Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven to nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, We're about two hours away from the first
Speaker 2: postseason game of the pat Kelcierra Louisville and Stanford cards
Speaker 2: currently favored about ten and a half, and I'm not
Speaker 2: surprised at all by that number. They did win by
Speaker 2: twenty just five days ago. But I do think I
Speaker 2: don't want to give a full on, you know, extensive
Speaker 2: breakdown of the Stanford team because I don't think that
Speaker 2: would be interesting by any means. It's not really what
Speaker 2: we do ever. And also I don't think Louisville is
Speaker 2: going to have a huge problem tonight. They could lose, right,
Speaker 2: we know that. But when you play a team in
Speaker 2: consecutive games and you're the winner one, you clearly have
Speaker 2: proven that you're you're better and you know that you
Speaker 2: can beat them, you should be confident you didn't just win,
Speaker 2: you beat them at twenty. But it'd be a lie
Speaker 2: to say that that what I'm about to bring up
Speaker 2: puts like Stanford at an advantage because it's not that.
Speaker 2: But hear me out. You know they you know, louis
Speaker 2: Louisville should come with the same the same game plan
Speaker 2: they should mean, they should just try to do you know,
Speaker 2: try to do the same thing they did the other night,
Speaker 2: which again they were by twenty and I don't even
Speaker 2: feel like they played that well. So you know, you
Speaker 2: just bring the same thing and trust that you're going
Speaker 2: to be able to do it again no matter what
Speaker 2: they do. However, Stanford can now kind of counter that
Speaker 2: in a way and maybe throw something at Louisville Louisville
Speaker 2: didn't expect or see, because for Stanford it's winn or
Speaker 2: go home, right, They need to win the a SEC
Speaker 2: tournament to make the Big Dance, and that seems really
Speaker 2: really unlikely. So again, louis is not a disadvantage at all.
Speaker 2: But I do think you know, you're you could if
Speaker 2: you're smart, and Stanford would would at least, you know,
Speaker 2: try to throw some wrinkles out there that maybe Louisville
Speaker 2: wouldn't have been prepared for because it wasn't something you
Speaker 2: saw in film prior, and it wasn't something you know
Speaker 2: that you necessarily I mean, you don't want to recreate
Speaker 2: who you are in this in this one instance, but
Speaker 2: you know, Louisville. They're just better. I mean, that's what
Speaker 2: it comes down to. And as I've said throughout the
Speaker 2: entire season, certainly said it a few times today thus far.
Speaker 2: What would have me really nervous in situations like this
Speaker 2: would just be based off the fact that you just
Speaker 2: know your team is. It's a coin toss, right, You
Speaker 2: just don't know what you're gonna get. You know what
Speaker 2: they can do, They've proven that. But man, they also
Speaker 2: at times just don't come ready to play. They take
Speaker 2: inferior opponents for granted and put them put themselves in
Speaker 2: vulnerable spots. Yes, they nearly lost to Virginia Tech, same
Speaker 2: thing with EKU long ago. They haven't played great, They're
Speaker 2: not perfect, But this team, more than anything, has shown
Speaker 2: they don't do what I just mentioned. They come ready
Speaker 2: to play their reflection of their head coach. They are
Speaker 2: absolutely going to respect who they're playing. I think they
Speaker 2: have a real appreciation for everything they've been able to
Speaker 2: experience this year. Therefore, they've got what I call comfortable fear.
Speaker 2: They know that a loss here it wouldn't ruin your season.
Speaker 2: I mean it would give you a bad taste in
Speaker 2: your mouth heading to selection Sunday, and it would really
Speaker 2: eliminate the little potential that you have to better your resume.
Speaker 2: I mean, you could still technically, you know, go beat Duke,
Speaker 2: but you know that's easier Seve than done. So the
Speaker 2: one thing I'm not worried about is these guys coming
Speaker 2: ready to play and now maybe they miss shots early,
Speaker 2: maybe they just you know, it's not their night. But
Speaker 2: that's a different thing than you know, just kind of
Speaker 2: coming out flat and very It's still very fresh in
Speaker 2: my mind what they were able to do against Standford
Speaker 2: just five days ago. So therefore I believe that they
Speaker 2: should be able to take care of business tonight. And
Speaker 2: I did mention this at the beginning of the show.
Speaker 2: I knew that if anybody was going to have info
Speaker 2: on this, it would be the one and only Kelly Dickey.
Speaker 2: The official I mean, I think he is the official
Speaker 2: UFL stats Google because he helps Paul Rodgers when it
Speaker 2: comes to the games as far as just knowing all
Speaker 2: these crazy stats. But there can't be many people who
Speaker 2: have a guy like Kelly Dicky in their fan base.
Speaker 2: Part of their program, they can just give you any
Speaker 2: of the random facts and trivia that you would ever want,
Speaker 2: and if you're a diehard fan, I mean you've eat
Speaker 2: that stuff up right because you're interested in your team.
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 2: There's a guy who does it for Kentucky and he's
Speaker 2: great at it, Corey Price, who I believe also helps
Speaker 2: Tom Leech and that crew with the stats. So we
Speaker 2: are lucky around here to have guys who I don't
Speaker 2: know how they have all this information and info. It's
Speaker 2: stats and all that, but it's I think it's awesome.
Speaker 2: So Louisville playing stand for the second consecutive game. I
Speaker 2: said it would be Kelly Dickey who would know the
Speaker 2: last time that happened or if it's ever happened before,
Speaker 2: And sure enough it is not. Stanford's gonna be the
Speaker 2: first opponent Loisvell has ever played back to back. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: I stand corrected. It's the first time it's happened since
Speaker 2: nineteen eighty three, according to Kelly Dicky. Again, I got
Speaker 2: ahead myself. I didn't read his entire tweet, So that's
Speaker 2: me just being an idiot, not him having it wrong.
