Takes

Midweek college basketball is better than the NBA

That's why I love college basketball so much, especially this time of year where every game feels so important... there's nothing like these college basketball games, a midweek game where the crowd and you get true home court advantage. And it feels like there's big, big time stakes.

The current college basketball season is the best in a long time because the top of the rankings is loaded with juggernauts.

This might be the best college basketball season we're having right now in a long, long time. It is so loaded at the top. There are, you go eight deep of teams that feel like they are like juggernauts.

Duke cannot just lose a basketball game; they always have to make it about a larger issue like player safety.

I just love when Duke loses. They can't just lose, they have to make it about something... It has to be something bigger than just basketball. It has to be, you know, teaching kids to become men or unsportsmanlike or this or that or the other. Just lose the fucking game. You lost the game, you choked.

NIL has improved the quality of college basketball by keeping talented players in school longer.

I would make the counter argument for basketball specifically the fact that we have NIL and guys get paid. You have some super, super talented guys playing in college basketball now... some guys who are staying a little bit longer 'cause it's, you know, they can make more money playing college basketball.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba will have more receptions than Ohio State made threes vs Michigan

JSN [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] more receptions than Ohio State made threes against Michigan earlier in the day. I looked it up. Ohio state's averaging about seven and a half threes a game... Michigan has a really good three point defense.

The NCAA Tournament is the most fair tournament in sports

My Hot Seat is Joel Klatt. He said that the NCAA tournament is a joke. ... Most unfair tournament in all sports? It's the most fair.

The 'Players Era' tournament is ruining the tradition of Feast Week college basketball

The players era fucking sucks. There's not even a real tournament... They've taken away and no one's in the stands there. Feast Week used to mean something, man.

I will bet on every single college basketball game tomorrow

I'm so excited for college basketball. I'm gonna bet, I'm gonna bet every game. I'm gonna bet every single game. It's gonna be awesome.

The NCAA voting not to expand the tournament is just a way to move the Overton window for next year

They're, they put this out there being like, Hey, we're not gonna do it. Knowing that now it's, it's they moved the Overton window. Where now we're talking about the expansion and next year they're probably gonna let it in.

Alabama is officially a basketball school now

It was an interesting year. It's, we, we got a lot of spoiled Alabama fans... I hate what's going on in, in NCAA sports right now with the, the NIL and the transferring... But, you know, we're a basketball school now.

Houston was uncomfortable not playing from behind in the title game

I think that Houston was uncomfortable not playing from behind. I feel like Houston had had to lead the whole game and they were like, wait, we're, we're usually the ones that are, that are coming back at the last minute.

Todd Golden's technical foul was the most strategic in history

Todd Golden probably deserves credit... his technical was maybe the most strategic technical of all time. Because after his technical foul, which was of I think like three or four minutes into the second half, the fouls went 13 to three on Houston.

The 2025 Final Four will be remembered as the Final Four of Chokes

I think it'll be remembered as the, the final four of chokes. [Cooper Flagg] choked. [Kelvin Sampson]... this would've been 800. Brutal.

The Florida championship win means college basketball is alive and well

It turns out that the only thing that we could say after the tournament was over if Duke had won: NIL ruined college basketball. And since Florida won and they didn't have freshmen, it's college basketball alive and well.

Duke's loss to Houston was the biggest choke in Final Four history

Duke's downfall for four hours, but like, sign me up. I'll take off my pants right now. 'cause that was, holy fuck. Was that an incredible Final Four delivered... Duke biggest choke in Final Four history. Best team ever analytically... They're the only team to, to have a higher field goal. Percentage more free throw attempts, more assists, fewer turnovers, more steals and lose in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Cooper Flagg does not have the clutch gene

I agree with Skip Bayless and Big Cat in that Cooper Flagg probably doesn't have the clutch gene. If I'm drafting number one in the NBA draft and I'm, I don't know, the Utah Jazz, I I would pass on 'em. Yeah, I would. And let whoever is picking after take them. Like, 'cause you're not gonna win with 'em.

Coach K is secretly happy that Duke lost because it protects his legacy

If we had true serum Coach K's happy. He doesn't want the next guy to win a title in his third year... John Scheyer, the, the, the school has not dropped off in terms of a level of basketball. But what Coach K has done to win titles gets magnified even more of. That's really hard to do because John Scheyer couldn't do it with one of the best analytically best teams of all time.

