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Betting On March Madness with Stuckey · The Favorites Sports Betting Podcast

0:08
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Favorites, the podcast from from for the
0:13
Speaker 1: first time the Volume Network. I am Schad Milman of
0:19
Speaker 1: the Action Network and guess what, Thank God, the n
0:23
Speaker 1: c A Tournament is just days away. We're going to
0:26
Speaker 1: get into that. We are certainly going to get into
0:29
Speaker 1: that because a year ago this time we were wallowing
0:32
Speaker 1: interfere and our disappointment, and we were adrift in uncertainty.
0:37
Speaker 1: And I am not sentimental at all. I do think
0:40
Speaker 1: what's happened this past year when it comes to sports
0:44
Speaker 1: being played, is somewhat miraculous. The fact it was largely
0:49
Speaker 1: driven by greed. Who cares the fact that college athletes
0:53
Speaker 1: especially have been treated differently, the exact opposite of the
0:58
Speaker 1: credo the n c Double A lives by does not
1:01
Speaker 1: matter because we got a tournament people, And our guest
1:04
Speaker 1: today is the Action Networks very own one named wonder
1:09
Speaker 1: Stucky Man, who loves college foops so much he named
1:12
Speaker 1: himself after an obscure college basketball player. He will break
1:17
Speaker 1: down the attorney with me and Toda, my official official
1:24
Speaker 1: co host of the pod, are new full time Action
1:28
Speaker 1: Network colleague, Mr Simon Hunter. Hello, Simon mona money Chad,
1:39
Speaker 1: I'm paid I got health insurance. These all these things
1:42
Speaker 1: have happened to me. I'm so excited. I gotta tell you,
1:45
Speaker 1: I'm more nervous about hiring you full time than just
1:48
Speaker 1: about anybody, and that includes like hiring a guy named
1:52
Speaker 1: Stucky and a guy named Darren Ravel. But we do
1:56
Speaker 1: have even bigger news. I mentioned the very first sentence,
2:00
Speaker 1: the Volume Network. That's right. This morning, It's Tuesday. This
2:05
Speaker 1: morning it was announced that we have partnered with my
2:08
Speaker 1: good friend Colin Calherd and the Volume team on a
2:13
Speaker 1: brand new partnership. The Favorites your Favorite Podcast Listeners UH
2:19
Speaker 1: is joining the Volume platform, the new podcast platform that
2:22
Speaker 1: Colin started last month. Obviously, we're super excited. I've known
2:28
Speaker 1: Colin for years. I was lucky enough that when we
2:31
Speaker 1: were both at ESPN and he had a football show
2:34
Speaker 1: on Sundays, he asked me to come on and he
2:36
Speaker 1: was the first one doing gambling segments on television. We've
2:40
Speaker 1: been good friends for a long time. I'm thrilled personally
2:43
Speaker 1: that we're partnering with him. I'm thrilled that Action is
2:46
Speaker 1: partnering with him and Volume because it's a great match.
2:49
Speaker 1: Because the guy has been so far ahead of the
2:52
Speaker 1: game and talking about betting. He lived in Vegas. He
2:55
Speaker 1: knows the industry, he knows the space, he knows what
2:57
Speaker 1: audiences want. The fact that we get to do it
3:00
Speaker 1: together as two companies is awesome. This podcast The Favorites
3:05
Speaker 1: will expand to two times a week. We will do
3:07
Speaker 1: it Tuesdays, We will do it Thursday's. Action Network analysts
3:11
Speaker 1: like Stuckey and Simon will appear on Volume podcast as well.
3:15
Speaker 1: You'll be able to follow Colin and everyone on the
3:18
Speaker 1: Volume team. Uh, many of them are putting their picks
3:21
Speaker 1: in the Action Network app. I mean that's legit, man. Yeah, Simon,
3:25
Speaker 1: you did a chat. All you needed was to bring
3:28
Speaker 1: on someone a little better looking than Scooch and look
3:30
Speaker 1: what happened. We've blown up. Yeah. I want to give
3:35
Speaker 1: you some credit, but I have to give it all
3:36
Speaker 1: the Scooch. Thank you Scooch for leaving and letting us
3:39
Speaker 1: take off. Right all right, Now that the housekeeping is
3:43
Speaker 1: out of the way, let's get to some madness. March
3:46
Speaker 1: madness has finally returned, and there's only one way to celebrate.
3:51
Speaker 1: Let's get gambling. Gambling. Gambling, stucky, how are you holding
3:55
Speaker 1: up now that we're you know, forty eight hours in
3:58
Speaker 1: before a tournament that's starting a day later. Do you
4:01
Speaker 1: like having it started day later? Is it just more
4:03
Speaker 1: work to do, more time to prepare? Would you rather
4:05
Speaker 1: the games get going and squires be at your back
4:08
Speaker 1: and call? From our apt perspective, like getting content out there,
4:12
Speaker 1: It's it's helpful doing videos and podcasts, and the extra
4:16
Speaker 1: day certainly helps, but it's it's just a long way. Um.
4:20
Speaker 1: But you know, after last year, I will happily wait
4:23
Speaker 1: an extra day after not having a tournament. And it's
4:25
Speaker 1: funny that you bring up Stucky. I was just thinking
4:27
Speaker 1: about it. I was like, I picked that random name
4:29
Speaker 1: on a gambling form in two thousand four. Now, besides,
4:34
Speaker 1: like my family and my wife, every single person I
4:36
Speaker 1: now calls me Stuck, and that's like my name I
4:39
Speaker 1: go by on the Like it's I just randomly picked
4:41
Speaker 1: it on a form fifteen years ago. Wow. But yeah,
4:43
Speaker 1: I like it from a preparation standpoint. But I'm menching
4:47
Speaker 1: for these games to get started. I can't wait for Friday.
4:49
Speaker 1: So let's let's start in I can't. I can't wait
4:51
Speaker 1: for Friday either, and so look, the first thing I
4:53
Speaker 1: want to do. We're gonna talk about the way we're
4:55
Speaker 1: gonna break this down is we're gonna talk about each bracket.
4:57
Speaker 1: I want you to talk about your upset picks in
4:59
Speaker 1: each bracket, and then I want you to tell us
5:02
Speaker 1: who you think is going to come out of that
5:04
Speaker 1: bracket for the final four. And yesterday, I gotta say,
5:07
Speaker 1: the content in the app has been amazing and you're
5:10
Speaker 1: driving so much of that UM And yesterday you posted
5:14
Speaker 1: your three favorite n C Double A tournament underdogs. You
5:18
Speaker 1: bet right away. I will make a distinction, and I
5:21
Speaker 1: want you to talk about some bets that you see
5:25
Speaker 1: in each region as well. But when we're talking about
5:28
Speaker 1: underdogs in this context, I want to talk about winners.
5:31
Speaker 1: I want to talk about underdogs who are going to win. Uh.
5:35
Speaker 1: And so I think I just just a piggyback on that.
5:38
Speaker 1: I have a piece that's coming out now that's entirely
5:40
Speaker 1: too long, But if you need to know about these
5:42
Speaker 1: lower seeds, it'll be really useful. I ranked the the
5:46
Speaker 1: upset chances of teams ranked thirteen through fifteen, Like sixteen
5:50
Speaker 1: seeds that's happened once. I don't care about that. I'm
5:52
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any shot at Eve the win
5:54
Speaker 1: this year. But I write and everyone has twelves doors five,
5:57
Speaker 1: so I write the thirteen through fifteen seeds, and they're
6:00
Speaker 1: answers of an upset. And it's not just in order
6:02
Speaker 1: of seed or the line because and we'll talk about this,
6:05
Speaker 1: there's when you're looking for an upset in a bracket,
6:08
Speaker 1: it's different than when you're betting, because you might you
6:11
Speaker 1: might want to look for games with more variants. You
6:14
Speaker 1: might want to look for games with lower totals or
6:16
Speaker 1: three point reliant teams, um that if things unfold a
6:20
Speaker 1: certain way, they might be able to pull off the upset.
6:22
Speaker 1: So check that out. It'll be up this afternoon at
6:25
Speaker 1: some point. That's good, good, big pimping right there. Yeah,
6:32
Speaker 1: but I'm just fixed to saying like there isn't like
6:33
Speaker 1: it's a good point by you. It's there's a distinction
6:35
Speaker 1: between looking at the bets and then look trying to
6:37
Speaker 1: find and under it all to give you an advantage
6:39
Speaker 1: in the bracket. Yeah, look like people who people who
6:42
Speaker 1: are picking brackets, who don't know anything about March madness,
6:45
Speaker 1: who don't know anything about college basketball. They just want
6:48
Speaker 1: to pick the winners for each round. But for betters.
6:51
Speaker 1: They're looking at the point spreads. And there's as many
6:53
Speaker 1: opportunities when you were looking at the point spreads in
6:55
Speaker 1: college basketball in March madness as there are anything else
6:58
Speaker 1: because there's so many teams that bookmakers know they're gonna
7:01
Speaker 1: get outside attention on the public team, on the favorite team,
7:06
Speaker 1: because that team might be more of a brand name
7:08
Speaker 1: then the team that you have been following all year.
7:11
Speaker 1: And I know there's a couple of them. We can
7:12
Speaker 1: talk about that our prime for upsets or at least
7:17
Speaker 1: to keep the game close, and that's where there's going
7:20
Speaker 1: to be a lot of good a lot of good value. Um.
7:23
Speaker 1: Let us start in the West, because that has the
7:26
Speaker 1: number one team in the country. It has Gonzaga. Uh
7:30
Speaker 1: and to me, it's also a region where, uh, it
7:35
Speaker 1: could potentially be very chalky. Um. So let's let's start
7:39
Speaker 1: in the West. Give me your take right now of
7:42
Speaker 1: the sort of upset contenders to actually win outright, let's
7:47
Speaker 1: start with winning outright in the first round in the West. Yeah.