Speaker 2: So Stamford's the first level opponent as far as back
Speaker 2: to back since they played Memphis State and beat him
Speaker 2: sixty four to sixty two in nineteen eighty three, and
Speaker 2: then turned around and played them in the conference tournament
Speaker 2: same year eighty three, of course, and beat him again
Speaker 2: seventy one to sixty eight. So very similar situation into
Speaker 2: the regular season against the team that you'll end up
Speaker 2: playing in the first round of your conference tournament. For
Speaker 2: what it's worth, ken Palm the projected score here in
Speaker 2: this one, which I haven't even checked, that tells you
Speaker 2: how confident I am, because I usually check ken Palm
Speaker 2: many times throughout the day, and I just in fact
Speaker 2: I have today. But it was more so just because
Speaker 2: I want to bet on games, not because I was
Speaker 2: looking to see what ken Palm had for Louisville. But
Speaker 2: for this game tonight, a seventy seven to sixty eight,
Speaker 2: nine point victory for the Cards. On the Kentucky side,
Speaker 2: they're taking on Oklahoma in a late game. Oklahoma, to
Speaker 2: me is a win and more likely in than not.
Speaker 2: That just that's just my guess. I don't know where
Speaker 2: the committee actually how the committee actually used them, but
Speaker 2: currently Kentucky right now favored by six and a half.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna bet it because that'd be gross, but
Speaker 2: I would hammer Kentucky minus six and a half. I know, Austin,
Speaker 2: you don't. You don't bet on Kentucky either, at least
Speaker 2: I don't think you do. But Debdie just feel like
Speaker 2: they're better than Oklahoma. And this is gonna be a rowdy,
Speaker 2: drunk home game for Kentucky. It's really gonna be an
Speaker 2: atmosphere that's probably better than I don't want to say,
Speaker 2: better than any rough game because Rup. You know, RUP's
Speaker 2: great for an atmosphere whenever it's a big game. And
Speaker 2: they've got a huge fan base. So I'm not taking
Speaker 2: a shot at their fans. But the SEC tournament crowded
Speaker 2: in Nashville is a different type of fan than the
Speaker 2: blue pullover. You know, Cardigan guy is in his you know,
Speaker 2: in his seventies, who's you know, probably not even that
Speaker 2: into it. He's just rich and a successful person in
Speaker 2: le Yeah, So I mean it's just different. So I'm
Speaker 2: not touching that one. But again, if I was forced to,
Speaker 2: I would take Kentucky because I just think they tonight
Speaker 2: six and a half. You're tempted, aren't you a little?
Speaker 1: Are you?
Speaker 3: And I mean their first game with Oklahoma was close,
Speaker 3: it was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but again this that was at Oklahoma. Kentucky didn't
Speaker 2: have Butler. And this again, I'm maybe I'm over selling it.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm looking Austin, I'm looking at Texas, A
Speaker 2: and M in Texas on TV right now. There's fifteen
Speaker 2: minutes left in the second half. Okay, there's more blue
Speaker 2: there right now than any color in Kentucky doesn't play
Speaker 2: until ten o'clock. Yeah, I mean, like that's gonna be
Speaker 2: a home game for them.
Speaker 4: They're kind of hungry too. They haven't had the best
Speaker 4: success in the ICC tournament.
Speaker 2: Look if if Kentucky gets you know gets if the games,
Speaker 2: you know boring, those some of the fans at rough
Speaker 2: fall as sleep to take a nap, they get tucked
Speaker 2: into bed, or they get bored if they're up big.
Speaker 2: These got the fans that are there. Not to say
Speaker 2: all of them are raging alcoholics, but like Broadway Nashville,
Speaker 2: it's a party, and they got a lot of booze
Speaker 2: to put away before they tip that thing off. It
Speaker 2: probably probably close to ten o'clock. I think you're right,
Speaker 2: So I imagine they were all tonight. But we shall see,
Speaker 2: all right, So let's talk about ducally quickly. Here for
Speaker 2: those who missed it. Duke did win today despite a
Speaker 2: scare early from Georgia Tech. They were down twenty six
Speaker 2: to twelve in the first half, and then Cooper Flag
Speaker 2: went down with an ankle injury that that clearly is
Speaker 2: an issue for them. Now how big of an issue,
Speaker 2: only time will tell. But if you go watch the
Speaker 2: injury itself, if I didn't see him back on the
Speaker 2: court not playing, but he came back out still in
Speaker 2: his uniform with his you know, warm ups on over
Speaker 2: top of it, put his sneakers back on. I mean,
Speaker 2: he wasn't gonna play, but he looked like he could
Speaker 2: if they wanted to. And there clear there seemed to
Speaker 2: be a real force from him to kind of show
Speaker 2: people that he could walk without any issue. But then
Speaker 2: when he would try to walk with that issue, like
Speaker 2: you know, in the in the time out or back
Speaker 2: to the locker room after the game, like you could
Speaker 2: tell because all the cameras are on him, by the way,
Speaker 2: and he's not I mean, he's got an ankle sprain.
Speaker 2: They did an X ray. It came back negative, and
Speaker 2: obviously that's a good sign, but it's just it's an
Speaker 2: ankle sprain and it's anybody's guests as far as how
Speaker 2: severe it is, and also anybody's guests as far as
Speaker 2: you know, what kind of pain level can this guy
Speaker 2: play through? You just don't know. So if I'm Duke,
Speaker 2: there's no scenario he even suits up in the next
Speaker 2: two games, because they stand to gain nothing by playing
Speaker 2: him nothing, and he could maybe hurt it even worse. Clearly,
Speaker 2: playing in these next two games would make it to
Speaker 2: where he's not going to be quite as fresh when
Speaker 2: you get to the game whoever you play in that
Speaker 2: sixteen to one seed game. So I don't believe they
Speaker 2: stand to gain anything about playing him, therefore they won't.
Speaker 2: But you just never know. Maybe he wakes up and
Speaker 2: he's really he's really built different, as they've told us
Speaker 2: for years, or he can have that kind of an
Speaker 2: ankle injury and be one hundred percent the next day.
