: it's a rematch between Izzoh and Chris Beard. And Chris Beard,
Speaker 2: you know, he's always been able to play late the
Speaker 2: under you know, the under the radar, chip on the
Speaker 2: shoulder kind of guy. Like that's how he was built.
Speaker 2: And he was really really good in those moments like
Speaker 2: when everybody started to realize how bad ass of a
Speaker 2: coach this guy was. You know, before he got arrested
Speaker 2: for putting his hands on his wife, he was the
Speaker 2: guy who was at what Central Arkansas or somewhere like that,
Speaker 2: and and you know, they won a couple of tournament games,
Speaker 2: I think, and then he ends up at Texas Tech,
Speaker 2: builds them up to there all the way at the
Speaker 2: championship game. And he was also you know, which is
Speaker 2: wild how it worked out, Like you know, he embraced
Speaker 2: being like the little brother to Texas Tech and you know,
Speaker 2: being able to.
Speaker 4: Whoop their ass like he was.
Speaker 2: He was really comfortable in that role, and at Texas
Speaker 2: he wasn't there long and also he couldn't do that
Speaker 2: it old miss. You know, it's kind of like a
Speaker 2: getting his feet back underneath him. And this year, if
Speaker 2: you listen to him after their tournament wins, like he's
Speaker 2: embracing like nobody gave us a chance, which is kind
Speaker 2: of ridiculous. But you know, they were a six seed.
Speaker 2: I always stay was three seed, and they absolutely you know,
Speaker 2: they absolutely use that as like, Okay, we'll show them
Speaker 2: they think they're better than us. And another one that
Speaker 2: I think just will remind.
Speaker 4: You how he's wired. I forgot about this, but.
Speaker 2: You remember when Carolina won the playing game and got
Speaker 2: to play Ole Miss. Remember that Austin, Yeah, Carolina was favored,
Speaker 2: Remember Yeah, like he you know that's not a journalist,
Speaker 2: that's not somebody that's asking them a question in the
Speaker 2: press conference. But the oddsmakers made Carolina favorite, and he
Speaker 2: is really fueled by that. So I think that's why
Speaker 2: you're seeing Texas Tech only three and a half point dogs.
Speaker 2: So I mean that's the explanation that I would give
Speaker 2: you if you ask, which a lot of people have asked,
Speaker 2: how is this only minus three and a half, like
Speaker 2: it should be closer to like, you know, maybe minus
Speaker 2: six and a half seven and a half. And I
Speaker 2: just think it's because that's a good spot for Chris Beard. However,
Speaker 2: Michigan State's just better. They're more balanced. I don't love
Speaker 2: this play, but I think Michigan State minus three and
Speaker 2: a half is is the smart move here. Michigan Auburn,
Speaker 2: what do you like here? I like Michigan to compete.
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, if Craig couldn't couldn't, you know, keep it
Speaker 2: within single digits. I'm thinking, well, maybe maybe Michigan wouldn't
Speaker 2: be able to because I still think Creighton was a
Speaker 2: good team.
Speaker 4: I really do. In Michigan.
Speaker 2: You know, they don't have the shooters that that Creighton has,
Speaker 2: but they've got capable guys and they don't have a Caulkbrinner,
Speaker 2: but they got they got uh not a lot of
Speaker 2: people do, that's true, but they've got they got two
Speaker 2: bigs that are that are that are pretty dangerous and
Speaker 2: Danny wolf And and Vlad Golden. So that's a really
Speaker 2: tough Like last last night, or as we were wrapped
Speaker 2: up the show yesterday, I should say I felt good
Speaker 2: about three of those picks that it was the ones
Speaker 2: that that you know came in. Yeah, I don't feel
Speaker 2: great about any game other than the Kentucky one.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 2: But I do feel I feel good about Michigan State,
Speaker 2: the Michigan Auburn one. I'm really torn. What do you
Speaker 2: what are you thinking? What's your gut? Say eight and
Speaker 2: a Half's the number?
Speaker 3: Gut tells me Auburn. But like the fun factor would
Speaker 3: go with Michigan obviously, And.
