NCAA Selection Sunday Bracket Reaction | 2026

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Good evening and welcome to the 2026 college basketball bracket release show I'm stucky and joining me are my fellow big bets on campus podcast co-host Mike Christian and the one and only Duck. We have our brackets. I wrote them down because I usually don't have them up on my computer. This is a tradition unlike any other, I've been doing this stuff as a kid. Write them down right away. We will go through Region by Region, our favorite first bet looks. We will give our initial final four later in the show, and we will discuss our first takeaways from the bracket. I didn't see too many gripes this year compared to others. I think the top 37 teams on KenBomb all made it. If you go top 43, sorry, Auburn and Oklahoma, but let's start there. Duck. I think that you thought it was a pretty, I actually before I get to you. I do want to remind everyone. We will have, we will break, we have two episodes early in the week. One episode will go through every single Thursday game in depth. Another episode will go through every single Friday game in depth. We'll do that Tuesday, player prop release show on Wednesday, big bets on campus podcasts, reveal us in the podcast, and then we'll have live shows Thursday and Saturday going through all the games in our favorite bets. But, Duck, any key takeaways from the bracket release? Happy, very early Christmas. You know, I thought it was a pretty fair draw all around. I didn't see anything real shocking. The bubble teams that would gripe particularly in the Mountain West, like San Diego State, New Mexico really didn't have a real strong leg to stand on. And I thought that they placed Miami of Ohio fairly in the first four. I was glad that they got in. I think it's an appropriate placement in Dayton. The matchups are really going to be really fun. I'm glad they didn't pit a couple of darling potential Cinderella's against each other in the first round, particularly. Teams like St. Mary's, St. Louis, Santa Clara are not head to head against each other right away. I thought the big 10 was a winner in this draw with the way that some of these teams were placed for do ill annoying Nebraska, received some favorable draws. I thought Ohio states draws fair. I thought it was a good job by the committee this season. Really nothing outlandish to just throw your arms up and say, oh my gosh, I can't believe that they did this. I thought it was good. How boring, but that's your take. Question, what's on your mouth and any key takeaways? It's my March mustache and my key takeaways are kind of agreeing. Nobody snubbed. I feel like the last year has always been like, what the hell? I can't believe that team didn't get in like last year as West Virginia. I feel like SMU got that back in the day a few years ago when they deserve to make it. But the biggest thing that made me jump out of my chair is Vandy getting a five seed. Like absurd. I thought they're going to be there. And St. John's too. Yeah. And I mean, St. John's and Yukon in the same region. If you are the big East, you're not very happy about that. You know, if those two teams were able to make the elite, they'd have to play each other. But yeah, Vandy getting a five is nuts. I will say though, I do like their draw. I think getting Nebraska as the four in a one seed, they've already beaten and are familiar with. So it all kind of works out, but a five is crazy. Their predictive metrics were super good. They'd be a ton of tournament teams, the non-con too. I don't understand what's wrong with their resume. I have better things to do than to become a bracketology expert because there's a hundred people doing that and you know, they all got the same 68 teams. So I'm happy everyone's spent their time. That way, thank you to our bracketology friends. We're like, someone tell me why Vandy's a five. I don't understand. Yeah, I thought Vandy was going to be a three. And we talked about this. The difference between a three and a four or five is huge because of that one you get in the sweet 16 instead of the elite eight. They just beat Florida on the neutral. They also had a key injury. One of their best players was out for an extended period of time, which explained some of their law in Duke Miles, who was incredible today. Tanner really struggled. And then you have a team like Gonzaga. I want to thought about dropping Gonzaga before because they have one of their best players as hurt. We don't know if he's coming back for the rest of the year. They lost the Portland. They're obviously not in that strong of a conference. I thought Vandy was going to get a three. Now there's not a big difference. We have four and a five. But the difference between a three and then being on that four or five line, I thought that scene Johns and Vandy both deserve better after the week that they put together. Mike, how about you? Well, I would echo in terms of positivity. What Duck said, you know, no mid major, versus mid major, round of 64 that is going to immediately deplete this field of a potential Cinderella mega coaching showdown in the East, by the way, her early is a patino self seven national titles between them in one region. I think that's pretty great. But I agree. I think the committee host a few teams, you know, in that four or five line range. I mean, Arkansas wins the SEC. And the reward is to travel 2000 miles. How many of their fans are going to make it to Portland to play against why one of the best low major defenses. Like that is not a good draw. And say, john's absolutely got host, like having to, you know, do the two step of winning the biggest regular season title and then the tournament title, then have to go to San Diego to take a UNI team. That is absolutely perfect to slow that game down and try to win something like 58 56 that committee didn't do them any favors. I think the committee basically was saying that the biggest was trash this year. And that's why you know, they ended up penalizing them. I think they went overboard with it. Yeah, I mean, the big hits was terrible this year, but, uh, I mean, I guess they couldn't put St. John's out of Alabama because Alabama won at St. John's that maybe it was part of the equation. Um, but I'll say you mentioned the coaching in the east, the west, the offense in the west and the lack of defense just jumped off the page to me. Sending UCLA to Philly is hilarious. Uh, after all, the mid-coronan rants. And if you see that keeps winning, they're going to have to stay out east the entire time. Um, which obviously we have to keep an eye on the injuries for UCLA. Everyone says everyone is available before the bracket release and everyone is healthy. So we'll see how healthy UCLA is because it seems like they're peeking at the right time. But if they make a run, more, more potential mid-coronan rants. And yeah, a potential Vandy Florida sweet 16 rematch would be electric after what we saw. on Saturday. Now I really thought Vandy would have won. I mean, Arkansas shot 13 of 24 from three. You're not gonna be to anyone doing that, but they're peaking at the right time in a very dangerous team. I'm sure Florida was not happy to see them as the four. But let's get into that aforementioned East region. In the East, we pull off. We have Duke as the one seed. Yukon as the two duck first looks favorite bets. What are you seeing in the East? - I mean, I think Siena's really gonna struggle against Duke's defense. Duke's gonna be getting some of their guys back and Siena's gonna have to just be absolutely low and slow. I think Duke's gonna play that way as well. Just like they did during all three of their ACC tournament championship games. Siena has played nobody that's anywhere close to the caliber of defense that Duke has. They played Indiana the non-conferred scored 60 points. I just think it's gonna be really tough for Siena to find good looks. I don't think they'll be able to get into the lane at all. They should have very little at the line. And Duke is just gonna play, they're comfortable playing in these slow pay 62 possession games. They should win this game by at least 20 points, but I just can't imagine there's a real ton of urgency to get up and down for Duke. And Siena just absolutely cannot play that way. They're gonna have to really truncate the game down. They're gonna try to make some outside shots and they're gonna have to try to have a chance, which they really don't have, but not a real strong offensive team in the totality of this tournament. This should be an under 136 and a half. I'm going low. - Yeah, I mean, you're gonna need the one thing I'll say with Siena Duke. I mean, we don't know how healthy Duke is gonna be. That is certainly a question. The one thing I will say Siena, they want, like, they are capable of just living in the mid-range. That's their strength. I think they're top 40 in mid-range, a temporary mid-range percentage. And obviously this is a different caliber, but that Duke's defense kind of encourages that. I think they're bottom 20 mid-range, a temporary allowed. You're not gonna score at the rim of Siena. Certainly not gonna score at the rim against Duke. But the one thing I really worry about Siena here is, they will really miss Antonio Chandler. Not that he would have stopped Booser, but he's just a physical body. Now, you get more coil, maybe you'll get some threes to keep them within the spread. But Siena knows down that they're playing like five guys. But that's it. They played in the match championship. They played, I think Christian Jones or Backup Point are played four minutes or five minutes. And then the rest, how are they? - How are they players only? - Like, they get foul trouble against Duke. In the inside, how are they gonna last? Because if they get in foul trouble, if Doty gets in foul, like they're toast, and then it could get really ugly. So, are you looking at the under there Christian East takeaways? - Always seems like one region after this selection show. I'm like, damn, that's by far the best region. And that was what I thought about the East. I, there's a lot of matchups where I'm really split on. And when I think of who has a shot to take down, Duke and Yukon, like Eileen, I think UCLA can be