All right, hour number three on our annual Monday Marathon presented by Carriage Ford. This is one of the best days of the year reacting to the bracket, and I am happy as can be that Louisville is in the tournament. It's nice to be, you know, to be dancing once again.
Been a long time coming. But I have throughout the show today had a hard time not making it clear that the disappointment to see Louisville as an eight seed was just I mean, it's the most disappointed I've been as a Louisville basketball fan in a long long time. And I explained myself that it's just because with this year's team, even when they did lose, I wasn't happy. You know, at times I didn't know how good they
were going to be. But like the level to have disappointment, I think you have to have expectation, and I just never felt like this team. When they did lose, it was because you know, they were you know, they were not trying or they didn't care. So I expected them to be a seven at worst, probably a six, maybe a five. But to see the eight was was a disaster. But anyways, we were going to simulcast once again with
our partners over there News Radio eight forty WHS. So I am going to walk across the hall and join the wonderful Terry miners will do this segment here talking about the brackets again. It's our annual Monday marath opposite about Carriage Ford.
What reality settled? West Virginia wants to sue they weren't in it, West Virginia. They got a lot of people lobbying on their behalf.
Though, what up would North girlin?
I know? But once the thing is said, that's that unless it's the NIIT, which I noted earlier today. South Alabama was given an offer and then it was rescinded by the NIIT.
Youch that's like Kevin an ugly girl, go you want to go out?
I'm just kidding. That's tough. Nick Coffee in the studio where us Nick, I know we're gonna go spend much time on the n I T. But there are several ACC teams in there.
Yep. I did see the story of of what you guys were just referencing about the team that got the invite only for it to be rescinded. That would be really tough. Because that's the kind of program where the n I T would meet something of course, and that's a bad look. Makes me think that maybe the conspiracy theorists aren't that crazy to think that the committee might have actually just goofed and put Louisville as an a instead of Memphis, because that's something that's making its way
around the internet. Which, again, not to sound like a crazy person, but when you look at what the committee values, and you look at the two team profiles, and you told me they just switched them around accidentally, maybe it's what I want to believe, because I just can't believe Loolve was an eight seed. But you know, those kind of mistakes happen. I don't know. Maybe maybe that's not that crazy.
You're the least crazy person in the DJ room, I can tell you that.
Okay, I'll take that as a compliment.
Stanford and Georgia Tack are also in this NIT, but SMU's there, and of those three, I'm going to take SMU as the team to catapult the farthest from this moment to twenty twenty six. Okay, when the brackets come out. There's a lot of money in the SMU PA.
Andianfield was a good high for them. I think he'll be able to win there. And the ACC, I mean, heck, they did a pretty good job in their first season in the league. In fact, just looking at their overall profile, their record, it's just crazy to see a team with that record in ACC play. Wasn't even really considered for the dance in it when we got to selection Sunday, But in previous years you'd be safely in. With how many game wins they had in league play.
I just have a feeling that they're in al roster.
Oh yeah, they've got money.
Impressive, no doubt about it. So yeah, we talked about the bump in the road for Louisville coming here. Well let's talk about the actual meat and potatoes of Louisville playing Creighton. How did Louisville do. Let's walk through that again. With teams that had an effective big person in the middle.
They were fortunate to not run into as many as I was going to say, as you typically see, but college basketball, there's still front court players that have a big impact in the game. But you know, the game's just played a little bit differently now, Like they haven't played a hunter Dickinson, who's a similar, similar kind of player as far as a big imposing threat like Ryan Kulkbrinner is. So you know, clearly they're going to have
some issues. They don't have as much size as you would like when you're going to play a team that really focuses everything around a giant who's really really effective. So I think they're going to bring some double teams try to keep them away from the rim, and you know, this easier seven done. He's humongous. But this will this will certainly be a stat that will come up throughout the week as we lead up to this game. Because it's the first game of the tournament and it's an
eight nine seed. It is pretty intriguing matchup all things considered. But these two guys, Ryan Coulkbrinner and James Scotty, they are one and two in the country in total dunks, so that Calburn is the only guy that James scott is behind as far as total dunks.
Yeah, And of course obviously we methodically set that up with James all throughout the whole season just because we took advantage when we could. But a couple of times, like in these these past couple of games. You saw the teams that had a big guy, Stanford's one of them could disrupt what Louisville's plan was with those basic James Scott dunks that we've just relished through the whole year.
