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Top Four, Final Four
17 Plays1 month ago
This is it. The culmination of College Basketball. All of the tournaments are reaching the exciting semifinals. TJ and Pat discuss the women's tournament and how it really proves how strong of a program is. They then shift to discuss College Baseball and how the sport seems to be shifting in the early portions of the NIL Era. Then, the Men's NIT and Men's Final Four. Pat sticks to his guns but who will TJ wind up riding since Duke was upset???
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Transcript
Women's Final Four Predictions
00:00:00
Travis White
All right, we're live. Final four time. um Just like that, basketball has come and gone. Women's tournament, we're going to just jump right into things.
00:00:12
Travis White
Not too bad for us. Not too bad. um Pat, you were four for four last weekend in your picks. I was three of four. I missed one because I really stuck with Louisville. For some reason, I was bent that they were going to make the national title game.
00:00:30
Travis White
They didn't do it. They fell short, just like the ACC title game.
00:00:34
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah.
00:00:35
Travis White
Nonetheless, though, seven of eight between the two of us. Not too bad for the women's tournament. This is the first time in, i think, eight years that we've had all one seeds make it to the women's Final Four. And think the second time ever that's been the exact same Final Four back-to-back years. The other was 96-97. Yeah.
00:00:58
Travis White
um So that being said, obviously going into this final four, we've been saying the winner of the Yukon South Carolina game, that's going to be the national champion and all signs kind of pointing to being a Yukon repeat this year.
00:01:14
Travis White
Do we still think that going into this weekend, Texas and UCLA both have had some great wins or both in great form as are Yukon and South Carolina, but do we discount UCLA and Texas too much?
00:01:29
Pat Q
I feel like, yeah, I think it would be unfair to those programs and the seasons that they've had to just kind of automatically say, oh, like it's South Carolina's or it's UConn's to lose, right? Based on the results of Friday night's game.
00:01:44
Pat Q
um But at the same time, I do feel like, don't know, I'm a little split on this one. I feel like if UConn wins, don't I'm pretty confident they're going to just take care of business against Texas or UCLA.
00:02:01
Pat Q
But if South Carolina wins, I'm really, really nervous that it's going to be a scenario where they just put every ounce of energy they had left into beating UConn and into winning that matchup.
Challenges for South Carolina
00:02:14
Pat Q
And then... not like totally lay an egg, but they just don't have that final getup to like take them over the hump against Texas or against a UCLA.
00:02:24
Pat Q
You could kind of see it a little bit um in the SEC championship. You know, South Carolina battled really, really hard against LSU in that semifinal. um
00:02:34
Travis White
Yeah.
00:02:35
Pat Q
They pushed through some first half adversity to kind of like distance themselves and then fend off that LSU rally. And then in the SEC championship, it kind of just seemed like they were a step slower um at the beginning of the game than Texas was. So I worry that could be a repeat scenario where, you know, South Carolina really just throws it all at UConn, you know, and then a day and a half later, when it comes time to pet play either Texas or UCLA, they just don't have
00:03:07
Pat Q
that high, high energy um that they need to beat a really, really good team. Because, I mean, clearly UCLA and Texas are both really good programs.
00:03:19
Pat Q
The way they're configured currently, I think UCLA could be in some trouble moving forward given most of their core are graduating seniors this year, but still a a remarkable run to make back-to-back Final Fours and potentially make a national championship game this year.
00:03:37
Travis White
Yeah, yeah. I like kind of the points that you're making there. Obviously, Texas, South Carolina, should they meet in the final, that would be a fourth time them playing.
00:03:47
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:03:48
Travis White
UConn and South Carolina typically have a non-conference game every year. That did not occur this season, so this is the first time that we are seeing this matchup since last year's national title game.
00:04:02
Travis White
I don't think that it's going to be –
00:04:05
Travis White
The same as last year, ah it was really quite clear. UConn was the best team in the country last season. That game was over pretty quickly. I still love my South Carolina pick. I really hope that that is what comes to fruition. But seeing this tournament kind of play out.
00:04:22
Travis White
All of these teams definitely deserve to be there. They all had great wins are all on great runs. but UConn's just a little bit better. They're just a little bit more crisp, but a little bit more consistent.
UConn's Gameplay Advantage
00:04:35
Travis White
And I just find that really hard to believe that any of these teams can put in a perfect four quarters against UConn because they're going to have to. And we've seen South Carolina be a little slow, like South Carolina versus TCU that first half.
00:04:53
Pat Q
was dicey for the first half.