Yukon. I think TCU can be Duke, but then I'm like, well, is UCLA gonna get by UCF and is Ohio, is TCU gonna get by Ohio State? So that's from a bracket perspective, what can be so confusing. My best bet though is gonna be everyone's kind of favorite upset I assume in South Florida. Overlueville, the Michael Brown stuff is whatever. I don't really think my cap changes that much, whether he plays or not, just 'cause he's been so in and out and it's not like, there was a time frame where they were clearly much better with him, but, and I think he'll wanna play, and he's a dude that can obviously go for 35 and just go crazy with South Florida's playing such good basketball. I mean, I don't think Hodgson and his coaching search has impacted this team really at all because it's an old team and anyone who's good is coming with him wherever he goes, I would assume. The vibes are really good, offensively, they're super fun and play a style that can score against high major teams, then defensively, they've been even better. I would be a little bit worried of, in a typical upset, is there a big advantage on the interior for the power comfort school? I don't think Fru or Zugris is that good, and Isaiah Nelson's really good, and if you're not gonna overwhelm them there, I don't see where Louisville has a strong edge in this game. They're just a slightly better back court with Conwell, and Mike L, that might be understarring them, of course, those are two NBA players, a lottery pickin' in a problem, NBA player against just really good guards on USF, but you're getting six and a half points against two similarly style team South Florida will be comfortable and they can play with them for sure. Yeah, I mean, I will say Louisville screams, team that can be upset early, they're kind of soft in the interior, they've struggled in these Q1 games, not the same team away from home, they're three point reliant, they have issues on defense, but South Florida can struggle with catching shootoff, and that's not great against Louisville. And Louisville's the ultimate, they're variance team, right, with the amount of three that they shoot, so a upset pick in your bracket, a money on look on South Florida, I think is certainly worth checking out. I will, here's a question for you in the East, you mentioned the bracket decisions, so I think St. John's is underseated, like they at the five, Kansas is super dangerous, they range at outcomes for Kansas is enormous, like on their best day, and like you think about Johnson and Kansas, they have the interior to battle Duke inside, right? Just like the physicality, the front line, the rim defense, and then if Duke isn't 100% healthy, they're definitely more vulnerable, we saw that in the ACC tournament, but then I look at the bottom half of the bracket, and this is where I think Yukon is a fraudulent one, two, I like they have issues, this is not, lots of issues we get into in the podcast this week. I think Michigan State's a vulnerable three with their offense, especially if they can't get out and transition, but then who do I have coming out of there? I don't trust Louisville, and then I don't know if UCLA, I think I would take you to my bracket, but I don't know if they're fully healthy. So that bottom half of the bracket is a conundrum for me, and it's gonna be all week, Calvary, what are you saying? - So to go through, I think we have to talk about Duke's health, Gungba is supposed to come back, or at least he's projected to come back at some point in either the round of 64, round of 32, but Faucer's the bigger piece, 'cause apparently they leaked it to the committee or at least beat writers that they anticipate he's gonna come back deeper in the tournament. So what does that mean? Does that mean that he's there for the second weekend, the elite eight, do they have to wait until potentially to get to the final four? 'Cause that makes a big difference, obviously, but I still think they're the safest bet because I'm not enamored with Yukon, the guard play, just I think got exposed in some of their losses down the stretch, and it can be difficult for them to run offense in the half court without anyone necessarily penetrating against these better teams. As I back it up though, let's talk about the first one. - I think Duke's sweet 16 game would be harder than their elite eight game. - Yes, I agree with that as well, assuming that it's either Kansas or St. John's and a spot like that. Looking at that St. John's game though, I brought it up from the top. Northern Iowa, I'll take in plus nine and a half and under 132 and a half as a same game, Parley. I think it's a correlated outcome. Sending this team out west, they played one pocket of games when they played in the players era, which was out in Vegas. They went one and two, they had a poor showing against Alburn. And Northern Iowa, as we know, they played great defense. They protect the rock, which kind of throws off what St. John's wants to do in terms of easy looks and transition. The Panthers are 15th and giveaways in the entire country. They ran with St. Mary's. They played a low scoring rock fight with them. They ended up losing by five. And Ben Jacobson, I mean, he knows the lay of the land in this tournament. This is gonna be his ninth tournament game. So I don't think there's necessarily gonna be a situation where the lights are too bright for him or this program. So I'm gonna go ahead and take the points. St. John's off to prove it to me that this travel spot and the potential emotional come down off the Big East tournament final, which was absolutely electric. You know, they're playing Biggie, hypnotized me for the intros, like the aura, the crowd, everything. To go to a potential sleepy spot at V.A.H.H. against a team that they should beat by double digits. I think this one just screams like a five or six point win where all of a sudden in crunch time, St. John's knockdown perimeter shots. And that's obviously their issue with their overall ceiling because yes, they made him at the garden when everybody was feeling great. But can they do it? I mean, historically, they have it under Patino. And this year they barely cracked 33% from long range. So does that bite him in the first round? Money line probably not, but I wouldn't wanna lay up to 10 points with them. - Yeah, I love Northern Iowa. I still gonna remember I took a bad number or this number jumped, but I, now St. John's could just overwhelm them with their physicality and athleticism, but this is the worst possible matchup for St. John's. Why? Northern Iowa is the, I think the second or third slowest team in the country. They pack it in, pack it in on defense, right? You make you shoot from the outside, not a strong suit to St. John's. They are very good on the defensive glass because they pack everything in. They don't allow anything in transition. This is a very veteran connected group. I mean, they're a third in minutes continuity coming into the year. They, I think they're also underseeded. And if you look at what they've done since they've gotten fully healthy, you know, they've lost Tristan Smith for a while. He's super important on both sides of the ball. So this is just. going to be a grinder where points were at a premium and I think it's just a bad match up for St. John's. Now maybe the physicality and the athleticism is too much but rather I will but we've seen these Valley team tang before so I like that look as well. And then I'll say I like TCU catching the points. I just think this is a self match up for Thorden. I don't think he's going to be able to control the game and I'm not sure I trust everyone else on Ohio State. TCU has been a big game team all year and this Ohio State team maybe a little bit of three point regression. They've been red hot of late but I like the way this TCU team is looked down the stretch Ohio State has been much better but I think this is a tough tough match up for Bruce Thornton. Tough draw for Ohio State in general I think be the same against Duke so yeah I like TCU in the first round catching a bucket so that's what I'm looking at in the east. Anyone have a hot take of actually no we'll get the we'll get your final fours at the end but first what if sports were traded like markets now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets it's not you against the house it's you participating in a live market you can buy or sell your positions live all game long use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game it's people moving the action so when momentum shifts you can move with it. 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All right let's move on to the Midwest where Michigan is the one seed Iowa State is the two Virginia is the three Alabama is the four Texas Tech is the five lot of you know like you have Texas Tech injuries you have Alabama and their questionable defense Iowa State seems to be surging at the right time Virginia as well that bottom half is going to be very interesting but duck what are you seeing in the Midwest I mean I mean I lean Akron I would have really liked this play if they were a little bit more interested in the first half and in their game against Toledo and they really struggled unnecessarily in all three of their Mac games to win the Mac but Akron has so many athletic dudes at all five positions they've got guys who can hit the three I think that they will actually match up okay in the pain against Texas Tech this is a game where I think Tech will really miss their dude JT top and who was obviously obviously a season and yeah I mean Akron has had several La Zayfair defensive performances in a row but I think Rose will really have these guys play up in this setting and we'll see a stronger defensive effort from Akron here and they play with some chaos right they force a little pressure they can press a little bit they force turnovers and if you miss a shot you're getting a long rebound against Akron it's it is immediate into the front court and they're getting to the rim in three seconds and that'll be interesting to see how Texas Tech will handle some of that fast break style play that Akron seeks to run out on I think the zips can hang here I'm going to look for a prop on Virginia to advance to the elite eight I think