Well said, because Reynard from Stanford is one of the better bigs in the country. Stanford, of course wasn't a great team, but they got better and I could see them having some success to their coaches, and it just finished up his first season, and I think they did a pretty good job where at times they would let
him have a night. You know, it's gonna be tough to completely shut him down, but they were able to to kind of let him go off, but yeah, control everybody else, and that was a pretty effective way, especially when they played Stanford the first time around. But I mean, James Scott is somebody that I and we were just talking about this earlier. Somebody called and referenced him, and
I love everything about him. Play so hard, we'll get on the floor, gives you so much effort, rarely ever tries to kind of step outside of his game, and that's a good thing. That's an underrated value in a player that you know who you are. You know, you don't steer away from it. But when when he's got to do anything other anything other anything, when he's got to do anything offensively other than just being near the
rim and dunking it, I worry a little bit. He's he's not as polished in the front court as far as just offensively, and clearly that's where Creighton's gonna have an advantage because Ryan Colchberner is one of the best players that you'll see in college basketball.
We know that Chucky and Terrence Fat have been just incredible in so many ways, and and they're they're consistent. And then having Hadley playing D the way he does as well, because Chucky's obviously the you know, a D superstar. We've got some components in play here to beat Caren for sure. And what about intangibles, someone like Noah Is he going to be needed? And because you know, we know Rain's coming back, we don't know if he's going to be rushing.
Yeah, I think, and I mean, and this is maybe just the homer in me. I think Louisville is one of the Louisville has one of the better back courts you're going to see in this tournament, which Chucky Hepburn and Terry said Wards, especially the way Terrence Edwards has been playing. So you know against Creighton, I give Louislle the edge there. As far as how the back court
stacks up against Auburn, it'll be tough. But I think that's an area where they they Louisville would be looked at as a team and there aren't many that could match up well with that back court of Auburn out They don't have the depth that Auburn has and that could be the issue. But I think Noah Waterman's a guy that won if he doesn't get that bucket to help you avoid the loss to Eku who knows what
we're talking about today. And also, I mean without his eight nine points in the first half against Stanford in the ACC tournament, you might have had a bigger deficit to climb out of and it may not have happened for you. So this group all year, next man up when when somebody gets hurt, guys have have have gotten comfortable at absorbing whatever whatever they got to take on. Maybe if it's just a bigger role, if it's producing more on the backboard or scoring more points. So you know,
I was. It was nice to see that Noah Waterman, who'd kind of been just you sparingly, hasn't really been fully healthy. He kind of anything you got from him, it felt like it was just an added bonus. Well, then he's gonna have to do more. It's gonna start now because rain Smith's out. So I'm happy to see that he at least got a little more comfortable as the last few games rolled on. But look, Louisville is
it's not just as we discussed earlier. It's not just about having a guy who can change a game in a moment's notice. Because rain Smith can get hot and take you from being, you know, down three to up six in a few possessions. That's how lethal he is as a shooter. But everybody's got to be accounting for
where he is at all times. He's constantly moving. So I feel like John Hadley is much more of a of a threat to the other team if there's so much more so worried about about rain Smith and with Chucky, I mean, he clearly knows where to find rain Smith. So I think Louisville's strength is clearly backcourt play, front court play. I wouldn't say it's a huge issue when
it comes to certain matchups. But if there's there's one big guy that every coach is looking at this bracket and saying when it comes to you know, let's say you are maybe worried about how you stack up with against good teams, with a good big guy crighton would be the one team you'd want to stay away from.
And you did reference Rain Smith being out. You mean that in the past ten.
Yes, yes, he's he's been out and he's not started, which is why I Noah's had to come in. So yeah, I mean, look, Rain said he's good to go. I was so encouraged to see that he was. You know, maybe it's just maybe there was some gamesmanship there, but I feel like if he was going through the the you know, pregame stuff just to kind of get you know, maybe just to get more repetition at that is he's
getting closer to come back, that's a good sign. And honestly, you know, it'd be nice if he plays and he's healthy and he makes shots, that'd be great. But him just being on the floor is a real added bonus for Louisville considering they haven't had him for two weeks.
Now we're gonna need some minutes though out of triory and roots. You know, these guys add some you know, they're they're fast, and they can be disruptive as well, but we're gonna need some them to just help these other guys get a blow yep.