Speaker 2: But if you watch the video, it's a bad I mean,
Speaker 2: he rolled his ankle as bad as you can without
Speaker 2: damaging his his you know, his ankles substantially, because again
Speaker 2: the X ray showed no no, I mean it was negative,
Speaker 2: so two bays to look at it. One that makes
Speaker 2: the ACC Championship not as difficult because Duke without flag,
Speaker 2: it's still not a still not a you know, Duke
Speaker 2: without flag, they're not the same Duke, But still they're good.
Speaker 2: And I don't need Georgia Tech today to get beat
Speaker 2: by a Cooper flagless Duke team for me to know
Speaker 2: that they're still good without him, because they just they
Speaker 2: have talent. They're good. Like I as much as we've
Speaker 2: had some fun with Duke and then filling their diaper
Speaker 2: about Pat Kelsey winning Coach of the Year and Chucky
Speaker 2: winning Defensive Player of the Year, I still believe they're
Speaker 2: really really good. Like I don't think Duke's a team
Speaker 2: that will end up getting shell shocked in the tournament
Speaker 2: because they played in a week acc. I think they're loaded.
Speaker 2: I think they're well coached, like you know, as much
Speaker 2: as they're lame like, they're good. And I think John Shire,
Speaker 2: as much as he's probably a cornball, I actually think
Speaker 2: he's got a chance to be a really good coach
Speaker 2: for Duke. So you know, even without Flag there, it's
Speaker 2: not gonna be a cakewalk. And I wish he plays
Speaker 2: because look, Louisville, like Louisville beating like Duke team without
Speaker 2: Cooper flag is still gonna be a valuable win for you,
Speaker 2: and you'll take it. You can't control it, like you'll
Speaker 2: take it however you can get it. But man, the
Speaker 2: thought of playing them competitively and maybe knocking them off that,
Speaker 2: I mean, we talked about this yesteryeary when we had
Speaker 2: Kent Taylor on spart I'm sorry, Kin Spencer, I got
Speaker 2: my Kent's mixed up. Apologies there. I know I'm not
Speaker 2: the first to do that, and it probably won't be
Speaker 2: the last time I do that, So sorry Kent's. But
Speaker 2: just playing Duke fully healthy, without anybody injured, you know,
Speaker 2: maybe be careful what you wish for because it could
Speaker 2: get ugly. I don't want that, and I think Duke
Speaker 2: would probably beat Louisville and it wouldn't be that close.
Speaker 2: I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but you can get
Speaker 2: some you know, this is a team that I think
Speaker 2: is mature to where if they did get beat by
Speaker 2: a healthy Duke team by you know, thirteen four team
Speaker 2: points and it was never really a game you felt
Speaker 2: like you were gonna win. This is a group that
Speaker 2: I don't think will let that deter them in any way.
Speaker 2: They're not gonna lose confidence They've always throughout the year
Speaker 2: not been too high too low, regardless of what's happened.
Speaker 2: And I do think going up against a team that
Speaker 2: good can really help you, even if you lose before
Speaker 2: you get to the tournament. And also just to be
Speaker 2: able to play in the conference championship tournament would be
Speaker 2: championship game would be awesome. So you know, I still
Speaker 2: think Duke will be there regardless of what happens with
Speaker 2: Cooper Flag because if they get Clemson tomorrow, I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: if they get who would it be? If it goes Chalk,
Speaker 2: let me pull it up here, wouldn't it be? Would
Speaker 2: it be Carolina? Or would it be let's see here.
Speaker 2: I just had the uh, where's the bracket? Because the
Speaker 2: four or five game is Wake four? Is Carolina? Right now?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: And by the way, that game is, uh do we
Speaker 2: have a score? So right now? Certainly certainly that's not over?
Speaker 2: It is it? No? It is car Yeah, I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe it ended a while ago. That's what makes
Speaker 2: me realize how fast time goes when I'm on this
Speaker 2: show for three hours, because when there's games on, I
Speaker 2: look up and it's over, Like I don't know where
Speaker 2: the time win but do Carolina one sixty eight to
Speaker 2: fifty nine, which means they'll play the winner. In fact,
Speaker 2: are they gonna play They're gonna play Duke? Right? Is
Speaker 2: that right? Do have it? Right?
Speaker 3: Am I wrong? I think so? Yes?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that would have That has to be what it is,
Speaker 2: isn't it. So even without Cooper Flag, I don't think
Speaker 2: that Carolina would win, but clearly they've got a better
Speaker 2: chance without Flag. I don't know, man, I'm trying. I'm
Speaker 2: kind of I mean, there's two ways to look at it. One,
Speaker 2: whatever you gotta do to win the ACC Championship, hell yeah,
Speaker 2: Meaning if it's the easiest path, who cares, you could
Speaker 2: cut down the nets in Charlotte, that'd be great. That's
Speaker 2: one way to look at it. And I agree with
Speaker 2: that because winning the AEC Championship would be awesome. But
Speaker 2: I'm also looking to try to still squeeze out any
Speaker 2: little value you can get. Rather it be your resume
Speaker 2: benefiting from this trip to Charlotte and also your team
Speaker 2: just getting a good, nice test against good teams before
Speaker 2: you start playing. Win or go home next week. But
Speaker 2: let me throw this scenario at you, Austin, you're a
Speaker 2: lofa fan like I am Browitz. Would you rather play
Speaker 2: a Carolina team who upset Duke in the semis on Saturday?
Speaker 2: Or play Duke who is clearly going to be a
Speaker 2: real threat and a challenge, But they're the ones in
Speaker 2: the championship game and they've got Flag healthy. Again, you
Speaker 2: have a better chance of winning if it's Carolina, you've
Speaker 2: already beat him. But if you beat him, it really,
Speaker 2: you know, still a great result. You'd freaking win the
Speaker 2: ACC Championship. But also like it's a team you've already beaten,
Speaker 2: a team that you know would just barely be getting
Speaker 2: in the tournament. Like again, I would, I would probably
Speaker 2: have to take the ACC Championship just because it would
Speaker 2: be the first time it's ever happened, and like, yeah,
Speaker 2: they'd be great. But if I'll, you know, win it
Speaker 2: however you can. But I would love to be able
Speaker 2: to potentially win it and know you got past the
Speaker 2: best in the league. Right.