00:04:53
Travis White
Olivia, I mean, if it wasn't for Olivia Miles kind of getting banged up, we don't know how that could have gone because she was having a great game. And, yes, it was only one player for TCU.
00:05:01
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:05:05
Travis White
But when you translate that over to a UConn team, which is a little bit more full than the TCU squad, can they compete? Can you do the same thing whenever you look at UConn against UCLA or Texas? um You know, Texas we see matchup very similarly to South Carolina.
00:05:23
Travis White
If South Carolina has those issues, Texas more than likely having the same thing. UCLA is the only wild card you could say out of this bunch that would be a little bit of a different view for UConn.
00:05:32
Pat Q
Yeah. For sure.
Excitement for Women's Final Four
00:05:37
Travis White
um But again, you kind of mentioned South Carolina throwing everything at UConn. UCLA would kind be doing the same thing, throwing everything out of Texas.
00:05:49
Travis White
Who's going to have enough left in the tank? in that national title game. I mean, these are the this is going to be a great final four, I think on the women's side, the best teams definitely made it.
00:05:58
Pat Q
for sure
00:06:01
Travis White
um It's kind of a bummer to not see any like Cinderella runs. I mean, we did have Virginia, but that obviously ended a little short prior to any of this.
00:06:08
Pat Q
and
00:06:10
Travis White
um So no Cinderella's, but these are the best teams. And these are the most proven teams throughout the year. So I think that we are in for a very entertaining Final Four on the women's side.
00:06:23
Travis White
Still love my South Carolina pick. However, I'm not surprised if UConn does take it home. That team's just so good. Pat, are you kind of sticking with your pick there too?
00:06:33
Pat Q
Yeah, i'm so I'm sticking with UConn kind of for the reasons that you listed out. Like, It's not quite the same gap that we saw kind of in that like late to mid-2010s era, right before the South Carolina um emergence with H.O.
00:06:50
Pat Q
Wilson and Don Staley, where it was clearly like UConn and then everybody else, minus that one season where Mississippi State upset them in the Final Four.
00:06:56
Travis White
Thank you.
00:07:00
Pat Q
That was nuts. Um, but it kind of does seem this year, at least, uh, like UConn is just a step quicker, step more polished, uh, than the other teams in the fields.
00:07:12
Pat Q
And yes, that gap is really, really narrow, but basketball is a game of fine margins. And, you know, if you come out and like you said, start slow, or let's say, um I don't know,
00:07:26
Pat Q
Sarah Strong is able to get Oka in foul trouble early, right? Then what are you able to do if you're South Carolina? How are you going to be able to effectively counter that? And I think Dawn Staley's got a real challenge on her hands and balancing that as best as she can.
00:07:43
Travis White
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
Impact of NIL on College Baseball
00:07:46
Travis White
We'll take a little intermission from basketball. We'll head over to baseball. um Not a lot to go over with our conference play other than our ah rankings.
00:08:00
Travis White
Something very clear is happening. And maybe if Oregon State was in a conference, there'd be a little bit of parity up there.
00:08:06
Pat Q
A little bit of better grouping, yeah.
00:08:09
Travis White
However, they're not, so they don't get the points from it. But our top three teams are Florida, Florida State, UCF, all separated by three points.
00:08:20
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:08:21
Travis White
They are also our only Florida teams in our conference. Is this indicative of college baseball and kind of the direction that this is going? I mean, yes, we still have Oregon State, who in like earlier 2000s was a very good team.
00:08:37
Travis White
um But no real Midwest contenders. Like usually there'd be like at least one or two.
00:08:45
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:08:47
Travis White
it just seems like it's really localizing further and further South. Is that just how baseball is going? Even a non-Pac South team in Georgia, Georgia wasn't very good for a a long period time.
00:08:57
Pat Q
Yeah, George is really good.
00:09:00
Travis White
Now they are a definite top 15 team in the country. Is it just fully migrating? Is that just a sport now?
00:09:08
Pat Q
Yeah, I feel like especially in the NIL era, it's one of those things where like even if talent does, let's say, escape like the greater southeast in terms of these kids committing to, I don't know, let's say like a Louisville or somewhere like that where I mean, I know Kentucky's in the sec, but I don't really consider Kentucky, like purely the Southeast, you know, um, or even a program like Kentucky.
00:09:31
Travis White
Yeah.
