Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Iowa over Nebraska in the Sweet 16! Iowa State vs. Tennessee preview, Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report Joins from Houston

Transcript

Iowa over Nebraska in the Sweet 16! Iowa State vs. Tennessee preview, Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report Joins from Houston · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:11
All right, good afternoon. Welcome Miller and Condon on Des
0:14
Moines sports station 106.3 KX&O and statewide on the Iowa Sports
0:19
Radio Network. It's Trent Condon and Ken Miller
0:22
live at Buffalo Wild Rings on Merle Hay Road for the next two
0:25
hours. Wherever you're listening, we
0:27
certainly appreciate that you are.
0:29
Here's what's coming up on our program at about 12:30.
0:32
Tom Keikart, hawkeyereport.com. We will head to Houston.
0:36
Get Tom's thoughts on last night.
0:37
Looking ahead to tonight, 12:30 for Tom Keikart on Iowa.
0:41
Eugene Repay is in Chicago. He's covering Iowa State for the
0:44
Des Moines Register. Eugene Repay joins us to kick
0:47
off our number 2 and then we'll head to Las Vegas.
0:50
Mike Palm, the VP of operations at Circus Sports, he joins us at
0:54
1:30. Trent will make some pics before
0:56
we get out of here. 2:00 We're at Buffalo Wild Wings, A Bud
1:00
Light is the sponsor of this event down here today.
1:03
And man, we've got some unbelievable prizes to to give
1:06
away. We've got a TJ Otzel burger sign
1:09
basketball, a Ben McCollum sign basketball.
1:12
You want a beer? Come on down.
1:14
Bud Light's going to buy you one just for taking a shot at a
1:16
basket. Whether you make it or not, you
1:19
get a free Bud Light for doing that.
1:21
Other prizes as well. Amy from from Bud Light is here.
1:25
Stop on down. It's lunchtime place starting to
1:28
fill up a little bit. All you do sign up for to 145.
1:31
Don't have to be present to win. We will draw a couple of names.
1:35
The first name out gets to choose whether they want the
1:37
McCollum or the Otzel Burger. The second name gets so
1:40
whichever of those balls are left. 2 pretty nice prizes to
1:43
say the least with two really good head coaches.
1:46
Obviously we'll preview. We'll spend a lot of time
1:49
previewing, doing Iowa State tonight, their game at
1:51
Tennessee. But we have to start what took
1:53
place last night. It's just a remarkable,
1:55
remarkable continuation of this season as Iowa roars back left
2:00
her trailing for 38 minutes. They led for the right, too, as
2:04
they pulled away late in the basketball game.
2:07
Trent, you were the one that you and Jack was maybe the first two
2:09
people that I thought of. Once the game went to all zeros,
2:12
hit the board, just rarefied air.
2:14
Man, what a special time to be a sports fan, to be a Hawkeye fan
2:19
as you are and grew up being. What a what a what a Time to be
2:21
alive, man. You're giving me goosebumps and
2:24
you're, you're also making me feel just a, a little teary
2:26
eyed. It, it just, it's unthinkable.
2:29
It is in your number one, the trials and tribulations that
2:33
we've been through our decade together, talking my
2:36
frustrations, the level of angst that has been there.
2:40
Honestly, seeing the Cyclone fans and their success has not
2:43
been easy to take as an Iowa basketball fan and seeing what
2:46
they've been able to do. And here they are now on the
2:49
doorstep of a Final Four in an Elite 8 for the first time since
2:52
1987. And Ken, I said it yesterday, I
2:55
say it a ton. It's probably the story I've
2:58
told you the most of that time, what made me the sport fan that
3:02
I am. And to see this come full circle
3:05
and see it with my little guy and, and have my daughter on my
3:08
arm and she squeezes me in the final moments.
3:10
It's just it's what makes sport so different than just guys that
3:16
are playing on TV. It's the greatest reality show
3:18
in the world. It truly is.
3:19
You absolutely nailed it and in that environment, another basic
3:24
Rd. game saw reports maybe 8515 Nebraska to Iowa fans to do it
3:30
again after doing it against Florida.
3:32
To not take the easy path, to have to go through A1 seat, to
3:35
have to take on then the four seat in the Sweet 16.
3:37
This was not an easy path. This was as difficult as you can
3:41
find. They've good at it.
3:43
They knock off Nebraska in their most successful season in
3:46
program history. They did all this and it's not
3:49
over. And it's not over.
3:51
There's still another opportunity.
3:53
And by the way, and for our listeners and Quad Cities in
3:55
eastern Iowa, you know, now here's another one.
3:57
And we talked about that time period.
3:59
That was the rivalry, the 80s rivalry into the 90s of
4:02
Illinois. And Bruce Pearl, who we see on
4:04
TV right after they gave up. You just think about that angle
4:07
to it. This is the story, book, story.
4:12
Let people say you. Can't do.
4:14
This, no, this is this is too much, Yeah.
4:17
You're #1. And here we are, the greatest
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reality show in the world. It's amazing, Trent, it, it
4:22
truly is. I can't wait for Iowa State to
4:25
join them after tonight. I feel pretty good about their
4:28
chances. We'll get into that.
4:29
But you know what it is? I think the biggest difference
4:31
on this Iowa team now as opposed to what we watched in the rigors
4:35
of the Big 10 regular season, Sturtz has help, I mean
4:38
legitimate help. Fulgaris is developing into a
4:41
hell of a player before our very eyes.
4:43
Kupricotz kept hearing it all. Look, I'm telling you, the kid
4:46
can shoot. He's a better shooter than he's
4:48
shown so far. He's got it going on.
4:51
Banks and Tate Sage off the bench.
4:54
My God, the bench points yesterday from those Hawkeyes
4:57
was unbelievable. And the one aspect of this game
5:02
and that I don't think will ever, ever go away.
5:06
In a way, I kind of feel bad for Hoiberg because on his
5:10
tombstone, Yep, Whenever you talk about Fred Hoiberg and all
5:14
the success he's had, and he's had success every step of his
5:16
life with one exception, obviously the health, right,
5:19
which is significant, and I'm not minimizing that for a
5:21
second. But to have this hung around
5:23
him, four guys on the floor, have you ever seen that?
5:26
No, I've never seen it. I've.
5:27
Never seen it at. Any level of basketball?
5:29
No, from when Jack's playing at the rec center.
5:32
The coach says no, no, we need two more on the floor.
5:36
Four guys on the floor and now Fred because he is a stand up.
5:39
Guy. Yeah, he took blame.
5:40
He took blame. That's not his fault.
5:44
You have dozens of people now on college basketball.
5:47
Staff, which is. Which is acinite in its own
5:49
right, but that's the story for a different day.
5:51
We'll talk about that in in June.