Speaker 4: Sure, yeah, you could probably put me down for that.
Speaker 4: I may sound crazy, but I want all the smoke.
Speaker 4: Yeah with Duke, especially after this last week and how
Speaker 4: and how they've been talking that mess. Right, But I
Speaker 4: guess there's two schools of thought you could just think
Speaker 4: of beating the overall best team in the nation with
Speaker 4: the overall best player in the nation. But at that
Speaker 4: scenario plays out and you have Carolina that's playing red
Speaker 4: hot and they beat Duke and you got a rematch
Speaker 4: with them, then there's something fun about playing probably one
Speaker 4: of the hottest teams that's getting hot at the right
Speaker 4: time and having that plus you already beat them too.
Speaker 4: That might be a little bit scary because they're playing
Speaker 4: way better than they did back in January. But I
Speaker 4: don't know. That's just my two that's just my two cents,
Speaker 4: But I'm with you me all the smoke would do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And look, I think you've got nothing to lose
Speaker 2: if you lose to Duke, because again, I'm not worried
Speaker 2: about this group. Like if you get to the ACC
Speaker 2: Championship game and it's Duke and you fall short, I
Speaker 2: think the win against Clemson probably confirms you're no way,
Speaker 2: You're no worse than a seven. And I just I
Speaker 2: think there'd be value in playing that good of a
Speaker 2: team before you get to win or go home. And
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna act like I believe that they would
Speaker 2: actually take down Duke if Cooper Flag's healthy and he's playing.
Speaker 2: But I know this, they wouldn't be scared, they wouldn't
Speaker 2: be wide eyed, they wouldn't be shell shocked. They may
Speaker 2: just come out there and compete and lose because Duke's
Speaker 2: that good. But you know, in a lot of in
Speaker 2: a lot of different scenarios with different teams that aren't
Speaker 2: this mature, I just feel like you would run risk
Speaker 2: of like, yeah, you don't want to get your ass
Speaker 2: kicked before you get to the big dance because it
Speaker 2: could be demoralizing. And look, maybe maybe it would be
Speaker 2: so bad that it would be demoralizing, But I just
Speaker 2: I think this group is so rare for a lot
Speaker 2: of reasons. When it's the it's a brand new team that,
Speaker 2: like everybody playing, none of us knew anything about them
Speaker 2: until they hit the portal. I mean, we knew who
Speaker 2: Chucky Hepburn was, probably, but honestly that's probably about it.
Speaker 2: So you know, this is a rare situation for a
Speaker 2: lot of reasons. But I I mean, give me the
Speaker 2: best possible. You lose bad, it doesn't drop you off
Speaker 2: the seed line from a seven, I don't believe. And
Speaker 2: even if you lose, you can still gain some value
Speaker 2: that won't show on your resume, but it could help
Speaker 2: you next week. And honestly, if you lose a close
Speaker 2: game to Duke, you probably jump up. In fact, if
Speaker 2: you lose a close game to Duke and let's say
Speaker 2: you got past Clemson, you lose a close game to
Speaker 2: Duke and Cooper Flag does play and he's healthy, I
Speaker 2: think you get more respect out of the committee. Right.
Speaker 2: I think so too, because like Illinois, who's gonna get
Speaker 2: in the tournament safely, gonna get a decent seed, make
Speaker 2: it a good seed, depending on what they do in
Speaker 2: the Big Ten tournament. They just play Duke on a
Speaker 2: neutral court two weeks ago and lost by forty So,
Speaker 2: like with so rare measurable games, if you get there
Speaker 2: and it's a gloss but it's close. I think if
Speaker 2: the committee doesn't know what to do with Louisville because
Speaker 2: of the ACC, I believe if they competed well with Duke,
Speaker 2: they would use their brain and realize, Okay, yeah, still
Speaker 2: don't have a ton of big wins. But man, I
Speaker 2: watched this team. I know they won twenty seven games
Speaker 2: up to this point. I'm gonna give him a bit
Speaker 2: of it out and give him a six seed or
Speaker 2: a five seat like who knows if that would happen.
Speaker 2: But again, I want duke and to sound young and
Speaker 2: hip like the tribal chief. Give me the smoke. That's
Speaker 2: all right, or is it? I want to smoke?
Speaker 4: He's does Give me the smoke work too? I think, yeah,
Speaker 4: it work checks out? Yeah, Oh, give me the smoke.
Speaker 4: I want it, all of it. All right, I'm him,
Speaker 4: You're God, I'm here, God, You're still young, dude.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 2: It makes me feel good. All right, quick break, We
Speaker 2: got a little bit more time left with you to
Speaker 2: stick around right here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1: Ninety Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven nine days.
Speaker 2: So a couple of things here on the Louisville front.
Speaker 2: We've got somewhat of an update on rain Smith. So
Speaker 2: he's not wearing a boot. He's not you know, he's
Speaker 2: not He's not wearing something that makes it look like
Speaker 2: he's really dealing with an injury to where he's you know,
Speaker 2: maybe not going to play at all the rest of
Speaker 2: the way. But he also is so that somebody got
Speaker 2: a video here, see who I can figure out where
Speaker 2: it's at but there's I guess the fans that made
Speaker 2: the trip to Charlotte there was a card march or
Speaker 2: I'm not sure if they call it that or not,
Speaker 2: but fans seeing the team off from the team hotel
Speaker 2: as they make their way to the arena for their
Speaker 2: game tonight and as they're walking to the bus, Rain
Speaker 2: does not have like a bag with shoes and stuff,
Speaker 2: whereas all the other players do. So it might be
Speaker 2: like a you know, an unintentional way for for us
Speaker 2: to be, you know, to be made aware that he's
Speaker 2: not gonna play tonight. Could be something totally wrong, could
Speaker 2: make could could have, could have nothing to do with it,
Speaker 2: but you know that that if I had to guess,
Speaker 2: and I'm just guessing, I would say he's not gonna
Speaker 2: play tonight, just based off that. Also, the Cards will
Speaker 2: wear tonight, and I guess the rest of the postseason
Speaker 2: some type of a badge or patch I should say,
Speaker 2: not a badge and honor a junior Bridgeman, which of
Speaker 2: course makes total sense. So you know, we talked about
Speaker 2: this earlier in the show. We had somebody on the
Speaker 2: text line, and maybe it was yesterday, I don't remember
Speaker 2: when it was, but it came up at some point
Speaker 2: from somebody on the text line about Rain Smith, do
Speaker 2: you just go ahead and sit him anyways, because you
Speaker 2: were able to prove that you don't need him to
Speaker 2: beat Stanford, and with it being an ankle injury, the
Speaker 2: longer he can rest up the better because he's still
Speaker 2: gonna be playing with some pain. Hopefully it's more so
Speaker 2: just discomfort. But the level and what the level in
Speaker 2: which he's actually hurt, only he knows, and only I
Speaker 2: guess you know, And in fact, I mean you would
Speaker 2: assume that he's being treated around the clock and getting
Speaker 2: all the treatment he needs by the medical staff, But
Speaker 2: technically he really is the only one that knows. Now.