7:51
Speaker 1: And one thing I'll add on to what you just
7:53
Speaker 1: said is that in this year in COVID, with all
7:56
Speaker 1: the interruptions, shortened seasons, for a lot of these teams.
8:00
Speaker 1: There's a lot of groups that are going to disagree
8:02
Speaker 1: on these games. And you know some of the math models,
8:05
Speaker 1: like if you look at ken Palm out there and
8:07
Speaker 1: there's a there's a number of them. They might be,
8:10
Speaker 1: in my opinion, over valuing or undervaluing a certain team
8:12
Speaker 1: because you might look at this team and say, well,
8:15
Speaker 1: there are seasonal numbers aren't really reflective of who they
8:18
Speaker 1: are now because for a month they dealt with COVID right,
8:22
Speaker 1: and for that month they had a bunch of guys
8:24
Speaker 1: out they were trying to recover once they came back.
8:27
Speaker 1: So that's what I think really makes this to them
8:29
Speaker 1: bit interesting. Um. But getting to the West, yeah, I
8:32
Speaker 1: mean it's it's tough to see anyone taking out Gonzaga
8:37
Speaker 1: getting through. But let's look at the first round for
8:39
Speaker 1: potential upsets. I think, and I agree with you that
8:42
Speaker 1: this is the chalkiest Brackett our region I should say,
8:47
Speaker 1: of any if you want to search, I mean Cal
8:51
Speaker 1: Santa Barbara. They have an injury to one of their
8:53
Speaker 1: guards who's questionable. To Corey McLaughlin is an excellent, I mean,
8:57
Speaker 1: just the outstanding high major guard. He can play at
8:59
Speaker 1: the next level for Santa Barbara. Just a solid all
9:02
Speaker 1: around team, well coached by Pastor neck Day. They don't
9:05
Speaker 1: really have any flaws. They're just really solid. They have
9:08
Speaker 1: in good interior play, have good guards. That's a team
9:10
Speaker 1: that can scare Creighton and I create, especially if Creighton
9:13
Speaker 1: has it off shooting night, so um I would look there.
9:19
Speaker 1: I also mentioned Eastern Washington and the only reason I'll
9:23
Speaker 1: mention that, and again this is COVID uncertainty. So if
9:25
Speaker 1: you're looking for an upset in the first round, then
9:29
Speaker 1: you value uncertainty, and Kansas certainly has uncertainty. They're gonna
9:34
Speaker 1: be missing Jalen Wilson, one of their starters. It's not
9:37
Speaker 1: a very deep team, David McCormick. They're big an arguably
9:40
Speaker 1: best player. He's supposed to play, but he's still in
9:46
Speaker 1: COVID protocol. He's not traveling with the team, and so
9:48
Speaker 1: I think Friday or Saturday the day of the game,
9:50
Speaker 1: so it interrupted practices. You're already missing one starter. So
9:56
Speaker 1: at AT Eastern watches an excellent offense. Their defense is
9:59
Speaker 1: very questionable, but that's a an offense that can score.
10:01
Speaker 1: That's a really intriguing one if you want to get
10:03
Speaker 1: a little crazy, and we've seen Kansas certainly get upset
10:06
Speaker 1: in the first round. And then my favorite one in
10:08
Speaker 1: the West is Ohio. Um who I actually have going
10:14
Speaker 1: to the sweet six team? UM COVID on certainty Virginia.
10:19
Speaker 1: They're gonna be missing one player. We don't know who
10:21
Speaker 1: it is yet. They had to pull out of the
10:22
Speaker 1: a SEC tournament. Um, so who knows who that is.
10:25
Speaker 1: Ohio is playing as as well as any mid major
10:28
Speaker 1: in the country right now. They have a pro guard
10:30
Speaker 1: will be the best player on the court in Jason Preston,
10:32
Speaker 1: peaking at the right time. Defensive numbers are ugly, but
10:35
Speaker 1: they actually showed defensive effort last week. And a team
10:38
Speaker 1: that dealt with COVID for about a month so they
10:41
Speaker 1: had guys out, their numbers are a little deflated. This
10:43
Speaker 1: is a team that can shoot and score over that
10:45
Speaker 1: pack line defense. I think Ohio is extremely live. Everybody
10:52
Speaker 1: loves Ohio. Yeah, well, there's a lot of copying, and
10:56
Speaker 1: you know, I was obsessed with Ohio. I tweeted out
10:58
Speaker 1: right when the line came out. And now I think
11:01
Speaker 1: it's one of those trendy dogs. Um, which stinks, but
11:05
Speaker 1: there's a there's a lot of times when you look
11:07
Speaker 1: on Twitter and one person loves something that everyone starts
11:09
Speaker 1: to love it. So you get kind of clouded and thinking,
11:12
Speaker 1: all right, does everyone really like Ohio? But on Twitter
11:15
Speaker 1: it does seem like everyone now like so, which is
11:17
Speaker 1: a bit scary. But look, I trust my numbers, I
11:19
Speaker 1: trust the matchup, I trust Jason Preston, and then you
11:24
Speaker 1: have all the uncertainty in Virginia Simon, how do you
11:29
Speaker 1: think about March Madness as a professional football better. I
11:36
Speaker 1: try to listen to guys like Stucky because like I
11:38
Speaker 1: knew enough and I I started watching when I get
11:41
Speaker 1: back from vacation, which is like March so other than Duke,
11:45
Speaker 1: which I watch all season. Um, yeah, I don't know
11:49
Speaker 1: much about college boss, but when I when I try
11:50
Speaker 1: to do more Madness, I know a lot of people
11:54
Speaker 1: trying to do the crazy upsets. I try to just
11:56
Speaker 1: end up with a couple of twos and a couple
11:58
Speaker 1: of ones in the final four. Um, that's just always
12:01
Speaker 1: been my mentality, where it's like, usually the best teams
12:05
Speaker 1: are gonna win, are gonna win in college basketball, so
12:08
Speaker 1: where someone like Stuck you can find these match these
12:11
Speaker 1: matchups and find the value because these twelve and five's,
12:15
Speaker 1: like the all these different seedings, some of these teams
12:18
Speaker 1: are literally the exact same team, like on any given
12:20
Speaker 1: day you can win. So, like you're saying, there was
12:23
Speaker 1: crazy good line value, I jumped on a couple after
12:25
Speaker 1: like these guys posted what they liked, and uh, it's
12:28
Speaker 1: been crazy to see the line move on some of
12:30
Speaker 1: these games. Some of these lines have already moved like
12:31
Speaker 1: three points since it opened up, So it's definitely pretty
12:34
Speaker 1: crazy which one stuck, which ones have moved the most
12:37
Speaker 1: since these lines open. I mean, Ohio plus ten and
12:41
Speaker 1: a half was just a bad opener. Um. I think
12:44
Speaker 1: I tweeted out as soon as I came out, like
12:45
Speaker 1: this is this line is pure sex um and that's it.
12:48
Speaker 1: Like I think seven and a half now, um, you'll
12:52
Speaker 1: get and you'll get some resistance and buy back. But
12:54
Speaker 1: depending on who Virginia has out, it could drop further
12:57
Speaker 1: um and liberty. We can get to that and we
13:01
Speaker 1: get to the Midwest against Oklahoma State, I got some
13:03
Speaker 1: nine and a half there. That's down the seven and
13:05
Speaker 1: a half UM. So there's been Those are probably I
13:11
Speaker 1: think the two biggest movers so far that have moved
13:13
Speaker 1: two or three points, But there's been a couple that
13:14
Speaker 1: have moved a couple of points. And are there any
13:17
Speaker 1: teams that like we should be avoiding because of COVID,
13:19
Speaker 1: Like teams that just haven't been right or they had
13:21
Speaker 1: like good players coming back from COVID that are just
13:23
Speaker 1: teams that you would avoid just because of that stuff. Yeah,
13:26
Speaker 1: I mean the two teams that had to pull out
13:29
Speaker 1: that I just mentioned that I had to pull out
13:30
Speaker 1: of their conference tournaments last weekend ur Kansas, UM and Virginia.
13:37
Speaker 1: So what are the effects going to be from that?
13:40
Speaker 1: Who is gonna be Also, Georgia Tech announced today someone
13:45
Speaker 1: and for privacy issues they can't say who it is.
13:47
Speaker 1: Someone is going to be out this weekend against the
13:49
Speaker 1: little Chicago UM. So keep your eye on there, keep
13:52
Speaker 1: your eye on the news. But those are the two
13:54
Speaker 1: teams that had to pull out of their conference tournaments
13:56
Speaker 1: last weekend that UM I would probably avoid. There's just
14:00
Speaker 1: a lot of uncertainty there, especially from a bracket perspective.
14:03
Speaker 1: And I'm not in love with either team anyway, but
14:06
Speaker 1: but but ultimately I agree with you, and just you
14:08
Speaker 1: want to win a bracket pool, you want to get
14:09
Speaker 1: like seven of eight and Elite eight you want to
14:11
Speaker 1: get like they're depending on the size, they're like thirteen,
14:13
Speaker 1: fourteen and the sweet sixteen, and you want to nail
14:16
Speaker 1: the national champion and one good strategy, So like I
14:19
Speaker 1: I'd like to take like two or three some ideally
14:22
Speaker 1: to thirteen to fifteen seeds that win. I never really
14:25
Speaker 1: haven't gone past the sweet sixteen, and then that just
14:27
Speaker 1: makes all right, who do I want to pick as
14:29
Speaker 1: my sweet sixteen? A little easier if I nail them.
14:32
Speaker 1: But this year, if you want to try and have
14:34
Speaker 1: an edge on the field in a pool, I think
14:37
Speaker 1: you want to maybe try and pick a a national
14:40
Speaker 1: champion that is coming from the Illinois or gid Zagga
14:44
Speaker 1: region because I think a lot of people are going
14:46
Speaker 1: to have them in their final, including myself, um so Houston, Iowa.