5:53
We have lines of people, but one of the assistant coaches, that
5:58
is their job. You have the white board.
6:00
These are the five that are going to be out there.
6:02
I don't know if it was Rick Mass making a mistake himself.
6:06
Looked. Like it because it seemed like
6:07
he jumped up when he realized and then he ran into an
6:09
official. But the coach, an assistant
6:13
coach, that's something you're in charge of making sure that
6:16
that is out there. The tip of the ball cap to
6:19
Hoiberg for taking the blame. But he also knows he knows the
6:22
assistant that has that assignment that didn't come
6:24
through this, though, you're absolutely right.
6:27
This will be remembered in the historic season.
6:30
Is this the biggest gap in the NCAA Tournament since Chris
6:33
Webber? Oh my God, that's a real.
6:35
Never even thought of that. Yeah.
6:38
There's nothing that some certainly jumps up.
6:41
And of the two I could see the the the calling time up when you
6:44
don't have one. Is is more probable to to happen
6:47
during a game than this? Because we've seen that
6:49
actually. Happen.
6:49
We've seen it, right? This has never.
6:51
I've never seen it before, never seen it before. 4 guys,
6:54
Fulgarris all by himself. And Fulgarris had an
6:57
unbelievable he's got a little Red House.
6:59
He's he, he violently goes to the hoop.
7:02
Uh huh. When he's throwing that.
7:03
That dunk in the 1st. Oh my God.
7:05
The two flushes late and finishing on that plane, the
7:07
four on the floor. Right, get to and one.
7:10
Yes, absolutely. Instead of now, you're still up
7:12
3, but you got to make 2 free throws.
7:14
You complete the layup, you have the strength to do that.
7:16
That makes free throw you get at six and then coming to the other
7:19
end, it's still a six point game.
7:20
The rebound that that was a man's huge, that was 3/3 Huskers
7:25
around him. Yes, tough guy rebound in there.
7:28
He's he's got that. He's got some swag to him.
7:31
It's everything we thought I think we were going to get all
7:33
season long. Was it just confidence or
7:35
realizing, you know what, I belong at this league.
7:38
I can I can play here. Whatever it is.
7:40
He's a different player. Oh, yeah.
7:41
And and now Bennett Sturtz has help.
7:43
And yeah, he's had help. You know, one guy steps up one
7:46
day, it's Banks, the next day it's Howard.
7:48
It's it's whatever. It's filled in the blank.
7:50
But now he's got more than that and he's still in.
7:53
I mean, he's obviously a phenomenal basketball player.
7:55
He's so smart. He doesn't come off the floor.
7:58
Trent, I give them every chance in the world to knock off
8:01
Illinois. I really do.
8:02
You go back to that game early January?
8:05
Yeah, January, January 11th. They weren't blown out by any
8:09
means. I thought I came away thinking
8:11
Illinois's the better team that night.
8:13
But this is a different Iowa basketball team.
8:15
I think that is a great way to look at it.
8:17
And you're absolutely right. That was also the game.
8:19
That was that time when Bennett Sturtz was really struggling
8:21
with foul trouble. Remember there was that that 3-4
8:23
game stretch, he finished the game with four fouls.
8:26
He got too early. He didn't play 40 minutes.
8:28
Certainly in that game. I think he only played 34.
8:30
OK, something like that. In fact, Iowa made their
8:32
comeback in the second-half when he was on the bench again.
8:35
I think it was after he picked up his fourth foul.
8:37
He was completely out of sorts. Boswell completely locked him
8:40
up. We know what a great defender he
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is. It's not a great defensive team
8:44
for Illinois. They're good, but Nebraska
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metrically rates better than them defensively.
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But you said the most pertinent part, this Iowa basketball team
8:53
is so different because other guys are stepping up.
8:56
It's not the Bennett show only and maybe we can find another
8:59
guy. It is 2345 different guys
9:02
stepping up in different roles, coming up with different plays
9:05
to be able to do that. I'm with you.
9:07
I absolutely think that they got a puncher's chance.
9:10
Illinois's good. It's the biggest team in the
9:12
country. They're a better team than Iowa,
9:14
certainly overall when he encompassed the last 36 games.
9:18
However, you got to give Iowa shot in this game. 6 1/2 points,
9:22
6, I think the number 6 1/2, which isn't surmountable by any
9:27
means. I mean, I like Iowa.
9:28
I like with the points. I would dabble on the money line
9:30
with them. I really would.
9:32
I watched Illinois, Houston last night start to finish.
9:36
Illinois, I'll give them credit. I don't know, Did Houston just
9:39
have an off night? I've certainly seen the Cougars
9:41
play better than that. But from last night and for what
9:45
it was last night, that'll be a night that a lot of folks in our
9:48
state and Hawkeye fans all around the country and all
9:51
around the world, quite honestly, we'll remember that
9:53
one last night. They'll be talking about that
9:55
for a long time. Again, we're Buffalo Wild Wings
9:57
on Merle. Hey, come on out, get signed up.
10:00
The two people are going to win autographed basketballs 1 by Ben
10:02
McCollum, one by TJ Otzelberger. There's nothing nerve trick to
10:05
it. Just put your name on a piece of
10:07
paper while you're there. There's one of those pop up
10:09
basketball hoops, you know, take a shot whether you make it or
10:13
not. They're going to buy a Bud Light
10:14
just for participating in that prizes throughout the day as
10:18
well. Let's talk about we got to talk
10:19
about. I not doesn't sound like I don't
10:21
want to. I do.
10:22
I truly do. I want to talk about Iowa State
10:25
because they're in a spot, obviously, that they can join
10:28
Iowa. Can you imagine our state having
10:30
two teams, two of the final eight teams standing in in the
10:34
NCAA March Madness? I mean, come on.
10:38
Did you see Jefferson yesterday in the video on the floor?
10:41
Wasn't running, wasn't cutting, but it wasn't limping.
10:44
Yes, I I thought that was also something that was interesting
10:48
at the very least. Now, did it feel calculated?
10:51
Oh, sure, yes. I thought the exact same thing.
10:53
We're going to put him out there, but he is going to do not
10:56
even a light jog. It was it was walking, but no
10:59
limp. Also interesting.
11:01
He says he hasn't practiced at all.
11:03
Not a surprise coming off of that kind of injury and and
11:05
dealing with it, what he's dealing with now.
11:07
But I don't think there's any doubt in the world he's going to
11:09
try. He's going to try.
11:11
Now, does that also lead to trying in pregame warmups?
11:15
I just I can't cut. We'll see about that, but he's
11:19
going to give it a go, at least in that realm at the minimum.
11:22
But the other part, we go back to the Kentucky game.