I mean, if they can come in and rebound, not you know, not give up a bucket defensively, and I think they're capable of doing that. I think against Duke it really stood out in that one to where they've got guys that are that you know, regardless if they're eighteen or twenty two, they're gonna play the NBA. And it just seemed as if some of those guys for louis that are more role players. You know, they didn't have good nights again, and maybe if they played Duke again,
maybe it'd be a different scenario. But to beat a team that good, you need really everybody to kind of be doing their part. Maybe if it's you know, Terrence Edwards, he needed to score nearly thirty for Louisville to be in the game, and you know, you need everybody to kind of be at their best to play a team like that. So you know it's Creton, it's not Duke, and you know, Auburn, but Auburn if you get if
you can get there. You know, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but you're going to need everybody to play well in order to beat a team of that caliber.
Ropperena is a great environment. We all know that, we're all so familiar with it, and there's so much talk back and forth back, well, what exactly is the composition of the crowd. Well, you and I were there a decade ago, a little over decade ago. That was pretty awesome. Oh yeah, but this time you have Kentucky on a staggered day plan on Friday. People who live around here who didn't travel may want to take their blue and
yell for Creighton. Now I've seen people online saying, hey, hey, Kentucky fans.
I saw that too. I just saw it a moment ago. Yeah, you mind wearing blue and showing up and cheering on our team because it's your rival that's facing them. I mean, as silly as it sounds, you know, there's gonna be Kentucky fans. There were in uk Gear.
I mean there's Kentucky fans at u of L's graduation. Oh yeah, I mean that's just how that goes. They wear If I.
Ever landed on the moon, I guarantee you i'd se a Kentucky fan wearing a UK gear. They're everywhere. You can't escape them. Went to my honeymoon in Mexico saw two of them. Maybe, just like you can't make this stuff up.
What kind of crowd though, I mean it seems like it would be dominated by Louisville and Tennessee fans.
Yes, I think Louisville will have a good contention there, no doubt. But I think the noon at Thursday makes that a little bit harder. I mean, you're you know you're gonna have to for sure take off work, I would imagine, and maybe you could be maybe you could somehow not actually take off work, but somehow find a way to get there. I don't know, but Thursday at new to me, it kind of takes a little bit
away from the home court advantage in the first round. Now, if you get to Saturday, that's a build up to where you're gonna be probably taken on. I mean, you will be taking on the number one overall seed. If you get past Creighton, that means that you would have played well and that would have been a huge win for you. So that's where it could really become an issue for Auburn, which as much as Louisville fans I think have understandably been complaining, Bruce Pearl can't be happy
with this. I mean, honestly, Doug McDermott can't be happy with this.
No, Auburn fans I think are like, what, we're the number one overall seed and you're shelving us right in there like that.
Louisville is the second closest team to their first round site. Duke is the closest because they're in Raleigh. Because they're Duke, and they're the number one. They're a number one seed. But to see an eight seed get preferential location, it could just be, you know, maybe they were asleep at the wheel, or maybe they said, yeah, now that the brackets together, this eight doesn't make a whole lot of sense, let's put them in Lexington to make up for. Maybe they did that.
I think there had to be something about jiggering the numbers in order to just get Louisville there. It's about it, and.
That's what's been so That's what's been so frustrating about this whole thing is that when it comes to when it comes to how you want to put this whole thing together, you can make a decision about a team and then do things elsewhere to justify why you put them there. Right Like, you can put a team here and say, well, look, they beat this team, We're claiming that opponent that they beat. There's value there because they
were a three seed. They didn't even really try to do that with Louiville and the ACC because they showed that they did actually respect the ACC. With Clemson getting a five, with Carolina getting in, but Louisville getting an AD just it doesn't quite doesn't quite add up compared and I could live with it. They just said, look, the ACC had a really down year. There wasn't as much opportunity for valuable wins, and there were a lot of teams out there that really, you did a great
job at building a better resume. If they'd have done it consistently, it would have been a little bit different. But for Louisville, I just don't know how they could be three spots away from a Clemson team that, yes had a couple of really good wins that Louisville did not have, but louisvill swept them.
