Takes

Kansas and North Carolina are the top two jobs in college basketball

I think that the top two jobs in college basketball are Kansas and North Carolina, and they're interchangeable to me. Kentucky is probably number three on that list for me. I think UCLA is the fourth best job in the country.

Indiana basketball is the fifth best job in the country

I think my fifth school would probably be Indiana. I think that in general, you just have kids that want to play there because of the prestige, tradition, whatever it is. And you have Indianapolis, which has a ton of basketball talent and the surrounding area in general.

Houston winning the Final Four would be the worst case scenario for entertainment

I think Houston winning is worst case, though, because if Houston's in the title game, then Gonzaga or UCLA will beat them, in my opinion. I'm terrified of that.

Indiana basketball fans are exactly like Nebraska football fans

Indiana fans, they're much like Nebraska football fans where they think the glory days are right around the corner from coming back, and that is torture. That is true torture.

10:00 PM tip-offs separate the real college basketball fans from the casuals

The late start times, I initially was like, you know what? This separates the casuals from the real fans like me, if you're willing to stay up until 10 for a tip-off. Two school nights in a row of 10 o'clock tip-offs. I think I've seen enough.

Gonzaga is so good that you shouldn't overthink their dominance

Gonzaga had the classic situation tonight where everyone is so sick of how good Gonzaga is that they all said to themselves, USC is the toughest opponent they'll ever meet... And I tweeted, obviously I lost the Michigan bet, but I said, don't overthink it. Gonzaga's that good.

Baylor is going to absolutely crush Houston in the Final Four

So I think that Baylor is going to shit pump Houston. Well, so Houston deserves credit. I'm going to do it. I bashed them... They can't shoot.

Oregon State is the greatest team of all time

Oregon State, Loyola Chicago. Oregon State is just the greatest team of all time. And I'm going to say that about pretty much every team, just be warned that I don't have a lot in my repertoire right now, but they are the greatest team as of right now.

Baylor is beatable because they are a streaky shooting team

I'm caught between that they [Baylor] didn't play their best and still won, so they're really good, and they're beatable because they went three for 19 from three, and they were a little bit streaky. Their best players didn't play their A games.

Gonzaga is the 2018 Villanova of this tournament

Gonzaga's starting to feel like the 2018 Nova team that beat everyone by double digits and just blitzed everyone. We were at that championship game. They were an absolute wagon. It's starting to feel like that. Because you thought like, oh, Creighton, they hit the three... They didn't hang with them at all.

I've accepted that Gonzaga is winning the National Championship

Gonzaga is probably not going to lose. I've just accepted the fact Gonzaga is probably going to win this NCAA championship.

Alabama's refusal to shoot mid-range jumpers hurt their free throw shooting

I would ask maybe the lack of mid-range jump shots in practice and making it one point and saying everyone has to only shoot fours or twos had something to do with them going 11 for 25 from the free throw line in a very important situation.

The Mike Woodson hire at Indiana probably won't work

They hired Mike Woodson... He's never coached college basketball in his life... That doesn't feel like it's going to work. What do you mean? A guy who has never coached college basketball.

Loyola Chicago will reach the 2021 Final Four

Loyola has a path to the Final Four here that's not that hard. So you should have put them higher because now it's going to happen. They're going to get to the Final Four.

Baylor will 'truck' Villanova in the Sweet 16

Baylor's going to truck Villanova. Put it on a board. Put it on a quote board. And I love Villanova... But yeah, Baylor, I've seen that Baylor team. They're going to truck you.

Arkansas will 'kill' Oral Roberts in the Sweet 16

Oral Roberts, Arkansas. Arkansas is going to kill them. Must bust all the way.

Creighton will upset #1 overall seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16

I think they're [Gonzaga] getting upset. Yep. Against Creighton? Yep. With the P-word [Greg McDermott's plantation comment]? Yep.

Mick Cronin wasted the 'dad hug' momentum by seeing his father in the first round instead of the Sweet 16

The whole storyline of not seeing his dad, not hugging his dad for two years... he used it in the first weekend. He should have brought his dad out for this weekend. Then they win this game. I truly believe that. They're showing Hep Cronin in the stands and being like, man, after this game, they're going to get the hug. They somehow find a way. A dad game is a game changer.