11:25
They start off brutal. Damn, they say we're getting
11:27
blown out. So it's not one of those easy
11:29
things. Like I were last night.
11:30
I mean, it's not difficult where you say, you know, we started
11:33
off so well and then we're putting him back in.
11:34
No, you start crappy. He played terrible for the 1st 8
11:37
minutes of that game before he came roaring back.
11:39
So you say we'll go right back to our normal starting lineup,
11:42
We'll know early if Jefferson has it or he doesn't, and then
11:45
we'll adapt from there. I think it makes the decision
11:47
for TJ Otzenberger just that much easier knowing what
11:50
happened the last time out without and how well that they
11:52
have played at different times. If he doesn't have it, that's
11:55
right, we'll adjust on the fly. And this has got to be tough for
11:58
Tennessee because you talk about two completely different teams
12:01
you're facing. Certainly offensively,
12:03
Jefferson, very ball dominant, has a ball in his hands a ton
12:07
compared to that ball movement that we saw in the game against
12:09
Kentucky and and even in the first game of the NCAA
12:12
tournament, just how quickly they were moving the ball.
12:14
They look like 2 completely different offensive systems you
12:17
have to get ready for. Don't you do give Barnes and
12:20
company something next to prepare for, which is fine,
12:23
right? Fine.
12:23
For us, where we sit, that's the late game.
12:26
Tonight. It's 910 by the way.
12:27
Tomorrow we are going to do a special hour radio program, all
12:31
of the all of the KX and no shows.
12:33
Unfortunately, it's too late to get this statewide, but we're
12:36
going to be on the air from three until 4.
12:38
Heather Lucas, Sean myself will be in studio.
12:42
Trent is actually headed to Houston after our show today.
12:45
He's got a 5:00 flight. Bussie's obviously in Chicago
12:49
covering Iowa State, so Bussie will join in.
12:52
Trent will do a segment, but we're going to do an hour
12:54
pregame tomorrow from 3:00 until 4:00.
12:57
It's sponsored by our friends in Las Vegas and in the state of
12:59
Iowa. Circus sports, download the
13:01
Circuit Sports app. Whether you're listening in Iowa
13:03
or Illinois or any of the surrounding states that offer
13:06
Missouri, come on aboard. So we'll be on the air tomorrow
13:09
from 3:00 until 4:00, an Elite 8 show, and I have a feeling we'll
13:12
be previewing 2 Elite Eight games.
13:15
Your thoughts? The numbers going down, It's 3
13:17
1/2. There's a bunch of four and a
13:19
halfs out there. I love Iowa State tonight, I
13:23
really do. This way, they do play defense.
13:25
I'm not sure you can prepare for this.
13:27
I think it's going to be a wake up call certainly for Tennessee.
13:30
I'm with you. I am shocked, shocked by the
13:32
line move that we've seen in this one.
13:34
And I don't know if it's sharp money, public money, whatever it
13:36
is. Well.
13:36
The sharps all We're all over last night, by the way.
13:38
Yes, the under in the Iowa game. That didn't hit.
13:42
No and the over in the Illinois Houston game and that didn't
13:47
even come close. So the sharps are licking their
13:49
wounds today. Hopefully they have another bad
13:51
weekend because I'm sure that like you say, where they will be
13:54
lining. Up I had a bad day too so.
13:55
Did you now You had a bad day betting you had a good day
13:58
overall. That's right.
13:59
We'll, we'll take that. Bad day betting, no doubt about
14:01
it. We got a caller on the line.
14:02
You can join us 515284 KX&O as Hawkeye Andy, for the third
14:07
consecutive day checks in for us from Houston.
14:11
What's happening, Andy? Oh, I'm just pinching myself.
14:15
Is this real? I've asked myself that many
14:17
times. Here I got.
14:20
Some that's fantastic. So Trent's on his way, by the
14:23
way, to join you. That's what I hear I need.
14:27
I need everybody in the in Des Moines, IA.
14:30
Come on down, come on down. We need you.
14:33
I got to call my shot, though. I yes, I did call Tate Sage
14:38
yesterday. Remember that, But I kind of
14:40
pulled that out of my unit wash. Hey, I'll take it.
14:44
I will say Nebraska fans for the most part were pretty good.
14:48
There's just so many of them down here and I got into it with
14:52
a couple. I should have watched my mouth,
14:54
but a couple I said have a safe trip back and a couple of words
14:58
were exchanged. For the most part they were
15:00
good. But yeah, that that ending and
15:02
the way Alfred Harris we I was talking to his brother yesterday
15:06
at the hockey huddle. Just a great guy.
15:08
Do you guys know he plays professionally in Dublin,
15:10
Ireland? I think you told me.
15:14
Is that what it was? Yeah.
15:14
I I didn't realize. I just knew he played
15:17
professionally. He didn't realize what it was.
15:18
But yeah, we need those family members to stick around.
15:21
Maybe we need to move Mom back over to America for next year so
15:24
she could be around for the full season.
15:25
Put her on staff. We've seen that before.
15:28
I mean, yeah, you got a dozen people, two dozen people behind
15:30
the bench. Might as well put mom back
15:32
there, too. Andy, I will see you tonight in
15:35
Houston. How's that sound?
15:36
That sounds good. And hey, I don't want to repeat
15:40
of, I mean, this is as high as Oklahoma.
15:42
Kevin Gamble and let's go take care of business.
15:45
Not like UNLV 1987. But you know what, It's all
15:48
gravy now. So let's do it.
15:50
Hawks. Hawks to Indy, Hawks to Indy.
15:52
Here we go. All right to sign me up.
15:56
Good stuff. Thanks, Andy.
15:57
Enjoy yourself down there. Good to hear from you.
15:59
As we heard from him when he left left to head out of town.
16:02
And every day since he's been there, I have to assume.
16:05
Look, I know you're going. We got a text from our friend
16:08
Wade looking Bill. Him and his wife are jumping on
16:11
an airplane tonight. They're headed down there.
16:12
I'm guessing that there's going to be more Hawkeye fans in
16:17
Houston than there were yesterday.
16:18
And why? Cuz the ticks, I mean, the two
16:20
biggest representative fan bases, Nebraska and Houston, all
16:24
those tickets are now back in the market.
16:25
Yeah, you. I mean get in price right now is
16:27
50 bucks. Is it really you?
16:28
Can get in the building for 50 bucks.
16:30
So I think maybe that made things a little bit easier to
16:32
swallow. So I got to tell the story of
16:35
how I woke up this morning and what happened.
16:37
So Friday mornings, Ella has like a band thing in the
16:40
morning, or it's a singing thing that she goes to.
16:42
So what time? So she she gets up like at 7:30.
16:45
Yeah. And so she's up.
16:48
She's going to wake up. All right?
