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The 2026 NCAA Final Four
6 Plays1 day ago
With Russ Robinson on assignment Don is once again joined by Gary Cromwell. They discuss the games leading up and give their thoughts on the Final Four!
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Transcript
Introduction and NCAA Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
This is Gateway Sports. Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a couple questions for you. Do you love college sports as much as I do? Are you always wondering where you can find the latest NCAA reports?
00:00:13
Speaker
Will you come to the right place? Welcome, sports fans, to the NCAA report with Don Enron. Gee, that sounds kind of interesting. The NCAA report.
00:00:28
Speaker
Ready to win the game.
00:01:01
Speaker
Look at the air, look at the hang time, look at the flying motion. Look at his head above the rim.
00:01:18
Speaker
john
00:01:43
Speaker
To infinity and beyond! Oh!
00:02:18
Speaker
Call on the field stand.
00:02:24
Speaker
Touchdown. You've got to get it done.
00:02:43
Speaker
Pay attention, son. This is for your own good. the moment you've all been waiting for. Here they are, your favorite hosts, Don Glenn and Russ Robinson.
Final Four Excitement & Regional Finals Discussion
00:02:56
Speaker
Well, hello everybody. We are back and Russ is still on assignment. So as we've had the last couple shows, i got my ah buddy Gary Cromwell here and we're going to go back over what happened in the regional and what's going on with the final four.
00:03:17
Speaker
And, you know, hopefully this will be a fun Final Four to watch before we all sit and done. Sure will be. I mean, we get to be part of it being around here. And we get to part it for change, you know. Yeah, there's some good talent.
00:03:33
Speaker
They're in the final four and ought to be interesting in Indianapolis Saturday. Yes, it will be. And like I said, we'll kind of go over what the the regionals as well as as we saw it. and And I know I didn't get to see every game, unfortunately. um But, you know, the ones I did see, I mean, there were some really fantastic Elite Eight games that came in. And I think the the one, um you know, what?
00:04:00
Speaker
ah We'll start with want start with a certain region? or Yeah, we'll start with the region. Go ahead. pick Pick a game and start. Pick a region and start. Well, let's just start at the top left here. We got the the East, which was probably the best region of those four pods.
00:04:18
Speaker
Both, all three games, the regional semis and the final, the Elite Eight, were... terrific games um and an unusual yeah unusual finish, but but all three games really went to the wire, the final second. So um I thought in the Sweet 16 with Duke over St. John's, 80-75, and I think ah Caleb Foster coming in with that broken foot from three weeks ago, but he he he When he came in, he changed that game. Duke was down about 10 points. and
00:04:56
Speaker
All of a sudden, here here they came. and It was a dogfight, and ah Duke got them at the end. um and and you know you You and I were texting during that game, and and we said oh yeah after that game, and and you mentioned something like Foster.
00:05:10
Speaker
and you know I made the comment, you know he may not have been 100%, but an 80% Caleb Foster can still make a difference. Absolutely, and he and he I think he did, whether it was you know just being on the court physically and and doing what he did, but it probably had to lift the team as well.
00:05:26
Speaker
Oh, yeah, to see a kid that – and I think Coach Shire made the point. he is He had no business being out there, but he wanted to play. Yep. He wanted to be there. He said ah he had no business being on that court, but he wanted to be there. And he says, you know, you got to trust the kid. Yeah, yeah. So he he did his job, that's for sure, and he'll pull them through for that win. the ah The other game, of course, was UConn and Michigan State.
00:05:53
Speaker
So that was that was one when Michigan State trailed badly yeah early and uh and then uh and really the whole game uh michigan state trailed and then uh got it right uh got it uh even and and and down the stretch and came down to final shot to tie when it was 65 63 and then uh michigan state didn't uh get the ball down in the hole and uh yukon salted away with a couple of free throws for a four-point win, but that that was another another good game. Well, I think that was a game where I think, you know, they've said he's been doing it all year. i mean, he's two-time MVP, and and he's got credentials. It's Canavan.
00:06:38
Speaker
mean, he made the difference in that game. Well, yeah, he he did. in ah him and that Terrace Reed really make a good combination for those two. And and they and they were – too much to do that. i So then then the final, I guess, if we just want to march in. Yeah, so that was played ah yesterday. yeah and ah that was in ah Washington, D.C., of course. One seed versus the two seed. That was i mean one versus two, absolutely.
00:07:13
Speaker
Duke had a 19-point lead in the first half, and Coach Hurley for Connecticut wasn't as upset as I thought he'd be for being down 19. You know, he he just kept, you know, saying, come on, guys. And, and i you know, I thought he'd be so be throwing towels and, ah you know, getting on the officials, which he did some, obviously. But he – they kept their cool and just – just kept Cutting it down, chipped away, chipped away, and and who saw that ending coming? well yeah why and i think ah Speaking of that chipping away, I think that's something that a lot of people have been talking about and yeah I've heard it for a few years now. Brad Underwood's mentioned it, Matt Painter, other coaches, and that second half...
00:07:59
Speaker
You break it down to four-minute games. Yes. yeah You win the next four minutes. Then you win the next four minutes. And that's exactly what UConn did. They did. they They broke it down. and they Okay, we got we we gained a little bit. Now let's gain another. yeah Now let's gain another.
00:08:15
Speaker
I really thought when Duke you know made that second pass, clearing it from you know close to the end line and got it to the on the last visit to to the pass to free throw line, and they didn't have to worry about the 10th second. Yeah.
00:08:29
Speaker
The serve is just 10 seconds to go when they unbounded the ball. And then I was just shocked when he threw it. And then, you know, what a shot by that guy. you know And throwing it to Boozer, maybe it was it not a bad call. If you're goingnna if they're going to foul you, go ahead and foul Boozer. Why not?
00:08:43
Speaker
But what was he thinking about trying to pass the ball? Yeah. But, you know, you get those situations, it's, you know, you're just trying to get out of it. And that's another case where Canavan, he could have taken that shot. It would have been contested. But he saw that kid open. Mullen. Mullen open.
00:08:59
Speaker
And he didn't panic either. He just flipped it to him and he let it fly and and splashed the net. and And that kid's a freshman. Mullen
East Regional Highlights & UConn's Victory
00:09:06
Speaker
Yeah, from the state of Indiana. And ah they said ah found out that number one seeds in the tournament over the years were when leading 15 the half. They are now And one.
00:09:20
Speaker
they are now one hundred and thirty four and one hello okay So ah so ah it's UConn that gets out of the East Regional and will play the... I'm not sure i'm not sure many a few people had, but I don't think many.
00:09:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you could have picked a few out of that regional, really. I mean, i mean that region almost went chalk as we talked in last week's broadcast. It was one, two, three, and five with St. John's being the five. right and But, you know, you had ah you had Duke and and and they were a little banked up with Foster. And then you had UConn at two, and then or Mission State two, or UConn at two, Mission State at three, and and St. John's at five. So you had four, really, to and the and the and the scores proved it.
00:10:05
Speaker
The scores, you know, showed how close, you know, those four teams was, and UConn's the one that broke
South Regional Overview & Key Players
00:10:12
Speaker
through. a lot of people, especially probably when they were filling out the brackets early, ah Duke was probably the odds-on choice by a lot of people.