That's Nick Coffee. I'm Terry Minors, Dave Jennings. Also here is North Carolina kind of the NEPO baby of this whole thing. Oh yeah, just it was a ridiculous thing because the dumb guys allowed to go to medical school because his dad is on the board of trustees.
I tell you what. The the West West Virginia I thought was safely in. And a lot of times what we forget when we talk about bubble and and and and teams getting left out first four in, last four out all that you rarely think that, Okay, you got to compare him to somebody. It's not just about okay, here's the metric they hit this, it's all. It's all how you compare to compete for those final few spots. Carolina getting in in West Virginia not is one of
the craziest things I've ever seen. And and you know, when you have the the the guy who's in charge of this committee being the ad at North Carolina, I mean, yeah, he can leave the room when they talk about Carolina, like he tells us. But you know, these these other ads on the on this on on the committee, they're at, they're they're they're peers, right, they're probably friendly, and I just I don't know to assume that the human element is not a powerful enough thing to when he leaves
the room. They don't want to disappoint him when he comes back and say, sorry, Bubba, we left your team out and now you're not going to be going. Now you're not going dancing, and you know you don't get your incentive if that's really a thing or not. Did you see that Apparently he gets a financial incentive if Carolina makes the tournament. That can't be real, right, I mean, I never know what I mean that.
That just means that that you they'd be straight in court.
I mean that that. Yeah, I mean that's something that's thrown out there that people are running with out of no clue if there's any truth to it or not. But yeah, Carolina, I would be willing to bet that every single one of the players and coaches who set to watch the selection show they could not have felt good about getting in.
Yeah, Louisville slapped them around, and by the way, all the seating and things aside. Let's just kenly for a moment reflect on where we are one year later. I mean, dumpster fire. Nobody knows what's going to happen. We have no idea what'll be. You know. That's why I think so many people are just like, dude, we're in and we're in the show, and we were dead. We were da sure the corner declared us dead, Ding dong.
Tag body bag. It was. It was over with, and.
Now the market value of the Louisville Cardinals is back into that upward lift that it's like, here's the stock to bet.
On and take away the seating. Just the ride these guys gave us to where they didn't just win a bunch of games, more so than we expected in the year in the first year of the Pat Kelsey era,
they were so fun to watch. You could tell they they could see us coming back to life from being dead and they really I think that was infectious and you could tell they appreciated what they were doing for us as a fan base to where you know, yeah, the results are great, going eighteen and doing the acc getting to play Duke in the AEC Championship game, that's awesome, But it's been more enjoyable than I even remembered what this was like to watch a team that you know,
you know. I think they're a great reflection of their head coach, and these guys make you proud to watch them. So I'm sure we'll continue to belly ach here and there about the seating, but I'm also just looking forward to seeing them play on Thursday.
But the reverberations from it also help and recruit.
Oh of course, yes, proof of concept. Pat Kelsey in year one has shown with him just having you know, resources within IL, but I mean he had to build a roster from scratch. He's selling to players in the portal from higher level schools and they've never they've never seen him have success at this level. Here he is in year one ACC Coach of the Year, so not only for recruiting high school players, but recruiting other players
in the portal. I mean this, this first season is a sign that, hey, this guy's building something that should be pretty successful. I don't know why others wouldn't want to come be a part of it. And also it all works together. I mean the fans making the UM Center look like a great atmosphere again, and it clearly sounding like one of the best venues in college basketball.
Like all that stuff helps you quicker, helps you to be able to helps you to be able to quickly get things back to where we'll forget we even had the previous three four years, right, We're going to be back to just realizing, Hey, this is this is pretty special.
Yeah, but it's phenomenal to just you know, draw a line right here and just say this feels a heck of it.
It almost doesn't even seem real.
Remember before, I mean, loyal fans were like they wouldn't even watch the broadcast show what's on the other channel? I watched fishing.
Would just remind you of like what used to be and how much you miss not having a team in it, and you miss having a program that you were, you know, certainly proud of. And I mean it's still as I mean, it feels as if the years where we went through being dead right if you seems like it was a decade ago.
We know, Kentucky, say, for the first two games, I feel that wait, anyway, they should be last thing for you here, Nick Coffee, Cali, Perry versus Patino, the egos, the clash, the whole thing. If big Z and DJ Wegner put this thing together. Carl Knox is that his name?
Yeah, the Carter Knock Carter Knocks excuse me?
Put this thing together and it's like, O MG, well.