16:49
She's she's going. Jack's laying in bed with me.
16:52
He got up in the middle of the night and he was hanging out in
16:53
bed. I'm like, I just lay here for a
16:55
minute and all right, take a walk to school, come back, get
16:59
Jack ready. So I hadn't even looked at my
17:00
phone. And I look at my phone, and the
17:02
first one I have first text that I see is at the top of the list.
17:05
And it's my buddy Graham. And Graham says Houston, just
17:09
question mark, something like that.
17:10
And I'm like, I would love to, It'd be incredible.
17:12
But no. And then I keep going through my
17:14
messages and get like 6-7 down because I already got a ton in
17:17
the morning. And there's one for my wife.
17:21
And she said for your birthday coming up in a couple weeks, me
17:26
and the kids are sending you to. Houston, how about that?
17:28
And pick it. Thank goodness that she wakes up
17:32
at 4:30 in the morning, because she got it.
17:34
Before those, how much did she spend, You know?
17:36
488. She got a yes, she got it today.
17:39
This morning, yes, this morning she got it.
17:41
It was yeah. 488 was the price at the time because I looked an
17:45
hour and a half ago and it's over $900.
17:48
That that same flight, I had a buddy that found a flight that
17:50
was leaving out of Des Moines Direct and I was leaving
17:53
tomorrow morning. That thing sold out as he was
17:55
booking really tickets so that it's going up.
17:59
Got it at a great time. I mean you talk about a birthday
18:01
gift. So thank you to my wife and my
18:04
kids. That's awesome.
18:05
It just out of nowhere didn't think it was going to happen.
18:08
It's going to happen. And now just piercing this whole
18:11
trip together on the fly. These are reminds me of being a
18:13
young kid again being back in my late teens, early 20s and just
18:17
figured things out. Couldn't be more excited to get
18:20
down there and just remembering the memories from a couple years
18:22
ago down at the final four in Minneapolis.
18:26
No, well, the final four for the women.
18:28
Oh, the. Women's final.
18:29
Four went down the road with. Ella, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:31
And just to see the Hawkeye fans and see all these faces, I swear
18:36
you see these same faces that you see at Carver, that you see
18:38
at Kinnock, the same people that traveled the road games.
18:41
And you see them and they look a little different maybe than 20
18:43
years ago when I was going to a lot more games.
18:45
But they're still there. Just to be able to experience
18:49
that. Can, you know what Iowa
18:50
basketballs meant to me? And to be able to do that and be
18:53
there for the Lead 8 for the first time in 39 years, I just
18:57
could be more. Exciting and you couldn't miss
18:59
it. And good for your wife, she's a
19:02
keeper. I really knew that already, but
19:04
what a gift. What a gift for you.
19:06
I did hear that I ate is pretty packed headed E too with a lot
19:09
of cardinal and gold flags hanging out windows and cyclone
19:13
license plates. I'm guessing that the United
19:14
Center will have a pretty good representation of Iowa State
19:19
fans tonight as well. The other games from last night,
19:22
I mean, Arizona just absolutely crushing Arkansas.
19:25
I didn't see any of the Purdue game with the exception of the
19:28
first. I watched from 6:10 to 6:30 and
19:31
then I didn't see any of it. But by by by watching the score
19:35
change on the screen above, the Iowa game must've been hell of a
19:38
game. Yeah, I had it on another TV,
19:40
but I'll be honest, right outside of during commercial
19:44
breaks I didn't watch a lick of it either.
19:46
He did watch the condensed version like the 10 minute
19:48
version, then again last. Night.
19:49
Oh, you told me about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:51
And I was just surprised, and I was surprised that Texas, it
19:56
wasn't just that. All right, they got some big
19:58
guys that can kind of compete inside because Clough was not
20:01
good last night. It was they were knocking down
20:04
shots from the outside. That was not what this Texas
20:06
team was. One of their better players
20:08
turned his ankle and he was still knocking down 3 pointers.
20:11
Purdue was on the ropes and Kauffman Wren got away with one.
20:14
Did he? In that final play, you saw the
20:16
highlight of the tip, did, and there's a shot from under the
20:19
basket. I mean, you talk about clearing
20:21
out. You can see from this shot it
20:23
was not where it looked at TV. Yeah, he gave him a little bump.
20:25
It was worse. It was a shove.
20:27
I mean it was clearing swallows. The whistle.
20:30
Yes, they did, and he made the play.
20:31
They got the tip in at the Horde.
20:33
Braid, Smith just got it up there.
20:35
Produce survives, but that was certainly not the Purdue team I
20:38
thought we were going to see last night.
20:39
I'm with you. Officiating last night obviously
20:42
went to Iowa's way, so maybe not as great.
20:45
Just I thought it was pretty well officiated game.
20:48
I know there's some Husker fans that didn't like some of the
20:50
calls or some of the non calls, but you say that about every
20:52
game. You're right, I didn't.
20:53
I didn't think the officials were a story last night.
20:56
Did I miss something? I don't think so.
20:58
I mean, I guess you could argue that they should have let 4 on
21:00
the floor. That's not their job, no.
21:02
It's not. That would be the one thing I
21:04
guess you could point to. They let them play in the
21:06
second-half and. Yes, they should.
21:08
You know what? This weekend of the tournament,
21:10
you know what? Let them play.
21:12
Yeah, absolutely. Don't be the story.
21:14
Unless it gets out of control, right, and gets handsy and
21:16
again. But both teams, I didn't think
21:18
like that way it was. It was just a up and down, back
21:21
and forth affair. And you know, for Iowa, they
21:24
finally get a Tide so many times in the first half, they get it
21:27
to 2 and then it's right back to 10.
21:29
Yeah, Tate, Sage, that dude you talk about having a big set.
21:33
I mean that young man, the three pointer at the horn.
21:36
Nebraska played about as perfect of a first half offensively as
21:40
you can play. Defensively at the end, that was
21:42
a breakdown. That was a breakdown, yeah, and
21:44
Bennett Sturtz delivered that pass with a bounce pass.
21:46
As he did. You know, I love that.
21:48
Yeah. And Tate Sage was ready.
21:50
His shot. Does the shot look different
21:52
last night? Just more smooth?
21:54
Yeah. I guess when you hit 43 pointers
21:56
it'll probably get a little. Well, the game against Florida,
21:58
it looked like he didn't want to be on the floor.
22:00
Yes, and Isaiah Howard, he hit. Likewise, Howard, Yes.
22:03
He stepped up there and it was right after they got an
22:05
offensive rebound. He stepped into a three at the
22:07
top of the key, cut it back to five when they were teetering
22:10
for a while. Iowa had a response every time,
22:12
and that's one thing we learned. And Tate Sage is a freshman.