that Virginia is a team that can just create a lot of problems for the opponents that they line up with on their side of the bracket the shot blockers and the rim protectors that they have they've got shooters that can hit shots against everybody but Duke it's just a button up team that that I think is playing good basketball at this point I think Virginia is a team that I want to to buy high on here to advance deep into this bracket yeah I love Akron as well I think top it'll be sorely missed a lot of respect from Macaslan and like you might have something here but gross is also an excellent turnie coach we saw that this past I think he changed the game in the second half what he went 131 and it caused some turnovers got some key stops he's seven and three against the spread in the NCAA tournament covering by about four and a half points per game Mac teams by the way catching seven plus or ten and five against the spread over the past 20 years trivia question which which conference non power conference is the highest ROI Mac is second teams got seven plus no you got a guest up over how long over how long over the past 20 years which non power conference yeah underdog seven plus which team which this conference I think is 11 and 2 ATAC socon socon they're interested in in Furman but yeah Texas Tech's pick and roll defense seventh percentile efficiency on 91st percentile frequency that's not great versus tomorrow Johnson company now look your text text is going to get a ton of catch and shoot three's yet which is scary against Akron and if they're all falling which they certainly could then you know it's going to be tougher but Akron has the they have high major athleticism they have shooters all over they can keep up here and maybe we see some Texas Tech 3 point shooting regimen plus 11 percent net since since February 1st second highest in the tournament behind Howard is running it like plus 13 so yeah I think I think I I think Akron has the dudes to to keep up here and top and will be sorely missed so I like Akron as well Kristen you're looking at the other side of this and you're taking Texas Tech to make this week 16 yeah so I'm not really interested in laying the seven half I I love Akron I totally see the case with them it makes a lot of sense I just want to look at Texas Tech and use what they did last in the tournament as an example first round against UNC 1 we 10 it took 46 threes Kerwin Walton took 19 threes Elijah Hawkins took 12 threes their unique of they might get some I need this this game right I just it's unique of a team like to be in their mold that's as good as they are in terms of a team that beat Houston Duke and Arizona this year like the way they want to play it's not the same style of like in Alabama like a pure just like rim and three attack it's just the way that they pick a part of defense and generate shots it's they're not going to overwhelm especially without a bully like top in like it's just precision is it kind of a world used to describe it and I'm pretty sure I've heard some good words on Christian Anderson's health that's not something I'm worried about here and Alabama just hasn't been playing great basketball this year I think it's like a kind of by-low on Texas Tech a team that since February 1st which a decent chunk of that has been no top and they they're the sixth best team on Torvick top 14th offensively 25th defensively and they don't get to the free throw line you know they they have some weaknesses and I understand the that elite three point offense and defense and in some of that may seem luck or do for aggression but they're just the type of team that I want to bake on an internment setting and I think not having to worry about laying points and just getting them right to the sweet 16 when I think they're the best team in this pod is a nice little bet at plus money I had no idea what I'm taking to get out of that pod Texas Tech with their injuries I think Akron is live in that game but I don't know if I feel confident enough in my bracket Alabama I don't trust like Alabama can lose to anybody they also could be to anyone just super high variance lots of three there's me a ton of threes in that little pod a lot of three point variance Mike you're looking at a the eight nine in the Midwest so what's nice is I think everybody was on St. Louis the story I mean they open what 24 and one and a big part of it is the three point ball you know for the first 25 games of the season they were plus 10% of the differential between their three point shooting in their opponents and then in the last month just every piece of bad luck kind of hit this team they're giving up 37% from deep they end up taking a bunch of losses I was so concerned in that first half against George Washington the eight and tournament but they turn it around they get their mojo back a little bit they lose a game you know that was a coin flip at the end against a date and team I think they're coming in here a little bit underrated against this Georgia team so I'll go ahead and take them at plus money at plus 125 I mean I think they're drawn a rebound you are a team that cannot rebound in Georgia which is interesting because slew's offensive ceiling is super high if you factor in double digit offensive rebounds on top of it you got to remember even with that late season swoon they still finish third and shooting efficiency so I look at it as getting those extra possessions can be the difference maker obviously themes off the bench is one of the best six men in this entire tournament I just think this is the perfect by-low spot on them you know they have a coach that they just reupped who's going to be locked in I think this is a veteran team that's played really good basketball for long stretches of this season and at one point you know they were kind of flirting with a five or a six seed if things had continued on in the eight and like I said they hit that rough patch but I think we're the beneficiaries against a Georgia team that if they do give up 15 offensive rebounds I don't see a path to victory for the bulldogs yeah I'm gonna put it on this game I think I'm gonna spend all night in the next couple days going through all these matchups but I am a bit worried about the press Georgia's press just disrupting St. Louis and then you know basically just kind of preventing them from getting into their elite offense in the half court but then what happens with surreal surreal on the other side like because because Avala can just draw him out. Like where does he fit in this? - He's a very, if he's consistently with his back to the basket 15 feet away trying to check Avila, then where does their rebounding numbers go that are already horrific? So I think that's a good point. - Yeah. That is a super interesting game. Can any of those teams give Michigan trouble? I mean like Michigan is turnover prone. Can the Georgia press maybe give them some issues the St. Louis shot making? I don't know. They would get crushed inside. It's hard to see Michigan not getting through. It's hard to see Michigan not getting to the elite aid here. Anyone in one of disagree? - No, I think Michigan's a shoe into the regional final. - Yep. Kristen, you said you just sent me a note. Is this old that you changed your. - Oh no, I was also on St. Louis. I just pivoted to Texas Tech, because I made a lot of the points I was gonna make. - Gotcha. Anything else in the Midwest? I mean we didn't really touch on the bottom half. I'll go around the horn. As of right now, here's an interesting decision point. I think for a lot of people, I mean Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa State, Kentucky, just Kentucky, it's by, like who do you, as of right now, who do you have going to the regional final in the bottom half? If you had to choose, Kristen. Like I can say, a lot of people are gonna have Iowa State, a lot of people are gonna have Virginia. You'll probably have some Tennessee, some Kentucky. That's a very interesting bond. If you had a pick right now, who are you going with? - I think Iowa State might have the easiest path to the sweet 16 of like arguably any one or two. That might be a little extreme, but like I don't think they're gonna beat the crap but it can tuck your assant in Claire. But I think Virginia is constructed to beat them and then versus Tennessee, that could just be like, I could expect your Kobe Joss being in hell for that game, but it could be so low scoring and gritty that anything can happen. I think Virginia has the most balanced attack offensively which is kind of really strong to have over Iowa State, just the way they can move the ball in space, the floor. So I think Virginia definitely has the best shot at them, but to be honest, I think Iowa State and Virginia are two teams that wasn't super high on making a deep run going into the tournament. So then to see them, it's like, well, I have to put one of them in my lead-A. I don't see myself getting to any other team. - Yeah, these are two teams and I probably would have had in my lead-A if they weren't in the same region or in the same pod. I mean, Virginia Tennessee would be a war at the rim. On Yensu was ridiculous. When he was on the floor, they had a 40%, 45% block rate against Duke. I mean, that's ridiculous. - Well, 14 blocks between the two of them against Duke - Yeah, I mean, he was incredible. Deritter was bad, but Yensu was incredible. - Stuck you to add to that point about Virginia versus Iowa State. Sometimes when I'm in a bracket-making setting, when I'm stuck and I don't know at that matchup, I just try to think, who do I think is more likely to just get to the sweet 16? And I'm much more confident Iowa State getting to the sweet 16 in Virginia as in, it's more likely that Virginia is, if Virginia gets it, they're gonna have to play Iowa State, not a Kentucky or Santa Clara. Iowa State could play a Tennessee or who even knows? Maybe one of the elevenths. - Yeah, I will say, right state is top 50 in near proximity attempt to rate per hazelnutrikes. They're 95% tile rim or antidepressants. Good luck against Virginia. - Not gonna be good. Duck, who are you taking out of there? - Yeah, and I've got that written down to. I'm gonna look to bet the right state team total in the opening