Boogie Flann the're best freshman who did not play for a good chunk of the year. When they played Kentucky, he wasn't available. Apparently he's coming back for the tournaments. Is a dude, I haven't heard. I know he didn't play in the SEC tournament. He's certainly he's certainly a big factor, no doubt about it.
But Cali Perry can pull this one off. It'll just be one last.
Time he wins those kind of games, doesn't he Look what he did in Lexington last month. I mean it's crazy.
Patina can act like he's nervous about his opening round, but he's really looking at that all.
You know, he is.
Nick Coffin great talking to you. Thanks fell us back in a minute on news radio eight forty WHA is now.
Back to coffee and company. Fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
It has felt better. I do feel better, I should say, now that I've gotten out of my system a little bit just to complain, and you know, it's not gonna do anything. And I'm not even sure if it's made for even decent radio today. But I can't believe, can't believe it's still But as we get closer to wrapping up the show, we got about thirty minutes left, we'll
finished strong. But I'm starting to, you know, just try not to think about it as much, and you know, embrace the fact that, hey, we are dancing again, and that's that's a lot better than you know, what we've gone through the last few years. And it could be worse. You could be West Virginia. I mean, let's be honest.
Louisville as a team that I thought had clearly created some separation from teams like West Virginia and you know, other teams that were on the bubble because you know, they struggled and didn't have a great finish to their season in league play, where Louisville again went eighteen and two in their conference in one eighteen of their last nineteen games and got all the way to the championship game
of their conference tournament. So West Virginia, I do believe you could make the case that they are in fact the biggest snub you've ever seen. Because again, when you talk about building out those last spots, last four in the playing games, obviously you're looking at a team's resume, but it's not just that you have to compare it
to others to see who gets in. So like there's years where six the last six teams that get in, you know you're not really strongly making the case for any of them because you think, yeah, this isn't worthy. But then you realize, oh, well, these are the best six out of the guys that you know that that aren't already in the tournament. So you know, West Virginia not getting in and Carolina among other teams, but mostly Carolina getting in. Really is I mean, I don't think
it's it's recency biased. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that it is one of the worst. I mean, it's it is insane, to be honest with you. So they decided to take action today in West Virginia. And this is one of those things that I see the headline, I see it popping up on Twitter this morning, and I'm thinking, well, that's not real, right, that's just somebody, you know, making a joke and it's a not even a great joke, but this isn't a joke, and it
is real. They had a real press conference as the West Virginia governor he's planning legal action against NC double A because West Virginia did not get in, and they had a press conference, full on, you know, government type press conference with a podium, and the podium says n C double A on it, but it says National Corrupt Athletic Association and they're clearly hot and bothered about not being included when I didn't even think they were a bubble team, right, And that's got to be the worst
to not even know that you're on the bubble. And I kind of feel like Louisville. That happened with Louisville. Well, so whatever, Louisville was the first team left out, we didn't know until the bracket show started. When you saw certain teams get in and where they got in, you knew that wasn't good for you. And you didn't know for sure until that last region that you did not
make it. And I kind of agree with somebody who called earlier we were talking about how like that was that was actually that sucked, But I kind of think yesterday, even though you made the tournament, like to get get hit with that right away ruined all the joy that comes with the selection show, right. I mean, you're still happy to be there, and you know that's that's that's where you want to be compared to, you know, on
the outside looking in. But to be hit right away that you you you know you were at eight was was brutal. But with West Virginia, like that's what it was when Louisville went. When Louisvill went to the n i T with David Paget, I think we thought we were on the bubble, but knew we didn't have a great argument against other bubble teams. And if you remember when they did the n i T selection show, we weren't even on the bubble. We weren't close to getting in,
which you know, sucked West Virginia. They were close to getting in, but like they should have safely been in. And here's a little bit from that press conference. How about this governor talking ball? How about this guy breaking down resumes.
Six Quad one wins and that was combined with an undefeated record against Quad three and Quad four opponents, three wins against top ten teams and the twenty fourth toughest schedule in America. West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament. This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels. Now, who is the last team to get into the tournament ahead of the Mountaineers. That would be the University of North Carolina. Now let's see
how their resume stacks up. The tar Heels went one to twelve in quad one games and even had a Quad three loss. And we keep hearing about the importance of these quad one wins, but UNC couldn't even get six.