22:14
Tate Sage is a. Freshman.
22:15
And Tate Sage is a freshman, yeah.
22:17
Absolutely. Oh my God, three more years.
22:19
Cooper Koch is a freshman. Cooper Koch is a freshman.
22:22
That dude made some big man rebounds too, yeah.
22:24
He's got a little attitude to him, he really does.
22:26
I like that about him. He's got sweat, yeah.
22:28
He does. He is ready to go.
22:30
Yeah, this it's an exciting time because yeah, this is a group.
22:35
You look at the parts. This is not in the Elite 18, but
22:39
you put it together and Cooper catch that you got.
22:40
An Elite 8 coach, Trent. There it is.
22:43
Yeah, Cooper said something. The question was, and it was
22:46
around the locker room after the game.
22:48
Yep. Yep.
22:49
The question was, to paraphrase, did you think he'd be in the
22:53
Elite 8? And he didn't want to say no.
22:56
And he said no. Are you surprised to be in that?
22:58
No, we're not surprised. And then he finally relented it.
23:01
Well, maybe a little surprised. But then then he followed it up
23:04
with this, he said. But there's one guy not
23:06
surprised, and that's coach McCollum.
23:08
Did he? And he has worked to make us
23:10
believe that we can do this, that we can make a run, that we
23:13
are this team. He has worked so hard throughout
23:16
the course of the year to make that and to hear him followed up
23:18
with that. And Coach McCollum always
23:21
believed in this group and that is coaching.
23:24
Yes, Jimmy's and Joe's, you got to get them.
23:26
But instilling that confidence in this group, and this is a
23:29
very confident Iowa basketball. Team I, I would love to know the
23:32
answer to this and somebody smarter perhaps could figure
23:34
this out. But just how much this win, this
23:37
run has meant to the brand financially for Hawkeye
23:42
basketball and what it's going to do to leading more players to
23:45
potentially that didn't have Iowa on their list or weren't
23:48
even going to think about going to Iowa or even looking at maybe
23:52
what they might offer. It's going to get them in more
23:56
living rooms. It's going to get them obviously
23:58
more publicity. I would love to know the
24:00
economic impact of what Iowa basketball is doing here, men's
24:05
basketball, because, Oh my God. You see, Beth Goetz was waiting
24:08
for McCollum as soon as they got off the floor and give him a big
24:10
hug. Understandably show.
24:13
So you're guessing. Yeah, right.
24:15
I'm guessing, you know, they're looking at that contract as well
24:18
because Mccollum's going to have offers.
24:20
He's just he's this good of a head coach.
24:22
He's one. We have to remind everybody
24:24
about his resume. It's it's like none very few
24:27
have ever seen. But man, oh, man, Iowa in the
24:30
Elite 8. Come on, Clones.
24:32
Get there tonight. Beat this Tennessee group and
24:34
join Iowa in the Elite 8. Let's get back out to the phone
24:39
lines 515284596 if you can join us as we are live from Buffalo
24:43
Wild Wings on Burl. Hey, we got Reed Johnson on the
24:46
line with us. Reed, what do you got for us?
24:51
Thanks for taking my call. I got two things last night.
24:54
After that game, Bruce Pearl was reminiscent about the 87 season.
24:58
He was rattling off his, you know, Marvel, man, I live that
25:03
game. I, I, I still have that game in
25:05
my head. I remember beating UNLV.
25:08
And so the second thing I got, I'm still confused about the
25:13
referee's discretion on four guys out there is versus 5.
25:20
Could that play been stopped after Fidarius acts he scored?
25:24
Or. Do the Rep no wash their hands
25:27
of it? I mean I I'm confused.
25:29
I've heard it both ways. I have two and read.
25:33
I don't have the right answer for you.
25:35
I don't believe I didn't see the rule book.
25:37
I don't think there's anything in the rules now.
25:39
They will tell you if they're 6. Yes, they they count for six.
25:43
But it's not up to them to tell them that you only have 4 on now
25:46
they can. Yes, that would be a courtesy.
25:49
And they can hold it up. And they can, yes.
25:52
And you know what? And maybe you caught kind of a
25:54
break because if you can see Mass when he realized, gosh
25:57
darn, I'm supposed to be on the floor and he gets up off the
26:00
bench and starts running toward the score table and he runs in.
26:03
Meanwhile, the ball's in the air.
26:04
The ball's been inbounded. And he ran into an official.
26:07
And by then it was too late. By then it was too late.
26:10
But I don't think it's up to the officials.
26:12
I've heard too many coaches in the in the business, too many
26:16
analysts say they're like this, this isn't on the referees.
26:19
This is on, this is on Nebraska. This is on Nebraska Reed.
26:22
Thanks for the call, man. We got to go to break.
26:24
We appreciate you chiming in. Good luck to your squad
26:26
tomorrow. Yep.
26:28
You bet. Good to hear.
26:29
From you, Reed. All right, Tom Caker did.
26:31
Yep, Tom Caker is next. Miller and Condon, we're live at
26:33
Buffalo Wild Wings. Come on out, get signed up.
26:36
Couple of autographed basketballs been Mccollum's
26:39
names on one, TJ Utzel burgers on the other one.
26:42
Bud Light is giving you a beer just for shooting a basketball,
26:44
whether it goes in or not. Multiple prizes, well, Bud Light
26:48
ball caps, Bud Light T-shirts, Bud Light koozies.
26:52
Lot of prizes being given away. Our friends at Bud Light making
26:55
it possible for Trent and I in Des Moines sports station KXNO
26:59
one O 6.3 KXNO to be live from Buffalo Wild Wings to Houston.
27:03
Next. Tom Caker joins us, Miller and
27:05
Condon on a Friday. Thanks for being with us on the
27:07
Eye of Sports Radio Network. I'm Melanie Condon, Welcome back
27:19
Iowa Sports Radio Network. Trenton Ken with you.
27:21
Live at Buffalo Wild Wings, Merle Hay Rd. with you until
27:25
2:00. Coming up, we will hear from Tom
27:28
Cakered in Houston. But it's opening day.
27:30
Downtown Des Moines. Principal part.
27:32
Let's play some ball. The I Cubs begin their season.
27:35
Our colleague Heather Burnside is at Principal Park.
27:38
Here's Heather. Hey, it's Heather.
27:42
I'm out here at Principal Park. It is opening day 2026, just
27:47
hours away. And I'm thrilled to be joined
27:49
now by, like, President Emeritus Sam Burnaby.
27:52
Is that what we're calling you now?
27:53
Because you're here, like off and on.
27:55
You're not completely retired. Yeah, I don't think it's
27:57
Emeritus. They still, they still pay me.