14:51
Speaker 1: Those are like good contrary and national title bracket pool winners. Yeah,
14:57
Speaker 1: well that's interesting, right, So let's le's advance it a
15:00
Speaker 1: little bit because you did give Ohio is sort of
15:04
Speaker 1: a strong reference, which I think is the right one,
15:07
Speaker 1: and and obviously it's one that everybody is talking about.
15:11
Speaker 1: But as you see this going through and you say
15:14
Speaker 1: it's good to have sort of some of those lower
15:16
Speaker 1: seeds and say a Sweet sixteen. Let's say we're talking
15:19
Speaker 1: about a Sweet sixteen in the West. Other than Ohio,
15:24
Speaker 1: which you said can get there, is there anybody else
15:26
Speaker 1: from that bracket that you think, is it a lower
15:29
Speaker 1: seed they can get to the sweet sixteen? Yeah, I mean,
15:33
Speaker 1: looks at Santa bar If you want to roll with
15:35
Speaker 1: Santa Barbara, you gotta check the status of one of
15:37
Speaker 1: their starting guards. They can certainly get there. I don't
15:40
Speaker 1: think any of the team's in Gonzaga's region or half
15:44
Speaker 1: of the bracket are capable of taking Gonzaga out obviously
15:47
Speaker 1: any given day, but realistically Gonzaga should cruise to the
15:52
Speaker 1: Sweet sixteen and then Ohio. Look, Ohio is an electric offense.
15:56
Speaker 1: Gonzaga might score a hundred and ten on Ohio. UM
16:01
Speaker 1: so that they're run by, which I hope it happens,
16:03
Speaker 1: will be fun, but the dance will end there in
16:05
Speaker 1: the bottom half. It's like, I don't I don't trust
16:08
Speaker 1: usc enough. They have a really talented player in the
16:10
Speaker 1: mobile will play in the NBA. Yeah, I don't trust can.
16:14
Speaker 1: So it's like Oregon. Could Oregon make a run? They
16:16
Speaker 1: play like a funky style with their zones. But if
16:18
Speaker 1: they get to Iowa Garza, they don't want anyone who
16:20
Speaker 1: can cover Garza. I was playing more defense lately, so
16:23
Speaker 1: I think that we're set up here for Iowa Gonzaga
16:26
Speaker 1: in a chalky region they played earlier this year. I
16:29
Speaker 1: will compete. I think the final School was like nine.
16:33
Speaker 1: You could see another game like that, Um, and Gonzaga
16:37
Speaker 1: probably as too much firepower. But it's not that I will.
16:41
Speaker 1: It's not like I will can't win that game. UM.
16:44
Speaker 1: You know there will be five six point underdogs. I
16:48
Speaker 1: agree with you. By the way, to me, Gonzaga is
16:51
Speaker 1: a team that makes it all the way through to
16:55
Speaker 1: the finals. Here's the one thing that comes up every
16:58
Speaker 1: time with Gonzaga and I pooh pooh this. But I
17:01
Speaker 1: want your opinion. Everyone says, can a team that's undefeated
17:05
Speaker 1: make its way all through the tournament? Can a team
17:08
Speaker 1: that doesn't play tough like competition make its way through
17:11
Speaker 1: the tournament. I have very specific thoughts on why these
17:14
Speaker 1: things shouldn't apply to gun Zaga. But what's your take? Yeah?
17:19
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I think every case is different. In
17:22
Speaker 1: in Gonzaga's case this year, Earlier this season, on a
17:26
Speaker 1: neutral court. They beat Kansas two to ninety. They beat
17:31
Speaker 1: Auburn sixty seven. They beat West Virginia eight two, They
17:35
Speaker 1: beat Iowa was that final score? They beat Virginia seventy,
17:41
Speaker 1: all on neutral courts. Six that's five or six tournament teams. UM.
17:46
Speaker 1: So yeah, the their conference was down this year. It's
17:50
Speaker 1: generally not great, um, and they ran through it like
17:55
Speaker 1: a hot knife through butter predictably. I mean, I use
17:57
Speaker 1: a really good team, by the way, arguably gonna be
18:00
Speaker 1: the top twenty five team in the nation, and they
18:02
Speaker 1: beat them twice by double digits. So just all the
18:08
Speaker 1: metrics are there, the talent is there, and then you
18:10
Speaker 1: go back and you say, hey, look in the non
18:12
Speaker 1: conference they beat all of these tournament teams pretty handily
18:16
Speaker 1: and all on neutral courts. So UM, I don't think
18:19
Speaker 1: that there's any concern about Gonzaga's schedule. Now if they
18:23
Speaker 1: didn't there are some teams that didn't play a non
18:25
Speaker 1: conference schedule this year and just went right into a
18:29
Speaker 1: conference schedule. And given how poor Gonzaga's conferences this year,
18:34
Speaker 1: you could have questions and say, do we really know
18:36
Speaker 1: how to lead this team? Is? For example, Colgate number
18:38
Speaker 1: eight in the net. They have really good shooters. But
18:42
Speaker 1: they played three teams all regular season. That's it. Three
18:46
Speaker 1: and they played on like four times teaks IF, Army,
18:48
Speaker 1: holy Cross, and Lafayette that's it. So like all their numbers,
18:52
Speaker 1: they're shooting from three, they're holding teams from three, But like,
18:56
Speaker 1: what does that really mean? They played three phoot League
18:59
Speaker 1: teams all season? So, um, you have to look at
19:02
Speaker 1: I think this this year. You have to look at
19:04
Speaker 1: these teams just in a vacuum. There's so many different
19:07
Speaker 1: types of profiles. But I have no questions about how
19:10
Speaker 1: elite this Gonzaga team is offensively and then the differences
19:14
Speaker 1: this year. They're playing really good defense, which was a
19:17
Speaker 1: question last year. Top ten and adjusted efficiency just like
19:21
Speaker 1: when they got to the national title. That defense is
19:24
Speaker 1: uh championship worthy. Simon Pencil and Gonzaga for your final four.
19:29
Speaker 1: Just do it right now. No, I'm all of them.
19:31
Speaker 1: I like Iowa. I don't mind. I know. That's that's
19:36
Speaker 1: why when everyone's telling you they like Gonzaga. Like I
19:39
Speaker 1: was just thinking in my head, who was the last
19:42
Speaker 1: like legendary undefeated college basketball team. I feel like it
19:45
Speaker 1: was that Kentucky team that had all these first round
19:48
Speaker 1: draft picks, so I know Gonzaga is different than that,
19:50
Speaker 1: But I just remember that Kentucky team. They even I
19:53
Speaker 1: think it might have been maybe it was Butler. It
19:55
Speaker 1: was someone that ran into that was didn't have the biggest,
19:58
Speaker 1: the fastest, strongest guys. They just played that perfect game
20:01
Speaker 1: against the team that hadn't laws yet, that was feeling
20:03
Speaker 1: the pressure in that final two three minutes. So I'm
20:06
Speaker 1: off I like, I like the fate of Gonzi. Yeah, yeah,
20:09
Speaker 1: there's I think the number one overall seed is hasn't
20:13
Speaker 1: won at all in like seven years. Um, and you're
20:16
Speaker 1: talking about I'm in Lexington. This is a sore subject
20:19
Speaker 1: for us here. But Kentucky, which was by far and
20:23
Speaker 1: away the best team in the country, one of the
20:24
Speaker 1: best teams of all time talent was they run into
20:27
Speaker 1: Wisconsin in the final four. Um, but they I mean,
20:31
Speaker 1: and they lost to Wisconsin. Wisconsin. That team had Decker
20:34
Speaker 1: and Kaminsky. But if you you have to go back
20:37
Speaker 1: to my national championship, by the way, is Zaga Illinois
20:41
Speaker 1: is boring and predictable as that sounds. Two thousand five
20:44
Speaker 1: North Carolina Illinois. They were clearly the two best teams, um,
20:48
Speaker 1: and that was and they made the championship. Doesn't happen often, UM,
20:53
Speaker 1: So I'm hoping that we get a repeat. I have Illinois.
20:56
Speaker 1: I picked Illinois to win it all preseasons, so I'll
20:58
Speaker 1: stick with my guns there. But if you want to
21:00
Speaker 1: go Houston in their region, if you want to go Iowa,
21:03
Speaker 1: those are like the teams that I could see beating
21:05
Speaker 1: Illinois Oklahoma State if they get through the first round.
21:09
Speaker 1: But I don't hate the Iowa pick because Iowa is
21:11
Speaker 1: a team that can score and can put up ninety
21:14
Speaker 1: and get Zaga is off a little bit, they certainly
21:16
Speaker 1: can win a not a lot of people have it,
21:18
Speaker 1: so from a bracket perspective, I don't I don't hate
21:20
Speaker 1: that pick, but I don't see Gonzaga losing before the
21:22
Speaker 1: Elite eight for sure. I like this though, because Simon,
21:24
Speaker 1: who obviously is a professional better and it has been
21:27
Speaker 1: doing it very successfully for a very long time. If
21:30
Speaker 1: someone is new to the podcast, I should have more
21:32
Speaker 1: properly introduced Simon because he's been doing the podcast with
21:35
Speaker 1: me for a year and he is a legit professional
21:38
Speaker 1: better who d m me on Twitter and said I
21:41
Speaker 1: think I can make your podcast better because you're kind
21:44
Speaker 1: of smart, but you don't really know that much. And
21:46
Speaker 1: so this is a good opportunity for me to inform
21:48
Speaker 1: people so you don't make them dumber. And so now
21:50
Speaker 1: he's been on the podcast, but he doesn't bet college basketball.