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey did say something after the game on Saturday,
Speaker 2: I believe it was in his radio interview, might have
Speaker 2: been his press conference. They did make me feel a
Speaker 2: little better about Rain. But Rain apparently had ankle issue
Speaker 2: ankle issues at some point during his time with Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey at Charleston and was able to play through it.
Speaker 2: So what we'll never know for sure, at least, you know,
Speaker 2: not Maybe we will know at some point, but it's
Speaker 2: not information that we know unless Rainsmith just decided to
Speaker 2: tell us everything every little bit, and he's not gonna
Speaker 2: do that now and maybe never will. But him not
Speaker 2: playing tonight if he doesn't, and then of course him
Speaker 2: not playing on Saturday against Stanford. I mean, only he
Speaker 2: knows if it's because he truly can't go, or if
Speaker 2: it's because he just would rather rest and realize his
Speaker 2: big picture, me getting healthy is better for me and
Speaker 2: for my team because we win or we go home
Speaker 2: next week, and if I can get some more rest,
Speaker 2: then that's best case scenario. So I kind of feel
Speaker 2: like I'm I don't I don't think I'm taking rain
Speaker 2: Smith for granted because I'm well aware of how specially is.
Speaker 2: I'm well aware of what he can do to flip
Speaker 2: a game in in no time. He can flip a
Speaker 2: game the other direction with three straight threes, that would
Speaker 2: really be like any other night for him. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's just what he does. So I don't think I'm
Speaker 2: taking him for granted. I'm also somebody who thinks he's
Speaker 2: more than just a shooter. Obviously, his p duction mostly
Speaker 2: comes from knocking down threes, but when he's on the floor,
Speaker 2: other teams have to always account for him, and he
Speaker 2: knows that, and he's he's savvy about that. He also
Speaker 2: makes them pay when they don't account for him. He
Speaker 2: also understands spacing as good as anybody on the floor
Speaker 2: on the team, including Chucky.
Speaker 3: So like.
Speaker 2: The fact that I'm not as fearful about his status
Speaker 2: down the line meeting next week even makes me kind
Speaker 2: of feel like I'm not realizing how great he is.
Speaker 2: But then again, like you know, worrying about it isn't
Speaker 2: going to do anything, But I guess as I internally,
Speaker 2: I guess deal with myself here, like I worry about everything.
Speaker 2: So the fact I'm not worried makes me feel like
Speaker 2: I'm taking rain for granted, although I don't.
Speaker 4: Think I am, and selfishly just being fans and loving
Speaker 4: this team. We only have a limited time with brain left,
Speaker 4: so like we want to get the most out of him,
Speaker 4: Like I mean, yeah, I go out there and ball,
Speaker 4: but we we just want to see in a cardinal jersey,
Speaker 4: just keep balling out for as long as we can,
Speaker 4: because I mean, we would love to see him in
Speaker 4: the tournament. We would hate to look back and say,
Speaker 4: you know, we didn't have him, just because this is
Speaker 4: such a special.
Speaker 2: Group and we've already dealt with that and got over
Speaker 2: it and kind of regrouped. I forget that Cason Pryor
Speaker 2: and Cora and Johnson are even on the team until
Speaker 2: I see him cheering on their teammates on the sideline. So,
Speaker 2: you know, and there really has been no indication that
Speaker 2: it's severe with Rain, but again he hasn't played, and
Speaker 2: you know, that just leaves it open for you to decide,
Speaker 2: is it. Is it something I was gonna say, Is
Speaker 2: this it's something we should be worried about? But again,
Speaker 2: worrying as fans will do nothing but just make us
Speaker 2: more anxious and and and it'll it'll be you know't
Speaker 2: it won't be good for us to worry. But as
Speaker 2: I'm overthinking it here, Rain's got to know that at
Speaker 2: at at Matt, you know, the minimum, he's got two
Speaker 2: games left in his college career, right, meaning whatever happens tonight,
Speaker 2: they could lose whoever they're playing the tournament. So like
Speaker 2: he he hopefully has more than just two. But that's
Speaker 2: really all that's guaranteed at this point is two more
Speaker 2: games left in his college career. So to know that
Speaker 2: and yet still ere on the side of I'm not
Speaker 2: going to play. If in fact that's what happens tonight,
Speaker 2: that would make me think he's really hurt. Now, clearly
Speaker 2: he's hurt. I'm not acting like he's faking it, But
Speaker 2: I don't know, I'm overthinking it. And I did the
Speaker 2: same thing when Chucky got hurt, like just trying to
Speaker 2: just figure out what makes the most sense. Whenever gonna
Speaker 2: get answers. We're not entitled answers, but you just want
Speaker 2: to know. And when he didn't come back on Wednesday,
Speaker 2: when they knocked off cal and that's whenever you know
Speaker 2: he started dealing with the ankle, and the ankle issue
Speaker 2: when he told coach Kelsey, I can't go, kind of
Speaker 2: worried me, you know, because with Chucky, I don't. With Chucky,
Speaker 2: it's in again, it's still something you would worry about.