round here. You know, I think Virginia and Iowa State, very likely that they meet in the sweet 16, but SNU is likely getting BJ Edwards back and those guys can already took Virginia to the wire. I think they can beat Tennessee if they advance from Dayton. And SMU's a team that I think wouldn't terribly shock me if they went on some sort of a run where they won two or three games and really started to make some noise. I'm not gonna bet on it or call for it here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see SMU win two games in this tournament minimum. - I think it's for Kanye. - But what he's on, who do you got going from the bottom-ass? - Virginia. - Virginia. - Before I get your opinion, Mike, let's go ahead to head. You like SMU in the plan? - Yeah, I do. - I like my Ohio. I think, so the way to, I think my Ohio got a dream matchup. Also, I don't know if BJ, BJ Edwards is super important. I don't know if he's fully healthy, but they obviously just said that in case, they had to say that. But he didn't play over the weekend when they were playing for their turn alive. So we don't know how healthy he is. So I think that's number one. Number two, my Ohio proximity, they're gonna have fans here. They're gonna play the disrespect card. They're gonna be like, oh, we went undefeated and had to go to Dayton. And I just think it's a decent matchup. And yes, SMU defense is horrendous. And my army can shoot all day on them. They're gonna get open looks. And where my army can't compete with power conference teams is they would get obliterated at the rim just by anyone who has any front court post-dominant player. That's not SMU. SMU doesn't play at the rim. So like, I think my army can score with it. I mean, SMU's gonna score. Bupi and Pierre are gonna score my go-ah. But I think my mom can keep up. I like to spot for them. And the SMU team seems kind of broken on defense. So I think my army can put up a number here. Calgary City, I've coming out of the bottom half. And you got a choice, my Ohio SMU, if you had to choose. I already played my army money line in that game. I mean, as you mentioned, it's 35 miles from Oxford to Dayton. That place is gonna be a zoo. If they get an early lead, I think all the pressure is gonna slide to Louisville in that game. As the normal fate. - That's a mute. - Excuse me, SMU. And then SMU, if they do squeak by, that Tennessee game, listen, historically, we've talked about it. The 11-11 play in game has been a launching pad for teams to go and run before. But I wouldn't be shocked, you know, I'm not the biggest Rick Barnes fan in the world. I have Michigan over Virginia in the regional final. And I'm also gonna tail duck on this one in terms of getting a good number on Virginia to the lead. - Yeah. Yeah, I mean, tennis now, if I'm able to play Tennessee, I mean, Tennessee can just play volleyball and dunk it on. - Yeah, a men's, I think, will just have a, you know, a 25 and 15 kind of game. - All right, let's, yeah, before we move on to, what are we gonna go next? We're gonna go to the South next, but first, there is a lot of uncertainty on Selection Sunday. But one thing you can be sure about is what a great action pro deal going on. Get in on it today and you'll get $68 for your first year of action pro. At $68 off for your first year of action pro, the absolute best time to get in, so you can get our experts picks as soon as we log them in the app and our player prop pro projections that are money every year, Nick and Sean doing an incredible job. That alone will make this worth it. So get the edge for the biggest tournament of the year. Now, for 50% off of action pro. - I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Birdon of Guilt Season 2 podcast. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. - He pulls the gun, tells me to lie down on the ground. - He identified Termaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Termaine was sentenced to 99 years. - I'm like, "Lord, this can't be real." I thought it was a mistaken identity. 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And then when all of that happened, I remember the next morning, I think I wanted to like write you and go, how did you know? - Listen to the Questlove show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. - Why hasn't a woman formally participated in a Formula One race weekend in over a decade? Think about how many skills they have to develop at such a young age. (audience cheering) What can we learn from all of the new F1 romance novels suddenly popping up every year? - He still smelled of podium champagne and expensive friction. - And how did a 2023 event called Wagga Getten change the process? paddock forever. That day is just seared into my memory. I'm Pulcher Rider and F1 Expert Lily Herman and these are just a few of the questions I'm tackling on no grip. A Formula One culture podcast that dives into the unburxed Lord pockets of the sport. In each episode a different guest and I will go deeper into the wacky mishaps, scandals, and sagas, both on the track and far away from it, that have made F1 a delightful decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no grip on the I Heart Radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. AGO WOTA is your host for the 2026 I Heart Podcast Awards live at South by Southwest. raised by a single mom AGO may have a few father related issues. Her podcast thanks dad is full of funny heartfelt conversations with actors, including fellow SNL alums, comedians, musicians, and more about life and their wonderfully complicated relationships with their fathers. I think and I hope that's a good thing. Get to know AGO. Follow thanks dad with AGO WOTA and start listening on the free I Heart Radio app today. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, host of the on purpose podcast. My latest episode is with Hillary Duff, singer, actress, and multi-platinam artist. Hillary opens up about complicated family dynamics, motherhood, and releasing our first record in over 10 years. We talk about what it's taken to grow up in the entertainment industry and stay grounded through every chapter. It's a raw and honest conversation about identity, evolution, and building a life that truly matters. You desire in family like this picture and that's not reality a lot of the time it's for people. It's definitely a very painful part of my life and I hope it's not forever but it's for right now. Listen to on purpose with Jay Shetty on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's move on to the South region where Florida is the number one seed despite losing to Vanderbilt but who else were you gonna you know, you commas in the conversation they get blown out. I think Florida deserved it after their late season run. Houston is the two seed. Interesting and golden's presser over the weekend. Someone asked him about the one seed and the other teams in the running and he said who's the other team Houston? He said okay. Now Houston's the two in his region. Golden always interesting in his in his pressers but for the one Houston the two Illinois the three Nebraska the four and Vandy who we think got kind of disrespected as the five very interesting South region. This is like one of my favorites on paper especially the top F. I think it's super interesting duck. What are you seeing in the South? Well I want to bet the over in Vandy, McNiece. There could be 50 fouls called in this one. McNiece is so scrappy on the defensive end but they play this charismatic chaotic Southland style defense. A lot of pressure. I think Vandy will be able to beat the press. I think we'll be able to see them score at the rim often and it's going to be a second half foul fest these Southland teams always do this and McNiece will compete and fight in this game until the very last second. We saw them actually have a lot of success with their style last season. I think the points are coming here. I think Vanderbilt should easily surpass 80 points. McNiece will be in the in the 70s. I think this one's an overplay here. Commonwealth can win a game in the first round. These are you can defeat North Carolina. That team is playing sky high. They're all bought into their press system. They they ran through the the A 10 really really well there. Last one I'll say Houston Idaho should be an under and Idaho's team total under specifically. Idaho played very slow in the non-conference against unfamiliar opponents. Once they got into big sky play we saw the vandals ramp up the tempo a bit and they played really good defensive basketball in the big sky tournament but that's not going to really matter against Houston. I just really see Idaho struggling very badly against Houston's defense who kind of got embarrassed last night against Arizona and I think Kelvin Samson will have these guys ready to go. Houston should play really slow here specifically looking forward to a potential track meet looming with A&M. I imagine we see some 63 total possessions here. Kelvin Samson is a great undercoach as a big favorite in the NCAA tournaments when he's favored by more than 20 points and you have a total under 140 the undercashes at an alarmingly high rate. I think Idaho struggles to score 50 points here. McNeese vandee's interesting like it's going to be tougher McNeese to get stops and he doesn't turn it over. They have multiple ball handlers. They can just live in ice out there going to get open locks and you know they're gonna get their line of time where they're elite but like in McNeese match I mean they have real power conference talent and they have guys they have a length that can bother Tanner we saw that today and can they win the shot volume battle because they also don't turn it over you know dandy forces a lot of turnovers. Dandy's not great on the offensive glass which is where McNeese is super vulnerable and McNeese is pretty good on the offensive glass so can they you know can they just win the shot volume battle and in order to keep that close it's a super interesting matchup that I got to dive into some more Christian what are you seeing in this region. I spoke off the talk about Vanderbilt who I've just gone to about for all season had them to be Florida you know yesterday but do I think they can make the