21:53
Speaker 1: But this is a good sense, good way for like
21:55
Speaker 1: Simon to take his professional betting wits and apply them
22:00
Speaker 1: to college basketball. And I like that you're going contrarian
22:03
Speaker 1: with Iowa. Let's go to the East because the East
22:06
Speaker 1: is a bracket that I think is wide open. Michigan,
22:11
Speaker 1: the number one seed, has injury issues. They were fading
22:14
Speaker 1: down the stretch because of those injury issues. I think
22:18
Speaker 1: that like this is a bracket stuck, you know, start
22:21
Speaker 1: us off. There's like there's some real opportunity here. Yeah,
22:26
Speaker 1: this one, take take a shot in because I think
22:29
Speaker 1: that there's two vulnerable number one seeds. We'll get to
22:31
Speaker 1: one in another region, but Michigan is definitely one of them.
22:35
Speaker 1: The and uh and like you look at Michigan and
22:40
Speaker 1: you look, all right, it's there at eight nine that
22:42
Speaker 1: can potentially scare one and can one get upset in
22:46
Speaker 1: the second round. And I look at a team like
22:50
Speaker 1: st Bonaventure, who has an excellent, excellent big and you
22:56
Speaker 1: know soon in the middle. They are great interior defense.
22:59
Speaker 1: He can bay basically defend Dickinson and State bonov was
23:03
Speaker 1: a great defensive team experienced, um well coached. They could
23:08
Speaker 1: because of how they can cover Dickenson. Because Dickinson is
23:10
Speaker 1: a nightmare matchup for most teams, and because of that,
23:13
Speaker 1: you either have to double him and then he opens
23:15
Speaker 1: up all their great shooters. Michigan runs great offense as well,
23:19
Speaker 1: but yeah, Livers is hurt, but they could just guard
23:21
Speaker 1: him straight up, which is which is huge. But I
23:24
Speaker 1: don't know if St. Bonaventure can beat l s U.
23:26
Speaker 1: That's the problem in NFLS. You beat St. Bonaventure, Hunter
23:29
Speaker 1: Dickinson might score forty points on putbacks, Elsie one of
23:32
Speaker 1: the outside the top three defensive rebounding. They have no one,
23:36
Speaker 1: no one who can cover Dickinson. I mean, Michigan could
23:39
Speaker 1: shoot from three and he's just gonna he's he's just
23:43
Speaker 1: gonna offensive rebound put back on put I mean he
23:46
Speaker 1: would go crazy. So that game is it's a mind
23:49
Speaker 1: funk for me. But if you want to have Michigan
23:52
Speaker 1: going down, I can see them LS you can score
23:55
Speaker 1: on anyone too, so they could potentially outscore Michigan. I
23:58
Speaker 1: have Michigan going down personally the Sweet six team to
24:01
Speaker 1: Florida State. Um, who I think is? I actually have
24:06
Speaker 1: them going to the final four? Stuck, no joke. So far,
24:11
Speaker 1: you have named three of the final four teams that
24:16
Speaker 1: I had publicly stated, what are the final four teams
24:20
Speaker 1: for me before the seatings? One of these teams now
24:24
Speaker 1: can't make it and we'll get to that region. But
24:27
Speaker 1: I have Florida State going to the final four as well, Gonzaga, Illinois,
24:30
Speaker 1: Florida State. I have all three of them. UM, talk
24:34
Speaker 1: to me about Florida State. Explain yourself. Well, you're I
24:37
Speaker 1: gotta change my final four now, but you have the
24:39
Speaker 1: same final four? Is me? Well, I don't know I
24:41
Speaker 1: got it. But by the way, by the way, sometimes
24:45
Speaker 1: I'm really good at this. It might actually be in
24:47
Speaker 1: your favor. Chad Millman is proud of himself. Yeah, we'll see.
24:53
Speaker 1: I hope. Otherwise I will make sure I'm the pressures
24:55
Speaker 1: on you. It's a I'll say, but Florida State. Look,
24:58
Speaker 1: it's always on me. The sure is always on me,
25:03
Speaker 1: and yet I carry it like a warm blanket that
25:08
Speaker 1: brings everybody together. Okay, I don't know how to transition
25:11
Speaker 1: from that, but Florida State, I guess there are there
25:13
Speaker 1: are warm blankets to me. They give me comfort because
25:15
Speaker 1: they are just so long and athletic and deep. And
25:19
Speaker 1: this is the team that just poses so many matchup
25:22
Speaker 1: problems because I mean, they just have pros and length
25:24
Speaker 1: all over the place and it's very difficult to cover them.
25:27
Speaker 1: And they're really good defensively, is it? And we've seen it.
25:31
Speaker 1: Florida State has made runs to the Sweet sixteen, Elite eight.
25:35
Speaker 1: And by the way, if they get to the final
25:36
Speaker 1: four and they face when when we get out our
25:40
Speaker 1: final four picks before the bracket, I had give Zagon
25:42
Speaker 1: Florida State too, um kid Zagon Florida State. The last
25:45
Speaker 1: two tournaments have faced each other um and Florida State
25:49
Speaker 1: won the first one and get Zago won the second one.
25:52
Speaker 1: So if they if they meet in the final four,
25:54
Speaker 1: to be the third straight tournament that they have faced
25:56
Speaker 1: each other. But just a really deep, long, talented team,
25:59
Speaker 1: they'll press. Um. They have so many options to score.
26:03
Speaker 1: They can really shoot the three too, but they can
26:05
Speaker 1: also offensive rebound. There long inside protect the rim really well,
26:10
Speaker 1: like there's just not They also shoot free throws really
26:13
Speaker 1: well this year. There's not a lot of weaknesses with
26:16
Speaker 1: this team and UNC Greensboro. They press to the unique
26:21
Speaker 1: style which can give some teams trouble, and Florida State
26:23
Speaker 1: has turned the ball over some this year. Fartia State
26:27
Speaker 1: also presses. These are two of the top five press
26:29
Speaker 1: defenses in the country. Florida States actually be pretty good
26:32
Speaker 1: against the press this year. I I they're just such
26:34
Speaker 1: an athleticism advantage here. I also think they would get
26:37
Speaker 1: by the winner of Georgetown Colorado, uh and then the
26:41
Speaker 1: vulnerable Michigan. And when you get to Michigan, if Michigan
26:44
Speaker 1: gets there, they have the size inside seven footers that
26:48
Speaker 1: that can guard Dickinson, and they can match up on
26:51
Speaker 1: the perimeter, and they can create mismatches with their athleticism.
26:54
Speaker 1: So it's just a really talented team. Sometimes they have
26:57
Speaker 1: these like stinkers, which which does concern me a bit.
27:01
Speaker 1: Um They did want to have notreeday and they lost
27:03
Speaker 1: by about thirty with a chance to win the a
27:04
Speaker 1: C c um But I trust all the talent athleticism
27:09
Speaker 1: and they've they've Leonard Hamilton has in recent years has
27:13
Speaker 1: been pretty trustworthy in the tournament. Uh, Simon, I want
27:18
Speaker 1: to see if you can guess the team Stucky wants
27:22
Speaker 1: to talk about that is the live wire, uh under
27:30
Speaker 1: you know, thirteen seed in this bracket. Mm hmm, I can't,
27:39
Speaker 1: I can't. I can't think of it all toide of
27:40
Speaker 1: my head. Stucky, do you want to say it? Do
27:44
Speaker 1: you want me to say it? You can say Abilene Christian? Why?
27:51
Speaker 1: Why is Abilene Christians Stucky? The team that you think
27:56
Speaker 1: can advance against a Texas team that just one its conference,
28:01
Speaker 1: that has the ever hot coach in shock a smart um.
28:06
Speaker 1: Give me some explanations here? Well, actually don't. Well I
28:10
Speaker 1: think they can, but I don't. I haven't picked them.
28:12
Speaker 1: I love this team coming in. It's one of the
28:15
Speaker 1: most aggressive that's if they're very long, very long for
28:19
Speaker 1: a mid major. One of the most aggressive defenses in
28:22
Speaker 1: the entire country. They'll press you a bit. They trap everything.
28:25
Speaker 1: They're just into the passing lanes. They are number one
28:28
Speaker 1: in the nation and turnover rate defensively and just an
28:32
Speaker 1: outstanding defense. And they have a seven foot or so
28:35
Speaker 1: I think seven ft one Colt and coal in the middle,
28:37
Speaker 1: which not a lot of these mid major teams have.
28:40
Speaker 1: They run everything through him. On offense, it's one of
28:43
Speaker 1: the heaviest post offenses in the country, and they have
28:46
Speaker 1: shooters all around him. So it's just a very dangerous
28:49
Speaker 1: team with a unique scheme. And Texas does have turnover issues.
28:55
Speaker 1: They turn the ball over a lot. The thing that
28:57
Speaker 1: worries me and this Apple and Christie a talented, very
29:01
Speaker 1: well coached they have. They are unique, but they play
29:05
Speaker 1: almost the same defense as Texas Tech this no middle,
29:09
Speaker 1: don't let you get into the paint, put move everything in.
29:11
Speaker 1: Texas face them three times. Additionally, Texas has a couple
29:16
Speaker 1: of seven footers themselves, so unlike these other teams that
29:20
Speaker 1: Ablene Christians used to playing and could have matched up
29:22
Speaker 1: with where Colton Cold was seven ft or they run
29:24
Speaker 1: all their offense through. Usually have to crash down on them,
29:27
Speaker 1: usually have to help on him. He takes I think
29:29
Speaker 1: thirty of their shots, but then he can kick it
29:31
Speaker 1: out and they have all the great shooters all around it.
29:35
Speaker 1: But Texas doesn't have to do that. Plus Abilene Christian,
29:39
Speaker 1: because of how aggressive they play, they fail a ton
29:43
Speaker 1: and besides some of the Texas bigs, all the Texas
29:46
Speaker 1: guards are automatic at the line, so that's what scares
29:49
Speaker 1: me here. I like Davelene Christian coming in to the tournament.
