Takes

Duke would have won the National Championship by 50 points if they had reached the final.

I think if Duke plays in the championship game, they win by 50. Easily. That was a wasted opportunity.

College basketball is now 'pay to win' and that's unsustainable

It's a pay to win tournament. Like basketball is ruined. Unsustainable. Yeah, that's the new word that I keep hearing.

The Michael Malone hiring at UNC will either be a national championship success or a total disaster with no middle ground.

I think it's gonna be a disaster or they're gonna win a national title. Like I don't think they're gonna make the tournament, make a sweet 16 and coach for multiple years and it will be like middle of the road. Hiring a guy because his daughter is on the volleyball team is quite something.

The 2026 Michigan Wolverines team is not losing to anyone in the National Championship

Being there, I mean... what we saw on Saturday night, that Michigan team's not losing to anyone. How are they underdogs? They're not losing to a single team.

Duke is not a true blue blood because they only won with one coach

I actually saw a really good take today... they actually said that Duke's not a blue blood because a true blue blood is winning championships with multiple coaches. Duke just had one coach. Kentucky's won with multiple. That's the definition of Blue Blood is it's the organization that carries it, not just the coach.

Tommy Lloyd will be the next head coach at UNC

Tommy Lloyd, I feel like he's the UNC head coach... When you bring in your wife as a shield, as a character witness, you're gone. I swear to God I'm not gonna UNC, just ask my wife. She's probably getting some tips from [Michael] Jordan on where to brunch.

Duke players suffered severe concussions from the UNC court-storming earlier in the season

I think it's also important to remember that Duke likely had several players that were suffering from severe concussions after the storming of the court that UNC had against them... it's sad that they were forced to continue playing for the rest of the season after such a violent act happened to 'em.

Jon Scheyer should not be allowed to wear the Blue Devil logo until he wins a championship

Scheyer needs to take the D off of his sweatsuit. Off of his chest. He should not be allowed to wear that patch. He's gotta earn it back. Win a championship, then you can wear the Blue Devil logo on your chest.

Jon Scheyer might be on the hot seat after another tournament failure

Jon Scheyer might be on the hot seat. I don't know how you don't call a timeout. It's the time. I don't know how you don't like, that's like day, literally day one of camp is like, all right, let's run some, some out of bounds end of game situations.

Illinois is going to the Final Four

I think Illinois wins. I think Illinois is going to the Final Four.

Houston will beat Illinois by 18 points in the Sweet 16

I think Houston and I think they do it decisively. 18. [Blowout?]. 18.

John Calipari has officially won the breakup with Kentucky

Do we think that there has ever been a bigger 'won the breakup' more than Cal in Kentucky right now? ... Cal is living the best life. He has gone to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens and Kentucky is in a complete crisis with Mark Pope. It couldn't have gone worse in the first two years for this breakup.

Kentucky will win a national championship before Arkansas does

Kentucky will win a national championship before Arkansas. Still, still a lot of time to go.

Nate Oats needs to teach his players to never let the police look through their phones

Let the Aden Holloway situation be a reminder to everybody that you don't have to let the police look through your phone. I actually point the finger at Nate Oats for this, because Nate Oats, you gotta do a better job of explaining the first through fifth amendments to your players. Given the history that you've had... day one you should have a, get the guys from Morgan & Morgan to come in and be like, 'Do not talk to the police if you're in trouble. Shut the fuck up.'

Fouling when up by two points late in a game is a terrible strategy

Todd Golden said in the press conference they were trying to foul up two... That's insane. Foul up two's crazy. You know how crazy he is? Steven Che thinks it's a good idea. Fouling up two does not make any sense... Play defense! How about that? The, that my groundbreaking end of game scenario that I would coach in that situation would be: play defense.

Hubert Davis probably needs to be fired after UNC's historic meltdown against VCU

UNC blowing the biggest lead in first round history to VCU... Hubert Davis probably needs to be fired. Hubert's not gonna be a good magically come back next year and be a good coach.

Vanderbilt will upset Florida in the Sweet 16

I have Vanderbilt upsetting Florida in the Sweet 16. Okay. Alright. That would be the, and it's not even just 'cause the SEC tournament... I've seen enough to know that like Vanderbilt one is not scared of Florida. Two, it's like not fluky what happened in the SEC tournament. I think their guards are so good.

The 'Rollover Over' bet: Bet the over on Texas vs NC State and roll the winnings into the next round over

The I mean I lose. Yeah. Good one dude. I lose a lot. This is the rollover over though Texas NC State are playing in Dayton over whatever we win on that BYU versus the winner of that game over the rollover. Over double over. You take the winnings and you roll over. Yeah. To another over. I I there there's no defense.

My Early Final Four: Duke, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin

Duke, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin... with Duke beating Wisconsin in Indie.

My Early Final Four: St. John's, Florida, Arizona, and Iowa State

St. John's, Florida, Arizona, Iowa State... I will do Iowa State over St. John's.

Troy will upset Nebraska and win their first-round game

I am taking Troy to break the hearts... everybody at Pinnacle Bank Arena and move on to the round of 32. Nebraska has to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time ever to break the program record for wins. But this is a really, really difficult game.