Speaker 2: I think Dusty May is a good coach to where
Speaker 2: like I feel like he'll compete. And even when last
Speaker 2: year I was kind of whatever about him, it wasn't
Speaker 2: because I didn't think he was a good coach.
Speaker 4: I just didn't understand.
Speaker 2: Like again, I think going to a Final four is
Speaker 2: always worth really propping somebody up.
Speaker 4: But there's got to be other data.
Speaker 2: Included than just one run. Dusty May had coached a
Speaker 2: lot of years where he was average or not good,
Speaker 2: and then he had a Final four. Pat Kelsey has
Speaker 2: won conferences at different schools multiple times to where even
Speaker 2: though like again, I will take a coach, it's hard
Speaker 2: to just ignore a magical run. But if you make
Speaker 2: the tournament seven eight times, at two schools like Winthrop
Speaker 2: and Charleston because you're winning your conference tournament. You getting
Speaker 2: there that many times shows how good you are at
Speaker 2: that level. You're not expected to win when you get
Speaker 2: there as a fourteenth seed. Sometimes it happens. So if
Speaker 2: you really think about it, there's more you and a
Speaker 2: guy that just has proven he could win, win, win,
Speaker 2: win than a guy who like Porter Moser dudes literally
Speaker 2: living on a one. He's coached for thirty years seemingly,
Speaker 2: and he said one season that would ever even indicate
Speaker 2: that he would be worthy of like the jobs that
Speaker 2: he's gotten. So anyways, Dusty May I think is a
Speaker 2: good coach. I think they'll compete, but Auburn's just a
Speaker 2: lot more talented, right I have, I'd probably take Auburn covering. Yeah,
Speaker 2: That's where I'm leaning now.
Speaker 3: And you also like Purdue, don't you?
Speaker 4: I do?
Speaker 2: But I'm starting to like realize that this like Houston
Speaker 2: last year lost in what round was it? I can't
Speaker 2: think of when it was, because you know, I.
Speaker 3: Look at it losing the first weekend? Did they well?
Speaker 2: One of their best players got hurt, and Kelvin Sampson's
Speaker 2: had a great job of re of getting Houston back
Speaker 2: on the map as like a power pro. I mean,
Speaker 2: they've won the Big Twelve in their first two years
Speaker 2: there with games to spare each time, like they've been
Speaker 2: like Kelvin Samsons a damn good coach, and Houston's had
Speaker 2: some really good teams. But they lost in the final
Speaker 2: four to Baylor the year they won it by like
Speaker 2: a billion and that was that made it seem like, Okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: they were cute, but they were in the American and
Speaker 2: that's really not the case. Like they're good regardless, and
Speaker 2: they have been. They've shown it in the Big Twelve
Speaker 2: and last year they fell short in the in the
Speaker 2: Sweet sixteen, and it was when their best player got
Speaker 2: hurt and I can't think of his name as one
Speaker 2: of their guards that went down ACL I think it was,
Speaker 2: and they just clearly weren't the same. So, you know,
Speaker 2: I just I'm starting to think that they just will
Speaker 2: have too much for Purdue, and I don't know, I mean,
Speaker 2: this could be nothing, but Kelvin Sampson is going to
Speaker 2: be playing in the state of Indiana and he's gonna
Speaker 2: be playing Indiana's rival Perdue, which, by the way, like
Speaker 2: because Houston still doesn't get any real recognition for a
Speaker 2: team is as good as they are. Nobody's gonna talk
Speaker 2: about Houston playing a three seed in the Sweet sixteen
Speaker 2: and a damn road game. Houston's playing Purdue in Indy.
Speaker 2: That's a road game. Like it's a one seed getting
Speaker 2: a road game in the sweet sixteen for a team
Speaker 2: that is what the what seed is Purdue four? I
Speaker 2: think they're four? Yes, So the four seed. It's on
Speaker 2: like sixty five mile trip. The four seed had to
Speaker 2: get by a high point team as a twelve and
Speaker 2: a was it a thirteen seed as a in McNeice Yeah, McNeice.