final four here? Yes I do I would not want I mean it's tough to go beat Florida second time and I mean and then probably have to play a Houston or Illinois but stuck I know you like them almost as much as I do the my favorite thing about this region is this St Mary's Texas St. M matchup like this is biggest contrast you could ever imagine the biggest contrast you could ever imagine this is the third straight game St Mary's is playing the NCAA tournament against an SEC team because last year they played Vandy and then Alabama so it's interesting when you when you think about their ability to implement their style against teams and athletes from such a contrasting league and it's kind of like I don't know Will Texas and I'm be able to really create havoc Vanderbilt was up and half but that game was a slogging and it finished in the 50s that they have Vanderbilt team can shoot nearly as well as they could this year and A&M can really light it up so and Vanderbilt when they played St Mary's in the Bahamas this year they won they scored like 96 points on them so that to me was like a vote of confidence in A&M but my favorite play in this region is probably Vandy to make the sweet 16 I think McNeese has absolutely no chance against them I know McNeese in it with different personnel and a different coach of course but a similar style was able to be clumsily last year where clums and literally couldn't make a shot Vandy's just to to under control and into smart and the guard plays too good I don't see McNeese be able to create chaos against them and then Troy I'll talk about later I think that they're live to make some noise against Nebraska but with Nebraska with such a high 3.10 to rate allowed I think Vanderbilt can eat on that as well as as good as in skill as massed in buting Joe R is big so it's not the type of biggs I really will punish Vanderbilt like or the type of athleticism usually all like Texas and Arkansas and games that got away from them so I feel really good about Vandy making at least the sweet 16 and giving Florida their best shot in the lead out for sure yeah I I think Vandy goes to the sweet 16 as well and it is going to be tough to be Florida a second time but they're certainly capable I mean they're they're they're big as long as they're big they're making shots we saw the mismatches and they put up 90 something the first time too so obviously they have something on that defense that would be a hell of a sweet 16 hard to see Clemson or Iowa taking out Florida so just a matter of if Vanderbilt can get there to give us a rematch I will say in regards in the in that bottom half yeah St. Mary's Texas and I don't know I got to dig deep in there Texas and in the stuff like turning teams over which is why they've kind of cratered late the season I wish I could filter but it seems like everyone is on board okay after the bracket came out just servers are cooked right now I can't do anything but St. Mary's did struggle some with Santa Clara which is I think the best lead comp for anum they'll extend pressure and and turn you over and not in the neutral game in on the road they struggled some with the press and pressure so that's a very interesting if we do get St. Mary's Houston oh talk about a brutal watch Calabris what are you seeing in the South lots of different thoughts let's start with Houston I'm gonna lay a big number or I should say I'm gonna put a lot on them in the first half against I know I know I think it's a lamb to the slaughter situation they're only laying 11 and a half in the first half signed me up for that the same Mary's game that you guys have been discussing I'm surprised that the total is sitting at 148 and a half I think that's the market kind of saying that even though St. Mary's is favored they're still kind of predicting an a and m game in terms of you know the contrast of tempo going a little bit more their way St. Mary's 10 of their last 13 games went under including both against Santa Clara a team that wanted to score at a higher rate so I think I'm gonna be on under and probably a same game parlay with the gales and that one We talked about it a lot already, so I don't have all that much to add with McNeese. I'm gonna go ahead and take the points. I don't think they're gonna win this thing outright, but if they do win the turnover battle, and they're able to, you know, be plus five or six in that regard, I think they're gonna hang around. I think the country's gonna get used to here in Larry Johnson's name, 'cause he's gonna put up 30 shots in this game. I think it took 27 in the Southland semi-finals. He's the go-to guy. He was a four-star accruedian major offers from every power school. In the country, goes to Cretan, sits out of year at Redshirts, and then lands at McNeese, and they've been the beneficiaries, which is super rare in the NIL portal era. Everything is, you know, the schools with money plucking guys from the lower ranks. This was finally a story that went the other way. I think that they won a very good league, at least by low-major standards. They had to go through Steve and F Austin on absolutely no turnaround rest. They had a triple overtime game, and then went right into that game with lumberjacks, and were able to pull it out. And speaking of energy, how much did Vandy, you know, spend in terms of their tank to then turn around three games in three days, and then have to play on Thursday right away in Oklahoma City? They're gonna have to prove to me that their legs are fresh, and they're knocking down all their jumpers, because if they do, obviously, they'll win this one by 20 plus, but I think McNeese can be, you know, kind of that fly that just will not go away for 40 minutes, and they end up winning it by six or seven points. Yeah, I will say historically, in regards to that Houston bet, historically, these big sky teams have not fared well in the dance. I think the last team to win a game was Montana, and like, oh, seven, six, it's been almost 20 years, maybe it was '05 against Boston College, maybe. They had not fared well, they're just not physical enough, they can't defend. And then you have Houston, who historically, over the past five years, under Sampson, has bludgeoned in these first games as big favorites. He's been a favor of 20 plus three times over the past five years, minus 20 and a half against Cleveland State, one by 31, minus 24 against Longwood, one by 40, minus 28 and a half against SIUE, one by 38. So three and a half against the spread, covering by 12 points per game. They usually just overwhelm these teams in the first round. Obviously, small sample, but just thought I'd note that. What is my look here? I guess I'm gonna mention Iowa. I just think that Sturts can cut the Clemson Picker in all defense, which is very vulnerable. They lost Carter Welling, which just takes another big, hurts their depth a little bit. This will be a very, very, very, very half court game, grinder. Both teams very comfortable in the half court. There's not gonna be anything in transition. So basically number one, I think Sturts does some matchups advantages here, but Clemson won't get overwhelmed. I won't get overwhelmed by Clemson's athleticism, which can be an issue, but I'll just give me a calm and start, and a half court battle to basically get the win. So I like Iowa to advance over Clemson. Anything else in the South, and again, we'll break down every single one of the Thursday games and Friday games and two separate episodes on Tuesday. Big bets on campus, wherever you listen to your podcasts. I think VCU can be North Carolina for sure. And we'll see if TJ Power can put up 40 on Illinois. What a performance today, one of the best of all time in a conference championship. What a weekend for Penn. And they have to have to mention Fran, versus Illinois. There's some familiarity there. That's super fun. So there's a lot of different store lines that are interesting in the South. But let's finish things up before we get to our final four picks with the West region. I already mentioned a ton of offense, some questionable defense in this region. Arizona is the one seed out West Purdue is the two. Gonzaga is the three Arkansas is the four. Wisconsin is the five. I'll throw out there. There's not a game that really jumps out to me right away without diving too deep. I will say that I already have a piece of this. If you don't, I like this bet. I like Purdue to make the final four. Couple regions, couple reasons. And maybe in a lead eight, I haven't done to all the markets that are out and up right now. But I saw final four on five to one, which I think is fine because I look at this region and I think Purdue made out like bandits. Number one, they're peaking at the right time. Right, they went through a law. I think that they were just, we talked about this. One of the reasons on our pockets, we bet Purdue to win the big 10 tournament. Like this is they turned it on. This was the preseason number one. As much of experience as anybody, Kloff is playing a lot better. They figured out a lot of things as you thought, Pain or what. They just destroyed, cooked. What many think is the best defense in the country. I mean, absolute destruction. Ran them off the floor. They did whatever they wanted. They're playing as well. They're peaking at the right time. And then you look at their draw, right? Like you're gonna get queens. Maybe queens can score some on Purdue, right? They have a beautiful offense. A lot of cuts and they maybe they had to they can shoot for days, draw some of their pigs out, but they're gonna get zero stops. I mean, when I say zero stops in that game. But then they play Miami, Missouri. Am I worried about either of those teams against Purdue? Not really. And then Gonzaga, probably no Huff, not the same team. BYU, no Saunders. Now maybe Devonce, but their defense is so bad. And then you have Texas NC State. There's a lot of flawed teams in this region. They may not like bandits, I think, with their draw and the way that they're playing. And then obviously Arizona is a better, more complete team. But if I had Purdue, if I had the one ticket on Purdue and they had a play Arizona in the Elite 8, I'd be fine with that ticket in my pocket. They just showed today they can be in a lead, one