00:10:21
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, yeah. i mean But like said, you you you do you did see UConn. You did see Michigan State. I saw Michigan State in a few brackets. I saw you Kansas in a bracket or two.
00:10:31
Speaker
St. John's. you know So it was kind of across the board. Sure. with that re was It it was it was a tough region of fitting. I want to go down to the south then. Go down to the page south, yeah. That was played in Houston, Texas. in the The first game, Iowa, a number nine seed and Nebraska number four seed, Big Ten rivals.
00:10:51
Speaker
And that game proved ah how riot you know how big of a rival it is, how how you know those teams play. That was a – you talk about hand-to-hand combat. Yeah. That was battle. I mean, that was a battle. Every position, somebody was banging somebody. Somebody was running over somebody. Nebraska got off that hot start, and they led that whole game and until, you know, the final couple minutes. And then Iowa – Kicking another gear. they You know, their their defense held them. Sanford was so hot.
00:11:20
Speaker
And then Nebraska kind of missed their last few shots, threes. And Iowa just rebounded it. And and just, you know, Sturtz did his thing, ah shooting, driving, passing. And Iowa caught them and won it 77-71. And I think that, like you said, that that kind of goes to prove – um And as we saw with the Duke game, no lead is going to be safe in this the in this day and age of college basketball.
00:11:49
Speaker
No, because you've got the 37 clock. It's not like you can stall and go into Dean Smith four corners of yesteryears, but you can still set the tempo and in in some way. yeah and ah and And, you know, we saw Iowa kind of do that against Florida in the second half. ah ah You know, they they controlled the tempo. Yeah.
00:12:10
Speaker
And Florida chipped away at them, but kept Iowa was still in the game, right shortened the game, and they got them at the end on that one. so So, yeah, you can still control the tempo somewhat if if things can go your way. Yeah, if you can if you can get a couple breaks to go your way, you can you can run tempo.
00:12:26
Speaker
Illinois, Houston. Yeah, that was, ah you know, Illinois, three seed. Houston, a two seed, playing in their backyard and in Houston. And everybody, a lot of people had ah had a problems or You know, with that, saying that would be you know tough for Illinois, but you know for you could you can hear from the TV that there was a good a good presence of of both sides, whether Houston scored and did something good or Illinois. ah You know, it it wasn't really that outstanding, you know, over one over the other. Right. And, you know, I think i think that's one thing, with and not just Illinois. I mean, it's been said about Illinois over the years, especially in football.
00:13:07
Speaker
But I think Big Ten fans – will travel. They travel well. They do. They travel well, they show up, and they support. Absolutely. I think that's a big thing there. One thing I thought in that Illinois-Houston game is, you know early on,
00:13:23
Speaker
I mean, it it was a heavyweight prize fight. They punched, we counterpunched. They punched, we counterpunched. Well, was the lowest score around at halftime, 24-22. And yeah the amount of defense was being played by both teams. I mean, we knew that Houston was a good defense. Absolutely, yes. Everybody knew that. yeahp And, you know, granted, Illinois has played good defense until this time in the tournament. But as we noted the last time, they played Penn.
00:13:50
Speaker
And nothing against these schools. Nothing against them. They played Penn. They played VCU. They weren't playing a high-power team like Houston. Yeah, 14-11 seed those were. Yeah, that's exactly right. And they just flat-out shut Houston down and then shut them down even worse in the second half. Well, second half, Illinois went on that 17-0 run.
00:14:10
Speaker
Which is the first time, I think they said in the history, that Houston has had somebody go 17-0 on them in a game. Yeah. Yeah, you don't see that too often, especially when a couple of ah high-powered teams go ahead. Except we did see it with Illinois 30-0 against Connecticut a couple years ago. We won't go there on that one. But, ah yeah, they go on the 17-0 run, and and, you know, I wasn't going to say they were going to coast because we know we know better than that. There still too much time to go. oh yeah And, you know, Houston started hitting some shots. They didn't hit anything that first half. No. I mean, and credit Illinois' defense, but Houston did have some wide open, and they just,
00:14:48
Speaker
They didn't hit anything. and But when Houston finally started hitting some threes, and then Illinois made it it a little closer by not banging home some free throws, and it probably got a little tighter than they wanted to or could have, but still ran out for ah for a 10-point win, 65-55. Which I think is a good win.
00:15:08
Speaker
ah That brings us the Illinois-Iowa game. Yeah. And here's another game where Big Ten rivals. Yeah, Big Ten rivals.
00:15:18
Speaker
And it was so close in the first half, you really didn't know which way it was going to go. and then, you know, Illinois found that defensive pressure in the second half, and they realized they were not going to be able to shoot the three. Iowa was really defending that three.
00:15:31
Speaker
what I mean, now yeah that's the best defense I've seen against three-point shot ever. I would agree with you. and Against Illinois, anyway. Against Illinois, anyway. And Illinois decided, okay, fine, you ain't giving a three, we'll drive to the basket. Yeah.
00:15:43
Speaker
And you saw Stoyo Drive, you saw Wagler Drive, you saw Boswell Drive, you saw Merkovich Drive. Yeah. And I don't know why Iowa didn't adjust to that, but they never did. Yeah. um You know, Iowa started out 12-2, and ah Illinois they went up Illinois and it was Iowa half. we didn't get a lead until... Like maybe, or thirty three thirty two to start the second half, and...
00:16:13
Speaker
Then it was nip and tuck all the way into the 51-50. I think Iowa might have been had their last lead. But I think Illinois adjusted little more on defense. they quit um they quitt they they They quit moving inside. They stayed on the shooters outside. And Sturtz did not get anything open like he did the first. I mean, that guy couldn't miss the first half. Oh, no. He was hit everything. And I don't know. Iowa had like four possessions that I could remember.
00:16:41
Speaker
where they ran the clock down to about a second a half as it was good defense and then just let her fly and just nothing but the net. and you know But you can't you know can't do anything about that. Yeah, I remember that one, Sturtz, I think Boswell was – it was either Boswell or Wagler was – Was in his shirt. Was in his shirt pocket for crying out loud. He still made the shot. but But, yeah, so that's a good game. I mean, that sets ah and that sets up.
00:17:03
Speaker
Illinois-UConn, and we'll kind of get to predictions. Yeah,
West Regional Recap & Standout Performances
00:17:06
Speaker
we'll do the final four. Yeah. yeah So that's it's that sets that part of the the bracket. Move to the west, up up top. Yeah.
00:17:14
Speaker
And, you know, there we had – which we thought – whoops, I didn't want to do that. Pardon me, folks. The west just didn't really have – the closeness of the games that I thought. um Now, Michigan, Alabama was close for for a while. yeah Alabama you know was hanging in there making their threes, but like we had discussed, they had to make a ton of them to make that a game. oh yeah And then ah Michigan just you know kind of ran them down 90 to 77 late. Okay, you're in the west or the midwest?
00:17:46
Speaker
Michigan's in the midwest. I'm sorry. Mid-east. Mid-east. Or mid-east. Yeah. So let's go mid-east. Let's go mid-east since I'm there. Actually, it says mid-west right there.