Akron will upset Texas A&M in a 12-5 matchup

I've got Akron and John Gross picking off Texas A&M in a 12-5 [matchup].

Purdue will defeat UConn in the national championship to 'complete the circle'

I'm taking Purdue. So for the second time in three years, it's Purdue and Yukon for a national championship. Dan Hurley against Matt Painter. And this time we complete the circle for the boilers. The team that started the year number one in the country wins a national championship.

I am offering a $10,000 bounty to find the UNC staffer who punched a Duke staffer

I will not sleep until we find this UNC staffer who punched one of your guys... Let's put a bounty on it. I will offer $5,000. [PFT]: I'll match. [Big Cat]: $10,000 if anyone can find the UNC person who punched a Duke staffer after the game. $10,000 cash. Give us the footage leading to their arrest.

The Big 10 will snap its 26-year national championship drought this year

This is the year for the Big 10. I know the Big 12 stacked. But if the Big Ten's gonna snap this drought of 26 long years without national championship, if Michigan plays their A game guys, they're gonna be no worse than in Indianapolis. ... The Big 10 [is where the champion comes from].

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.

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.

Cooper Flagg is a choker

Even though [Cooper Flagg] is a choker. That's fine.

Duke losing is still a bigger story than Florida winning the National Championship

I think the story from this final four though, if we're gonna think back, put yourself in a time machine 10 years from now, Duke, Duke losing it is still the, it still the story of the final four. Yes. That I I will die on that hill.

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.

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.

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.

College basketball media members are the most out-of-touch group in sports because they blindly defend coaches and don't understand how fans think.

I think college basketball might be the premier sport in terms of guys who cover the sport that don't understand how fans think and also just will defend coaches blindly no matter what.

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.

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.

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.

Saint Mary's was the worst team I've ever watched and their game against Alabama was boring and terrible.

That was the worst college basketball game I think I've ever seen. It was so bad, like boring and bad to watch. Saint Mary's is the worst team ever, worst team I've ever watched. How was this team a fucking seven seed? They sucked.

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.

BYU is a legitimate threat to win the National Championship

BYU's a team that everyone's picking against, but they they were on the list. [PFT: BYU can win the national title?] Yes.

Ryan Odom will not be the head coach at VCU next year

This will be his last time at VCU no matter what... I'm reporting this. He will either be going to Villanova or Virginia after this year. He will, this is his last ride with VCU.

North Carolina's inclusion in the tournament is the most egregious committee decision ever

I thought North Carolina, at no point in the season did they look like an NCAA tournament team. They, they, yeah. They, their, their, their highs weren't very high. Their lows were pretty damn low. And I was, I was stunned. I was, in all the years of, you know, that's how the bracket works. It comes out, we, we lose our minds about teams that got in that didn't deserve it. We, we feel bad for the teams that were left out. This is the most egregious example that I've ever seen.

Michigan State will make the Final Four as a quintessential Tom Izzo team

I settled a, so I have Michigan State going to the final four because I think Auburn's gonna get tripped up somewhere... I do think Michigan State's gonna go to the final four. I think I settled on, they are on a, a typical Michigan State tournament run, but it just started in November.

St. John's will make the Final Four

I picked St. John's as the final four. I do believe in that... I do believe this St. John's team is special... When the clock hits zero and you think you've beat them, you better make damn sure you've actually beat them.

UNC getting into the tournament over West Virginia and Indiana is a result of committee member Bubba Cunningham being the UNC AD

UNC got into the tournament with one quad, one win. And Bubba Cunningham, who is part of the selection committee is also the ad at UNC. What I would say to that is that doesn't fucking matter at all [that he recused himself] because you spend an entire weekend hanging out with this people... Everyone in that room has to decide on UNC and then have him come back in the room and he's gonna be like, so how we looking?

Yale will upset Texas A&M in the first round

I also kind of like Yale is over [Texas] A&M. Yale's a good team. I feel like Yale also just, that's just a Yale does it every year kind of guy.

Florida will crush UConn by a hundred if they meet in the second round

I'm rooting for UConn just so that I can bet Florida against UConn. Everyone's gonna be like, watch out for UConn and Florida's gonna beat 'em by a hundred... Florida will kill him. Very. Florida's would be, that would be my take on that.

Oregon will beat Arizona in the second round and Caleb Love will shoot 3-for-21

I have Oregon, beating Arizona in the second round. Because that will be, I think that's gonna be the Caleb Love masterpiece. Yeah. I think he'll go three for 21 for 14 points.

Vanderbilt has a legitimate chance to upset Duke

I think Vandy could beat Duke. Why? I think they could. They're good. I think they possibly could too.

UNC getting into the tournament is the biggest miscarriage of justice in 20 years

This is one of the biggest miscarriage of justices that I have seen in all my years covering college basketball... North Carolina was one and 12 against quad one opponents. That is just a fact of life... My heart breaks for West Virginia, it breaks for Indiana that North Carolina got this opportunity instead of them.