of the elites on a neutral court and they did it handily. But the other thing worth noting here, is Arizona has, there's a couple potential giant killers in the top half of the West, right? Wisconsin has shown that they can beat anybody because they can make 16, 13, they can make 16, 18, threes. They have the guard play, their pigs can shoot. So, I mean, that can be problematic against Arizona. We know Arizona times, maybe there's a math problem because if someone's hit in 16, 18, threes, they don't take a ton of threes. And then you have Arkansas. I mean, the shop making, their guard play, their athleticism, they can beat anyone on a good day, now they can lose to anyone. But if they're making shots and you have handcuffs, they can beat anybody. So if you have those two giant killers up in the top region that could potentially upset Arizona, I like Purdue to get, Purdue's gonna be my pick to go to the final four. And I like Purdue as a bet to make the final four, would be happy with it if they had a play Arizona. But there's, I think there's a, I think there's a higher, there's more land mines for Arizona than there are Purdue, in my opinion. Doc, what are you seeing in the West? I think it's a region that could procure chaos, whether it's in the first round or if Wisconsin and Arkansas and teams like that get through and don't have any trouble, then maybe in that second and sweet 16 sort of rounds. But I think both high point and Hawaii are gonna be a problem. I could see either one of those two teams really forcing Wisconsin and Arkansas to squeeze the ball hard with, you know, at the under four time out in the second half, it could be a situation where you look up and you're down, you're tied, it's a real close game. Both are very, very well coached, they're athletic, Hawaii's interior defense is strong. I think, I think that both of those two opponents, high point and Hawaii could, at a minimum, create a problem. From a betting angle, I want a bet long islands team total under the spread is 30, the totals, 151 and a half against Arizona, Rod Strickland is gonna have the sharks playing low and slow. They're a pretty solid defensive team relative to the NEC, horrific offensive team. They can't shoot, they don't collect offensive rebounds. They've struggled to score in the 70s against NEC competition, Chicago state Wagner. It's, they're not gonna score 60 points here. So when I see a team total open up, L.I.U. under for team total, it's gonna be just such a struggle. You mentioned Arizona, they're not gonna shoot a ton of threes, they're gonna be banging in the, in the painted area. I don't know necessarily that we're gonna get a tremendous amount of pace, especially with, with an opportunity with Utah State, looming in the second round. I don't know that we're gonna see a ton of pace from Arizona, although they did do that in the non-conference. I don't think we do it here. They've really trimmed down their, their tempo, the last about two weeks of the season. Long Island is gonna struggle very, very badly here. But not gonna score 60. Yeah, I mean, long Island needing to score at the rim and in transition against Arizona, that's not, not great. I'm gonna say for Arkansas Hawaii, like Hawaii plays strict, the strictest drop and no help. And then they're just gonna be like on islands against A-Coffee. Yeah, I think that Ron Gennott is gonna continue to do media hits and be like, no help defense, no help. I'm happy to put it on the whiteboard. They're gonna help with A-Coffee. Like, he's not gonna score 60 points. They're gonna be like, we're gonna stick to our principles. Like, you gotta help. He's blowing by, you know, Bullock, 'cause they're their best perimeter defender, like, best of luck, buddy. Like, this guy was absolutely cooking the last month of the season. So they gotta do something schematically, 'cause they have advantages in that front court. If they can slow him down, hold him to 25, let's call it. Yeah, maybe there's some, after effect. of Arkansas, like just some fatigue to start. I don't know, I mean, they basically all played 40 minutes, three games, three days. They don't go very deep. They also, they were before today, they were running a plus 10% 3. Delta since February 1st, third highest in the journey. And today, they went 15, they had all their brick layers, Brazil, Wagner, I mean, Billy Richmond was making, they went, they went eight of 12. Those guys are, I think, were they're 29% combined on the year. So maybe Arkansas is an offshooting night and Hawaii gets a little hot. I saw Jordan, Jordan, Jessica, friend of the podcast, great follow. He mentioned that maybe Hawaii goes on, they, which they did against Fullerton, because I don't think that they can run their standard defense the entire game they would get, absolutely torched here. Uh, Christian, what are you saying in, in the West? I think Arkansas and Wisconsin were two of like my favorite teams that I was looking at the past few weeks as teams that could make the final four as a non top three seed, but I kind of disagree. I don't think either of them are real challenges for Arizona. I Arizona is the team on most confident to make the final four. I think they're that good and from match perspective, I don't think Wisconsin and Arkansas have great advantages. My first round bet that I like. Not great advantage. It's Wisconsin, like Wisconsin won at Michigan because they made 17 threes. Like, I don't, if they make 17 threes, they're going to be right there. Um, yeah, some of the best wins in the country when they make, they had to beat Illinois came back from 15 down because they made 17 threes again. Um, that's like just the, and obviously they have great guard. No, I totally understand. I totally understand that Wisconsin pitch. I just don't, I just think Arizona's on another level and, and I think, uh, I don't know, I think Wisconsin would have been more alive to be Duke or Florida and, and clearly Michigan. This is, I'm just saying personally, I think Arizona is clearly my champion. I think they're by far the best team. So I'm just saying four Wisconsin Arkansas. I would have rather than have been in a different semi region. That's all. Yeah, but I understand that they're, they're very good. My favorite first round bet is Utah State over Villanova. Um, here's a stat above Villanova. Guess how many wins they have this season against top 50 opponents in regulation? Top 50 teams on Ken Palm. Zero. Zero. They beat, they beat Wisconsin over time and, in, in the Big East, they lost to the good teams. They just lost their 14th Georgetown. I don't see anything that great about this Villanova team at this point. Um, and with Duke Brennan, who's, obviously a good player and has been great on the glasses here. Um, he is kind of the defensive anchor against like Utah State scene, scene defenses, um, better than, than this in their league. And, they're rolling. They rolled through their tournament. Um, I just think their guard plays high level. They're, it's a really old team. Falsett Collins Drake Allen Templin, Colby King, Gary Clark. I love Adlin, Elimine. I think he's actually a, a matchup problem for Villanova. I, I just think Utah State is a much more crisper team on both ends. They, they moved the ball to shoot a bunch of threes and I think they lucked out, getting to play a week Villanova team that I think is, you know, closer to a 10 or 11 scene in terms of quality. I wish I had a hot take there. Um, they, I mean, I, I also think, I mean, Villanova, I think they miss hogs a bit. Um, he's a really good player. I think they miss him a lot. Yeah. And, but I just can't figure out Utah State. And then, I just double checked on Haslamatrix, which makes complete sense to me. They are dead last in the country and consistency and the consistency metric. So I, I can't, I don't, I never, I can't figure out their game. So I have no feel, uh, on that game. So I'll, uh, defer to you on that one. Uh, anything else? Mike, did you have anything? Do you want to that? Yeah. I mean, we, we talked about it. Like, already, I like why plus the points and under another correlated same game, parlay, you know, 15 and a half, I think is a ton. It's assuming that the hogs just absolutely blow them out to spite the travel up to Portland and 161 and a half basically says Arkansas sets the pace for the entirety of the game. I think why he has some things in their, their bag, like if they do go zone, they have three really good bigs and really deaf and Johnson, um, and Nemi, Shaw, like if they could get Brazil and foul trouble, this isn't a team that necessarily plays great defense or rebounds consistently, particularly with him off the floor. And I think you kind of have to go Jordan rules on eight cuff. He's going to score 25 to 30. Like that's a guarantee pretty much, but just like, prevent him from going thermonuclear and I think they could hang around because if you look back earlier in the year, they went to the mainland, they should have beat the Oregon ducks in the opener. They lost by one. And they had, I think an eight point second half lead on Arizona state and they held Moe Odom, you know, to an awful shooting night. I think he was like five for 16. And that's right before he went thermonuclear in the Maui invitationals. So they have experienced at least, I mean, the coaching staff, I think is, is elite. I think that guys on the move, probably this offseason for a better mid major job. I think why is the right play at least at that price point 15 and a half seems like a lot. Yeah. And Chris, where I will agree with you on Arizona, I do the Arizona is the most complete team right now. Right. You have Michigan who, you know, they can turn it over a bit too much at times. They lost case on. They're obviously dominant. I'm pick, I'm nitpicking here. But you have Duke with the injuries. Florida's back court, like what are you getting on a game to game basis. And obviously, they're all elite teams. But I think Arizona has the least amount of flaws and they just come at you. And so they can come at you in so many different ways. And one thing that could make Arizona even more of just a super giant is, and Tommy, Lloyd has talked about this. He wants them to increase their three point rate a bit. And