00:09:32
Pat Q
That's kind of like Georgia. They were up and down for a few years there. And now they're finally finding that consistency again. um
00:09:43
Pat Q
I just feel like with NIL, a lot of these kids are getting funneled into the programs that have the most money. And that just happens to be a handful of SEC, ACC, and Big 12 schools where you're seeing that real talent concentration in the Southeast slash Texas.
00:10:04
Pat Q
Right. Um, Whether that's good for the sport or not, I think might be a discussion for a different day or a different time. um But I just feel like that is one of the realities that we are slowly progressing towards. Because even schools um that are kind of right on that, let's say like fringy borderline, like a Virginia, right, where it it is a Southern state, but not really like in that true, you know, Southern belt.
00:10:34
Pat Q
They're slipping a little bit in terms of their position where they were a dominant ACC team making the CWS pretty consistently during the 2010s. But, you know, they've had some up and down years here recently. And you've seen teams like Duke pass them over, like Wake Forest pass them over that weren't these traditional baseball powers.
00:10:58
Travis White
yeah yeah for sure i think and you bring up that point with the nil that you know this era like it wouldn't surprise me if teams and schools like we see more specialization i feel like the nil currently is you're still hitting broad um
00:11:21
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:11:22
Travis White
I feel like you look at the early 2000s, you did have teams that did specialize in their certain thing. Like a lot of the athletic department revenue did go to their winning a sport.
00:11:33
Travis White
NIL, I feel like has kind of opened the umbrella a little bit. And I would not be shocked if maybe the umbrella gets closed again. And then we do funnel back into like, yes, everyone wants a good football program because that's where the money is.
00:11:47
Travis White
um Men's basketball kind of as well.
00:11:50
Pat Q
Yeah. Those are your two money swords for sure.
00:11:51
Travis White
But but also like, well, if you have a decent football team and a bad men's basketball team, maybe we funnel in more into baseball and then really focus on trying to have a winner on the field or maybe like in an Oklahoma case, just keep feeding that monster of a softball program.
00:12:10
Travis White
Just continue to be just super, super dominant.
00:12:11
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:12:15
Travis White
um You know, really have your specializing sports like we could see that ah get maybe not begin to emerge because kind of in a way it has, but maybe continue to become more prominent as we kind of traverse into NIL even further.
00:12:25
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:12:33
Travis White
i mean, still a lot to be figured out. And obviously during football season, we talk way more in depth during then for that big monster. But it's ah it remains to be seen kind of how these schools continue to traverse this period of time.
NIT Matchups Analysis
00:12:52
Travis White
um That being said, I'm going to give you some quick hits here.
00:12:56
Pat Q
Oh, OK.
00:12:57
Travis White
Going to men's basketball, but not the tournament. We're going to hit NIT real quick.
00:13:02
Pat Q
okay
00:13:03
Travis White
um So obviously we have our four remaining teams for NIT. That is in Indianapolis this weekend as well, beginning tomorrow, Thursday, April 2nd, depending on whenever you're listening to this.
00:13:16
Travis White
We have New Mexico and Tulsa and Illinois State and Auburn. Auburn, kind of an interesting one. Didn't really know where they were going to end up, obviously, in the transition year that was the Bruce Pearl saga.
00:13:32
Travis White
They have a chance to win a trophy in a tournament in the postseason that would be huge for this program and what definitely would be a down year for what they've been putting on the court lately.
00:13:38
Pat Q
Yeah, for sure. Mm-hmm.
00:13:43
Travis White
Illinois State, this would be massive for a program like that. And then Tulsa and New Mexico, two mid-major teams that have made some noise to New Mexico a little bit more sustained.
00:13:54
Travis White
Tulsa, not as long, but has definitely been building up their program in the American, which currently has a power vacuum for basketball.
00:14:02
Pat Q
yeah
00:14:03
Travis White
um So first game, New Mexico-Tulsa, who do we have going out there?
00:14:10
Pat Q
I mean, we kind of talked about the NIT a little bit last episode. I know both of us picked the same team. So just in case you did not listen to that episode or you missed it, I'm back in New Mexico for this one.
00:14:24
Travis White
Okay. And I guess, P, backing off of that, I'm also going to Mexico. Should I then ask, who will we give the honor of losing to New Mexico in the final?
00:14:34
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:37
Travis White
Illinois State or Auburn?
00:14:40
Pat Q
I'm a little torn on this one because, um, I think, you know, TJ, and if you guys follow our Instagram, if you guys see, you know, the posts that we make about mid-major basketball and things like that, like I do have a deep passion for mid-majors and sort of giving them their shine where possible.