Speaker 2: And now they get a home game. I mean, Purdue's
Speaker 2: really been fortunate, and I like, again, I think Purdue
Speaker 2: this year is is a good reminder of how good
Speaker 2: of a coach Matt Painter is. He does it his
Speaker 2: own way. He's got a rare way, rare buill to
Speaker 2: his rosters, which makes them vulnerable at times. Certainly we've
Speaker 2: seen that, but they're also consistent, like they're they're good
Speaker 2: at what they do. But I just feel like Houston,
Speaker 2: I kind of feel like they can overwhelm them. But
Speaker 2: maybe maybe Houston will play even more fired up because
Speaker 2: Kelvin Sampson, this is what he had to say, and
Speaker 2: it could just be him answering the question directly, or
Speaker 2: maybe there's something.
Speaker 1: To it for you just to be back in the
Speaker 1: Hoosier State here in Indiana.
Speaker 4: What's that like for you personally?
Speaker 3: And then said has it made anything to me?
Speaker 4: I'm just looking forward to playing Purdue Friday night.
Speaker 2: So for those who don't remember Kelvin Samson, like one
Speaker 2: of the all time what ifs in college basketball I
Speaker 2: think is if Calvin Sampson never left Indiana or never
Speaker 2: got fired, because he's proven at all times to be
Speaker 2: a great basketball coach. I mean, he was great at Oklahoma,
Speaker 2: took him to a Final Four. They don't go to
Speaker 2: those very often, right, and then he got the Indiana
Speaker 2: job and they were rolling, and then he got in
Speaker 2: trouble for something that even at the time was really
Speaker 2: stupid and it's just insane to think about now that
Speaker 2: that's what led to him being fired from Indiana and
Speaker 2: Indiana they may have literally never even like I mean
Speaker 2: it might have gone. I mean they might have been
Speaker 2: Bobby Knight even at the end wasn't great. That's why
Speaker 2: I came to an end. But like Kelvin Sampson is
Speaker 2: as good of it is, one of the best coaches
Speaker 2: in the game. Indiana will give you everything you need
Speaker 2: to be successful. They've got it wrong in every way
Speaker 2: as far as they're hires. I don't think they get
Speaker 2: it wrong. With Crane, it just kind of maxed out
Speaker 2: and it didn't hit the climax wasn't what they wanted
Speaker 2: it to be. But Kelvin Sampson, that was the right hire.
Speaker 2: It just from then on they were cursed. And I'm
Speaker 2: sure he probably you know, life's better for him now.
Speaker 2: He's doing great, but you know, I'm sure he's still
Speaker 2: not happy about being fired. But again, maybe I'm overthinking
Speaker 2: the connections here. But all right, last break, we'll go
Speaker 2: back on the other side and I'll figure out what
Speaker 2: I'm doing. Keep it locked right here on Sports Talk
Speaker 2: seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: All right, listen up, because I won't be here next
Speaker 2: week to tell you because I'll be on vacation. So
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Speaker 4: Well, I do mean that.
Speaker 2: What I think is is what I try to emphasize,
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Speaker 2: that was me for years. I just assume, well, you know,
Speaker 2: this is life. And then there were other things like,
Speaker 2: you know, just being tired, lethargic, losing my edge overall.
Speaker 2: And then I thought, you know what, I guess maybe
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Speaker 2: at five two four four four four thousand. So for
Speaker 2: those of you that have any interest in these kin
Speaker 2: Palm numbers, I'll give them to you. So it's a
Speaker 2: night's game. The projected score is seventy six seventy one
Speaker 2: Tennessee and the Michigan State Ole Miss game projected score
Speaker 2: seventy three to seventy Purdue Houston projected score seventy one
Speaker 2: to sixty four, Houston winning, and then in the Auburn
Speaker 2: Michigan game projected score eighty to seventy two. So I mean,
Speaker 2: keep in mind, this is a formula. The odds are
Speaker 2: set by you know, a human, and aren't they. I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm looking at it now, I'm pretty sure it's it's
Speaker 2: just the hook. It's it's the number with a hook
Speaker 2: on it, right, yes, because Tennessee wins by five and
Speaker 2: Kim Palm it's a five and a half point line
Speaker 2: or four and a half point line, and the Old
Speaker 2: Miss Michigan State seventy three seventy it's a three point
Speaker 2: win for Michigan State three and a half the hook
Speaker 2: and then Perdue, the win is a eight point win
Speaker 2: for I'm sorry, seven point win for Purdue. I'm sorry
Speaker 2: for Houston over Purdue. But the line is eight and
Speaker 2: a half. So that one's a little that that one's
Speaker 2: that one's you know, that one's more than just that's
Speaker 2: that's basically a point and a half difference. And then
Speaker 2: in the Auburn Michigan it's an eight point victory for
Speaker 2: Auburn and the spreads eight and a half.
