Takes

I'm guaranteeing Duke wins the national championship

I'm guaranteeing Duke wins. [Big Cat] is guaranteeing Duke wins.

James Wiseman is going to sign with Memphis

He's going to sign with Memphis on Tuesday... He's going to sign with Memphis.

Duke is guaranteed to win the national title this year

Duke is going to win the national title. Mark this down. Write this down. Post it. We'll replay this in the spring. Duke is going to win the national title. Guaranteed. Big Cat guarantee. There's nothing that will stop him.

Zion Williamson chose Duke over Kansas solely for the free education

Zion... decided not to go to Kansas for said money or whatever occupational preferences... and instead decided he wanted to go get an education for free at Duke University... Can't a young person just change their mind and say, I'd rather not have money? I'd rather play for Coach K.

Coach K has avoided the FBI investigation because his name is too difficult for agents to spell in reports

Coach K has somehow avoided all sorts of investigations and indictments because his last name is so difficult to spell if you're an FBI agent... you have to type out Krzyzewski probably 400 times... I'm saying no thank you, I'm going to investigate Bill Self.

The 2010 Duke team was the best coached team in the tournament, not the most talented

Duke was not the most talented team that we played or had the best players that we played throughout the tournament... But they were the best coached and, like, the most disciplined. They were kind of like us.

Rick Pitino is finished but not done with coaching

Rick Pitino says in that book, Rick Pitino believes it's unlikely he will return to coaching. He's finished. He has said it himself. He's finished. I think he's finished but not done. It will only take a little bit of time for him to come back. Give him 20 minutes and he won't be finished anymore. He'll be ready to go again.

College referees are not good and officiating in college ruins the game

College refs ... are god-awful. They're not good in any sort of definition of the word. They're just bad referees. ... they sit a guy down and you get two fouls in five minutes and you basically don't play until the second half. And it ruins the whole game.

Coach K's greatest strength is his adaptability rather than a fixed system

I think [Coach K's] greatest strength ... is his adaptability. Coach K doesn't have a system. He's never had a system. ... he coaches every team differently. He coaches every player differently.

Duke basketball is entering a major championship window because of Zion Williamson

My cool throne is Duke basketball. So they're back. Zion Williamson, my guy. 6'10", 320 pounds... Dunked from the free throw line. Kyrie, Jason Tatum about to take over for the Celtics. So it's going to be a big, big window for Duke basketball.

Rick Pitino will not survive Twitter

Rick Pitino even plans to start a Twitter account. Rick Pitino, listen to me right now. Do not create a Twitter account. You are not going to survive Twitter.com. This is not going to work, Rick. He is going to hate it.

The Duke Blue Devils are definitely winning the national championship

The Duke Blue Devils are going to win the national championship. And this isn't a reverse jinx. I know you're thinking, Big Cat, you hate Duke. No, no, no. They're definitely going to win the national championship. You heard it here first. It's done.

Zion Williamson will be a big time bust

Zion Williamson, bust. Big time bust. That guy stinks. He's got no explosiveness. That's what I'm saying because he's got a ton of explosiveness. So if you just say it's not NBA explosiveness, people are like, wow, that guy knows something that we don't know.

Indiana basketball is back because they signed Romeo Langford

My cool throne is Indiana basketball. So they signed Romeo Langford, the number one recruit in the nation. His minister said that Romeo is like Abraham Lincoln. So, I mean, it's going to be huge.

Villanova is a basketball death squad

Villanova is a fucking death squad of a basketball team. There was a moment... when Michigan was up... and then Dante DiVincenzo showed up and basically... it's like that's it for Michigan. I'll tell you, you've never seen a team be up so fast so early and then know the instant the game was over even though it was still a tie game.

Villanova has officially earned its seat at the table as a college basketball blue blood

Villanova is now getting called a blue blood. So maybe one less seat at the table. You can't only have so many blue bloods. Are we going to shuffle someone out? I don't know.

Gino Auriemma is on the hot seat after UConn's second straight Final Four loss

We need to start asking the question if women's college basketball is bad for UConn because they're 0 for 2 in the last two years. Gino [Auriemma] on the hot seat? I think we should put him there.

Michigan will lose to Villanova by at least 10 points in the National Championship

Michigan had like a five-minute run in the second half of their game against Loyola where they looked really, really, really good. If they can play that way for the entire game, maybe they'll lose by 10.

Michigan will cover the spread against Villanova because water finds its level

I bet on Michigan like I'm going to because water always finds its level.

Villanova will beat Michigan 84-72 to win the National Championship

Tomorrow night, I'm an incredible basketball fan. John Beilein. Jay Wright. 84-72. Villanova [wins].

I love Loyola Chicago and Kansas in the Final Four

I have talked myself into both underdogs. So if you are looking to fade me because I've been ice cold, I love Loyola Chicago and I love Kansas. I think both are getting a little bit written off. I think everyone in their head has Villanova versus Michigan as their final game. And when you think something's going to happen, it's probably going to be the opposite.

Duke will win the 2019 national championship with Zion Williamson

2019 Duke national champions. No even reason to play the season. You can just mark it down right now. Duke is winning the title next year.

I wouldn't be shocked if Loyola Chicago won the whole NCAA tournament

I wouldn't be shocked if they actually won the whole thing because they are playing unbelievable offense. And I mean, like the Butler team, you know, I mean, the teams make these runs.

John Beilein is the best coach in college basketball

John Beilein, he's the best coach in college basketball. I said it before the tournament. Their defense is unbelievable. Their offense has kind of finally shown up.