00:14:56
Pat Q
Um, and this is a great opportunity for a really solid Missouri Valley conference team in SIU, um, make a little noise, you know?
00:15:05
Travis White
ISU. ISU. Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:09
Pat Q
Uh, you know, like they're obviously not going to get the same recognition as they would if they were like a NCAA tournament, Cinderella. Um, I think a lot less people watch the NIT, but still it is beating an SEC opponent, uh, and beating them on a neutral court. So that's a huge victory. If s SIU can pull that off, um, or sorry, ISU can pull that off. i don't know why I keep doing that. Um, sorry, Redbird nation. Um,
00:15:40
Travis White
Put some respect, literally just had a playoff football run this year.
00:15:42
Pat Q
Yeah, I know. i'm I'm trying to group them with the Salukis. We don't want to do that. you know, like interstate rivalry. My apologies to Redbird Nation. um Regardless, though, I think this will be a really close game. um However, i do think Auburn, just because of their size, does have an advantage here. So I'm going to go with Auburn to win this game, but ultimately lose to a really good New mix new Mexico team.
00:16:14
Travis White
Okay. I was really kind of hoping you were just going to go with Illinois State so then I could play the other side and go with Auburn. um I think I do still need to go with Auburn here.
00:16:28
Travis White
Surprisingly enough, the line is actually a larger for the Auburn game than it is for the New Mexico game.
00:16:33
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:16:33
Travis White
um It is a three-point difference. New Mexico is favored 3.5. Auburn favored 6.5.
00:16:39
Travis White
I would almost argue that the Auburn-Illinois State game is going to be the more competitive game, you could say. I'm not trying to diss Tulsa by any means. I think that that is still going to a good game. I just think this Illinois State game has the opportunity to be kind of a classic. And I think it might fall down to just Auburn has been there in those bigger games, tougher situations between you know not just a season SEC play, but going back to last year and even the year before with their tournament appearances.
00:17:10
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:17:12
Travis White
So this is a very experienced program that knows how to make their way into these high-stress finishes. And I think that's kind of where Auburn's going to win this game, kind of a late – late basket free throw chances to the three point game i think new mexico is able to probably get it done around seven eight points um but as we mentioned before this is just for the honor of losing to the lobos uh we have been lobo truthers on this show
00:17:48
Travis White
since basically football kicked off last year, uh, we were a big fan of everything.
00:17:50
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:17:52
Travis White
Jason Eck and that football program did transitioning it over to men's basketball. Still love what they're doing out in Albuquerque. So look to see them lifting a trophy and winning the NIT.
00:18:06
Travis White
Now for the tournament, the big boy tournament, the
Surprises in Men's Final Four
00:18:11
Travis White
final four. um are Are we surprised by this Final Four? And I guess by are we surprised, should we be shocked that a two-seed UConn, one year removed from back-to-back national titles, upsets Duke?
00:18:29
Travis White
Should we be that surprised?
00:18:32
Pat Q
I'm going to say no. um And the reason I said no is because Duke was actually my, we'll say, well, Florida was actually my early one seed loss. Got that one slightly wrong. They did lose, but I thought they were going to get through Iowa and ultimately lose to, i had Vanderbilt, not Nebraska.
00:18:51
Pat Q
whatever But i also did not fully believe in Duke. And kind of part of that is because of the injuries that Caleb Foster and Pat and Gongba had.
00:19:03
Pat Q
um But also, it kind of has been, I'll say like a theme or a trend in the John Shire where when evenly matched teams, let's say, go on runs against Duke in high-pressure or high-stakes matchups, they have a really difficult time responding to that adversity and maintaining leads, right? Like, I mean, we saw it last year in the Final Four against Houston. They got out to that lead. They had the lead for most of the second half. Houston makes this crazy run, and boom, all of a sudden, a team with Cooper Flagg and Conk Kneppel are knocked out
00:19:40
Pat Q
by a very good Houston team, right? But a team that seemed like they were down and out in that game. Then again, this year, UConn's down by as much as 19 at one point.
00:19:47
Travis White
Yeah.
00:19:52
Pat Q
Um, and then they just scrap fight, keep it relatively close. Let's say, you know, I, I know it was right around seven for most of like the last five minutes until that last UConn run. Um, but,
00:20:07
Pat Q
But I will say I'm very, very impressed with UConn for not folding in that situation. You know, you're getting it handed to you pretty good at halftime.
00:20:18
Pat Q
Your three point shots aren't dropping. seems like your offense isn't flowing the way you want it to. i mean, it's really easy to pack it up and just mail it in for the second half and be like, you know, congrats, Duke.