29:53
Speaker 1: I don't like the matchup, but I wouldn't be shocked
29:56
Speaker 1: if they win. And if I don't really love any
29:58
Speaker 1: lower thirteen through sixties eats here. If I had to
30:00
Speaker 1: pick one, and I'm not in my bracket, but that's
30:04
Speaker 1: probably the one I would go with. Texas has some
30:07
Speaker 1: laps is mentally on defense. Sometimes Brown they're really talent.
30:12
Speaker 1: He's really talented, but he checks out and he turns
30:14
Speaker 1: it over too much. So yeah, I I could see it,
30:17
Speaker 1: but just it's not the best matchup for me. And
30:19
Speaker 1: I think Texas is undervalued in the market. They've lost
30:22
Speaker 1: a ton of close games, and a lot of those
30:25
Speaker 1: close games two really good teams came after they were
30:27
Speaker 1: dealing with COVID, so I think a lot of their
30:29
Speaker 1: numbers are are depressed because of that. Um They're peaking
30:33
Speaker 1: at the right time and they have the length and
30:36
Speaker 1: side they can shoot. UM, So I think Texas finds
30:39
Speaker 1: a way. But out of all the thirteen through fifteen
30:41
Speaker 1: seeds in this region, um Abilen Christian would be the
30:44
Speaker 1: one I would target. All right, Simon, uh, just putting
30:48
Speaker 1: your bracket Florida State for the final four. I want
30:51
Speaker 1: you You're gonna get Iowa and you're gonna Florida. So
30:55
Speaker 1: I thought of states first Texas, but if you want
30:58
Speaker 1: to go that, the autumn is is really interesting because Alabama, no, no, no, Simon,
31:03
Speaker 1: this is your final four so far, Iowa. You're gonna
31:06
Speaker 1: get Iowa playing Florida State in the final four, with
31:10
Speaker 1: one of those teams going to the finals, because you're
31:13
Speaker 1: gonna get the East Region playing the West Region, and
31:16
Speaker 1: how we're gonna go to the Midwest. I had to
31:19
Speaker 1: say before and I won big on Bama for the conference.
31:23
Speaker 1: I'm all in on Alabama got them in my final four.
31:25
Speaker 1: Them in Iowa are on my uh on my side
31:28
Speaker 1: for the Babo could get there, Bam, I could get there.
31:30
Speaker 1: It's a tough path, I mean, but they can certainly
31:32
Speaker 1: get there. I mean, Yukon is not gonna be easy
31:34
Speaker 1: in the second round with book Night and then Texas
31:37
Speaker 1: team and they're doing that. That was playing second overall.
31:41
Speaker 1: Just a defensive efficiency. That's the difference this year. But
31:44
Speaker 1: they are still very three point reliant. So if they
31:46
Speaker 1: have an off shooting night against one of these better teams.
31:50
Speaker 1: It could be Lights, but then and then they'd have
31:51
Speaker 1: to be Florida State. They can get there, though, then
31:53
Speaker 1: if you want to take a shot with you kinda,
31:54
Speaker 1: I don't hate that at all, Simon. You and I
31:56
Speaker 1: are gonna have our own little Brackett and I am
31:59
Speaker 1: gonna be on Florida State and Gonzaga and you can
32:02
Speaker 1: be on Iowa and Bama and see how that works
32:05
Speaker 1: out for us. Thanks. I'm writing it down just so
32:09
Speaker 1: you know. I'm taking notes because I gotta do fucking everything.
32:12
Speaker 1: All right, Let's go to the Midwest, because actually you
32:15
Speaker 1: mentioned stock like Illinois. We both have Illinois coming out
32:19
Speaker 1: of this bracket. Look, they've played thirteen quad one opponents.
32:23
Speaker 1: They've actually had thirteen quad one wins, most in the country.
32:26
Speaker 1: What upsets me about this bracket is that I love Houston,
32:31
Speaker 1: I love Loyola, I loved Georgia Tech. Before you gave
32:35
Speaker 1: that news that someone that could potentially be important might
32:39
Speaker 1: not play. I feel like the selection committee always does this.
32:42
Speaker 1: They put the teams that gamblers love into the same
32:45
Speaker 1: bracket and they screw us. And they did it with
32:48
Speaker 1: Houston because Houston was the other team I at Florida State, Illinois,
32:51
Speaker 1: Houston and Gonzaga in the final four before the seatings
32:56
Speaker 1: were announced. Yeah, I don't like to draw either. I mean,
33:00
Speaker 1: Illinois was my team before this season all summer. I
33:02
Speaker 1: pimped them out. They have because you know, you have
33:05
Speaker 1: two pros that are coming back, and then they have
33:07
Speaker 1: these freshmen and the transfer that I loved, and I thought,
33:10
Speaker 1: look in this ridiculous Big Ten, they're only gonna get
33:12
Speaker 1: better and better as they approach Martin. They did. But
33:15
Speaker 1: if you want to be a contraying you probably don't
33:16
Speaker 1: want Illinois if you want to like going to the final.
33:19
Speaker 1: But this is a team that I've said is gonna
33:21
Speaker 1: win it all year. So I'd be a clown if
33:24
Speaker 1: I if I didn't have them winning it now. So
33:26
Speaker 1: I'm just sticking with my guns. But you, Houston, you
33:30
Speaker 1: want to go with a good contraying pick of a
33:31
Speaker 1: team that is really rock solid. You can have Houston
33:34
Speaker 1: going to the final four year and I wouldn't hate it.
33:36
Speaker 1: But I think Illinois is the second best team in
33:38
Speaker 1: the country. Said that they're gonna win it all from
33:40
Speaker 1: the start of here, So I have them beating Gonzaga,
33:42
Speaker 1: as boring as that sounds, but because of that, my
33:46
Speaker 1: bracket is basically gonna come down to Illinois winning it right,
33:48
Speaker 1: and then I'm gonna have because a lot of people
33:49
Speaker 1: are gonna have Illinois Gonzaga in the finals, I'm taking
33:54
Speaker 1: some other shots in the Midwest because if I'm right
33:57
Speaker 1: with a couple other upsets, then I'm gonna make up
34:00
Speaker 1: some ground. If I'm wrong, it's not really gonna kill
34:03
Speaker 1: me as long as Illinois comes out of the region.
34:05
Speaker 1: So that's the way that I'm thinking about the Midwest.
34:07
Speaker 1: Is there anybody in the bottom half of that bracket
34:10
Speaker 1: that you think is competitive? Yeah, I mean I don't
34:14
Speaker 1: think anyone is beating Houston until the Elite eight. But
34:18
Speaker 1: if you want to give Syracuse a run to the
34:21
Speaker 1: Sweet sixteen, maybe the Elite eight, we've seen it before.
34:24
Speaker 1: They could easily lose. I mean, the underdog in the
34:26
Speaker 1: first round, the Syracuse in the zone. It's tough to
34:29
Speaker 1: prepare for um. It's a unique scheme once they get
34:32
Speaker 1: out of conference. Teams aren't used to seeing it. And look,
34:35
Speaker 1: they could score this year. Buddy Bahan has been on fire.
34:38
Speaker 1: That's a team that's dangerous, and then you know they
34:40
Speaker 1: get into the second round against West Virginia. They West
34:43
Speaker 1: Virginia is a vulnerable three seed, but I also took
34:46
Speaker 1: a shot up top. We're with Illinois and I have
34:48
Speaker 1: Liberty going to the sweet sixteen to play Illinois. Almost
34:51
Speaker 1: everyone is gonna have Oklahoma State and Kate cunning Him
34:54
Speaker 1: there and I could easily happen. UM. But if it
34:58
Speaker 1: doesn't and it's on the Illinois wins that game and
35:00
Speaker 1: won't kill my bracket. UM, and Oklahoma State I think
35:05
Speaker 1: is vulnerable in the first round. Kate Cunningham will probably
35:09
Speaker 1: make enough plays down the stretch to win and pull
35:12
Speaker 1: it out, as he's done so many times this year.
35:14
Speaker 1: But Liberty is the worst possible matchup for Oklahoma State
35:19
Speaker 1: as a thirteen four. And then in the next round
35:21
Speaker 1: against Tennessee, another miserable matchup. Liberty packs it in defensively,
35:26
Speaker 1: they make you beat them from the outside. Oklahoma State,
35:29
Speaker 1: what they want to do is they want to get
35:30
Speaker 1: to the rim. They want to get out in transition.
35:33
Speaker 1: They don't want to shoot three. It's not a great
35:34
Speaker 1: three point shooting team. Liberty makes you be a three
35:37
Speaker 1: point shooting team. Liberty takes away all of your transition opportunities.
35:41
Speaker 1: They don't cross the offensive glass. They get back. They're
35:43
Speaker 1: one of the slowest teams in the nation, and they
35:45
Speaker 1: can shoot. I think they have seven guys that are
35:48
Speaker 1: overt from three four over forty. So they play slow,
35:53
Speaker 1: they grind the game out. They can take away everything.
35:56
Speaker 1: Oklahoma stables too because they pack it in. Also, they're
35:58
Speaker 1: they're all have a lot of size, but they're go
36:00
Speaker 1: to the defensive class and Oklahoma State likes to live
36:02
Speaker 1: on the offensive glass. It's a top their top twenty
36:04
Speaker 1: and getting to the room in the nation, Liberty top
36:06
Speaker 1: twenty and preventing teams from getting to the rim. Oklahoma
36:10
Speaker 1: State really good in transition. Liberty is does not let
36:13
Speaker 1: you get out in transition, and Liberty is gonna make
36:15
Speaker 1: you shoot. Oklahoma State doesn't want to shoot so and
36:18
Speaker 1: they're gonna slow the game down, so unlike Colgate, who
36:21
Speaker 1: can really shoot. We still don't know a lot about them.