So you and c had one one win, and that's I mean, I mean, this is one of those things where Bubba Cunningham, even if he had no say so on what you do with Carolina, he had to leave the room, like he told us, which I assume that's true. He still can't like this result because he looks awful, right, even though people realize he technically, you know, isn't supposed
to have a say. So we also know that, you know, human beings are you know, they have emotions, and they can tell themselves that they're gonna be one thousand percent objective and fair, but like that's hard to do at times,
especially if you're overthinking it. So I mean, I'm still kind of stunned that, you know, a governor went this far, But then again, I'm also kind of not because here's where the NCAA has really has quickly let people know in the last few years just how useless they are because obviously they couldn't get they couldn't get their house
in order right, they couldn't figure out amateurism. They tried to run with this amateurism model that's or KaiC, and you know, basically Congress gets involved and tells them, yeah, what you've been doing is illegal. You can't do that. So like they have no they have no authority, they're they're they're useless. And we've really kind of always felt that and it's been shown, i think in recent years
with so much changing in college athletics. But to go back to to what you just heard the governor of West Virginia say, as well as a column I read earlier today about Eric Crawford, a WDRB, I thought it was really well done, and you know, he's kind of laying out somehow, some way what led to them putting Louisville as an aid and in the end, not to spoil his column, which is great, it was a great piece. It's because they can. They can do whatever they want.
They I mean, they don't have any they don't have to answer to anybody. They can they can egregiously make errors and like just justify by saying, because that's what we decided to do. So you know that that's the system in place. And I'm not sure if you're ever going to get around that. They're never going to not have, you know, a group of people have some levels say so, it's not just going to be simply done by numbers. Maybe it will at some point, I don't know, but
you could at least lie to us. You can decide certain things and justify it based off of other teams where they're slotted. If that makes sense. I know what sounds confusing. What I'm saying is you could put Louisville as an eight and we could say, what the hell, and then if we saw Carolina didn't sniff the bubble, Clemson's a seventh seed, Duke's the last fourth seed. That would at least make it make a little sense. They
did not make anything, make any sense for Louisville. And that's just what's led to this being just a different feeling that I'm used to on the Monday after selection Sunday again, it is our Monday Marathon percent about carriage board. Don't forget. If you want to potentially make some money on your bracket, you can do it. We've got our twenty twenty five college Basketball Mayhem Bracket Contest present about Sauceerita's Fresh Mexican Grill. It's up and running. You could
take your shot at picking the correct bracket. You could win a million dollars. Register and pick your team. Pick your teams at seven ninety Louisville dot com. So again we'll talk more about the matchups in the in the entire bracket as well as as well as Louisvill's matchup with Creighton and whatnot. We got all week to do that. But again, today's the day where you were react to
what the committee decided to do. And unfortunately, Louisville was a big talking point and didn't make me feel any better, and in fact, it kind of makes me feel worse just because it gives you, it makes you feel that it's that you're you're you know, you feeling like you got screwed over? Is it's a justified feeling when you realize that Louisville is one of those talked about teams on Selection Sunday because nobody can understand how they got an eight. I guess it's really more so just how
you're wired as an individual. Like for me, that just makes me feel even more so like I should be mad, you know, but it's I don't think anybody again that that's what really just sucks for these guys, because the only people that mattered are the ones who viewed Louisville as an eight. Nobody else would have objectively said Louisville is an eight seed after that season, and that they need to be playing the number two team in the Big East in the first round just to get a
chance to then play the number one overall seed. And that's what you got to get through to make the second weekend. And yes, you're playing in Lexington, and clearly that's that's a real bonus considering the circumstances. But Austin, I want to get your thoughts on this. I mean,
we'll see. I think there's going to be clearly more red there than anything else, but sure nude on Thursday is not is not exactly a convenient wait, convenient time for fans to ray Lexington, right like, yeah on weeks on, you know, for four days? Notice, can people get off work and be in Lexington by noon?
Yeah?
No, that's a that's great and it's something that honestly I haven't thought of until you brought it up with Terry.
Saturday can be phenomenal Saturday. Saturday will be a damn home game if they win.
But I think Louisville fans will find a way they're gonna find. I am a little bit more. I wasn't as concerned about it yesterday when it happened. When I especially as I heard you two talking about will will Kentucky fans get in there just to spite U of l I totally see that.