Speaker 4: So I don't I don't think, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be shocked if they just reference that and
Speaker 2: and go from there. I mean I would because usually,
Speaker 2: I mean, that's the thing you can't. I mean, if
Speaker 2: you if you follows exactly what kin Palm does, you
Speaker 2: know you could be off by point and lose, and
Speaker 2: you would you wouldn't believe how often that happens.
Speaker 4: I mean that kim Palm.
Speaker 2: Is is is back because last year, you mean the
Speaker 2: year before that, I think it was starting to decline.
Speaker 2: It's just not as much of a reliable formula because
Speaker 2: it was having to adjust to the sport changing so much.
Speaker 2: But this year was a good year for kin Pom.
Speaker 2: But again, doesn't make it any easier to make a decision,
Speaker 2: makes it easier for the odds makers. All Right, I'm gonna, uh,
Speaker 2: here's what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 4: Let's see, let's do some.
Speaker 2: Quick math here, because I think I have a way
Speaker 2: to get some action. I'm gonna do a straight bet
Speaker 2: on Kentucky to where where if I if I'm right,
Speaker 2: I can cash in and it won't ruin the rest
Speaker 2: of the legs of my parlay. But for this one,
Speaker 2: in the four leg parlay for tonight's game, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: I'm gonna gonna mess with the total, which I told
Speaker 2: myself last night many times with derogatory language that I
Speaker 2: that I will never do it again. Yeah, but Ken Palm,
Speaker 2: I have fun. Ken Palm has it as a one
Speaker 2: forty seven total. The over is set or the over.
Speaker 2: The line is win forty four and a half. I'm
Speaker 2: gonna take the over just because I trust to I could.
Speaker 2: I trust Kentucky to score for sure. And you know,
Speaker 2: Tennessee may not have a great offensive game because they're
Speaker 2: not a great offensive team, but the pace. If Kentucky's
Speaker 2: playing the way they want to play and they're scoring,
Speaker 2: it'll it'll lead to just a lot of points.
Speaker 3: We'll be up there in the seventies.
Speaker 2: Yes, So I'm gonna I'm gonna take the over there,
Speaker 2: and then I'm taking Michigan State minus three and a half,
Speaker 2: and I'm gonna take I'm gonna take Auburn minus eight
Speaker 2: and a half, and I'm also gonna take I'm gonna
Speaker 2: take Houston. I just think from a personnel standpoint, they
Speaker 2: I just think.
Speaker 4: They're they're that they're they're they're that much better, and
Speaker 4: they're going to really make it hard for her due
Speaker 4: to score many points at all. So there you have it.
Speaker 2: I'm taking I'm taking I said Auburn, right, Yes, okay,
Speaker 2: So I'm taking two favorites one uh. In fact, I'm
Speaker 2: taking all three favorites, and then I'm taking the over
Speaker 2: in the Kentucky Tennessee game. And I'm also betting on
Speaker 2: Kentucky to win because I just if they lose and
Speaker 2: I lose some money on a side.
Speaker 4: Bet whatever, it was worth it because they lost.
Speaker 2: If they win, hate to see it, but the account
Speaker 2: won't hate to see it right right, how are we feeling?
Speaker 4: We don't.
Speaker 3: We don't.
Speaker 4: We don't feel as confident as we did yesterday.
Speaker 1: Do it? No?
Speaker 3: I do like the overs though.
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's have some fun then, I let's do it.
Speaker 2: Enjoy the rest of the Sweet sixteen in the Elite eight.
Speaker 2: Enjoy next week. I'll be out and I'll be back
Speaker 2: you know, the following Monday.
Speaker 4: Have a good one.