Soft basketball teams cannot win in the NCAA Tournament in March

You've got to get to the free throw line. Soft teams can't win in March. There you go. That was a Buffalo quote. I had a few quotes at Buffalo... quit avoiding contact. Get your butt to the free throw line.

Bill Walton incepted the Pac-12 teams into becoming the 'Conference of Champions'

He's [Bill Walton] incepted us into thinking that the Pac-12 is actually the Conference of Champions, and now he's incepted the teams themselves into believing in themselves so much that they are now advancing to potentially become the Conference of Champions.

The Pac-12 is officially back now that Larry Scott is gone

No, Larry Scott was the reason why, and he's gone, so the Pac-12 is officially back. Pac-12 is back big time.

Rick Pitino is going to stay at Iona for the long haul

I think that there's a good chance that Rick Pitino gets offered the Kentucky job, and he will turn it down. I think he's going to be in Iona for the long haul.

I'm a Must-Bust believer

I'm a Must-Bust believer. The runs that they [Arkansas] go on, when they decide to step on the gas pedal, the Must-Bust, and they turn it on against Texas Tech, it was like, there's no going back.

Coaches who have won a national championship should be required to wear a suit on the sidelines

If you've won a national championship, you should be required to wear a suit on the sidelines. Bill Self, no. Everyone else, yes. I like Bill Self in a suit. He's a good polo guy, but I agree. Coach K's a suit guy. Jay Wright's a suit guy.

The Syracuse zone defense is the most perfect invention in the history of college basketball

It's honestly like the most perfect invention in the history of college basketball. I can't think of a gimmicky type offense or defense besides maybe the triple option at certain schools that has existed for this long and will always fuck you up even when you know that it's coming for you.

I'm officially admitting it: Iowa is actually good

I'm going to say something nice about Iowa. Iowa is fucking good, okay? Iowa fans, they are. I'm ready to admit it. They're fucking good. They are. I still don't like Luka Garza, but I think Iowa is going to beat Oregon.

Jason Preston will be the darling of March that the whole world talks about if Ohio wins another game

Jason Preston... is the story of the tournament. If Ohio can win tomorrow against Creighton, there will be so many stories written about him. He is going to be a darling of March that the whole world talks about on our screen.

The NCAA will start rigging the 'First Four' with giant state schools for ratings next year

My prediction is the NCAA is going to think about doing something similar to that next year... They'll definitely have the two biggest names... There might be some monkey business when it comes to the last four in where they don't invite teams like smaller alumni bases. They just get two bona fide giant state schools to square off in that first game for ratings.

The NCAA will include a random VCU highlight in One Shining Moment to acknowledge their COVID-forced exit

This is my long shot. They are going to put a random VCU highlight from the regular season to give them their shine. Or the conference championship, maybe them coming down the nets. They can't get robbed in One Shining Moment. They made the tournament.

Tom Izzo will choke away the play-in game against Mick Cronin and UCLA

Izzo choked it away... This is the game where Izzo chokes it away at the end. He mismanages something. He might even get ejected in the second half. And our guy Mick Cronin demolishes him.

My Final Four picks: Gonzaga, UConn, Illinois, and Arkansas

I have Gonzaga, UConn, Huskies are back, Illinois. And Arkansas. That's my Final Four.

Fill out a bracket when it comes out, then bet against it once the games start

As soon as the bracket comes out, you have to fill out a bracket and stash it away until right before the games are out... You just fill out a bracket without everybody saying right at that point. And then you put it away till Thursday and then you bet against it. It really works out a lot of the time.

The Syracuse zone will be a nightmare for opponents due to the lack of non-conference play

Syracuse is a team, especially in a year like this, where nobody really played out of conference games, that zone can be an [motherfucker] to you... I think they have athleticism... Them and matching up with West Virginia in the second round is a really, really interesting game.

Baylor will beat Gonzaga for the National Championship

I have Baylor beating Gonzaga [in the final]. I actually had a bet on Baylor. I think they were getting four against Gonzaga... I think when you watch Baylor, they just have it all to me... They could guard every position. I love their guards.

Houston is the number one fraud team among the tournament's top five seeds

Houston is my number one fraud. They're 24 and three. One of their losses was to Wichita State, they lost to East Carolina. These are very bad losses. Houston to me is what people think Gonzaga is. That's what Houston is now.