27:59
So they listed as as president. So I, I, I'm not sure what
28:02
Emeritus really means. I'd be maybe that's even more
28:04
retired, I guess I don't know yet.
28:05
Yeah, I don't know either. I just thought it sounded cool.
28:08
But glad to see you. And what is it like to start yet
28:10
another year down here at Principal Park?
28:12
A lot of changes out here too. Yeah, they've, we've done a lot
28:15
of good things. I think the, and a lot of it's
28:18
noticeable for a change. We've we've spent a lot of money
28:21
over the years, but a lot of it the fans wouldn't see or
28:23
recognize the, but certainly the the couple of the big things,
28:28
three big things is that they'll notice the bullpens off the
28:30
field. And it's really not that that's
28:32
a big deal, but the dynamic of taking them off the field and
28:35
pushing them into the grandstand has really created kind of a fun
28:39
new feature of the ballpark. You won't find that in very many
28:41
places. The surprise of the video board
28:45
basically blowing up in December.
28:47
We have a brand new video board, which is really, really nice.
28:49
The board was about 10 years old, so it was due anyway.
28:54
And then the PA system is probably going to be the most
28:56
noticeable thing. Michael Gardner and Mike Judas S
29:00
And I put that the previous PA system in back in 2001 I think.
29:06
So it was ready for an update and it's really got great sound
29:10
to it. It's distributed all over the
29:12
ballpark, good, clean, crisp. You know, you being in the radio
29:16
business, there's nothing better than good sound.
29:18
It's true, and you take a lot of you need to take a lot of credit
29:21
for it. This ballpark was put up in
29:24
1993. Still could.
29:25
It doesn't look anywhere near its age.
29:27
You've done an amazing job. Well, it's a partnership, you
29:29
know, it's a partnership with the, with the City of the Wine
29:32
and the ball club and, and, and, and, you know, under Ken
29:35
Granquist and that ownership and, and the city and then
29:39
Diamond Baseball holdings and that ownership and, and then
29:42
Michael and Michael Gardner and Mike Judah says he and I, you
29:46
know, we work hard at at at that partnership in the city spends a
29:49
lot of time and money on the stadium to keep it up.
29:52
And we spend a lot of time and money on the stadium to keep it
29:55
up. And frankly, there just isn't
29:56
anything more gratifying that to have somebody that's new to the
29:59
stadium come in and say, you know, parks, what, 10 years old,
30:02
you know, you know, it's 35 years old.
30:04
It was opening day 92. We built the old one, knocked
30:07
the old one down and built the new one in, in 208 days over the
30:11
dead of winter in, in winter 91. So it's, it's, it's, it needs a
30:17
hug here and there, but it's, it's really in pretty good
30:18
shape. Sam, great to see you.
30:20
Really excited for another season of Iowa Cubs baseball.
30:23
It's #43 for me and and it's just like #1 it's always the
30:27
same. Wow.
30:29
All right, come out and see us iowacubs.com for tickets and
30:32
info. It's Heather.
30:33
I'm one O 6.3 KXNO on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
30:38
All right, thank you, Heather Burnside again.
30:39
Heather will be part of it tomorrow, an Elite 8 program,
30:43
Iowa and their rematch against Illinois, Iowa State and they'll
30:46
be playing Michigan. Trent, they're playing Michigan
30:50
tomorrow are making a ball. Look at that.
30:52
So it's an Elite 8 show. It's not going to just focus on
30:55
Hawkeyes. It's going to focus on the
30:56
Cyclones and their Elite 8 match up as well.
30:59
But let's get down to Houston. You'll get there tonight.
31:01
Tom Keikert is already there. He joins us on the phone.
31:05
Tom Trenton, Ken, thanks for coming on.
31:07
Tom Keikert. Guessing he's just one of those
31:10
events and you've covered all of the big events in your career.
31:13
This one has to move pretty high up on the list.
31:15
What? What a night, Tom Keikert.
31:18
They come back to him. All right.
31:22
So I guess we're trying to get back to Tom Caker.
31:24
All right, we'll come back to Tom Caker in just a second.
31:28
So quickly, yeah, Illinois, Houston, did you stay up for
31:32
the? End of that, yes.
31:34
When they cut it to 8, did you think Houston had a chance?
31:37
I did just because, just because of the building and the fan base
31:41
was, was so one sided, as one would assume being that close to
31:45
campus. But I, I did think early in the
31:49
early in the second-half that that Illinois had built a lead
31:53
that would, would be insurmountable.
31:56
And I, and I guess he'd give Houston credit.
31:58
Here's the thing. At the end of the day, it wasn't
32:00
the most aesthetically pleasing best.
32:02
It was kind of tough to watch. It was it was an ugly watch and
32:06
then he had the complete opposite with the Arizona game
32:08
and and Arizona put up one O 9 with like 5-3 pointers or
32:11
whatever it was. Is this just turning into the
32:14
Arizona invitation? It sure looks like it and man, I
32:17
would I'll give it through this up.
32:19
I don't think he can. I don't think he can.
32:21
But you know who can and hope it happens.
32:23
TJ Otzelberg. There you go can screw it up for
32:25
Tommy Lloyd, if indeed we get that match up in the final four.
32:29
I know it's crazy. I know it's I mean, it's it's
32:32
you're way ahead of yourself. But are are we to dare to dream?
32:37
I mean, the past there. Here's Tom Kagan off to Houston.
32:42
Tom Trenton. Ken, thanks for coming on.
32:44
How are you, Tom Kagert? I'm good.
32:47
I thought maybe you guys just forgot about me.
32:51
No, no we didn't. We didn't.
32:53
Yeah, Heather's down at the. Principal Park, Yeah, Opening
32:56
day. We had to do a cut in with
32:57
Heather quickly, but Tom, I'm going to see you here coming up
33:00
in about 11 hours. I'll be making my way downtown
33:04
Houston. You going to be out still?
33:07
I don't think I'll be out in 11 hours.
33:09
If I'm out in 11 hours, we've got a real problem.
33:12
I'm surprised. You're So what?
33:13
Down because I I figured you would be superstitious and not
33:17
try to mess with karma here. Oh, God, no, no, no.
33:21
I mean, I, I made the trip down to Dallas for the win against
33:25
South Carolina. So no superstition.
33:27
No, no, it doesn't matter for me.
33:28
I want to be there. And it was a birthday present
33:30
for my wife. Woke up this morning with a
33:32
plane ticket down to Houston. Can't turn that one down.
33:36
No, can't do it. Look forward to seeing you.
33:40
Good stuff Tom. Take us into the locker room
33:42
after the game last night, guessing a locker room that
33:45
well, I don't know, was it subdued realizing look that it
33:50
was a nice win. We're we've taken a big step,
33:52
but kind of take us into the locker room after the game, Tom.