if they do, which state you have to do against Iowa State, because of their help and their aggressive day, and they did and Delorso was went super nuclear from three. But he came out of the slump. And if they just increase it a little bit, here's the thing. They are they're making the three or a lot of times they're going to get the offensive rebound. So like if they just increased their three point rate a bit, like they become even scarier. But it's hard to find many flaws. And then you just have Bradley who can close out games. So I was happy to see that of all the futures that I bet throughout the year, like final four futures. The only one that I bet that's in their region is Purdue, which I'll find with because they can't meet until the elite eight. But I do think Arizona right now is the most complete team. We'll see if they can finally break through. Can I make a quick add there on just personal note? We'll talk about Michigan struggles post case in some of the games they're playing like. Take it. If you take a step back and just we're looking at personnel, this Arizona team has five NBA players in their starting lineup. And the one not the one guy who might not get drafted in the first round is the big 12 play of the year, Jayden Bradley. And off the branch, you're bringing the best offensive rebounder in the country. A white dude who's gone off for 26 against Houston and for 26 since Iowa State and doing Arizona, who who's an NBA player as well. So if you just zoom out and we're going to look back at this tournament from five years, you can go, oh my god, that Arizona team was loaded. And I understand you can maybe say that for a Michigan. I'm not there with Duke, maybe with Duke, but I think we're looking at Arizona team that could sunrun the tournament. I'm just wanting to throw that out there. And Michigan's a team where I have to watch elite couldo dribble around a bunch of time and do stupid things. Yeah, I mean, you might say like, look, there's a bunch of freshmen, but they're all when you have Clark Chancol, who now he's getting confident with the shop, but he's an elite defender. These are elite freshmen. And then you have senior experience where you need it the most, right? With Bradley at the point, closing out games. You have a walka inside, Kreevoss is an upper classman. Like, so they have the right mix. They and they play so selflessly. Like, it's pretty amazing for a team that has so many freshmen. And they seem so connected. And yeah, what they're they're losses this year. They lost the Texas Tech and overtime and then Kansas, the five, no one wins on Monday. And they have as many impressive wins as anyone in the country and went through the big 12 tournament one that I mean, this team is super scary. All right, let's that'll do it for the different regions. Actually, we got to let's pick our favorite outright upset of the first round. Then we'll get to our final fours. I can't see this one, but I can, but I can't. So, but duck duck and Christian have the same ones. Duck, you're going with Troy. I don't think a lot of upsets are coming. I'll be honest with you. The gap between the mid mid and low majors and high majors has never been wider. I don't know that we're going to see a tremendous amount of double digit seeds that are advancing very far in this tournament. Real seed upsets south Florida and Commonwealth probably, but a real upset. Maybe Troy exquisite coach and Scott Cross, an athletic team. Victor Valdez can hit some shots. I mean, they took USC to the wire and beat San Diego state and back-to-back games. They do defend the three point shot. Well, I could see it with Troy. It's just a tournament where I don't see a tremendous amount of, you know, we always talk about the 512 and the 13 four specifically. I don't know if we're going to get a lot of it this year. I can see Troy. You know, Nebraska could have a, you know, you're in a unique environment with a gym. You've never shot it and the threes aren't falling and maybe Troy can do some things on the offensive blast to get some putbacks against Nebraska. I could see it. I could see Troy being in that game late. Yeah, my only beef with Troy. I think they might be a little overrated. I Scott Cross is an amazing coach. I mean, what Arlington did was ass nine, but I'm Unbelievable. Here's my thing like I wanted to fade Nebraska like as a potential upset in my bracket, maybe a money line piece because they just play high variance games. They're not the most athletic team. Right. There's going to be a lot of threes. But here Troy will shoot a ton of threes so there will be variance. But they're not a great shooting team. Um, like what are they shooting on the year? They're shooting 33% they shot 32.8% in conference play. I mean Cooper Campbell, who's running point. They were much better when he's off the ball, but he can get hot, but it's not a great shooting team. They're very relying on the offensive glass, but that's an alternative over a bit though. That's tough against Nebraska because Nebraska very good on the defensive glass. They will turn you over. Um, so I don't know. And then I look at Troy's resume like, so what Troy has now they have some like early in the season, what they took healthier USC team to overtime. They won at San Diego State crazy games. Uh, they won at Kent State. I think all these games went over time somehow. Um, but since like mid January, they lost the J M U app state, Texas states, other miss South Alabama. And I mean, I think the sumbell was way down here. There are wins Georgia State, Laman row, Louisiana and Laman row. Those are their league wins. So they went five and five down the stretch and league play and they beat the drags. That's it. They lost to anyone with the pulse. They did beat Akron at home, but those Mac sunbelt road teams are atrocious like that. They're just tough spots. And then in the Sunbelt Conference tournament, did they have the easiest path of all time? They played the eight seed and they're playing the fourth game in four days and then the tenth seed. And that's when the other team was hot though. Even the six game in six days is literally never happened before. Um, so like, I don't know if anyone's ever had an easier path, um, to, uh, conference tournament. But, uh, they're definitely going to shoot a ton of threes. Um, they're going to need them. If they go in, there's, there's some variance and they definitely have some real athletes. Uh, Christian, you agree you're going with Troy. So I want to talk Troy because I, they were my favorite upset pick last year. So I was like, just tapped into them this year. Just for context for the viewers who don't know this Troy lost their four best foot, four, their five starts to the portal. And instead of going and taking guys from mid majors below them, he just moved seven eight, nine, 10 on the, in the rotation up to the starting lineup. And I think that is so awesome and underrated. So the, the heart of this team still was their last year. They played a Kentucky team that, you know, they were, they were definitely in that game. They, they had some, they, they lost by nine team, but they were in that game. They were only done a couple of half and, um, they, they shot eight of 32 from deep. You make a good point, stuck. You have, I wouldn't, when this, when the bracket first came out, I saw Nebraska. My instant reaction was like, uh, I don't love that. I understand Nebraska seems like a, a team that may be more susceptible to upset because of all the variant stuff, but I just thought about choice three point percentage and then when I took a step back and looked at it more, you're right. They are a willing three point shooting team, even if they don't shoot a great and your two best players, Valdez and doubt. They're not afraid to get it up, even if their percentages are low. Um, you're getting Theo sang back and, and he got me back. I know cross said he's been, I hope to get him back to the term, but everyone says that about everyone. Um, so I don't know. That's true, but I believe him. I think they were, they were smart about it. They saw the shape of the bracket and said like, we, we only need to win these two. Like we're, we're not going to force it back and drill. Bellamy in his space has came up and been really good, but Troy, I don't need to realize that Troy takes a ton of shots of the rim. They're, they're willing to, um, take the, the three is that Nebraska gives up. And they're a good offensive rebine team. And, and I understand Nebraska is good on the defensive glass, but Nebraska's not going to, you know, they don't have the type of guard like, you know, take a away who will break you down and just be too athletic and too good to get the rim like Brandon Garrison killed them last year. Like schematically similar to Mark Pope when he had actual good like shooters last year. Like that was a, it's just a tough scout, a tough guard and Nebraska's kind of like that. Just with how beautiful the offense they run and just finding Sanford and everything. But in terms of just like guard talent to just kind of break them down and just better players in their use to like, they don't really have the end. And then Valdez, like he's shooting like sub 30% from three. He's not shot at well at all this year, but he's just a matchup. Like at the end of the game, when they're at USC or at San Diego State and these tough games, November, he's a type of guy that you can let rock out like, and I saw her and, or in pick and roll against like actual defenders. Like he's just a big six seven dude with a handle is a crafty past like I was scared at first by this matchup. But the more I think about it, their ability to get to the rim and obviously the three point variance, I'll throw in there as well. I think choice live. All right. Don't tell me you're going to try to Mike. I am not. I will pass on Troy. I'm going to go USF over Louisville. I actually like him to go all the way to the sweet 16 lightning pace, the rebounding monsters. There's 17 and one in regulation down the stretch. They got a couple of overtime losses on the resume as well. Five starters who average over 11 points per game. So they shared the basketball incredibly well. Isaiah Nelson can be one of those special