00:20:30
Pat Q
You're a great team. Overall one seed for the reason, like. Go ahead, enjoy the final four. But they fought, they battled, and then, I mean, that crazy last possession with the steal by Caravan, the unselfish pass to Braylon Mullins, and an absolute heave of a three-pointer to send them to the final four.
00:20:46
Travis White
Yep.
00:20:52
Pat Q
So I... As you know, like it's interesting as a big East guy, ah like my personal feelings towards UConn, obviously they're one of my favorite team, Providence college's biggest rivals. um So, you know, I always want to beat UConn, but seeing in the big East succeed and be in a good position, it's always fun.
00:21:13
Pat Q
ah So I did pick UConn actually to win that game on my bracket, make the final four. i thought it was really, really dumb at halftime, but then, you know, they made me look really,
00:21:24
Pat Q
Really great after that. So I wouldn't say I'm shocked that UConn made it this far. um Yes, they played super inconsistent at times this season, but I think the talent was always there. And when you have a coach like Dan Hurley, you really can't ever be counted out of a game.
00:21:43
Travis White
Yeah. So that's, that's kind of the flashy team in here. Well then go, you could say the Cinderella, although was hard to say a three seed is a Cinderella, Illinois.
00:21:52
Pat Q
Yeah, yeah.
00:21:54
Travis White
I've been talking about them all year. And obviously then to me, this makes it feel like it's a very known and talked about team, seeing them in person, seeing what they can do. I mean, they're very electrifying. They can score many different ways.
00:22:10
Travis White
Um, I don't really know how I like them pairing up, especially with the fact that the the flashy team in UConn, who's been there, who all the eyes are on, all the lights are on.
00:22:26
Travis White
I'm not sure if Illinois is built for that. If it that was like a national title game, then it's like, you know, this is it. Everything falls the way it falls.
00:22:35
Pat Q
Yeah.
00:22:36
Travis White
The fact that there's still a game after this, I don't really like that for
Arizona's Playing Style Effectiveness
00:22:40
Travis White
the Fighting Illini. I think that's a little... word for them. Flipping it to the other side of the bracket, you have Arizona, kind of America's team in a way, the one that everyone's kind of pointing to You know, they're, they're the one seed there, they look great. And, you know, I can't really blame them.
00:23:04
Travis White
But we mentioned this last episode, are they kind of too fundamental? Are they too sound? Are they doing like everything too right right now? Like, It seems crazy that you're going to give them a negative for that, but everyone seems to be pointing the finger now that Duke lost. It's like, well, that Arizona's the best team left. They are they arere the ones. and But the way that they've played throughout the entire season, there's hardly been a blemish ah on their record and in their game.
00:23:32
Travis White
But that's kind of what March is, though, is you know it gets crazy. I mean, you mentioned –
00:23:39
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:40
Travis White
the fact that UConn got to the Final Four, it had to be a nasty 10 seconds of like trying to force a turnover. They get it. They heave it. And it just goes in.
00:23:52
Travis White
it's like, that's March. You can't practice that. like youre You can't practice for 10 seconds of pure chaos and then expect that you're going to shoot a 35-foot shot and it's going to go in.
00:24:04
Travis White
like You just can't practice that. So kind of in a way, i don't know if I like Arizona. the way that you should and the way that these other teams or other people are discussing them with and then notice the last team that i'm going to mention michigan probably the quietest one seat i feel like we've had in a long time um it's so much so that even myself seeing them in person i can't really even say that much about them um
00:24:37
Travis White
But maybe that plays into their strength. They're going against the exact team I gave a lot of their, you know, highlights to as negatives. Are you in a similar boat here? I mean, we obviously i already gave you the flashy team. But, mean, Cinderella, america's America's team, and the quiet team.
00:24:59
Travis White
Like, who Who do you like there? And I guess if it's on the other side of the bracket from UConn, then who do you like going all the way?
00:25:09
Pat Q
So don't know. This was quite literally like the hardest game I had to think about during the pre-bracket process or pre-tournament process when the brackets first came out.
00:25:21
Pat Q
And, you know, like fleshing out, where I wanted to go. for people who do listen, if you guys remember, I actually pivoted literally mid recording or mid episode. Um, my original thoughts changed my bracket to one outcome instead of another. Um, so if you didn't listen, if you missed that episode, my original national champion was Michigan.
00:25:44
Pat Q
So I had Michigan winning this game. i had Michigan at that point. um I believe it was beating UConn, but then I changed it to Houston and that didn't work out for me.