00:17:58
Speaker
Okay. Okay. My apologies. That's all right. It happens. yeah ah Yeah, and I think Bama, like I said, Bama made a game, but, you know,
00:18:08
Speaker
like like we've talked about all tournament. It's amazing they've gotten as far as they have without their their number two score. Yeah. You get 16 points a game, it's a lot of points. Yeah, and as you get deeper in the tournament and you know start playing the tougher team, especially Michigan, you know ah number one seed and been up there all year,
00:18:28
Speaker
ah you knew that was going to be trouble. You know, Michigan's got it going, you know, outside and inside. And a they are such a load inside, it's it's not even funny. Yeah. So that game ended up 9-77. And ah the second game was Tennessee and Iowa State. And Iowa State just didn't play well. Again, Jefferson was out, you know. And I know a few different teams in this tournament had injuries that probably hampered their chance of advancing.
00:18:57
Speaker
um And that's probably true for Iowa State. But Tennessee played ah you know pretty good. and They played a really solid ball game. They were yeah part of the game. they were There wasn't really ah a weak spot that you would find.
00:19:13
Speaker
Yeah. so ah So Tennessee advanced that night. and And then ah at Michigan, and that just wasn't much of a game. it was It was close for about the first eight minutes, and then after that, it was Katie barred the door. Yeah, I think it was 16-15 Tennessee. They were hanging in there, and then Michigan went on like a 33-10 run, yeah and it was just over. I was listening to it on the Victory Network on the radio because I was out working in the garage, and i was listening to the Tennessee broadcast.
00:19:44
Speaker
And yeah, those guys were like, you that they were you know, they were trying to be positive, you know, go Vols. But it's just like, they better hurry. They need to hurry. Yeah, yeah. yeah but by the By the time one guy, finally one guy admitted, he goes, okay, at this point, you're just trying to save face. Right, yeah. Because that was just a beat down. That was just a beat. Yeah, I wasn't sure it'd be that bad, but it certainly ended up that way, a 33-point win for the Wolverines. Yeah.
00:20:12
Speaker
right, so now we're going to go to the West. Okay. And we got Texas Purdue. Yeah, that was a good game. I mean, i went to the buzzer. Went to the buzzer.
00:20:24
Speaker
Texas, they they impressed me in this tournament. If they they block out, you know, you got overtime. Exactly. But Kauffman ri got a little shove. Just a little shove in there. And ah put her back in, you know, and – the Purdue walked off with it, 79-77, but that was a good game all throughout. all that that valed I don't think either team had more than an 8- or 10-point lead. Yeah, yeah. Like said, it was the only one of those back-and-forth games. it was It was exciting. It was fun to watch.
00:20:55
Speaker
Yeah, so that was a good run by number 11, Texas, and they just about just about did it again. Yeah, they I mean, and like you said, just a couple seconds away is all from overtime, and then who knows what happens in overtime. Yeah, yeah. You know?
00:21:09
Speaker
uh arrows arizona arkansas at hmm think that uh i didn't expect 109 to 88 you know it'd be a high scoring game but my goodness that but i didn't i didn't expect arizona to get triple digits i really yeah yeah mean that was a high scoring first half and kind of like we expected you know arizona's got the the grade eight right and uh Arkansas had a cuff, and it just wasn't going to last the whole game. Yeah, one on eight, this is hard to win. Yeah, and they just – Arizona, like we talked about, they just get so many points in the paint. Right.
00:21:46
Speaker
And free throws. I think maybe in that game they had 60 points from the paint and the free throw line. So, they're they're a tough squad when you can score – you know, that close inside all game and get to the line, you know, making that many free throws and, and you know, getting the other team in foul trouble as well.
00:22:12
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And it's, you know, there's there's so many stories you can look at in this tournament. that The comebacks, the last seconds, um Foster's definitely won, you know, and – One thing, and I hate to make it sound like, again, in Illinois, but then again, we're Illinois fans, so you know take what you get.
00:22:36
Speaker
The one thing I was, when you look in the post-game interviews that they've done with coaches, there was one they did with with Brad Underwood and said in 2017, he supposedly, and he didn't deny it, he didn't deny it, supposedly he made the statement back in 2017, his dream job was to take Illinois to the Final Four. Mm-hmm.
00:22:57
Speaker
They said he dreamed that as a kid, and and here he is. You know, 37 years after he starts coaching, he's taking Illinois to the Final Four. Yeah. So that regional championship game came down to Arizona and Purdue, and I thought that would pretty good game, and and it was. Purdue led at the half 38-31 and was clicking pretty good.
00:23:17
Speaker
um But second half, Arizona just kind of, i don't know, warmed down, and and Lawyer and and and and Smith just didn't hit anything really the second half to to keep them going.
00:23:30
Speaker
Clough inside had a couple of miscues, you know, trying to get the ball in the hole, you know, surrounded by Arizona defense and and Arizona just kind of pulled away and ended up with a 15-point win. yeah and you know, and that's, again, that's something I think we, and I haven't watched that many games, for but that's something i you've seen from Arizona all year.
00:23:52
Speaker
um You know, especially when they're playing the get the the better teams like that. You know, there that team just kind of hangs with them, hangs with them, and Arizona just said, okay, time to hit the flip the switch and hit another gear, and we're gone.
00:24:07
Speaker
you know Kind of reminds you a roadrunner and Coyote stays with him for a while and then be a beep beep. He takes off. That's the way with Arizona. i mean they They let you hang for a little bit to get your confidence up. And it's, oh, by the way, we're the better team. Have have a nice day.
00:24:21
Speaker
They're full of confidence. And they lloyd Tommy Lloyd's got them going pretty good. So that gets you the Final Four. Get you...
Final Four Teams & Special Offers
00:24:32
Speaker
Yukon out of the east and Arizona out of the west and Illinois out of the south and Michigan out of the midwest.
00:24:38
Speaker
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00:27:50
Speaker
So, all right, we got a final four. Yes, sir, we do. Of Illinois, Yukon, Michigan, Arizona.
00:28:02
Speaker
I'm not sure many people would have come up with that Final Four. I'm sure there are some that would and did. and something you and I talked about texting each other, and you brought it up, and i and I had to stop to think about it, and i started watching a few extra shows, and it's it's becoming, the like you said, the norm now.
00:28:22
Speaker
Illinois is getting a lot of attention. air Everybody's talking Michigan. Everybody's talking Arizona. But Illinois right there a lot of people's fingertips, as is UConn now. You know there they come up.
00:28:35
Speaker
You're seeing... More concentration now because you're down to the four teams. People are starting to look harder at these teams. And I shared with you before the show, I saw a post on X where a guy said he's a UConn grad. His daughter goes to UConn. He's been a UConn fan and they don't stand a chance against Illinois.
00:28:57
Speaker
Well, I wouldn't go with that last statement. I've got say, that last part's a little tough tough for me. I mean, you know you've got one of the best one of the best players over the last three years in college basketball, Gene. You've got a chance against anybody. Yeah, yeah. So put that put that out of for where what it's worth.
00:29:14
Speaker
Arizona's been a lot of people. lately the the go to team for a lot of people you know I'll take Arizona. I'll take Arizona. I think Arizona can cut the nets down.
00:29:33
Speaker
i was listening to a program I was listening to a program on way home today from work, and they were talking about it. And one of the first things the guy said, he goes, he goes Michigan can cut the nets down, and so can Arizona.