Speaker 2: Right with Chucky, they were told he couldn't play, like
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey was told by the medical staff the trainers
Speaker 2: he can't go. Which if they're saying he can't go,
Speaker 2: then he must be really hurt. So again, here I
Speaker 2: am just going in circles worrying about rain Smith's ankle,
Speaker 2: which worrying isn't going to help the ankle so let's
Speaker 2: just believe in the power of positivity and hope that
Speaker 2: who knows, maybe he plays on it. Here I am
Speaker 2: doing the first five minutes or so of his segment
Speaker 2: acting as if he's not playing, And all I'm basing
Speaker 2: that off of is the fact that he didn't bring
Speaker 2: a bag with him to get on the bus.
Speaker 3: It would be much I do about nothing.
Speaker 2: Like maybe the ausse travels light, you know, maybe he
Speaker 2: just leaves out, Maybe he leaves his shoes on the bus.
Speaker 2: I don't know. Maybe he's wearing his basketball shoes and
Speaker 2: his jersey underneath his you know, his street clothes. I
Speaker 2: don't know, But I don't want to put too much
Speaker 2: pressure on that ankle exactly right, real quick. I don't
Speaker 2: get into this a whole lot just because I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't, you know, to me, this doesn't change anything
Speaker 2: good or bad about how I feel about Louisville. But
Speaker 2: enough people have shared this screenshot on the text lines,
Speaker 2: so I'll share with you. So BETEMGM put this out.
Speaker 2: Every national champion since two thousand and two has been
Speaker 2: top forty in offense and top twenty five in defense.
Speaker 2: Per Kin Pom and the teams that fit the criteria
Speaker 2: the sheer Louisve's one of them, and it's really good
Speaker 2: company too, by the way, I mean, I think all
Speaker 2: these teams are really really good Duke, Auburn, Houston, Florida, Tennessee,
Speaker 2: Michigan State. And here's where it gets to where there's
Speaker 2: teams that are kind of I think, you know, good,
Speaker 2: like Maryland I think is really good, but I wouldn't
Speaker 2: say they're like title contingents. But Maryland's in there. In fact,
Speaker 2: Maryland to me is like a I wouldn't call them
Speaker 2: like a sleeper because I could see them losing early
Speaker 2: if you know, things don't go their way. They're really thin,
Speaker 2: but when they play well, I feel like they're a
Speaker 2: final fourteen, and they've at times played really well. So
Speaker 2: Kevin Williard's done a good job. But outside of Maryland,
Speaker 2: the others are Marquette, Clemson, and then Louisville. So of those,
Speaker 2: looks like there's twelve teams that fit that criteria. In
Speaker 2: Louis's one of them. So again, make of that what
Speaker 2: you will. All right, let's see do we have any
Speaker 2: other updates here as far as games going on for
Speaker 2: those just now joining us. We have had a lot
Speaker 2: of games already conclude so far here as the conference
Speaker 2: tournaments are underway, you've got let's see, Carolina did get
Speaker 2: past Wake for US, so they'll play They'll play Duke tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Sixty eight to fifty nine. Was to score there. Carolina. Again,
Speaker 2: I believe that they've done enough to where they should
Speaker 2: be in, but not by much. Don't know if the
Speaker 2: committee agrees with that, but clearly I think even a
Speaker 2: competitive showing with Duke tomorrow without Cooper flag would bode
Speaker 2: well for Carolina. And I just again, I know Carolina
Speaker 2: doesn't have many wins worth speaking of, and to be fair,
Speaker 2: they've had opportunities because they played such a challenging non
Speaker 2: conference schedule. But when you've got when you put sixty
Speaker 2: eight teams in and other teams fighting just to make
Speaker 2: it are sitting there with you know, nineteen and sixteen records,
Speaker 2: eight games below five hundred in their own conference, like
Speaker 2: I just don't know. I mean again, to me, call
Speaker 2: me old fashioned. Winning and losing, regardless of who it's again,
Speaker 2: should still factor in to some extent. Let's see, Arkansas
Speaker 2: lost on a buzzer beater. I knew it came down
Speaker 2: to the wire, but Padulla hit a three at the
Speaker 2: buzzer to take out Arkansas, so Cal another short stay
Speaker 2: for him at the At the SEC Tournament, Xavier and
Speaker 2: Marquette played earlier, and Marquette, who fell apart a little
Speaker 2: bit later in the season, they were really rolling early
Speaker 2: and now they're you know, I wouldn't say they're free falling,
Speaker 2: but they're looking like probably like an eight seed. But
Speaker 2: they beat Xavier, and that's important for bubble teams because
Speaker 2: Xavier was a team that kind of felt like a
Speaker 2: win and they get in. They didn't win. They lost
Speaker 2: by two, eighty nine to eighty seven, so they're going
Speaker 2: to be sitting nervous on selection Sunday. I would imagine
Speaker 2: same thing for Indiana. Indiana loses seventy two to fifty nine,
Speaker 2: and same thing. They're going to be sweating. But everybody
Speaker 2: seems to think that they're in and really not even
Speaker 2: in like that last four and if so, it's just
Speaker 2: because they got to put sixty eight and I don't
Speaker 2: think in Indiana's resume is in any way impressive enough
Speaker 2: to say they safely belong. But again, we're talking about
Speaker 2: sixty eight teams having to get in and I think
Speaker 2: like the last like the last ten at large teams
Speaker 2: are all gonna be kind of the same, and I
Speaker 2: feel like in other years you wouldn't think they'd belong.
Speaker 2: But again, the bubbles very weak this year. All right, Wisconsin,
Speaker 2: they held off Northwestern. So Northwestern, I guess they could
Speaker 2: have potentially been a bit stealer. That's not gonna happen now.