Houston is a team of wolves led by a wolf

Houston is just a bunch of wolves, man led by a wolf... the way they get after it, you, you can't prepare for it. It's like a pass rush that just the quarterback is gonna be rattled and it kills, it kills your transition offensive game because it's hard for you to even run on them because getting a defensive rebound feels like survival.

Duke will win the 2025 National Championship

I have been saying for a month and a half now that it is Duke's year. And I do fully think that they are, they feel like even though it is a loaded Final Four, they feel a little step ahead. I will not be rooting for Duke, but I am also resigned to the fact they will probably win.

Duke is the only team in the country top-5 in both offensive and defensive efficiency

I have figured Duke to win it all. There's a reason I picked that. Number one, any time a team is top five in offensive and defensive efficiency, they got a great chance to win. Duke's the only team in the country that's top five by Ken Pomeroy in efficiency in both areas.

Buzz Williams moving to Maryland is a smart move to reset his coaching clock.

So this move, I believe was a smart move by Buzz in the fact that the SEC has gotten a lot better. He has kind of maxed out what he's got at Texas A&M... So why not move and reset the clock? Pretty good. Yeah. Also like you're basically resetting the clock with a new fan base who is hungry for someone to say I love you.

Maryland basketball is currently a stepping stone job.

And here's what sucks for Maryland is that Maryland should not be a stepping stone job. No. Maryland should be a job that a guy should want to stay at for a long time. But as of right now, guess what the reality is? It's a stepping stone job.

Auburn felt like a special team early in the season after competing physically with Houston.

We had to play an an incredibly well coached, hard playing Houston team where we were gonna find out whether we were gonna be physical and tough enough... once we were able to beat Houston or at least be on compete with 'em, we felt like this team had a chance to be pretty special.

College basketball is a Ponzi scheme

I was gonna say it's college basketball. A Ponzi scheme. Mm. Because the tournament starts. Just wait. Did not Great Matchups round of 32. Gonna be great. Round of 32's not great, just wait. Good. So sweet 16. Sweet 16 happens. Oh, that sucked. But just wait. This is the best Elite eight you've ever seen. The Elite eight sucks. But just wait. The final four, we're kicking the can down the road.

Houston is the biggest 'Cinderella' of the Final Four

I have Houston one, then I had Florida two... [Houston] because they've never won a national title. They don't have any legacy in basketball outside of Charles Barkley. And obviously what Bruce Pearl's done, I think they would be the second Cinderella. Florida still has, you know, they, they back to back national titles.

Cooper Flagg should opt out of the Final Four to protect his draft stock

If I was Cooper Flagg, I would sit out. Yeah. And don't get hurt. You're gonna be playing against grown ass men. Sit out, opt out, and then just wait to enter the NBA draft and make money

NIL has ruined college basketball

I just NIL ruined college basketball. I don't wanna be a hater, but it it... I just want madness. I don't care if, if the games are good, I wouldn't care. But yeah, the, I want good games.

College basketball should implement a salary ladder to discourage transfers

A freshman gets 50 K from the school. A sophomore gets 75, a junior gets a hundred. If you transfer, you go back to freshman salary. So like, there is a, you could still transfer, you can still do whatever you want, but you don't get to climb the ladder of, of what the school can pay you.

USC will win the right side of the bracket in 'The Crown'

I think Villanova, USC on the right side of the bracket would be fascinating. Must Bus has his team ready to go. I think. I think USC on the right side, they're gonna come out of this right side of the bracket. I just like the way that they're playing.

John Scheyer will be Mike Krzyzewski 2.0 in terms of tenure

I think he's a stud Big Cat. I don't know if you want to hear this or not, but I think he's gonna be Mike Krzyzewski 2.0 in terms of the length. Yeah, no, he is gonna coach there forever and he's gonna win a lot. So coach there for 30 years.

Florida will make the Final Four

Florida killed Maryland and Florida's really, really good. I expect Florida to go to the Final Four.

I am worried about Kevin Willard's tenure at Villanova

I'm worried about [Kevin Willard's] tenure at Villanova. That's a past, we're worried about the future. And Kevin Willard to Villanova... that's what I care about. I'm worried about that.