00:29:47
Speaker
And he went so far as say the winner of that game will be your national champion, which I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that. Oh, very well could be. I mean, that's – I was listening to Dusty and Danny this morning, and they were kind of doing the same thing. You know, all Michigan's got a good team, and, you know, UConn, you've got Canavan and all that. that But the last thing I think was dusty Dusty Dvorak said, the last thing he said, don't sleep on Illinois.
00:30:16
Speaker
Yeah, well, you know, you everybody's in the Final Four, so everybody's got a chance, you know, really. Right. I mean, for the, you know, and that's probably true in most years. I mean, there's a couple that, you know, that happens that's not going to do it. um Rutgers wasn't going to win in 1976 with ah Indiana standing there, you know, so, and and George Mason probably was not going to win it when they went, ah you know, 12, 15 years ago or whatever that was. Right.
00:30:45
Speaker
Yeah, so the final— We'll start where we ended up. We'll start with the West-Midwest. Well, the first game—is that what you wanted? The first game is UConn and Illinois. Do you want to go the other way, Michigan-Arizona? Let's go the other way. We'll do UConn-Illinois next. We'll do it second.
00:31:01
Speaker
Okay. So you got Arizona out of the West, and they were 36-2. They were sixteen and two in their conference.
00:31:12
Speaker
ah Their only two losses this year was at Kansas. and at Texas Tech when they had JT Toppin yet. um So they they they won the yeah Big 12 conference tourney over Houston right by five.
00:31:28
Speaker
ah Outside of playing the tough teams in the Big 12, they also played Florida, UConn, which they won at UConn. They played... Tough to win out Yes, in Storrs, Connecticut. And they ah also played UCLA, Alabama, and Auburn. So they played, you know, obviously... a tough schedule. Their path was beating LIU Brooklyn, a number 16 seed, ah number nine Utah State, number four Arkansas, number two Purdue. Their winning margin was 20 and a half.
00:31:58
Speaker
ah Those two places they played were San Diego, California and San Jose, California. And they pretty well, they I was looking at the scoring over their four games and the the starting five, uh, are really close. I mean, you got five players that are averaging, you know, pretty close to the same. Uh, they're all scoring every game, 15, uh, 20 points a game.
00:32:32
Speaker
And that's why they score so high. Uh, they don't, they've got eight, eight guys that they, they pretty much count on. ah the, uh, the top five do play a lot of minutes. Right. Um,
00:32:43
Speaker
Now, Arizona's not been in the Final Four since 2001. And to advance to advance the Final Four that year, they beat Illinois down in San Antonio. And I happened to be down at that game. you were.
00:32:57
Speaker
Yeah. And ah the worst officiated game in the history of NCAA with Arizona getting 56 free throws. but Folks, that was 25 years ago. I'm going to let it go on this program. So so that's Arizona.
00:33:10
Speaker
um And they face off against Michigan. And Michigan won the Big Ten ah by four games over second place ah Illinois, Nebraska, and Michigan State. right So they were 19-1 in the conference, 35-3 overall. They won 10 of their last 11.
00:33:30
Speaker
Their losses came to Purdue in the final the Big Ten tournament. They also lost to Duke by five, ah not so long ago. That was late in the season. Yeah. And they lost to Wisconsin, their first loss of the season, 91-88 at home in Wisconsin. just and We've been there against Wisconsin. Yeah. And they just bombed a bunch of threes in Ann Arbor that day and won. Yeah. um so ah So they won the conference, got second the tournament, their path,
00:34:00
Speaker
ah Came through Buffalo, New York and Chicago, Illinois. They beat number 16 Howard by 21. They beat number nine, St. Louis by 23. They beat number four, Alabama by 13. And they beat number six, Tennessee by 33 for an average of 22 and a half points, uh, per win.
00:34:20
Speaker
And of course they've got the lineup of, uh, Renge Johnson, K2, they got Lindenburg, they got seven, three guy in Mara and and Burnett. And, uh, There are a couple off the bench are McKinney and and Gale.
00:34:32
Speaker
um So they're they're a load. They also had a good non-conference schedule outside of the Big Ten, playing TCU, Auburn, Gonzaga, Villanova, Texas Tech, Alabama, UConn, Tennessee.
00:34:46
Speaker
So there you have it. And Michigan, two years ago, Siobhan Howard's last year, they were 8-24. And Dusty May turned it around last year, and he's got them sitting right there is probably one of the co-favorites to win the national title. Oh, yeah. And they will they will play the second game Saturday night after the UConn-Illinois game.
00:35:12
Speaker
And yeah ah some people have made some some hay about it, and some have said poo-pooed Others thought it was a good thing. I thought it was a good thing when you had Dusty May's boy.
00:35:26
Speaker
make that three-pointer late. I mean, it was a garbage-time three-pointer. But give the kid his due. Yeah. You know, I mean. We see that a lot. we see You see that a lot. I mean, Illinois saw it with the senior night again against Maryland when they had A.J. Red.
00:35:43
Speaker
yeah put him in the game, do you know, senior, get him his points, you know, type of thing. Nothing wrong with that. But i thought well I thought it was a cool story. I thought it was a cool story. a Cool, you know cool thing for him and for Dusty as well.
00:35:55
Speaker
You know, both teams, I don't want to say they've had it easy so far through the tournament, but they haven't been really pushed. This is going to be, I think, the first game where both of them are going to get pushed hard.
00:36:11
Speaker
Yeah, um,
00:36:15
Speaker
Arizona, I mean, yeah I mean, they had Arkansas and Purdue. Yeah. And, you know, those games were, especially Purdue, they were down seven at the half, so they definitely got pushed. But, but but you know, but in Arkansas, gave a game for a while. But, you know, Arizona really laid on Purdue late.
00:36:36
Speaker
The score could have been maybe a little worse than ah yeah actually, you know, the as close as the game should have been, yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, now Michigan really hasn't been pushed at all.
00:36:50
Speaker
No. I'd like say Alabama did for a while. Yeah. um But none of the others really, i mean, stood chance really. I mean, i mean and and we kind of thought, when um we were looking at that region, when I was looking at it You know i looked it I'm like, you know, that's got to be, if you're looking at that, it was an easier path for the top for Michigan in the top half than it was for anybody else in that bottom half.
00:37:18
Speaker
Because there was a lot of a lot of pitfalls in that bottom half. With Tennessee, with we had Virginia in there, you had Iowa State in there, you had, you know, it was It was a bottom-up. We weren't sure who was going to come out because Tennessee was down.
00:37:35
Speaker
were hurting a little bit. they play They played just wonderful basketball to get where they ended up. You know, Iowa always State was one you were thinking was just going to – Virginia came in pretty pretty hot. Well, they did. Yeah, they only had like three losses on the season, and they, you know, got taken out by Tennessee. So, I think, you know, Michigan did have the – like you said, had the easier path in that in that particular area for their bracket.
00:38:02
Speaker
And you never know, you know, as you get to the Sweet 16, the Elite 80, you know, even some of the matchups earlier. But, Until you really play the game, you don't know really how easy it's going to be. you know it may look good on paper, and then you know things go south once they tip it off.