Rutgers will defeat Houston in the second round of the tournament

I am betting on Rutgers. If Rutgers wins the second round game [against Houston], I win a Bitcoin.

Villanova is a fraud team in the tournament without Collin Gillespie

Villanova's gotta be up there [as a fraud] just because they don't have Collin Gillespie anymore. I don't trust Villanova without a point guard.

This Gonzaga team is significantly better than the 2017 team that reached the title game

If you think Gonzaga is just like every other Gonzaga team in your mind, you're a moron. This team would beat the 2017 team, that was two minutes away from a national title, by like 10 or 15 probably. They have four guys that were finalists for their position awards in the entire country.

A Gonzaga national title counts as a victory for the Big Ten because of Jalen Suggs

Gonzaga's best player, Jalen Suggs, where's he from? Minnesota. That's a Big Ten win if Gonzaga wins. This is Richard Pitino's fault for not keeping him in state. He's a football player, he's the most Big Ten player that's ever not played in the Big Ten. I am officially a Gonzaga fan because they are part of the Big Ten.

Michigan State will beat UCLA in the play-in game

I like Michigan State [to win the play-in game]. UCLA is free-falling. They were pretty good a couple months ago and that's never something you want to say about a team in March. Lock me in on Michigan State winning.

Wisconsin will make a tournament run because Roy Williams is no longer a good coach

I have talked myself into Wisconsin making a run. I said to myself, you know what? Roy Williams, he's not a good coach. [North Carolina] are going to turn the ball over. Wisconsin is going to win and hit their jump shots.

Georgetown is not 'back' just because they won four games in the Big East tournament

The love affair with Patrick Ewing was disgusting this weekend. He got hot against a really bad Marquette team, a Nova team that basically is all injured... this idea that he's building something and this is the culmination. They had a good week. They had a good four games... I'm going to bet against Georgetown in the world.

Michigan State will be a good bet in the tournament because there are no expectations on them

I think I am going to bet on Michigan State this year. I think something about Izzo. January, February, Izzo, April, we sleep in May. There's no expectations on Michigan State this year, except maybe to win that first game.

Wisconsin will lose to North Carolina in the first round

Wisconsin is not going to beat UNC. It's the lowest I've ever felt about a Badger team going into the tournament. I can't even be hurt.

UC Santa Barbara will upset Creighton in the first round

I've got Santa Barbara over Creighton in the 12-5. [They have] an American Athletic Conference caliber roster at Santa Barbara. They've got high major transfers... I've got Santa Barbara over Creighton in the 12-5. That's spicy.

Oregon is the most under-seeded team in the 2021 NCAA tournament

The most under-seeded team in the 2021 NCAA tournament is Oregon... Dana Altman, the master of the Rubik's Cube... This team is more talented than its seed. I think they're a very difficult matchup for Iowa. I have a big Pac-12 breakthrough... I've got Oregon going to the second weekend.

Texas will make the Final Four behind a breakout performance from Jericho Sims

I am going to go with Shaka Smart 10 years after VCU gets to the Final Four, taking Texas to the Final Four. The guy that's blossomed the last week has been Jericho Sims of Texas... If Jericho Sims can play three quarters as well as he did during the Big 12 tournament, Texas has an outstanding chance to go to a Final Four.

Illinois will beat Gonzaga to win the National Championship

Illinois... They're the team I'm going to pick to win a national championship. I have Illinois beating Baylor and then beating Gonzaga. Gonzaga will get to 31-0 and then fall to Illinois.

Coach K is a mastermind for using a COVID withdrawal to protect Duke's winning streak

I think you at least have to respect Coach K for being one step ahead of our brains that try to simulate what Coach K will do... they have bowed out gracefully after winning their opening round game, the ACC tournament... maybe the streak is still intact because who knows? Maybe Duke would have gone on to win the ACC tournament. It's actually a brilliant move on Coach K's part.

Coach K is the Frank Underwood of college basketball

Coach K, he'll do anything. He's Frank Underwood of the college basketball world. He will do anything to make sure that the message is not, 'Hey, Duke wasn't going to make the tournament.' Let's all forget that they weren't going to make the tournament.