Leonard Hamilton didn't foul at the end of the Florida State game to help boosters cover the spread

I still maintain, and I've long time maintained this, that the coaches coach for spreads for boosters... what are the chances if you foul him, are you not going to cover the four and a half? Very high. Right. So you've got to make a business decision, a little Cam Newton business decision, say, no foul.

Villanova is hands down the best team in the tournament

I think they're hands down the best team in the tournament. And they have a ginger that dunks. Which is very deceiving, right? It's like, you have it all. What do you get a team that has it all? You got guys who can shoot. You got guys who can play down low. You got NBA draft picks.

Duke was guaranteed to win the title this year

I spent the last month, two months, three months saying that Duke was definitely going to win the title this year... guaranteed, locked up, no matter what happens, Duke is winning the title.

College basketball teams should foul earlier because college players cannot hit free throws

The one thing that pisses me off this entire tournament... the fact that teams won't extend games. You should make kids shoot free throws in college. They can't hit free throws. And we saw that later with Kentucky.

John Calipari is officially on the hot seat

And Coach Cal's on the hot seat. He's definitely on the hot seat.

Gonzaga is the 'always a bridesmaid, never a Cinderella' of college basketball

I guess we have to smash the fraud button on Gonzaga. Always a bridesmaid, never a Cinderella.

Michigan looks as good or better than any team in the tournament except Villanova and Duke

Michigan looks as good, if not better than any team except for Villanova this tournament. And well, Duke.

Duke is guaranteed to win the 2018 NCAA Tournament

We already know Duke's going to win it all. Yes. That is guaranteed. Yes. It's their year. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Kentucky will overlook their opponents and fail to reach the Final Four

I think something's going to happen in Kentucky. Yes. It's too easy for them, isn't it? Yes. It's just too set up for Kentucky to win the Elite Eight and go to the Final Four. Are they overlooking their opponents?

The 2018 first weekend was the craziest in NCAA tournament history

I actually I'm gonna say it: it was the craziest first weekend in tournament history. We had the first ever 16 beat a one... you had two seeds that both could have won the tournament, UNC and Cincy, and then you had two three seeds, Michigan State and Tennessee, who lost.

Kentucky has the easiest path to the Final Four in 2018

Kentucky could not have had a better bracket. Now with everyone imploding in their bracket, they have to get to the Final Four. Because they have no choice now. They have the easiest path to the Final Four.

The Syracuse zone is the college basketball equivalent of Navy's triple-option offense

I compare the Syracuse zone to Georgia Tech's offense or Navy's offense in football. It's not fun to watch. It's not especially exciting. But it's so much different from everything else that you see all year that a team that plays that zone can beat any team in the country a couple times out of ten.

2018 is the year Mark Few and Gonzaga finally break through to the Final Four

If it's going to be any year, Xavier's out, the one is out, and the two is out in their bracket. So Gonzaga could finally make their first Final Four, and Mark Few could finally be talked about as one of the best coaches in basketball.

Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier checked out of the Arizona program early for the NBA

I thought in Arizona it was disinterest. I thought they thought, okay, we'll play this game, but then it got to be too much hard work... I think Trier and the big kid [Deandre] Ayton had said they're going to the NBA. I think they just checked out.

Miles Bridges doesn't have a versatile game and is just a jump shooter

Everybody tells me how good Miles Bridges is, right? He's great. And I've said he doesn't really have a game. He's a jump shooter. He's a really nice kid... but how – if you're supposed to be an NBA lottery pick... you've got to be able to go in the middle of a zone.

Villanova is the best team in the 2018 NCAA tournament

Nova, absolutely. Nova's the best team in the thing so far, I think.

Loyola Chicago is a team of destiny in the NCAA Tournament.

Are we willing to call [Loyola Chicago] our team of destiny yet? Because I'm inching them towards that spot.

Tom Crean will never have an FBI scandal because he is 100% above board.

There's zero chance that Georgia gets caught up in an FBI scandal with Tom Crean. Because that guy is above board 100%.

A 16-seed will only ever beat a 1-seed if multiple star players on the 1-seed suffer freak injuries or illnesses.

The 16th seed is not going to win where everyone says this is the year the 16th seed wins. The 16th seed is going to win because the best player on the one seed breaks their ankle walking onto the court, and then the second best player has diarrhea, and then the third best player tears his ACL... and then maybe they will win by one.

Don't bet every game of the NCAA Tournament if you want to win money.

You survive March Madness by not betting every game... You can't bet every game and beat these guys. The lines are too tough.

Providence will beat Texas A&M.

Jump all over Providence.

Bet the Under in the first two days of the NCAA Tournament.

Under is usually the first couple of days. I want you to look at. So I'd be careful [of the Over].

Butler is doomed in the tournament because live animals aren't allowed in the stadium

In the first two rounds of this tournament, there will be zero live animals allowed into the buildings. So there are going to be tons of teams that don't have their live bulldog mascots. Butler's fucked.

Virginia is the best team in college basketball but losing DeAndre Hunter is a massive blow

I think [Virginia] were definitely the best team in college basketball... But this injury does matter a lot. DeAndre Hunter was one of the guys that made me optimistic about this Virginia team versus their teams of the past.

Davidson is the perfect team to upset Kentucky

Davidson over Kentucky, even though I really like Kentucky... Davidson's red hot... They feel like the perfect upset kind of team that they have upperclassmen and a lot of different guys who can score.

Xavier is the weakest #1 seed and lucky to be there

Xavier's definitely the weakest one seed. I don't love teams that don't play defense in March... Xavier feels like one of those teams to me that their defense is going to come catch up to them. They're going to look really bad.