36:23
Speaker 1: They play fast, they're I think they're twenty five and
36:26
Speaker 1: adjusted tempo, whereas Liberty I think is like or something
36:32
Speaker 1: somewhere way down there, so fewer possessions, more variants. If
36:36
Speaker 1: Liberty is hitting their shots. Um, it's a bad match
36:39
Speaker 1: of program State. And then in the next round they
36:41
Speaker 1: play a Tennessee offense that in the half court is
36:44
Speaker 1: just lost. They need to get out in transition, they
36:45
Speaker 1: need to unleash their athletes, and they can't really shoot.
36:49
Speaker 1: So Liberty is a team that if they're making their shots,
36:52
Speaker 1: and they have they're one of the best three point
36:54
Speaker 1: shooting teams in the country. UM. And because of their
36:57
Speaker 1: style and how they match up with Oklahoma State. UM.
37:02
Speaker 1: Because of how they match up with Oklahoma State, you
37:04
Speaker 1: have three and adjust a tempo because of how they
37:06
Speaker 1: play three point variants, slow the game down, your possessions,
37:10
Speaker 1: they make their threes. It's it's a it's a scary
37:14
Speaker 1: team to play. So I have them as one of
37:16
Speaker 1: the teams going to the Sweet sixteam as a lower
37:18
Speaker 1: seat by two going to the Sweet sixteen, or Liberty
37:20
Speaker 1: in Ohio upset alert. I was just about to remind
37:27
Speaker 1: people of the bracketbusters because there's a lot of information process,
37:30
Speaker 1: so I want to condense and sort of organize for people.
37:33
Speaker 1: So far, coming out of the West, we like Gonzaga
37:38
Speaker 1: for the Final four, but we do like Ohio as
37:41
Speaker 1: a bracket buster. To get to the sweet sixteen, and
37:44
Speaker 1: just so people when they're thinking about it, if you
37:46
Speaker 1: want to win your brackets, you gotta choose upsets. In
37:48
Speaker 1: the first two rounds. You've got to figure out which
37:50
Speaker 1: teams are going to get there, and then after the
37:52
Speaker 1: sweet sixteen it ends up being pretty chalky. Like the
37:55
Speaker 1: teams that are better tend to win. When you get
37:58
Speaker 1: to the final four, you're usually loaded with ones and
38:00
Speaker 1: two seats. So the bracketbuster out of the West, I
38:03
Speaker 1: would say, is Ohio. Out of the East, Stucky and
38:06
Speaker 1: I both like Florida State. Simon, Um, you know he's silly.
38:10
Speaker 1: He likes Alabama, But I am calling the bracketbuster out
38:14
Speaker 1: of the East Abilene Christian. Then out of the Midwest,
38:18
Speaker 1: the bracketbuster will be Liberty, and we both like Illinois.
38:21
Speaker 1: But Simon, do you have a final four team from
38:24
Speaker 1: the Midwest? Do you like Illinois? Do you like Houston
38:27
Speaker 1: at the two seed? What is your thinking? And thanks
38:30
Speaker 1: to Stucky man. He I don't know if it was
38:32
Speaker 1: your first show of the college season, so I know
38:34
Speaker 1: you're doing something NFL. It might have been December, but
38:36
Speaker 1: it feels like it was November. That was one of
38:38
Speaker 1: your teams you talked about and you're hyping them up.
38:40
Speaker 1: Illinois and I didn't really know much about him. I
38:43
Speaker 1: knew they had a couple of guys who were returning,
38:45
Speaker 1: so they like, they seemed like a good team. So
38:47
Speaker 1: I bet it and I living went to the Philadelphia
38:49
Speaker 1: week later. I saw it in better odds in Philadelphia,
38:51
Speaker 1: so I bet it again and they came through. Man,
38:53
Speaker 1: they really dominated UH this year, and coming to this position.
38:57
Speaker 1: I always like to look for that one seed that
39:00
Speaker 1: everyone's really talking about, then the next team that people
39:02
Speaker 1: are talking about, and you have to pick either one
39:04
Speaker 1: of them. You can't pick both because really it's gonna
39:06
Speaker 1: work out for you, like Stuck was saying, So I
39:08
Speaker 1: don't like Gonzaga, I still love Illinois. So for for
39:11
Speaker 1: my only one seed I'm taking the finals is Illinois.
39:14
Speaker 1: I got them playing in the very very end. Wow,
39:17
Speaker 1: I did not see that coming, all right, So you
39:20
Speaker 1: and I are both going to have Illinois got it.
39:22
Speaker 1: The two bracket busters that I have just want to clarify,
39:25
Speaker 1: was going again in Ohio and Liberty. I'm both going
39:27
Speaker 1: to the sweet sixteen, both playing the teams that I
39:31
Speaker 1: have winning at all and if those teams don't go
39:33
Speaker 1: to the final and probably not win my bracket. So
39:35
Speaker 1: if those upsets don't happen, it's not gonna kill me,
39:38
Speaker 1: right because I still at the end, I'm going to
39:40
Speaker 1: have my teams that I need to win it go through.
39:42
Speaker 1: So that's where I took a shot where I I'm
39:45
Speaker 1: gonna have just a couple upsets and then I have
39:47
Speaker 1: to hope that my Illinois Gonzaga gets through. All right,
39:50
Speaker 1: let's talk about the South, because we mentioned the East
39:53
Speaker 1: being a region where we don't think the number one
39:56
Speaker 1: has a particular lock on a path to the final four.
39:59
Speaker 1: The other one is the South and Baylor, and I
40:03
Speaker 1: don't think you disagree with me here. Baylor to me
40:07
Speaker 1: is a pretty vulnerable number one. Not because they're playing
40:10
Speaker 1: the University of Hertford, which no joke. If I cut
40:14
Speaker 1: down every tree and every house on the five blocks
40:19
Speaker 1: from here in front of me, I would see the
40:22
Speaker 1: University of Hertford campus here in West Hartford, Connecticut. Uh,
40:28
Speaker 1: why do you think Baylor is vulnerable here? They just
40:31
Speaker 1: haven't been the same since coming back from a COVID break,
40:35
Speaker 1: and they were really hit hard. They had a number
40:37
Speaker 1: of players that came down with the virus. They were
40:39
Speaker 1: on an extended break. This is a team that was rolling.
40:42
Speaker 1: In my power ratings. I had them depending on the day,
40:46
Speaker 1: like it was Okay Zaga's number one, and then the
40:50
Speaker 1: next day Baylor would roll and I would have number one,
40:52
Speaker 1: like they were the two clear best teams, and then
40:55
Speaker 1: it was Illinois I had next, which is a step
40:57
Speaker 1: alowt in Michigan. Michigan injuries drop them a little. For
41:01
Speaker 1: Illinois just continue to surge up to that number two spot.
41:05
Speaker 1: And Baylor they've just they dropped a couple of games.
41:07
Speaker 1: Their defense it's just not been the same. They look
41:10
Speaker 1: a step slow. Maybe they can get back to that level,
41:14
Speaker 1: but it's just it's tough. They haven't they haven't yet.
41:19
Speaker 1: Maybe they can find it in this tournament, but from
41:21
Speaker 1: what I've seen in the Big twelve tournament with their defense, um,
41:25
Speaker 1: they're just not at that same level as they were
41:27
Speaker 1: earlier in the season. So I definitely think they're a
41:30
Speaker 1: vulnerable one. If they put it all together, they can
41:33
Speaker 1: win it all for sure. Um, But I'm I think
41:37
Speaker 1: this is a good chance to go against a one
41:39
Speaker 1: just like Michigan and pick someone else coming out of
41:44
Speaker 1: this region to go to the Final four. I I
41:47
Speaker 1: will probably have two or three brackets in a different contest.
41:50
Speaker 1: I think in all three of them all end up
41:52
Speaker 1: with different final four teams in the South. Who do
41:55
Speaker 1: you like the most coming out of this Because there's
41:58
Speaker 1: a lot of maybes and there are some team there
42:00
Speaker 1: is one team in particular in this region that I
42:03
Speaker 1: think has Illinois tendencies and has not gotten the credit
42:09
Speaker 1: it deserves that is similar to what Illinois has gotten
42:12
Speaker 1: in the last say, eight weeks of the season. Yeah.
42:15
Speaker 1: I mean, well, I will say perdue as I got
42:17
Speaker 1: enough credit. But it's Arkansas for me. Yes, it's Arkansas.
42:20
Speaker 1: Whoo pig SUI you have Arkansas four too? Yes? Oh
42:25
Speaker 1: my goshore, oh man, I'm fucked. Here's the problem here,
42:30
Speaker 1: he honestly stuck. I might have Arkansas. I might we
42:33
Speaker 1: might have the same final four by us mosis. It
42:35
Speaker 1: might just be from listening to you doing the college
42:39
Speaker 1: basketball podcasts on the Action Network, because obviously I would
42:42
Speaker 1: have the same tendencies as you because I'm listening to
42:44
Speaker 1: what you're saying, like Simon, I'm riding you to the bank.