Teams are 1-7 in their next game after winning on a buzzer beater in the NCAA Tournament

Teams in the last 10 years are one in seven after a buzzer beater in the NCAA tournament in their next game. One in seven. Numbers never lie.

Sportsmanship should stop at the Little League level

The sportsmanship stops at Little League. That's really what it is. Like when people are like, oh, you gotta win class. You gotta do the—that shit is not for high level college basketball, high level pro sports. I don't care. I want bad losers. I want people who are, who crash out when they lose.

Duke is going to win the NCAA Tournament

I think Duke's gonna win it all though. I'm pretty set in that thought. I mean, winning a second round game by the way they did against Baylor. Just not competitive.

Houston will dominate Purdue in the Sweet 16

I love Houston. I think Houston's going to dominate Purdue. I said something nice about Purdue someday this might say something mean about Purdue. You're gonna get your fucking ass kicked.

Maryland needs Florida's Clayton to sprain an ankle to win the Sweet 16 matchup

I think we need Clayton to sprain his ankle. Not badly, not bad. I'm not rooting for it and I'm not rooting for an injury like that guy's got such big balls... Maryland needs to play its best, the best be the best version of itself and I think they can win the game.

Annual free agency in college sports is detrimental

I'm pro players getting money, I'm anti-free agency every single year. 'Cause that's just stupid. It doesn't exist in any other sport. So I don't know, there's a lot that's going on, but... I think it's just kind of the new reality.

NIL and the transfer portal are ruining March Madness upsets

The biggest culprit that I've seen being blamed is NIL and Transfer Portal. I think that's actually a fair critique... all the Power five schools are basically picking apart all the smaller schools and taking their best players. And then you don't get upsets.

The Big East is for basketball while the SEC is for football

Big East is college basketball. SEC's football... when you're watching SEC basketball fans, you know, you're only thinking in the back of your head... they don't care about this. Like they care about football.

Dusty May is a premier tournament coach

Dusty May is just a hell of a coach. He said it on our show. He's like, we needed a reset... What have they done since then? They won the Big 10 tournament and now they're in the Sweet 16... I'm putting him in like tournament coach.

Tom Izzo is the God of March

Tom Izzo now 16th Sweet 16... His expected wins are 27.6. He has 39 wins... that's an 11.4 difference. The next closest on this chart is Cal with six wins above expected. Tom Izzo very good tournament coach.

Texas Tech is officially a basketball school

Here's the Texas Tech, maybe a basketball school stat... They have gone to four Sweet 16s over the last seven tournaments with three different coaches. Pretty impressive. To do it with three different coaches in that short of amount of time. That's culture.

John Calipari is finally back to his underdog roots

Kentucky made him soft. Now he's going Arkansas... now he's kind of the underdog. 40 minutes himself. He's feeling himself again... he was too luxurious in Lexington for him. Now he's gotta get back to his roots and coach basketball.

Shaka Smart is not a good tournament coach

In his last nine NCAA tournament trips, Shaka Smart has been eliminated by a team at least three seed lines worse seven times... Still a good coach but not a good tournament coach right now.

Duke will win the national championship

I think it's just gonna be Duke. Duke. I think Duke's gonna win it all.

McNeese State dominated Clemson despite the close final score

McNeese State I think leads the, leads the storyboard because what a day for Will Wade... and gives us a classic 12 5 upset where I know it looks like a two point game, but they were dominating Clemson for, for the majority of the game.

Will Wade being honest about leaving for NC State is better than coaches who lie

I'd rather will Wade be transparent about it. Yeah. It's awkward that he took a new job before his team even played in the tournament... I'd rather have the Will Wade where you're just upfront about it and saying, yeah, I'm talking to NC State. Oh yep. I got a new job.

Bill Self is on the hot seat after losing in the first round as a preseason number one

Is Bill Self on the hot seat? I don't know if he's on the hot seat... Kansas also, they became the second AP preseason number one to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Obviously Bill self not on the hot seat, but it's fun to have the conversation.

Kansas was not built for a long tournament run this year

I think most Kansas fans saw this coming in the fact that they just weren't built for a long run... Moreover, they won one tournament NCAA tournament game in this time there. [Hunter Dickinson] is done.