Oh, there'll be some there for sure. I just hope it's not, you know, overwhelming. Yeah, it'll be a point where, like they'll they'll probably show a few of them on TV. We'll sit back and think like, Wow, what are these losers doing? Like do they like, well, you know, why are you investing your hard earned money to go watch your rival play? Like come on like you get a life.
I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and think that, you know what, they got bigger fish to fry, because they're they're probably more excited for this run than they have been the last couple of years, just because I don't know, maybe they just had the threat of all right, here's cal again. We had just lost to Saint Peter. Now we're in this game against Oakland. There's probably a little bit more nerves. Oh absolutely, I think this year is more excitement and they'd be more
redded up for that. But you alread even know how Kentucky fans are when it comes to that.
And it's not like they don't try to hide it, like they show up to Louisville games wearing UK stuff. They will be at Ropperina for a Kentucky game against a top ten team and have an uncontrollable urge to just do L's down, as if they've got a syndrome. They can't keep themselves from doing it. Like it's just it's just, you know, it's like Tourett's or something like That's that's that's what they do. So you know, and
there's in what I always say about Kentucky fans. There's a lot of them that are great, Like I have a lot of friends family that I love that are Kentucky fans. Same but with Kentucky fans, there's just a bazillion of you. Like there's more of you than any any species on planet Earth. So you know, they're just you know, your you're bad fans, which every program, every fan base has bad fans, some of them yours. Just
there's a lot more bad fans for you all. But it's just because there's a billion of you, So don't take it the wrong way. And I think they would even agree with that, so per capita, Yeah, they'll show UK fans there, Louisville fans will see them, but it'll just be a bad look for them and it won't actually have an impact in the game. So really it's a lose lose situation for them. But you know, I mean louis was gonna win. You know, I think Creighton's
a really tough matchup. But let's you brought up Kentucky. I mean, I've rent free. All I've said throughout the season is that like when it comes to the valuable wins that they have in the losses, they have all for the most part being quality losses. I just you know, I saw them being no worse than a four, and even though they got killed by Bamon's on Friday, I still felt like they were going to be a three,
and that's exactly what they got. So I don't know if you could put together a better scenario for Kentucky, and I think they would even agree, because again, you know, your first round matchup, it doesn't matter. You got a fourteen seed. You got to take care of business. That's that, it is what it is. But the second round, Illinois, I mean, if the S sets like Illinois, yeah, the s S. I think Illinois is a good team as well.
But if you're Kentucky and you're looking at other teams on the sixth line, I mean Missouri, yeah, you beat them, but you know they're in the and by the way they you wouldn't be able to play them anyway in the second round, I don't think. And then the other sixth seed is all missed same situation. In fact, they beat you bad, but yet you know you probably wouldn't be able to play them, so BYU is the other sixth seed. So if you're choosing between BYU and Illinois.
Maybe you would take BYU. I don't know, they're one of the hottest teams in the country, but they all Actually that's the committee could have done something there, right Pope versus all team. Yes, so I guess they weren't going to do that, which again I kind of feel like they would given that they typically do that kind
of stuff. But anyways, you know, not going to say you should be able to just cake walk over over Illinois, but Illinois is that It's the kind of team you should expect to be able to if you are truly who you think you are and you are a three seed team, which by the way, Kentucky's a three seed team based off of results that they got with guys that are now not playing. I mean, that's just be real, Like you can't say that they didn't deserve the seed. But like Kentucky now is not the same team when
they had Jackson Robinson and Lamont Butler. And I'll believe Lamont Butler's fully healthy and able to play when I see it, not to say when they had when they exactly exactly. So with all that said, you know, I believe that that if you're Kentucky. You can't look at Illinois and say, oh, we got screwed. We got to play them. No, that's the kind of team you got to get past to show that you're worthy of your seed and that you're worthy to be in the second weekend.