42:48
Speaker 1: That makes me feel better. Yeah, Okay, yeah, I have
42:51
Speaker 1: Arkansas come out. They've been looking some of their overall
42:53
Speaker 1: numbers deflated because they have been fully healthy all year
42:56
Speaker 1: and once Justin s Fifth came back and they've been
42:59
Speaker 1: They've been amazing, uh huge winning streak up until I've
43:03
Speaker 1: lost this past weekend in the SEC tournament. Don't fall
43:06
Speaker 1: them for that loss at all. This is a team
43:08
Speaker 1: that doesn't really have many falls at all. Super athletic,
43:11
Speaker 1: really good offense, many different options, not too reliant on
43:15
Speaker 1: any one player or part of their game. They can
43:19
Speaker 1: match up with a lot of teams defensively. Colgate is
43:22
Speaker 1: a scary first round opponent because they could shoot. But
43:26
Speaker 1: again it's like and I also don't know how good
43:27
Speaker 1: cold it is. They only play three teams, but the
43:30
Speaker 1: athletic mismatch in that game is drastic um, which I
43:34
Speaker 1: think Arkansas and and then and Covie just played so
43:36
Speaker 1: fast and both. I mean this totals at a hundred
43:38
Speaker 1: and sixty and a half or round sixty one. So
43:41
Speaker 1: with that many possessions, it's hard to for a team
43:44
Speaker 1: that's significantly less talented to overcome that talent gap with
43:51
Speaker 1: with you know, rooting for variance. But Code can shoot
43:53
Speaker 1: they'll be scary, but I think Arkansas gets through that
43:55
Speaker 1: game and then you know, they could get to Ohio
43:57
Speaker 1: State and that could be a shootout. But I like
43:59
Speaker 1: Arkansas there too. So yeah, I like Arkansas coming out
44:02
Speaker 1: of it. They've been really consistent since being healthy. They
44:04
Speaker 1: don't have many weaknesses. I think it's a team trending
44:07
Speaker 1: in the right direction. Um and not many people are
44:10
Speaker 1: really talking about the Hogs. And it kills me to
44:12
Speaker 1: say it because that means column is happy. Whoo pig
44:16
Speaker 1: SUI right, you're talking about your friend, my friend, your
44:20
Speaker 1: co host on the Action Network podcast, Colin Wilson, who
44:24
Speaker 1: is from Arkansas, went to Arkansas. Isn't about Arkansas Booster
44:29
Speaker 1: the head of the Eric Musselman fan club. He's been
44:32
Speaker 1: talking about him all season? Is there a so I
44:35
Speaker 1: agree with you? Is there a bracket buster that comes
44:40
Speaker 1: out of this or is it? Well? Is there a bracketbuster? Um?
44:46
Speaker 1: I don't. I mean, if you want to get crazy,
44:48
Speaker 1: it's Colgate. But I don't see it. Um, but they
44:52
Speaker 1: they have the shooting if they're hot. I just think
44:55
Speaker 1: that because they play so fast, it's I can't see
44:58
Speaker 1: it there. Winthrop's an interesting team. Because Villanova without Gillespie
45:01
Speaker 1: has not been the same. They can easily win that
45:03
Speaker 1: game as a twelve verse five. They'll have trouble with
45:06
Speaker 1: produce interior though, So I don't know. I think their
45:09
Speaker 1: ceiling is capped there the So I don't think this
45:14
Speaker 1: is a really good region to go with a a bracketbuster.
45:18
Speaker 1: I haven't. I have I used this region is all right.
45:21
Speaker 1: Let me have Purdue Arkansas come out of it and
45:23
Speaker 1: Baylor go down. I don't have any upsets. If you
45:25
Speaker 1: want to get wild that some people do. Some people
45:28
Speaker 1: want to pick a fifteen and it happens, then you
45:31
Speaker 1: want to pick Oral Roberts. Um, this team does not
45:34
Speaker 1: defend uh hoot, it's probably gonna score an eighty five
45:39
Speaker 1: eighty they could score and they could maybe score ninety.
45:42
Speaker 1: But Oral Roberts is one of the best offenses in
45:44
Speaker 1: the country. Um. They have two players that they have
45:48
Speaker 1: the leading score in the nation by the way, and
45:50
Speaker 1: mac As he's tremendous him and then Obandard in the middle.
45:55
Speaker 1: He's averaging nineteen and nine. But Aspis can go for forty.
45:59
Speaker 1: He they've played at Oklahoma State or this year they
46:02
Speaker 1: lost that nine. They lost by five at Wichita State.
46:07
Speaker 1: They lost like eight seven eighty. They're in the games
46:10
Speaker 1: of late at Arkansas is a team that will just
46:12
Speaker 1: score and um Aces could put up forty realistically, they
46:17
Speaker 1: will not defend. But Ohio State is a terrible defense
46:20
Speaker 1: on the perimeter, terrible and pick and roll, very vulnerable
46:24
Speaker 1: defensively on the perimeter. Or Roberts can take advantage. Ass
46:28
Speaker 1: want to probably go for forty. They will have to.
46:30
Speaker 1: This would have This could be a thriller, like if
46:32
Speaker 1: Oora Roberts is hitting their shots. Um it's a very
46:36
Speaker 1: three point reliant team, which you really like when you're
46:40
Speaker 1: picking an upset and they they're three point frequencies. I
46:45
Speaker 1: think it's top twenty five in the nation. They shoot
46:47
Speaker 1: the three at thirty nine, So shoot a ton of threes,
46:51
Speaker 1: make a ton of threes and they can score. Ohiostate's
46:54
Speaker 1: vulnerable and what they're good at when they defend the
46:56
Speaker 1: problem Ishiestates offense is awesome and or Obviens does not
46:59
Speaker 1: defend any anybody. They won't defend at all. Um So
47:05
Speaker 1: they're like they played Denver, one of the worst teams
47:08
Speaker 1: in the nation art of this year and they won two.
47:13
Speaker 1: Like against Denver, who I think is like the fourth
47:15
Speaker 1: worst team in the country. So um they're Higo State's
47:19
Speaker 1: gonna score at will. But if you think that a
47:21
Speaker 1: Robberts just goes bonkers and they have the nation's leading score.
47:23
Speaker 1: They have two legit pro level players, they have the
47:26
Speaker 1: offense set could do it if Ohio States a little
47:29
Speaker 1: all and if Kyle Young, who's important to them, didn't play,
47:32
Speaker 1: Uh he got hurt last weekend. If he's not available,
47:35
Speaker 1: that only helps um so Bora. Roberts is an intriguing
47:39
Speaker 1: high variance team. The problem is they play really fast
47:42
Speaker 1: and they're not gonna give any stops. But if you
47:44
Speaker 1: want to get crazy, that's like the fifteen seed that
47:46
Speaker 1: I think has the offense to actually do it. By
47:49
Speaker 1: the way, that game Simon, that Ohio State or Roberts game,
47:53
Speaker 1: that's where I want you to put all your money
47:55
Speaker 1: on the over. So I wanted to have stuck about
47:58
Speaker 1: this conference. I had a tough time pick. And I
48:00
Speaker 1: know you just said what's going to Villanova? But doesn't
48:02
Speaker 1: j Right just have such a huge advantage Oliver all
48:05
Speaker 1: these other coaches that even when he's lacking the talent,
48:08
Speaker 1: when it's in march madness like this. It's such a
48:11
Speaker 1: huge advantage having a guy like him that he's won
48:14
Speaker 1: two national championships. He seems like he never gets flustered
48:17
Speaker 1: by the moment. We have a bunch of teams where
48:19
Speaker 1: you're saying they're all kind of the same and you
48:20
Speaker 1: both relatedd on Arkansas, but doesn't seem like there's one glaring,
48:23
Speaker 1: overpowered team in this conference. And I'm I thinking too
48:26
Speaker 1: much taking Villanova to be in my final four. Yeah,
48:29
Speaker 1: I mean, I just haven't. They lost Colin Gleesterie was
48:31
Speaker 1: probably the most important player there. Other started to guard
48:35
Speaker 1: just more. He's hurt, like he played last game, but
48:36
Speaker 1: he didn't look right. They played two games since losing Glaster.
48:40
Speaker 1: They lost against Providence, who's not good this year, and
48:42
Speaker 1: then they lost to Georgetown, which in hindsight, it doesn't
48:45
Speaker 1: look as bad at a loss, but he was so
48:47
Speaker 1: important for that offense, and he was the guy the creator,
48:51
Speaker 1: and they had such a pretty ball movement and they
48:53
Speaker 1: would generate so many open shots, and Gollespie he was
48:56
Speaker 1: also the on floor leader. So it's a big loss
48:59
Speaker 1: to try and then eat it. As brilliant as Jay
49:02
Speaker 1: Right is and I think that he deserves the benefit
49:06
Speaker 1: of the doubt and that he can potentially put something
49:08
Speaker 1: together here. But this Villanova team defensively was already flawed,
49:11
Speaker 1: especially inside. The with the with theer is really good,
49:14
Speaker 1: by the way, But my problem is I don't know
49:16
Speaker 1: if I can't trust Villanova putting it all together for
49:18
Speaker 1: a Final four run. I don't even know if they're
49:20
Speaker 1: gonnae in the first round because I just haven't seen enough.
49:22
Speaker 1: But if you want to give j Right the better
49:24
Speaker 1: of it out to go to the sweet six team,
49:26
Speaker 1: that's fine. My biggest problem is they are very weak
49:28
Speaker 1: on the interior. They don't have a glasspy on the outside.
49:31
Speaker 1: Now they're gonna go against Perdue and their bigs um,
49:34
Speaker 1: that would be I think a really bad matchup. Now
49:38
Speaker 1: the what fits the profiles. A bracket buster would be
49:40
Speaker 1: North Texas because well coached, grind, they want to play
49:44
Speaker 1: a game fifty two to fifty. They are one of
49:48
Speaker 1: the slowest teams in the nation. They shoot a lot
49:50
Speaker 1: of threes. Perdue gives up a lot of threes, so
49:53
Speaker 1: that could be a potential bracktist. My problem there is
49:57
Speaker 1: Perdue as one of the best posts in ball of
50:00
Speaker 1: college basketball trevy on Williams is excellent. Zach Eats really
50:03
Speaker 1: come on, they just have so much size. And Simmons
50:06
Speaker 1: is a good interior defender, but I don't think that
50:07
Speaker 1: he could sun up person. Whatever Purdue needs a bucket,
50:10
Speaker 1: even though this game could have a lot of high
50:11
Speaker 1: variants because there's a lot of threes and it's been
50:13
Speaker 1: low scoring totally, I think is one. I think whatever
50:16
Speaker 1: Purdue needs a bucket down the stretch, they can go
50:18
Speaker 1: in to Williams or Eady and and that's gonna be
50:20
Speaker 1: the difference for Perdue. But North Texas fits the profile.