00:38:17
Speaker
I will when I see them there. Okay, so that's – want to do the prediction now on that one or not? That's up to you. Okay.
Illinois' Journey to the Final Four
00:38:26
Speaker
let's i Or if you want to wait a minute, and we then we come back to it. Or it's fresh in your mind. Yeah, let's come back to it.
00:38:34
Speaker
Okay. we'll go we'll go We'll go and take care of the other one. so the uh yukon illinois yeah so that game tips off in lucas oil stadium at 509 it is the first game illinois comes in 28 and 8 they were 15 and 5 in the big 10 they tied for second there they had their eight losses were pretty close we're all close games we know they they lost the Wisconsin twice in overtime. They lost to Michigan at home by 14. They lost out at UCLA by one in overtime.
00:39:08
Speaker
They lost at Michigan State in overtime by three. Lost to Nebraska at home on a buzzer beater by three. Madison Square Garden, they played Connecticut, so they're familiar with each other. And then they played two years ago in the Elite Eight.
00:39:22
Speaker
And ah Connecticut controlled that game. Illinois got within seven. was about a minute to go, but that game ended up 74-61 in favor of the Huskies.
00:39:32
Speaker
And then Illinois also lost to Alabama in the United Center. So so they've they've also played a tough schedule. ah Their path came through Greenville, South Carolina, and Houston, Texas. They beat No. 14 Penn 105-70. They beat VCU by
00:39:52
Speaker
They beat number two, Houston, 65-55, and they beat number nine, Iowa, 71-59. Their average margin of victory is 18.5. Illinois runs about eight deep, and Wogler's usually the top scorer, but they've got other guys that That step up. And you've seen that this tournament. Mirkovic in the first game, 29 points. Then Stojakovic the game And And
00:40:25
Speaker
saturday eighteen and then this last this last game waggler had went off for twenty five Yeah, yeah. You know, so it's going to be, you can't pick on and and isolate one guy that's going to hurt you.
00:40:37
Speaker
Right. Because the other the other the other five or six are going to say, hey, what about us? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like said, and we talked about little earlier, if Illinois can get that dry that dribble drive game going on the inside,
00:40:53
Speaker
You know, UConn's going have to start paying because they can't do the same thing that that Iowa did and ignore it. Yeah, yeah. And try and just to defend the three. They're going to have to – which is going to open up the three, I think.
00:41:04
Speaker
So, say each game, you know, you've got a different team you're playing, you've a different coach, and all the game planning that goes into it. So, ah Iowa come out with the best game plan I've seen against Illinois as far as keeping us off the three-point line seen all year. i mean, they they just did it. Excellent job. Illinois was really befuddled. out Yeah, they were. You know, that's a damn good word. they They were. They were just having a hell of a tough time with it. And so, you know, I'm sure UConn will maybe do something like that, and and and they'll be physical with it. But I think if Illinois learned something in this Iowa game, they were three for 17 from the three.
00:41:47
Speaker
Well, that's usually about half the three-point attempts that we Illinois does. Right. So they, and we've done it for, but they, they drove to the basket more than to get either layups, short jumpers and ones, or just plain go to the free throw line. Um, and then they worked the ball into Tommy a little bit inside and, and, and Merkivik a little bit, throwing it from out in there to the, to the block. Right.
00:42:17
Speaker
Not so much the block. Tommy's a little bit more out than you'd probably like him to catch the ball and make his move. But that gives them three different routes to score. You know, they got the the three-point shooters, and it wasn't available. So they took the other two routes. So I think that helps them knowing, you know, you take away this, we're going to do this.
00:42:39
Speaker
and And then, you know, the last three games, really through the the tournament, But the last three holding those three teams under 60 points, that you they found the the defense. i Not only they spreading their hands, they said, to keep – because they're so tall. Yeah. You know, we're tallest team the nation, here everybody says, right? Right. But you're out there and you spread spread the wings. And it keeps the guys maybe from driving a little bit. And then we were also stepping in. If a guy did maybe get a step, we were stepping in and making them throw back out. And I saw a lot better helping defense. That's exactly, yeah. Because everybody's trying to run screens to get their guards open. And, you know, Iowa's trying to do that. And you could see ah Boswell was getting – somebody was talking in his ear right behind you, right? To your left, to your left. Yeah, yeah. And those screens really never bothered him. Yeah. the The first half they got caught –
00:43:30
Speaker
pinching in yeah on the drive. Second half, they didn't. they They stayed in front of them, but they stayed on the wings on those, so there wasn't any outlet passes, and Iowa struggled you know with that. So, ah yeah, I think Illinois has stepped up their game, and obviously at the at the right time.
00:43:49
Speaker
And ah we'll, you know. We'll see what happens. One more thing. So, Illinois, they're going to their first Final Four trip since 2005. Mm-hmm. when they ah lost north they beat l Louisville in the semis, and then they lost to ah North Carolina the championship, seventy five to seventy So then we got UConn next.
00:44:10
Speaker
And UConn, like I said, they've they're a team, and i don't I don't know of any of their schools, and you might but know more than I do. I hope so.
00:44:24
Speaker
I don't know of any of their schools that can boast that they will run deep in the tournament with both their men's and women's teams.
00:44:36
Speaker
Every year. i wonder how far their women's team would get in the men's NCAA. i thought i You know, it would it's a different game. but I wouldn't bet against them in the first round. They're they're pretty good. Geno's got it rolling. They may not want to pay it play high point, but i put no, they're they're they're pretty good. yeah but but But, you know, UConn's always been good.
00:44:57
Speaker
Even before Hurley. Oh, yeah. you know Sure. it's It's just a name you know that's going to be there. Yeah. they they They built that program up out there and used to watch them.
00:45:09
Speaker
back in the late 70s and early 80s when ESPN first started coming and they started that Big East Monday yeah and always had games that were just war. and you know Connecticut wasn't the top one of the top teams then. You know you had St. John's and you had Georgetown and and Syracuse you know and the ah a lot of coaches that really didn't like each other. was you know it was a fun conference. yeah and It was a physical conference, but Connecticut wasn't one of them. right and then ah They got it going later and they've obviously been a staple for 25 now or so. i mean and And Hurley's got it obviously going. So give me some facts on UConn. Okay, I've got that right in front of me. So UConn comes into the game 33-5. They were 17-3 in their conference, second behind St. John's by a game.
00:45:55
Speaker
They losses have come to – they also got beat in the – Conference tournament at St. John's by 20. So that was their last loss. They lost at Marquette by 6. They lost to Creighton at home by 7.
00:46:11
Speaker
They lost at St. John's by 9. And they played Arizona earlier in the year at UConn. And Arizona beat them by 4. Their path came through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. They beat 15 Furman 11.
00:46:26
Speaker
They beat number seven UCLA by 16. They beat number three Michigan State by four. And, of course, yesterday's game, they beat number one Duke by one. The interesting thing, out of all these um teams that got here, the UConn pod in the east, as they played their games, they're the only ones that went chalk that was playing a team that was – to win. So like they beat number 15 Furman and they played number seven UCLA who beat 10. Then they beat a number three, Michigan state who, who was favored to, you know, to be there. And then number one Duke. So they played, you know, the four teams that were supposed to be there favored to be there. So that's the only, only one that came out of those four pods that did that.