guys. Ooh, if he can stay on the floor as they're alone big. He's six 10. He can be a shot eraser and remember the name Joe pinion dog. This guy had a two game stretch where they played in Charlotte. Yeah, right. Your season and then in the tournament. And then you went 11 for 24 from three in those two games. Like you need that to be able to spark a run as a double edge at seed to the second weekend. You need to be able to knock down, you know, 15, three in a game. And if they do, they're live against anybody. So I think this is a team to keep an eye on. That's been red hot. Yeah, very, they play very fast. It's like a lot of Alabama, RIMIN 3.0. They're like fourth in the country in points per possession of steals. Ninth points, possession of second chance opportunities. Second near proximity of 10th. They were remittacking transition play fast. Louisville. Subheart is going to be an absolute track meet. They have to get a little more efficient. They're not the most efficient team at the room, but they will attack the RIMIN. Yeah, this team is. I mean, you want to watch a guy who has an endless motor watch Isaiah Nelson. That guy's incredible. Wes Inus has been awesome for them. That's a, that's a really scary team. I will throw out. I guess I got to go Akron. And you have a team that I think can match scores with Texas tech. And then you introduce the three point variance. Like textex could get a ton of threes up here. If they're off, if there's some variance that hits, I mean, no one has been able to miss against Akron and Texas tech hasn't missed for a month each. So if you get the three point variance here and Akron can score with them, this team is super talented and no top and I think tech is super vulnerable. So I'll go with Akron. All right. If you had your bingo card caches, let's see, Christian talking on mute was minus 300 that cashed. Me mentioning three point variance. We're over three and a half times that cashed duck, hyping a under that cash easily. I think that cashed at the top of the show. That was minus 2500 at the start of the show. Yeah. And Caldary's what, what, what, what, what bets that I have? I think you were, you were good here. Right. Actually, I kind of knew you were going to tell Hawaii. So that was according to our other producer, David, it was a lock that I was going to wear a shirt of a team that I'm playing. So yes, that's I, I went carefully went through my closet. It was amazing how many T shirts I had in teams that weren't even close to making the tournament. I had FAU and Colorado state and all these St. Bonn eventually. So I did dig deep before I got to Houston. All right. Forget out of here one final test final fours last year was just ones. Are we going to get the same? It's going to be chalk dominated. I mean, the, the separation between the top is growing that got within this new error. I'm a high-bah hot tape that's not going to be as chalky as people think. Maybe early, but I think that there's going to be more upset slate. This is not my final final four. Like I did this one second before I love my final final four on the show. I'm on our podcasts this week. By the way, we'll have two out. Well, we'll record them Tuesday. Going through the Thursday games, another episode going through the Friday games. And then what lies shows Thursday and Saturday, my tentative final four. I'm going with a one seed, a two seed, a four seed, and a five seed. I'm going Michigan, Vandy, Kansas. I just think I would go do, but Duke's health questions. And then Kansas, they have the size, the interior, and then you have a guy in Peterson. If he's on, be the best player on the court. So super high variance team, but they're defensive. If they're locked in here, I think they'll benefit from getting out of the big 12. And then I'm going to go Purdue. It's going to be tough against Arizona, but a lot of times sticking my guns on Purdue. So Purdue, Kansas, Vandy, Michigan, subject to change. Doc, I think you have two of the same. Yeah, subject to change. This was going to change two or three times before Thursday at noon. But do Kaila Noy Michigan Purdue is what I've got at current, advanced to the final four? Christian, wow. I can't believe you're trusting one of these teams. I'm surprised by one of them. What do you got? Yeah, I'm going to change one of these to something to a non one or two seed. But I've got Arizona and Michigan in there. I've got Houston there. And I've got Yukon, man. I've got Yukon in there. I understand that they're the easiest pain of one of these top two. - The quick follow. - But I believe in Dan Hurley, and I think there really is something to why Yukon has been so good on neutrals and in non-conference play. Look at how they played. Florida and Arizona and people want to point to, they regress the season, but how can you really evaluate Yukon accurately when they're just playing in the bum as big east where the one good team is the Rick Patino bullies. Like that you can't really, and you're playing them in New York. - Why were they playing all these bombs to like almost losing all of it? - Because it's the big east and they know each other. It's just different. Like you just think about, here's a great way that I want to, and I stand like him. - Not exactly like him, bro. - Hear me out. I'm going to take a detour. The top three teams in the Big Ten at forcing turnovers are Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern. Those are all white teams. And I'm saying that in terms of stylistically, the Big Ten, the teams that are turning you over are very different than the teams turning you over in the Big 12. There is very strong stylistic things in these leagues. And in the Big East, I agree that there's a level of physicality that is different. And I can't get out of my head how you complete Florida last year. Yukon should have beat Florida in the tournament last year. They're better this year. UCLA is, if I do something crazy in my final four, it's going to be putting UCLA there or putting Vanderbilt there instead of Houston. But I really think there's value in Yukon in some game theory aspect of just getting a two-seeding or final four that a lot of people aren't going to be riding. Who won the tournament twice, two of the past three years? I don't know, man. I think there's real value in Yukon. I think there could be some chaos at the top of that region when you talk about St. John's Kansas and TCU. All being chaos agents and being able to play a Duke team that I don't trust, Kate and Booser with the ball that long. Like I understand that he played good in the AC tournament. I'm still just not there. I think Yukon could surprise a lot of people. I also think that could they lose the fight? - Live show. - It's going to be touting UCLA if they're full strength. I already know. - Yeah, I could. I would like to, I already have my back packed for UCLA, Final Four and Vandy. So you got UCLA, you have Yukon going to the Final Four, but you think UCLA is going. - No, I'm just saying I have futures on UCLA to make the Final Four and Vandy. - I can see it. They're fully healthy. All right. Caliburates, let's see if you have any. So we all have Michigan, duck, Christian, and I. - How can I both have Purdue? Those are our common threads. Caliburates, you have one of the same as us. And two of the same as Christian, what do you got? - Three. - Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan. I would make the argument and I think it's a little bit more convincing because Houston's playing good basketball on Yukon. Not necessarily good basketball. I think Houston is going to benefit by taking their smothering defensive style, blitzing, you know, every screen, the relentless pressure, the shot making of Kingston Fleming's like Layton Games. All of that I think is going to elevate now that they're out of the Big 12 meat grinder. So I think this is the team to back. I got them at 17 to one at one point in the season. I think they're down to nine or 10 to one. I love the brand of basketball. They're playing. I do think Duke is going to get a shot in the arm by getting a little bit healthier in Gangba and then probably foster back at some point. Hopefully, I think they're going to need him in the second weekend to get to the Final Four, but I think they're going to get healthy just at the right time. So that's my take at least on the left side of the bracket. All right. There you have it. They will change. We'll give out our national title picks and revised. If we want to revise our Final Four's on the previews, maybe the live show, we'll do it again. Mine will change a million times before Wednesday when I lock it on my main bracket for a contest. But that'll do it for us. Thanks to Duck. Thanks to Mike. Thanks to Christian. Thanks to our producers in the back end. And unfortunately, thanks to all of you for tuning in. Big bets on campus podcasts. Like I said, we'll break down every game in the first round. Duck, we're going to have a head to head bet on my mobile S and you figure that out. And it will break all the games down live shows on Thursday and Saturday, 10 30 a.m. Eastern. We'll tweet out the links. Player Properly show on Wednesday must listen. Those will be money. Make sure you check out Action Pro. That'll do it for us. It's time for me to go break down the bracket. Best time of the year. Couldn't be more excited. Never get told. Give up. Fill out your bracket. Put the new bets. I'll catch you all later. And throughout the week. Cheers. Action Network reminds you. Please gambler responsibly. If you or someone you care about has a gambling problem, help is available 24/7 at 1-800 gambler. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the "Birden of Guild" season 2 podcast. I was a monster. Listen to "Birden of Guild" season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Good people, what's up? It's Quasla. So, recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with actors and producers, Jamie Lee Curtis from "Routines" to "Recovery", "True Lies" and a certain German Jackson music video. Jamie's real and raw and something I really admire about her. Listen to the Quasla of So on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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