33:57
Yeah, they were, I mean, obviously very happy, very
33:59
static about about picking up the win, but it wasn't like it
34:03
was like you won the national title.
34:05
It was just like, yeah, we won and just move on and just really
34:10
relax business like but but happy.
34:14
It wasn't like they were just like stone faced.
34:16
Yeah, we just won. Good.
34:17
Good for us. It was a lot of guys that just I
34:21
think they just they just expect to win.
34:23
They just do, they just have this confidence about them in
34:27
the last two weeks that, that I think a lot of us have picked up
34:31
on that they just kind of believe in themselves more than
34:36
everybody believes in them outside of their, their walls.
34:39
And, and they bought in hook, line and sinker to what Ben
34:43
Mccollum's selling them right now.
34:44
And that's a powerful elixir to to to keep going in, in a, in a
34:50
tournament setting, given what Ben has done in his career.
34:55
Tom Caker joins us, hawkeyereport.com.
34:58
Tom, as I see it, this Hawkeye team Bennett Sturtz now has or
35:03
you know, throughout the regular season, one guy would step up,
35:06
but there was never consistent, quote, help, right?
35:09
And now he's getting that, whether it be Fulgaris or where
35:12
it better be Banks. And you can count on Koch to hit
35:14
shots now he's got some help, Tom.
35:17
And it goes a long way, doesn't it?
35:19
It does. And let's not forget about Tate
35:22
Sage because that young fellow has got a set on him and we know
35:27
what that says. I mean, he's got a set on him
35:30
that just he, he's not scared of any moment.
35:36
In fact, he almost seeks it at sometimes.
35:39
I mean, that shot he hit, they're up 3 and he just buries
35:44
A3 from the corner and it's just like, yeah, I'm going to take
35:49
that shot. And that's why, you know, he
35:51
just knew he was going to make the shot.
35:53
And it's pretty cool. You know, we've made a lot about
35:57
Alvaro and his mom being down in Florida for the games in Tampa.
36:01
And then his brother Nacho is here in Houston with them, and
36:08
that always helps him. He's played two terrific games
36:10
with Nacho in the building. So I think maybe Nacho needs to
36:13
move to Iowa City or something. But Tate had his his twin
36:19
brother here for the first time to see him playing in Iowa
36:21
uniform. And I think that really inspired
36:25
him to his brother plays at Pittsburgh State.
36:29
And so they got done playing and unfortunately Tate, Tate said,
36:33
because he was hoping they would make a long run and in the their
36:37
tournament, but they they got knocked out.
36:39
So yeah, his brother made it. And he said that was really cool
36:44
to have his brother in the in the stands watching them.
36:49
Tom, I want to kind of move past Nebraska because we don't have a
36:53
ton of time today and you know Illinois so well now you're not
36:56
an Illinois fan like Randazzo is, but being in the Quad
36:59
Cities, the rivalry aspect that you guys deal with over there,
37:03
and of course, we're now on over in the Quad City.
37:05
So I know we got a lot of people that are checking in first
37:08
start. Take us back to that first game
37:10
that was the Bennett Sturtz foul trouble game.
37:13
He finished the game with our four fouls.
37:15
The side with team is a whole lot different.
37:16
But just match up wise, you know the Illini, you see them
37:19
basically every single game. Just how you look at this match
37:22
up now compared to middle of January?
37:25
The thing I always take away about this Alani team is they
37:28
are massive. If you like it, can Palm.
37:31
They're the biggest team in the country and they they go 7169.
37:37
They you know, they got the two V6 kids 171 I think the 17.
37:42
The other one's like 7 two or something.
37:43
And Merkovic is really good. If Keaton Waggler wasn't the
37:49
freshman of the year, Merkovic might have been the freshman of
37:53
the year in the Big 10. He is really good played, played
37:56
terrific against Iowa and Wagler is just he's he's really
38:01
terrific player just, you know, shoots over 40% from three just
38:06
a bucket and a half. And then Boswell's tough.
38:10
He kind of he'll probably get on start, I think.
38:13
And that's who guarded him last time and what he's I saw him
38:18
yesterday just walking in the hallways when they were arriving
38:22
to the arena. He is just so he's like a block
38:26
of granite and that's just hard to get around and move around if
38:30
you've been at Sturtz. So I was going to have their
38:33
hands full with this game. And you remember the last game
38:37
they jumped to Iowa, I think it was like 14 to something like
38:40
that early on and they really jumped them and Sturtz was in
38:44
foul trouble. They struggled, but Iowa fought
38:46
back and you know, down 17 I think at one point and, and they
38:51
battled back. They didn't get completely
38:54
annihilated on the boards. And that's they're a lot like
38:57
Florida, except with better guards.
38:59
That's the thing that I kind of think this team is they're just
39:02
Florida with with better guards and and they're going to be a
39:06
tough, this is going to be a great game.
39:09
But I think I was going to give them everything they've got
39:11
because and I wouldn't, I'm not, I think I could honestly win
39:16
this game because they're just playing.
39:20
They're playing. So sometimes you just, you got
39:23
it and they've got it right now. No doubt about it.
39:28
And they're feeding off their head coach and they're getting
39:30
that confidence from him clearly.
39:32
And it's it's really something to see this team the way that
39:36
they've gelled and putting it together at the right time of
39:39
year, no doubt about it. So what happens today, Tom, take
39:41
us through today. Did the Hawks, will they go
39:43
through some kind of practice or anything today?
39:46
What happens on the day before it's They hit the floor tomorrow
39:51
night at 5:00. You know, this is all new to me
39:53
guys. I've never done this before.
39:58
We've got a media session this afternoon with some of the some
40:02
of the players and coaches and stuff and they'll have practice.
40:05
I think they might actually be over there practicing already
40:09
and then we get them after they get done with practice.
40:11
So they'll be over at the Toyota Center.
40:15
Getting their getting their work done.
40:16
And then and then we'll be we'll be talking to him.
40:20
I think at 2:50 we get to talk to him.
40:22
So, yeah. And then we'll talk to some of
40:26
the Illinois guys and kind of get the view from Brad Underwood
40:28
and, and what he what he's thinking.
40:31
But boy, I, I joked last night on our podcast, Trent probably
40:36
listen to it, that I joke. They should have it over in
40:38
Moline at the mark of the Quad City where I will play
40:41
basketball at. They should have this will be
40:43
the game where they just have it there.
40:44
Why? Why make everybody come down to
40:46
Houston to see Iowa and Illinois play?
40:48
Let's just make it a home game for me so I can sleep in my own
40:51
bed for the first time in two weeks.
40:54
Let's hope you're sleeping in some beds in Indianapolis.
40:57
Indianapolis, baby, no doubt about it.