00:47:19
Speaker
um Obviously they've, Caravan had 22, 27, 17. He only had five yesterday. But in that read, he's had 31, 10, 20, and 26 yesterday. today And that guy's a monster. I mean, if if there's any way you can get him in foul trouble early, your chances of winning the game would go up tremendously. Go dramatically. they're They're not really deep on the bench.
00:47:46
Speaker
They got a ah couple guys, Ross and Denman, I believe. Denham, I think. so and they and So they asked their big a biggie schedule. They they beat BYU. They lost Arizona. They beat Illinois. They won at Kansas. They beat Florida. And they beat Texas. So it's all these ah teams played a really good non-conference schedule outside of their grinding conference schedules. And you're seeing that more and more, I think, as it goes along.
00:48:17
Speaker
and And one thing with UConn and and ah Danny Hurley real quick, yeah he is trying to become the second coach ever in NCAA history to try to win three Final Fours in four years. The other one, John Wooden and his big runs at UCLA. Yeah, he had that massive 10-year run there. 10 out of 12, seven in a row. and something like that. Yeah.
00:48:42
Speaker
now it It's kind of funny you mentioned that you mentioned that yeah with the final four in UConn and stuff like that. With Illinois, we'll go ahead and we'll start working on the picks.
00:48:54
Speaker
I'm taking Illinois over UConn for one reason. so you've Actually, not I'll wait. I'll wait on that reason. i wait for the Really? yeah You're going to make the folks wait? I'm going to wait. Or did you forget it and you're trying to remember it? No, it's actually not apropos. It's apropos for the next game.
00:49:10
Speaker
Okay. All right. Well, don't forget it. I won't forget Unless you want me to write it down. No, but I think i think the one thing that's going to show up in this game is is the bench. I think this is going to be a bench game, um and I think Illinois has got the better bench, because you've got Stojakovic coming off the bench. You've got Big Z coming off the bench.
00:49:30
Speaker
You've got Hummerkhaus coming off the bench. you Any one of those guys could start at any day of the week for Illinois. they just you know Yeah. um And actually Stajakovich did for a little bit. did until he got hurt. But a lot of people have seen, I've seen on Facebook and and other things, that they want Stajakovich to start. Well, I don't think so. You need his points off the bench. Well, he's even said he feels more comfortable coming off the bench. And he he plays just as much as anybody else. 27 minutes a game average. Yeah. So...
00:50:01
Speaker
You need those points off the bench when when either Wenger gets tired or they sub out. Or he positives foul trouble. Yeah. they You've got somebody else that can keep you out of a scoring slump. Right.
00:50:14
Speaker
And that's that's what he does. Instant offense, just add water. Yeah. Yeah. Or McCulture. I think it's going to end up being a bench game, and I think that's where Illinois wins it.
00:50:27
Speaker
Okay. My turn? Your turn. Is that what you're waiting on? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, well, um
00:50:37
Speaker
playing sections of the season, you know, I would have fought Connecticut one time, and we didn't look very good when we played them in Madison Square Garden. We didn't. But by the same token, Wadler hadn't showed up yet. Yeah, and we had a guy hurt, too. Not that that's an excuse. We just play well. But that's employ well and ah but that's part of UConn, you know, doing that to you. Take advantage. And, ah you know, Malin had 10 yesterday. He had 12, 17, 8, and 10 in his four games. um they
00:51:17
Speaker
They really lean on Caravan and and Reed. and And those are keys. I mean, ah we we'll see how Illinois, you know, defends and game plans that. um But yeah yeah, I think if I'm telling you, i I think that Illinois is gaining more confidence all the time and their chemistry is so good.
00:51:47
Speaker
i mean, I'm sure it is on some other teams, but these kids just really enjoy being around each other off the court, on the court. And it And they're they're playing hard, and like Stokovic said, he goes, you know, we didn't play just to get to the Final Four. We're here to win it one game at a time.
00:52:02
Speaker
And I think if Connecticut gives Illinois a little chance to shoot a few threes and you and you hit a couple, but with with the driving and maybe throwing a Tommy inside, maybe you get a foul and read or two.
00:52:15
Speaker
I mean, obviously when the when the ball's tipped, All bets are All bets are off, exactly. Things go south, but i i'm Illinois is a two-point favorite as it come out early. I mean, that that may change. i think it's down to one and a half now. One and a half, yeah. So, you know, basically a pick-em game. and It will be like that all all week, I would imagine. think Unless, unfortunately, there's an injury. Right. Excuse me. And so I'm, i you know, I try to keep biased out of it, and and I do.
00:52:47
Speaker
you You try to do the best you can, but I feel Illinois could gain an advantage in this game, like you say, with the bench. and of I just think they learned a lot ah attacking the the basket in in different ways. they They won a game without launching a ton of threes and even less just making threes. So, i I'm going with Illinois.
00:53:11
Speaker
I talk about single plays. The one play in that game, illino in Illinois against Iowa. It's going to be on SportsCenter. It has to be. It should have been on SportsCenter. it's not, it should have been.
00:53:27
Speaker
Wagner's driving into the paint. The left-handed? take No. hu takes two star He drives into the top of the key, takes two steps back, and the Iowa guy keeps going toward him. And he's sitting there with a... The Iowa guy's halfway down the lane. He's halfway down the And Waggers at the top of the key, draining a three. Drained it, yeah. yeah know that that That, to me, was was just a play and a half. yeah um So now we go Arizona-Michigan.
00:53:53
Speaker
Yeah, two heavyweights. Wow. And ah right now, Michigan is one-and-a-half point favorite. Over-under is 158, which the Illinois, ah Connecticut, was 139 for all you betters out there. Yeah. Because both Arizona and Michigan felt can fill it up.
00:54:12
Speaker
I mean, there's no two ways of about it. They can put triple digits on the screen any time they want. Yeah, yeah. I think it'll be up and down. Like said, I'm just wondering if Arizona loves to get in the paint, as talked about earlier, and get the line. Michigan in foul trouble. Well, yeah. You know how physical Marins Johnson is.
00:54:33
Speaker
And London Borg. And Lindberg. And Mara. And... marura and you know, they, they hit you physically. I've seen Johnson push off guys so much. I mean, I can't believe he doesn't get called on too many, but there's, there's many, many calls that they don't, they don't call anymore. But if they called, if they called the game, they they call these games like they did, like they said, like they're supposed to, bo and you you see 60 fouls a game. Yeah. it' just to it So, uh, yeah, so that, that'll be interesting. I think it'll be a war in the paint when Arizona comes down there.
00:55:07
Speaker
ah knocking on the door inside the paint at the rim and and i think see what Michigan does there. I think they've got to go inside because I don't think they can match the outside game of Michigan.
00:55:19
Speaker
No, probably not. no So they're going to have to go inside. They're going to have to get the get the Michigan bigs in trouble and make them depend on that outside. Yeah. Well, I say, um you know, Arizona goes eight deep, and they they were all, you know,
00:55:35
Speaker
pretty even in those four games of all five scores. you know So there's not one guy you can catch. Yeah, not one guy at all. And and they those guys play play a lot of minutes, but they they go eight deep. And in Michigan, yeah, they they they can shoot the three, and they can pound it inside as well.