Speaker 2: BYU took out Iowa State. That was an upset. Ricky
Speaker 2: p and Saint John's knocked off Butler seventy eight to
Speaker 2: fifty seven. Houston got past Colorado. We mentioned Duke and
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech. That was a seventy eight to seventy victory
Speaker 2: for the Blue Devils, and then some other games coming
Speaker 2: up again, I mean a loaded I mean this Austin
Speaker 2: and I were talking about it during the break. This
Speaker 2: is just this is awesome like today and tomorrow and
Speaker 2: then you know, really moving forward. This is when college
Speaker 2: basketball is erotic. I mean, even when we have those
Speaker 2: days off, because you know, you've got the selection or
Speaker 2: selection Sunday and then travel and all that, we don't
Speaker 2: get real games. I guess we get we get the
Speaker 2: play in. It's but nonetheless, like Thursday and Friday year great,
Speaker 2: but like even the lead up to that is awesome
Speaker 2: because you just get your bracket. You're you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: I can, I can. I honestly I can patiently wait
Speaker 2: from Sunday to Thursday because I know, like those two
Speaker 2: days are going to go by so quick, and then
Speaker 2: we got to wait another year. And I will say this,
Speaker 2: I'm glad somebody pointed this out on the text line earlier,
Speaker 2: because I was talking about how I was able to
Speaker 2: just find a way to really enjoy college hoops without
Speaker 2: having a team with any relevance in March, because we've
Speaker 2: been irrelevant for a long time. In fact, louisvill hasn't
Speaker 2: made the second weekend in ten years. It's only made
Speaker 2: the tournament twice in ten years, which is crazy to
Speaker 2: think about, but it's just the reality of it. So
Speaker 2: with all that said, I kind of forgot about the
Speaker 2: awful feeling of losing in the first round. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: even if you're like an eight or nine seed, when
Speaker 2: it's over, when it's over, no matter what, it sucks.
Speaker 2: But to get to get to put the ns and
Speaker 2: shoes on and have to exit the dance floor early
Speaker 2: when other people are out there, maybe just getting a
Speaker 2: few drinks in and they're extending their party on too
Speaker 2: late into the evening and then maybe moving on to
Speaker 2: the second weekend. Like that's a tough feeling with.
Speaker 3: The electric slide.
Speaker 2: So look with with with this feeling of being back
Speaker 2: to life, man, it's great, but we now are alive
Speaker 2: and we were gonna we're gonna experience some potential pain,
Speaker 2: maybe even tonight. I hope not. I don't think so tonight,
Speaker 2: but like next week if they lose in the in
Speaker 2: the first round, I still don't believe there's a scenario
Speaker 2: where I won't love this team and feel like this
Speaker 2: was such an awesome year despite knowing what March is
Speaker 2: and it really is where it all matters. But this
Speaker 2: is an unusual circumstance and I'm gonna embrace this year
Speaker 2: for everything that it was. But I know that in
Speaker 2: the moment, if you know, I probably won't even have
Speaker 2: like the disappointment and anger that I usually have. I'm
Speaker 2: just gonna be sad.
Speaker 3: You know, because yeah, I'm right there with you.
Speaker 2: We love these guys, man, and we only get one
Speaker 2: year of them released, the majority of them, which again,
Speaker 2: is it kind of sad to be honest with you.
Speaker 2: All Right, quick Break will come back on the other
Speaker 2: side and wrap this thing up, get you set for
Speaker 2: tonight's matchups, and a quick little update on what's being
Speaker 2: said about these jobs that are opened. So Will Wade
Speaker 2: apparently was not going to be in the mix at
Speaker 2: NC State, but those that have a lot of money
Speaker 2: that you know, have influence on what NC State does,
Speaker 2: they want Will Wade in Raleigh, And I mean I
Speaker 2: would love that just because it would make the league better.
Speaker 2: Anybody that doesn't hire him this time around, I feel
Speaker 2: like we'll absolutely regret it. Somebody's gonna get him. Right,
Speaker 2: he's at McNee State, right, quick Break, keep a locker
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: All Right, we've got a little bit of time left here.
Speaker 2: I'll use it wisely. So the two acc hires that
Speaker 2: have already been made and they're now official. You've got
Speaker 2: Florida State going with a guy that I'm sure none
Speaker 2: of you have ever heard of. I hadn't heard of him.
Speaker 2: He's a former or Florida State player who has spent
Speaker 2: every bit of his basketball coaching career as an assistant,
Speaker 2: but not in the college level. So Luke Loucks that's
Speaker 2: who they hired. And he's thirty four years old. They
Speaker 2: go from a guy old enough to be his grandfather
Speaker 2: to now a guy who's you know, much younger, And
Speaker 2: I mean maybe he's great. You never know, I mean
Speaker 2: any higher. You have to just understand that regardless of
Speaker 2: how high you are on it or how low you
Speaker 2: are on it, you just don't know. But I just
Speaker 2: to me, this is the kind of cod This is
Speaker 2: the route that just doesn't make as much sense anymore
Speaker 2: because the risk here is just not worth the reward.
Speaker 2: But you know, I will admit I've never been in
Speaker 2: this position when it comes to making these decisions in
Speaker 2: these highers. So maybe there's a lot more. In fact,
Speaker 2: I know there's a lot more to it than I realize.
Speaker 2: But I just don't know why you wouldn't go get
Speaker 2: a guy who's proven that he can success, he can
Speaker 2: successfully be ahead basketball coach at the college level, even
Speaker 2: if it's not at the ACC like an unproven coach,
Speaker 2: a guy doing not even unproven, a guy never has
Speaker 2: who has never done it before. To me, just seems
Speaker 2: like the last move you'd make this day and age
Speaker 2: in college basketball. So Miami went a little bit of
Speaker 2: a different route, but also kind of the same. The
Speaker 2: similarity is that never been a head coach. Now, Jay
Speaker 2: Lucas has been an assistant coach for quite some time,
Speaker 2: and you know, he's to me, the young, relatable guy
Speaker 2: that can certainly recruit and clearly he's connected to the game,
Speaker 2: has coaching in his blood, so he's got all that
Speaker 2: going for him. So it may be great, but he's
Speaker 2: thirty six and he's never ever been responsible for a program.