So outside of that, those where it gets it gets. I mean, Houston's your one seed. I mean, I wouldn't want to play Kelvin Sampson. I wouldn't want to play any one seed. But I would imagine they probably take playing them over playing Florida or Auburn or Duke. I think Houston would be the one that they pick, wouldn't you. I mean there's no one that you're like, oh yeah, give me them. But if you got to have one of those four in your bracket, I would imagine they'd
probably take Houston. Maybe they take Florida since they beat him earlier this year. Maybe they think they could beat Duke because maybe you know, Cooper Flag isn't gonna play. I don't know, but Tennessee, being you're two a team that you've already beat twice, you know you can beat them, sure, and you know Clemson is a five. I'm sorry, I don't think I mean Clemson, I know they beat them, and look Clemson and the Clemson probably won't meet Kentucky
because it won't get that far. But my point is all in all, and by the way, Perdue being your four seat house, Prdue even get a force sea to be honest with you, So you know, question who knows what happens with them? But I think they you know, and what I've heard, I do believe they're they're kind of echoing what I'm saying that they really can't be too unhappy with what the committee gave them, and that's
a good place to be. Now what you said about their previous tournament trips, I mean, I mean, let's be real, like the butthole was super tight when Cal lost to Saint Peter's and then they lost to the second round or lost in the sagraut of Kansas State, like they were going to be tight against Oakland, and Oakland took advantage of that. Now, what I don't know is like
Pope's gone, Like it's a completely different thing. But like I know their fans don't expect to lose to Troy, but I know they've also had at least some thought of like, oh my God, Like, what if we lose that game, because that would be like the ultimate, Like, I mean, that would be Pope wouldn't take the heat that Cal took for doing it the last couple of years. Yeah, but man, they would. I mean, it would be talk about a rough offseason for them. You know, we got
to we went about it a different way. We built a really good team and you know, we did it with older guys and we went the mature route and we we got all these quad one wins to get a three seed. But yet the results still potentially be
the same. Again, I'm not predicting they lose to Troy at all, but you know, as a fan base, when your last two of your last three trips to the Dance have included that exits to Saint Peter's in Oakland, you kind of want to get past those three fourteen games to where you can you know, I mean, it's it's really it's not that you're worried about Troy as an opponent, but I just think in the back of your mind, you just realize, like how bad it would
be if that were to happen again, although it's insanely unlikely. Just clearly knowing that it's possible because of what's happened the last couple of years, last few years. That's got to be an eerie feeling. And look for Louisville if they lose to Creighton, it's gonna suck and I'm gonna be mad about the seed. But you know, wrong music unless we got to do two breaks, do we? Oh no, I just hit the wrong music. Okay, Well that's a good reminder because they did need to get out on
way to late for a break. We'll take a quick right, come back on the other side and wrap this thing up right here on Sports Talk seven ninety won't even play music.
Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
All we can really do here is tell you hi and goodbye because we are out of But that was a quick three hours, a lot of uh, a lot of frustration shared with the selection committee, a lot of bitching really and uh, you know, I apologize. I'm sure that wasn't great radio, but I know a lot of you probably agree. And this was the first time. I mean, clearly, you can find some trolls on the internet having fun
with it, and I get it. It's a rivalry, but I felt a level of not necessarily like sympathy because I don't feel sorry for us, but I felt a lot of Kentucky fans genuinely being like yeah, like that's insane, Yeah, the same thing. And you know what it reminded me of is that we can tell when it's genuine when it's not, you know what I mean, right, like the whole port you know, I'm happy you could. Louis was, uh, we're making the robbery respectable again, you know, like that's
all that. Like, you know, y'all got a pretty cute team over there, I mean honestly like it. It's it sucks for y'all when y'all for us, when y'all suck, like you know that that's not really genuine grinds my gears. Yeah, but I think they are genuinely like, huh, how was that? Like how was that team at eight? Like I feel like they were, you know, not sympathetic, but at least like they know we're not just I mean, we are complaining,
but they know we have a complaint. And you know, didn't make me feel any better again hearing your rival know that you got screwed and having a difficult time acknowledging that you're you're you know that you're not wrong, and that everybody nationally realizes Louisville is probably the most probably the worst seeded team that Again, it's obvious, I mean, you would you'd like to have support, I suppose, but just makes me realize how bad of a decision it
was for the committee. But again, you can't do anything about it other than you know, proven, prove, prove that they were wrong about you as an eight seed, and certainly you'll have a chance to do it if you can get past creating Easier said than done. We're out of time, you guys. Enjoy your evening. We're back at it tomorrow, getting closer and closer to h the best two days of the year, but I know both days are going to be really, really enjoyable. Are not enjoyable
for me if Louisville is the first team out. Have a good night.