00:55:56
Speaker
They run a good pick and roll and good high-low and just –
00:56:03
Speaker
It'll be it'll be interesting interesting how the officiating is called on this game. but yeah It's going to get rough. That's going to be the thing. If the officiating is tight, I think that favors Arizona. If they let them play, I think it favors Michigan. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, neither team won't get in foul trouble, but, you know, it's it'll.
00:56:21
Speaker
You know, it's it's gonna it's it's bound to happen when you've got that many big bodies in one small space. It's going to be a war inside. I mean, something's gonna something's got to give. um And for that fact, like said, I think this is another game. I think where the bench and the inside, I think that's going to play a big role.
00:56:41
Speaker
And that's why I'm going to go Arizona. Yeah. Yeah. Just Michigan's cockiness. Yeah. And the way they have the chip on their shoulder along with their coach.
00:56:53
Speaker
But Tommy Lloyd's that way too for Arizona. But i I kind of had Michigan all along, but damn Arizona just – They've been doing something in this tournament. Yeah. um Of course, so is Michigan. but Yeah. yeah I'm going to go Arizona. Yeah.
00:57:16
Speaker
Okay. You know, that's it's it's just a toss-up. You know, they play that game ten times. It's 5-5. Oh, I think so, too. I think so, too. So that brings us to Arizona, Illinois.
00:57:29
Speaker
Yeah. which And if we do this again Sunday, we'll probably be talking about Michigan and UConn.
Illinois vs. Arizona Game Predictions
00:57:36
Speaker
Yeah, we do this again next week. It'll be UConn-Michigan championship game we're talking about.
00:57:41
Speaker
Okay, so here's what I was going to say first. Okay. Yep, let's have it. Okay. 1989. Final Four. Best team in the country. Knocked out in the first round. or but in In the semis.
00:57:53
Speaker
Knocked out in the semis in the Final Four. By Michigan. 2003-2005. Illinois is in the Final Four. This time they win played the chant national for the national championship. Beat Louisville and ye and played North Carolina. north carolina In St. Louis. insane and they're Now they're in the Final Four again.
00:58:14
Speaker
This is when they win. it's It's the progression, the natural progression. Plus, who did they beat in 2005 to get to the Final Four?
00:58:28
Speaker
Louisville. Well, they beat Arizona in the Elite Eight. Or Elite Eight, sorry. Yeah. Well, that gets them into the Final Four, yeah. well Yeah, i got them in the Final Four, yeah. and i So they beat Arizona to get to the Final Four.
00:58:38
Speaker
In overtime. In overtime. Which, that's still one of the greatest, I think, one of the greatest comebacks. Jay Bellows said it was the best game you ever saw. Yeah, I think so, too. um I also think, just like we're talking about Arizona and Michigan, I think this is a game where Illinois...
00:58:56
Speaker
can go inside, free up the outside, and just play Arizona like a ping pong ball. I think they've got the bigs to match inside, get Arizona in some foul trouble maybe.
00:59:10
Speaker
they're goingnna have They start concentrating on Merck and Big Z on the interior. and The drives, and they start collapsing.
00:59:20
Speaker
Now you've opened up Wagler. You've opened up Boz. um Jake Davis. you know yeah One thing we didn't really talk about for the semifinal game, or now the national championship game, was Illinois' rebounding.
00:59:36
Speaker
We didn't really cover that too much. And that's our fault. And that's... that That can't be understated, what they've done rebounding. Well, it's your fault. I was going to get to it, but no, no. I'm sorry. No, that's right. so Actually, I just thought of it myself. so But they're rebounding, and if they take control of the boards on both ends, that's what can get them over the hump in the semifinal. And i they go to the final.
01:00:04
Speaker
Again, Arizona likes it in the paint.
01:00:09
Speaker
You know, I don't know, but Tommy and Z, Hump, David, I mean, those guys. They crashed the boards. Well, they crashed the boards, but can we play down there without fouling? Yeah. but that that is But that is blocking out and grabbing the boards on the first miss, not giving them the extra shot to either get in foul trouble or get them to the line, which is, you know, that's their DNA. That's what they like to do.
01:00:37
Speaker
yeah. If I've got Illinois winning the semi and I believe in them that much, then all bets are off. They're playing with house money going into Monday night. I think we're playing with house money now. but I do too. Me and my ah good friends, Mark Winkie, Stan Burton, and Jamie Rogers, we we text every day. Shout to all our guys. Yeah. They're all our guys, all our classmates. We talk about this like we don't have a ah podcast like you do, we talk every day about it. and yeah Maybe I have to get all five of us on one of these days on a podcast. You should. Oh, that'd be fun. Yeah.
01:01:13
Speaker
They'd have a lot to add. I'm not sure if they'd get a word in with us, but... you know but Especially Jamie. ah He's kind of soft-spoken. Mark my challenges. Yeah. yeah yeah now They're all very knowledgeable about their sports. So, again, on the beaten path, you know, we we talk, and and we talk how...
01:01:36
Speaker
the pressure was on to beat Iowa last Saturday. Right. Because we just wanted to get past that game. And we said, if we get past that game at the final four, if we get blown out of the final four, who cares? Right. We're there. We're there.
01:01:49
Speaker
Well, of course we're here. We care. Right. Right. So, but I think if, if, if Illinois would be Connecticut and i think that they just play loose and they do their rebounding and do their thing. And, and, uh,
01:02:07
Speaker
I would have him winning it. Here's another thing that just struck me. It wasn't me. I did not hit him. No, he didn't hit me but Here's something that just struck me. You were mentioning where everybody was playing in the regions.
01:02:19
Speaker
UConn played most of their games out east. Philadelphia and washington Washington. Arizona. They played in California twice. twice Michigan. They played in Buffalo and Chicago. Illinois.
01:02:34
Speaker
Illinois. We went all the way to Greenville, South Carolina, and then all the way down to Houston. And where's the national championship going to be played? That's about an hour and a half away, Alan. so Down I-74. So if we can, we are the only team that did not play a regional home game, if you will.
01:02:59
Speaker
Right, close to our proximity. Close to our proximity. Yeah, absolutely. Now we get to play in our proximity. I think that plays into it, too. There will be a lot of orange. A lot of orange. And, see you know, Michigan will bring a lot of people, but yeah I'm telling you, there will be a lot of orange. And, you know, you you saw it you saw it in 2005 when we played in Indy, Chicago, and St. Louis. I mean, Chicago was, like, really a home game, and St. Louis was packed. They were home game. You know, I mean – And I think that the other point is we face the adversity playing VCU in Greensboro, for crying out loud.
01:03:44
Speaker
That's a home game for VCU. We're playing Houston in their backyard. Yeah. um You know, I don't – nobody's had to play that schedule. We travel by bus, didn't we? Yeah.
01:03:56
Speaker
We'll have fly. and Two-hour bus ride. We'll stop at the V-thouse on the way there and back. Why not? Well, they always do. Yeah. you know When they play Purdue anyway. Absolutely. so But, yeah, I mean, so yeah not that's yeah i think that's good. They'll have a lot of support behind them. They're battle-tested enough that I don't think i don't think playing in Indy is going to be any kind of a big deal with them.