00:25:57
Pat Q
ah
00:25:57
Travis White
and yeah
00:25:58
Pat Q
I had Michigan winning the national championship over Houston. Right. And the reason I believed in Michigan is because they're tall, they're pretty fast and they've got experience. And when you look at the teams who have won in the n NIL era, it is older or more experienced squads that tend to have a lot of success here, you know, and If there's one thing to worry about, potentially, right for Arizona, it's that one of their big contributors is a freshman.
00:26:32
Pat Q
right So how is he going to respond to, don't know, adversity? right It's obviously way different playing in the final four. with this massive arena bigger than anything you've ever played backdrops that are way different. You know, we hear all the time players talking about how different it is to shoot three pointers to shoot free throws um in the final four because of how far back the crowd is set, you know, like is Arizona going to respond to that?
00:26:58
Pat Q
Right. And,
00:26:59
Travis White
Yeah.
00:27:02
Pat Q
I believe yes. I do believe this is the most complete team in college basketball. um Like you said, it is a really, really safe team, right? Like they don't turn the ball over a lot. They shoot at a pretty safe percentage.
00:27:17
Pat Q
However, they do shoot a lot of twos and not a lot of threes. So that could potentially be an issue if it turns into like a run and gun game versus Michigan. um But I do believe because they play such clean fundamental basketball, like that is something that matters in pressure points. Like that's what got Duke. You know, if Caden Boozer holds that ball and just waits to get fouled or if UConn doesn't foul him and the time runs out, Duke's in the final four right now.
00:27:43
Pat Q
Right. But he panicked, I guess you could say, or tried to move too quickly, made a really bad play.
00:27:49
Pat Q
didn't do fundamental basketball. um And as a result, Duke is not here and UConn is. So sometimes, I don't know.
00:27:49
Travis White
Yeah.
00:27:57
Travis White
True. Yeah.
00:27:59
Pat Q
I feel like it's good to be safe. ah Obviously Arizona is not super flashy. um They are fun to watch. Yeah. you like watching good basketball, but they're not going to be playing like five slamma jamma, right? Like it's not going to be alley-oops up and down the court all the time. Like there's a lot of dumps into the posts, little baby hooks off of really good footwork um or mid-range jumpers, which is kind of a dead art.
00:28:24
Pat Q
So I do like Arizona to take care of business here um against Michigan. And i do like UConn to beat Illinois. So ultimately I'm going with Zona over UConn in a really close one for the national championship.
Men's National Champion Predictions
00:28:41
Travis White
Okay. i i like that pick. I think that that is a very Arizona pick, almost in a way. um
00:28:54
Travis White
Just because of how impressed I've been with Illinois, i'd like to see them make the national title game. But i don't know. It just – now that we're here in the Final Four –
00:29:08
Pat Q
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:09
Travis White
like my so My pick originally was still for Duke to win it all. So obviously Illinois would have had to have lost. Well, now that Duke's out of the way, well, then it's like, okay, well, maybe Illinois then keeps going and they get their flowers.
00:29:20
Pat Q
yeah
00:29:21
Travis White
But we mentioned it off the podcast, and i I'm not going to dive into it too much because there's a great chance that it's going to be a big point next week.
00:29:33
Travis White
But... Dan Hurley is probably the most impactful off-court presence in men's and women's college basketball. um He is just kind of an enigma over there.
00:29:46
Travis White
And it's almost one of those things like you get him hot, the team, the whole everything gets going.
00:29:52
Pat Q
Yeah, it's infectious, you know.
00:29:54
Travis White
um So I feel like now UConn is building off of that. So I like UConn to beat Illinois in the final four. I like Arizona to beat Michigan, but I think, and I faded them all year long, but I just said, you get Dan Hurley going, he's going right now.
00:30:16
Travis White
And you know what? i'll I'll sing the praises if they end up pulling it out, but I think that they will, and I'm i'm picking UConn. For as many times as I faded them,
00:30:24
Pat Q
Wow.
00:30:27
Travis White
I like them here. Huskies three out of four years national champions. So there you go. We will see it next week. There's only so much that we can miss now. So our percentages can only go up from here.
00:30:44
Travis White
um so obviously flowers episode, we'll have national champion and men's women's basketball and our football literally official then conference champions for the PAC South.
00:30:54
Pat Q
Mm-hmm.
00:30:56
Travis White
So until next week, thank you all so much for listening and watching, and we'll see you all next time.