Speaker 2: He's never been a head coach. And I know we
Speaker 2: have a little PTSD in regards to that because we
Speaker 2: could tell from the jump we hired a guy who's
Speaker 2: never had to actually be the head coach, be the boss,
Speaker 2: and it was a disaster. So I'm sure Jie Lucas
Speaker 2: has some leadership capabilities that you know, Kenny Paine didn't have.
Speaker 2: But I just think again it comes down to like,
Speaker 2: why in the hell did Miami not higher will weight
Speaker 2: That would have been the perfect fit. I mean, he
Speaker 2: would have he would embraced everything that is the you
Speaker 2: you know he can win. He would take the money
Speaker 2: that you have available, and you know, make some strong
Speaker 2: ass offers like he's always done. And I just feel
Speaker 2: like that was such an obvious fit that would have
Speaker 2: made by the way those worried about like the pr
Speaker 2: about Will Wade one, I mean, lighting up Karen, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's now not only legal, it's now what you have
Speaker 2: to do go pay players, But also like choosing to
Speaker 2: worry about what idiots on the internet will say about
Speaker 2: you hiring a coach who previously got in trouble with
Speaker 2: the NCAA and there was evidence of it. That just
Speaker 2: proves you don't want to win. And by the way,
Speaker 2: like Miami, I feel like they would embrace a cheater.
Speaker 2: I mean, it wouldn't be cheating now because again you
Speaker 2: can do like Miami and Will Wade, we're a match
Speaker 2: made in heaven. Why it didn't happen, I don't know.
Speaker 2: Now it sounds like Will Wade could potentially still be
Speaker 2: in the ACC but at NC State.
Speaker 3: And I mean.
Speaker 2: If they don't hire him and they've like got it
Speaker 2: in the works and they decide to pass on him
Speaker 2: but go elsewhere, I mean, I think it's a mistake.
Speaker 2: I really do. And look Chris Beard, I'd say the
Speaker 2: same thing. Look, if you feel like the PR hits
Speaker 2: been bad enough, and if Chris Beard was as bad
Speaker 2: as what was, you know what was alleged to have
Speaker 2: happened with him and his wife, I feel like, you know,
Speaker 2: and again I can't I'm not condoning any of that,
Speaker 2: but the PR hit was already taken by Ole Miss
Speaker 2: and at this point it's an isolated thing. So choosing
Speaker 2: to not go get him because of that, I still
Speaker 2: think at times, you know, that would be foolish in
Speaker 2: my opinion, but at least like there's legitimate, like like
Speaker 2: that's a real real thing. Will Wade he didn't even
Speaker 2: get fired for cheating. He got fired because he was cheating.
Speaker 2: They stopped winning, like Bill Wade didn't. He didn't get
Speaker 2: in trouble legally. He just you know, was involved in
Speaker 2: something that a lot of people were doing but it
Speaker 2: wasn't allowed. Then now it is allowed, and he's one
Speaker 2: of the few that ended up on a wire that
Speaker 2: you heard him talking about paying for players when it
Speaker 2: wasn't allowed. So I don't know why Will Wade hasn't
Speaker 2: gotten a job now. I mean, he's still coaching these
Speaker 2: State's going to go to the tournament, So that's a
Speaker 2: factor in why it hadn't happened yet. But I hope
Speaker 2: NC State can get it done now. I don't know
Speaker 2: why Ben McCollum is not somebody that Virginia's targeting. Maybe
Speaker 2: they are, we just don't know, but it sounds like
Speaker 2: Ryan Otam at VCU is who Virginia is is on
Speaker 2: and may be able to get now he's done well.
Speaker 2: He was at UNBC for a while. If you remember,
Speaker 2: he's the guy who knocked off Virginia, which how wild
Speaker 2: will that be? Virginia hiring the guy who beat them
Speaker 2: in the round of sixty four, first ever one seed
Speaker 2: to lose to his sixteen So he ended up. Then
Speaker 2: he then went to Utah State for two years and
Speaker 2: won there, and then he's been at VCU now where
Speaker 2: he's won twenty four games last year, twenty five games
Speaker 2: this year and he tied for the A ten. So
Speaker 2: to me, that's a guy that has proven he can
Speaker 2: win in different places in Virginia with what they're they're
Speaker 2: what they have with resources, I suppose, like, I mean,
Speaker 2: that could work, but Ben McCallum and me would be
Speaker 2: a better hire. Now it sounds like Ben McCollum could
Speaker 2: be making a very short trip away from Des Moines
Speaker 2: where Drake's located. Rye's where he's at Drake because Iowa
Speaker 2: and friend McCaffrey made part ways like he may retire
Speaker 2: And if it's I mean, I think the timing for
Speaker 2: that was probably a couple years ago. But either way,
Speaker 2: if he moves on and retires after having a really
Speaker 2: bad season this year, he's been there since twenty ten. McCollum,
Speaker 2: I mean, I think one Iowa can pay more money, clearly,
Speaker 2: but Virginia's a better basketball job, I'd say. But he's
Speaker 2: from Iowa. Ben McCollum like grew up inn Iowa fan apparently,
Speaker 2: so maybe that's why he's Maybe he just knows that eventually,
Speaker 2: even if it's not this year with McCaffrey, when that
Speaker 2: job opens up, he wants it, and that would make
Speaker 2: sense again, and I was a good job. I just
Speaker 2: wish the ACC could get some of these good coaches,
Speaker 2: because that's that's what it's gonna come down to. You've
Speaker 2: got to get successful coaches in this league. That's the
Speaker 2: first step in getting this league back on track. All Right,
Speaker 2: we're out of time. You guys. Enjoy your evening. What
Speaker 2: a fun evening. It's gonna be Louisville and Stanford. Hopefully
Speaker 2: tomorrow we're back at it talking about another postseason game
Speaker 2: of the Pat Kelse era, and hopefully we're talking about
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans losing once again in Nashville, although I don't
Speaker 2: believe that's gonna happen. Imagine they roll tonight. But anyways,
Speaker 2: enjoy the evening. We're back at it tomorrow right here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven ninety