01:04:20
Speaker
Like that, I mean, yeah when when we talked earlier about all all four of the teams, really, the I mean, St. John's from the Big East and and Arizona from the Big 12 and Illinois and Michigan from the Big 10. You UConn from the Big East?
01:04:34
Speaker
What'd I say? You said St. John's. I'm sorry, UConn from the Big East. That's two I've had wrong tonight. I know. Yeah. Well, it happens when you don't have your bracket in front of you and you're looking off your notes. Yeah. Yeah, so, um you know, all those conferences are are pretty tough. Had good teams, but as we said, They played a lot of non-conference teams that are just, you know, top five, top 10, top 20. So therere they're all battle-tested. There's nothing that they haven't seen.
01:05:04
Speaker
um i mean, Illinois played Michigan and they've played UConn and Arizona's played UConn. uh so uh you know it's just it it's just you know who makes shots who who doesn't turn the ball over you know i didn't i did not realize illinois i was looking at uh some some stats comparable yukon illinois and arizona and michigan and i for life but i didn't realize we were just eighth and uh turning the ball over in the nation yeah i i thought we would be
01:05:35
Speaker
You know, worse than that. you know, that's pretty good. You know, we were like averaging just under nine. They made mention of it, I think, in this either the Houston game or the Iowa game. It was the Iowa game because we had like eight turnovers in the first half against Iowa or something like that. Yeah, the no, both teams had seven each. said Yeah. yeah And they made to mention that you you know Illinois only turns the ball over nine times a game. Yeah. And I'm like, okay, wait a minute. That's not what I would have ever guessed. Seems like a lot more than that. It sure does. you know But but yeah you know they did that's the other thing. Illinois takes care of the ball well.
01:06:14
Speaker
goodation they They shoot free throws. Illinois shoots 78%. UConn 72%. Yeah. um So, you know, that can factor in. Illinois did not shoot him very well down stretch against Iowa. But, you know, so that's where you like to hopefully have a lead. and But, yeah, i it's um I'm glad we don't play Arizona. not I'm giving UConn their due, but I'm glad we don't play Arizona-Michigan first.
01:06:42
Speaker
Yeah. I'm glad those two teams got a battle. and and um Well, and and that could – you mentioned that. That could be and that could be a big thing. i mean, because they're going to be – I mean, as we said, with the with two guys two teams like that that fight so hard on the inside, there's possibly somebody going to get hurt. Yeah. You know.
01:07:05
Speaker
You put a little revenge factor into it. You know, UConn knocked our socks off two years ago in the second half. beat us this year. And then they beat us this year. So, you know, you're looking to maybe a little little payback. Michigan can beat us. and they They beat us good at home. wait us yeah Those two games were our worst games of the year. i mean You talk about going into the chip on your shirt. You know, there's Illinois' chip.
01:07:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So if you would said, you know, and and and they obviously may not, but it's fun for us and and for, you know, Champaign and surrounding area. to this I mean, it it was nuts on Green Street ah Saturday night. um But, to you know, you you thought in your mind, Illinois, depending on matchups, you know, depends who you play next, that they could make a run. You figured they were at least a sweet 16 team. You were hoping they wouldn't.
01:07:59
Speaker
You didn't think they'd be one and done. were hoping they wouldn't get the bad second-round draw and get knocked out. But you figured they were at least Sweet 16. And as they go, you know, possible Final Four. And, you know, here you are. And, you know, see what you can do. The bracket looked good when they first came up. And I'm like, okay.
01:08:19
Speaker
I'm like, okay, you know, you got two games that you probably should win. And i didnt I thought they could have beaten North Carolina. I didn't think North Carolina was going to be a tough draw if that's who they ended up with.
01:08:30
Speaker
But you had, you know, a couple games that you were going to be able to win. Then you had to face Houston. And on ah and if you're playing your game, if you're if you're on that night, um you know, you can take a Houston. And they they ended up doing it just that way. and So, yeah, I agree with you. the the um I looked at that I'm like, you know, this is a sweet 16 team.
01:08:52
Speaker
There were no two ways about it in my mind. It was just a matter could they win that next game to get get back to the Elite Eight where they wanted to be. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, everybody's taking their different paths and you line it up. You just hope that There's no injuries in practice oh before you get to the games. And, you know, you hope for nobody really gets hurt in the games. I mean, you really want to see you want see the best against the best. Yeah. And i think that's what I do think that's what we've got here. I think we've got probably the four best teams in college basketball getting ready to square off with each other.
01:09:28
Speaker
Well, there are the four there. Well, there's four there. I mean, there's there's a few other teams that probably could have staked. you know i mean There's teams that could argue that. I mean, Duke duke could put up an argument. you know i mean you know Houston could put up an argument. you know Yeah, Purdue's on. I mean, there there was there was a lot of teams that could have went from the Sweet 16 to the 8 and and you know made a case if things would have you know broke right.
01:09:53
Speaker
ah But yeah yeah you felt – Arizona and Michigan was going to be there. oh yeah. The way the season played out, the way they were playing. way actually And the way the brackets laid out, I think they – you know, there was there were some challenges for for both teams for sure, but I don't think it was challenges that anybody didn't think they could overcome.
01:10:16
Speaker
Right. You know. You figured they would – get to the final four on on those two. Like said, UConn, you know, they they were, you know, three other teams in that Sweet 16 that any any anyone any one of those four could have made the final four. But, but you know, UConn won back-to-back a couple years ago. and And so they're not going to take a backseat to anybody.
01:10:44
Speaker
No. And then in Illinois just – you know, says here we are. Yeah. Take us, take us or leave us. Here we go. Yeah. We're going to buckle it up.
01:10:55
Speaker
I do apologize, but we did have a technical difficulty that lost a portion of the show. Uh, so, uh, that's the world of entertainment folks.
Conclusion & Podcast Promotions
01:11:03
Speaker
I want to thank Gary Cromwell for joining me again, and we're going to probably have him back on now for the, for the final four recap.
01:11:11
Speaker
And, uh, so don't forget. The NCAA Report with Don and Russ is a proud part of the Gateway Sports Network. At Gateway Sports, you can find articles and podcasts from a lot of people, including me.
01:11:24
Speaker
In podcasts, you've got the mighty Moose Michaels with the two for three. And you have Ron Nuttall, Pete Geddes, Elliot Dewey with the team of rivals, two Cub fans and a Cardinal fan, hashing it out.
01:11:38
Speaker
Then there is Ron Nuttall's other show, all about city soccer. It's called At the Park. He co-hosts that with Chris Hamilton, the stupidest sports show on earth with Rodney Capell and Tim Van Stratton. What they do and in a podcast should be illegal. They have too much fun.
01:11:55
Speaker
And then there's my other show, Talking Sports with Uncle Don. And of course, the one and only Derek King Show with the one and only Derek King.
01:12:06
Speaker
So check it all out at Gatewaysports.net. You can also find me at the Champagne Room. That's this the city, Champagne.
01:12:18
Speaker
Champagneroom.com. I write some articles there about Illinois sports, basketball and football. Check it out there as well. So again, from my broadcast partner, Gary Cromwell and Russ Robinson, who's on assignment, we want to wish you guys a good night.
01:12:32
Speaker
Have fun. Stay safe. We'll talk to you again on the NCAA Report with Don and Russ. Good night, everybody.