50:23
Speaker 1: You want a lot of threes, low scoring game, higher variants.
50:26
Speaker 1: But I just haven't seen enough with billan Nova host Callespie.
50:29
Speaker 1: It's tough to recreate your offense, even for Jay Right.
50:32
Speaker 1: But you're not being correct and saying that, Hey, I'm
50:35
Speaker 1: gonna give Jay Right to benefit of the doubt here.
50:37
Speaker 1: I'm gonna switch him out right now, because like that
50:39
Speaker 1: only we said makes sense. I know he's out, so
50:41
Speaker 1: that makes sense that that's why people are doubting them.
50:43
Speaker 1: So listen, I'm gonna make an executive decision right now.
50:46
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say that in the South I'm looking at
50:49
Speaker 1: my notes are bracketbuster. And by the way, a bracketbuster
50:53
Speaker 1: doesn't have to go to this sweet sixteen. You just
50:55
Speaker 1: gotta be smart enough to make the right call for
50:57
Speaker 1: the first and or second round. I'm calling Winthrop in
51:02
Speaker 1: the first round. I am putting it on Winthrop. That
51:05
Speaker 1: is going to be how I'm going to accrue a
51:07
Speaker 1: lot of extra points when I'm building my bracket. And then,
51:10
Speaker 1: like you stuck, I like Arkansas going to the final four,
51:14
Speaker 1: probably because I've heard you say it a thousand times. Yeah,
51:16
Speaker 1: And you just when you want to pick one of
51:18
Speaker 1: these bracket busters, you want to be really confident in
51:21
Speaker 1: another team in that half making it to the lead
51:25
Speaker 1: eight or to the final four. Where if because the
51:29
Speaker 1: worst what will ruin your bracket is if you pick
51:31
Speaker 1: one of these bracketbusters and then that team and they
51:33
Speaker 1: don't win, and then that team ends up going to
51:35
Speaker 1: the final four, right, and you had you lost all
51:39
Speaker 1: those points on the way, and other people are gonna
51:41
Speaker 1: have that team going to the final four. So when
51:43
Speaker 1: you want to pick one of these upsets, you want
51:45
Speaker 1: to be very confident in another team that is gonna
51:50
Speaker 1: make it to the lead eight. So if it doesn't happen,
51:52
Speaker 1: it's not gonna kill your whole bracket. Simon, who now,
51:55
Speaker 1: knowing what you know now about Jay Wright in Villanova,
51:59
Speaker 1: what would you say about the South Region for you?
52:03
Speaker 1: Just because I don't want to copy you, guys, I'll
52:06
Speaker 1: roll for do they like? That's I just like Big
52:09
Speaker 1: Ten teams, So it's kind of a cop out. But
52:12
Speaker 1: they're the only other team that, like, I really know
52:13
Speaker 1: a lot about and I know, like what he was saying,
52:15
Speaker 1: Like they're great defensively, and they can shoot threes, and
52:18
Speaker 1: like when it comes to the tournament time, that's what
52:19
Speaker 1: I'm looking for. So it makes me a little nervous.
52:22
Speaker 1: He says, they can lose in the first round, but
52:25
Speaker 1: what can what can you do? I just don't want
52:27
Speaker 1: to follow the masses take Arkansas. I do not like Taylors,
52:30
Speaker 1: so I'll ride with. Look, I'm fine with that. I mean,
52:33
Speaker 1: I feel in this instance, I kind of know more
52:35
Speaker 1: than you, and so I'm fine with you guessing. And
52:39
Speaker 1: it's the one time during the year where I get
52:42
Speaker 1: to be a little bit sharper, maybe because I have
52:45
Speaker 1: listened to every episode of the Action Network podcast, the
52:48
Speaker 1: College Basketball version with Colin Stucky. So I am I'm
52:52
Speaker 1: loaded locked in uh and and Mr Randall and I
52:55
Speaker 1: have I have two brackets already that I've filled out
52:58
Speaker 1: for contest. Probably do one more another contest. I could
53:00
Speaker 1: change it, but as of now, I have Arkansas and
53:02
Speaker 1: the Final Four on one and Perdue in the other.
53:04
Speaker 1: So all right, there you go. Alright, So then our
53:07
Speaker 1: bracketbusters to remind everybody. In the West, we like Ohio
53:11
Speaker 1: as our bracketbuster. We like Ohio get into the sweet sixteen,
53:14
Speaker 1: but we like on Zagga making it to the final four.
53:18
Speaker 1: We like in the East, we're gonna go I am
53:20
Speaker 1: going with Abilene Christian to beat Texas in the first round.
53:24
Speaker 1: That will be our bracketbuster there, but we like Florida
53:26
Speaker 1: State to make it to the final four. In the Midwest,
53:30
Speaker 1: we like Illinois to make it to the final four,
53:32
Speaker 1: but we do like Liberty as our bracketbuster. And then
53:35
Speaker 1: in the South, we like win Thrip to at least
53:37
Speaker 1: win a first round game. Most likely of the teams
53:40
Speaker 1: that sort of have a chance that are underdogs, we
53:43
Speaker 1: like Arkansas or Perdue to go to the final four.
53:47
Speaker 1: That's gonna win people some brackets. And in this time
53:50
Speaker 1: of COVID where people have not had a chance to
53:52
Speaker 1: do brackets together since Virginia one it all. I think
53:56
Speaker 1: we've provided a service, fellows. We'll find out chat before
53:59
Speaker 1: we got Oh, I gotta show this off. I pulled
54:01
Speaker 1: it out just for you and Cowherd. So this is
54:05
Speaker 1: Jimmy V. It's from U two thousand three. It has
54:09
Speaker 1: your signature on there, it has Berman as Pat Summer all,
54:12
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan's, We've got Vince Carter and then Colin Cowherd,
54:16
Speaker 1: you and Chad on the same thing. Look at that
54:18
Speaker 1: both signed this two thousand three. Chad, what is that
54:21
Speaker 1: from just some people that you pulled a frame off
54:23
Speaker 1: the wall? That is a picture of Jimmy Jimmy Valvano
54:26
Speaker 1: from two thousand three. Yeah, and it's signed by all
54:30
Speaker 1: these famous people and then for some reason you're on it.
54:33
Speaker 1: That's so random. I don't even remember signing that. It's
54:37
Speaker 1: really right. I mean the names on your super random,
54:39
Speaker 1: Like Shaquille O'Neil's on here. So yeah, it's a pretty
54:42
Speaker 1: pretty cool piece, right. I think it was one of
54:44
Speaker 1: those um it was at Pinehurst. It was like a
54:46
Speaker 1: Jimmy V Foundation auction thing, so so I didn't know
54:51
Speaker 1: when did you? And you and Cowherd started. You guys
54:53
Speaker 1: were both working East Bend in two thousand three, definitely,
54:56
Speaker 1: I mean Colin was there. Colin was I'm pretty sure
55:00
Speaker 1: Colin was there in two thousand three. Look at that man.
55:02
Speaker 1: So yeah, I've had your guys names hanging on my
55:04
Speaker 1: wall these years, and now you're both my employers. That's
55:07
Speaker 1: pretty pretty random, unbelievable. Well, listen, uh is this picture
55:11
Speaker 1: what this pic? I was? I was told to show
55:14
Speaker 1: this to you. That is uh? When uh black hair
55:20
Speaker 1: Colin's Sunday football show? That is um when Colin was
55:25
Speaker 1: the pioneer at ESPN who started a football show and
55:27
Speaker 1: said I have to have gambling on it. And I
55:30
Speaker 1: remember very clearly. We were walking through the hallway of
55:34
Speaker 1: Building two, which is where all the radio studios are
55:37
Speaker 1: and where Colin did his radio show, and he's like, hey, listen,
55:40
Speaker 1: I'm starting this football show on Sundays. I'm gonna do gambling.
55:43
Speaker 1: I want to do gambling for like ten minutes. I
55:45
Speaker 1: think it'd be amazing. I think that's what the people
55:47
Speaker 1: really want, because I want you to come on, can
55:48
Speaker 1: you do ten minutes of gambling? I'm like, yeah, I
55:50
Speaker 1: can do that, and so I would say two thousand.
55:56
Speaker 1: You know, I was, by the way, I was at
55:58
Speaker 1: ESPN nine eight to two thousand seventeen, so this would
56:02
Speaker 1: have been in like two thousand thirteen, maybe two two thirteen,
56:08
Speaker 1: and uh yeah. He asked me to come do it,
56:10
Speaker 1: and then we started doing it and he had this
56:12
Speaker 1: show that was super fun, great producers, really creative, and
56:17
Speaker 1: he had me come on and do gambling segments and
56:19
Speaker 1: we'd sit there for fifteen minutes talking about who's gonna
56:22
Speaker 1: win and lose. It was a blast. Now you're back together, man,
56:25
Speaker 1: full star, back together, back together the Volume Network. This
56:29
Speaker 1: has been the favorites. This was our inaugural show on
56:33
Speaker 1: the Volume Network. I am Chad Mellman from my co host,
56:36
Speaker 1: Simon Hunter for our friend and colleague from the Action Network, Stucky. Uh.
56:41
Speaker 1: You can download the podcast at Apple Podcasts, at Spotify,
56:44
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast. When we're back on Thursday
56:47
Speaker 1: with Simon and a panel of experts with more interesting
56:52
Speaker 1: information than you can possibly imagine, let's roll on the
56:56
Speaker 1: Volume Network until next time. I love you,