40:59
Hey, Tom. Thanks for what you do for us,
41:00
buddy. Appreciate it.
41:01
OK, safe trip back. We'll catch up with you next
41:04
week on your way to Indianapolis.
41:05
Thanks, Tom Kakert. OK.
41:07
Thanks, guys. Bye bye.
41:09
Yep, see ya Tom Caker Hawkeye Report com As we check in on the
41:13
Hawks. I believe we're going to head
41:14
back down to Principal Park, right?
41:16
Heather is there coming up in our number 2.
41:19
We will hear from Eugene Repes in Chicago.
41:22
He's covering Iowa State, their game tonight against Tennessee,
41:25
Jefferson yesterday. I mean, you didn't see anything,
41:29
but you didn't see anything that leads you to believe there's no
41:31
chance he's going to play. Maybe I'm maybe it's wishful
41:34
thinking, Yeah, that they're going to have all of their guys
41:37
on the floor. But look.
41:39
It's a big Tennessee team. It is.
41:41
It is and I was state they don't care.
41:44
No, not at. All they want to fight.
41:46
I love that about them on the defensive end of the floor.
41:49
Obviously, they're pretty gifted offensively as well.
41:51
Eugene Repay and Mike Palm and now we're #2 but let's fall.
41:54
Before we go to break, let's head back down to Principal
41:57
Park. Here's Heather Burnside, live
41:59
opening day, Principal Park downtown Des Moines.
42:04
Hey guys, it's Heather. I am looking out over Principal
42:07
Park. It was so great to catch up with
42:09
Sam Burnaby to hear about all the great improvements they've
42:12
made out here at Principal Park. It is opening night.
42:15
The Cubs are in town tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday afternoon.
42:19
A lot to see and do. There's going to be some Chicago
42:21
Cubs starting their season down here at AAA.
42:24
And of course, if you watch the Chicago Cubs, you know how many
42:28
major leaguers have come through this park.
42:29
So it's always an exciting time of year and especially as we
42:33
start a new one here at Prince Principal Park.
42:35
Just a few notes. I just got off the phone with
42:37
five O. The police will be out to help
42:38
you cross the street beginning at 5:30 and the gates open at
42:42
6:00 here Principal Park. And obviously right now great
42:46
news that there's no major construction that's going to
42:49
impede you getting to the ballpark.
42:51
They will, however, be closing that bridge at MLK over the Des
42:55
Moines River right about the 9th inning for fireworks tonight
42:59
because it is a fireworks Friday night.
43:00
It's opening night at the icubs. Come out and see us at Prince
43:05
with One O 6.3, KX&O and the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
43:13
Big soccer guy. He was with V Santa couple years
43:15
ago. And then I'm Mallory Condon,
43:19
back live Buffalo Wild Wings Meryl Hay Rd.
43:24
Good luck to you, man. Good to talk to you.
43:26
Buffalo Wild Wings, Meryl Hay Rd.
43:28
Sorry about that, TC with you until 2:00 in.
43:33
Our number 2 Eugene Repay joins us and so does Mike Palm.
43:37
A lot of people coming down here getting signed up, an
43:39
opportunity to win those autographed basketballs, one
43:41
from TJ Otzelberger, one from Ben McCullum.
43:45
A lot of cardinal and gold start to make their way in here.
43:47
Maybe get some early. Boy, it's a long day.
43:49
If you're already dabbling into the pops, now you got to pace
43:52
yourself. Don't, right?
43:53
You can do it, but just pace. Seriously that that's the right
43:56
way to do it. I got to remind myself about
43:58
that tomorrow. What time will you get underway
44:00
tomorrow? Tip offs 5:00.
44:02
I'll have. First one goes down at what time
44:05
11? No, not that.
44:06
Not that early, No 11. See you boys. 11 I would guess
44:09
would be the first one. OK, I like to dabble a couple
44:12
places. I'm not somebody that finds one
44:13
spot. Oh, so you'll move around?
44:15
I'll. Probably.
44:17
Well, there's a lot of people down there, you know, a lot of
44:19
people, a lot more going, yes. And a lot of people texted
44:21
already. Where we meet and where we
44:22
going. I know there's going to be
44:24
people here, then there's going to be people there, and I'm a
44:27
man of the people. Well, there you are.
44:29
Yeah, one of us has to be in this.
44:31
Radio show, right? We can't just all stay at our
44:34
basement all day long every day. So yeah, getting out.
44:37
Good to see the people and couldn't be more excited.
44:40
No, I bet you can't. Do you have an opinion other
44:41
than the Iowa State Tennessee game, the other three games
44:44
tonight, is there one that intrigues you either from I
44:48
can't miss this game or I can't wait to bet this game what what?
44:52
What would that other game be of the other?
44:54
3 so. Michigan State, UConn because of
44:57
the coaching matchup. There's something about that
44:59
game that I I just, I'm not enamored with, OK?
45:02
I have no justification behind that.
45:03
It just, OK, it should be something that you're incredibly
45:06
excited about. I just not.
45:08
Maybe it's cuz. Is that the other late game?
45:09
Does that go late? Yeah. 40 maybe just cuz both
45:12
coaches annoy me and that's the reason behind it.
45:15
For me, it's St. John's, Duke.
45:16
Yeah. And I've told you before, Chris
45:18
Millen was one of my guys growing up.
45:19
I love Chris Millen. He was on the first Dream Team,
45:22
had his poster in my room, like Saint John's because he went
45:26
there and Bill Weddington went there.
45:27
So the Johnnies were always kind of like a secondary team.
45:30
They were my Big East team, I guess back in the day when you
45:32
had that on Big Mondays. And it was always the Johnnies
45:34
for me. I love Louis Card, second the
45:36
sweater, and he just looks so different than everybody else.
45:38
Like look at this guy. He's completely So does Ben
45:42
McCollum today, by the way. Today's game.
45:44
Absolutely white, crisp white shirt and gold tie.
45:48
I think it's that game. Am I crazy though?
45:51
Can Saint John's? Can Patino do it again?
45:54
Well, look, Duke has not played exceptionally well.
45:57
The injuries have certainly, I think stunted their opportunity
46:01
to perhaps I, I thought they were home free.
46:04
I thought it was Michigan and Duke and then everybody else.
46:06
But Arizona's obviously really good.
46:09
The guy was alive. Illinois is alive.
46:14
Iowa State is alive. Iowa State is alive, would be
46:16
more alive at about 11:30 tonight.
46:20
Anyways, our two Eugene Repay covers Iowa State.
46:23
They kick off our number 2M Palms in Vegas, Miller and
46:26
Condon, Buffalo Wild Wings, Merle Hay Rd.
46:29
Our 2 is next. Come on back.