The Jason Smith Show with Mike HarmonAaron and J-Mart (in for Jason and Mike) open Hour 3 reacting to Duke taking down UNC in the ACC tournament after the Tar Heels almost completed a massive comeback. College hoops bracketologist Rocco Miller joins the show to weigh in with his own thoughts and help the guys look ahead to March Madness.
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Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmen, Jason Smith and Mike Harmon are out, Aaron Torres and Jason Martin. We are filling in till two am Eastern for the guys leading into Chris Plank tonight. Of course, it is Friday night, so you get Plank following us. Ben Maler's back on Sunday night. Of course, Jason and Mike will be back on Monday. We are by the way, broadcasting live from the tyreck dot Com studios tierack dot com.
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No di Sega just gave you all the updates, but I'll give you what you need to know. In these conference tournaments. Big East Semifinals, our final, Yukon loses to Creighton, Saint John's beats Marquette. We have a Saint John's Creighton one versus two matchup there. Arizona, the three seed, has just beaten the two seed Texas Tech. In the Big Twelve. It will be Arizona versus Houston for the Big Twelve title on Saturday. In the ACC Louisville pulling away from Clemson. Louisville will play Duke and we will get to how Duke won in a minute. And in the SEC quarterfinals, Alabama with a thirty point lead over.
The Kentucky Wildcats.
Kentucky survived on what was essentially a buzzer beater on Wednesday night or Thursday night, excuse me.
The Wildcats will head home.
They were down two starters coming into tonight, LaMotte Butler and Jackson Robinson. They lose another key player, Otega away during this game. You know, I know it's always news when Kentucky falls by thirty in a conference tournament game, or any game for that matter, but I mean, they are literally playing guys right now, that are guys that were expected to red shirt and basically not play. So that is your conference update.
By the way. You know, it's a fun time of year.
We got the Big West has just started a semi final game in Vegas. UC Irvine and cal Poly will have a Mountain West semi in just a minute. So again, a very fun time and we are so thankful to be joining you and taking the up till two am Eastern Jmark. Let's get to the big story in college hoops. By the way, Rocko Miller, a bracketologist for the Field of sixty eight, will join us here in just a minute, because I really kind of want his perspective on a lot of things, but maybe most specifically what happened in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight, Tysher let's have the sound ready, the two different sounds, but I'll set it up here momentarily. North Carolina came into this evening. Uh, Basically, if you believe all the bracketology, either one of the last few teams in the NCAA tournament or one of the first few out. They're playing one seed Duke without Cooper flag. We know that ankle Sprain on Thursday did not play tonight.
Duke at one point had a twenty four point lead.
Carolina comes all the way back to cut it to seventy two to seventy one, missed the front end of a free throw. They still have one more to tie it up. Alexteischer play the Duke audio of what happened next.
The second one is on the way. It's a lane violation.
He made it, but where they're stepped in the lane, it's it's turnover hand. The Blue level lead stand seventy two seventy one with four point one to go, where there's got an early start and the Blue levels still lead by one.
That was the Duke radio network.
Is that the most enthusiastic lane violation call in the history of the game.
It might be, but I'll tell you what you know what was the most unenthusiastic lane violation call. Tyshirt played the North Carolina sound of the same call.
Bluebin to tie the game with four point one. The second free pro is good.
Violation on Withers for moving early.
It's kidding me.
There is a lane violation on Jalen Withers.
He faked like he was gonna go before the shot was taken.
And you're not allowed to make any movements before the SHOT's taken.
I liked the audio Tyshert leave the music on. I love it.
I love the audio of the North Carolina guy. Just it sounded like he was at a funeral. He's just like lane violation, it's over color.
Guy's better.
He's just like, oh that guy, Yeah, yeah, that's you kidding me.
Yes, no, sir, We're.
Not unbelievable because listen, it's Duke Carolina. But there's so much at stake. We're gonna have a bracketologist on here in about ten minutes from now, and we'll find out was it winning, You're in losing your out? I don't know, but Carolina, you know listen, they are a blue blood program. We understand that, but they just don't have very much on their resume. Three losses to Duke. Basically, I'll try to explain this as best as I can in the least nerdy way possible. But the selection committee breaks up your wins and losses into what they call four quads. Okay, the best wins that you can have are quad one wins. The best losses you can have are quad one losses. I bring it up. They have one quad one win. Okay, but for comparison, some of the teams on the bubble, Texas has like six quad one wins, Arkansas has six quad one wins.
North Carolina with one.
I think there's an argument that if they aren't North Carolin, are we even talking about them in the same manner. But there's just not much of a resume there, and there's certainly not much of a resume without a loss, without the win over Duke this evening as they fall to the the to the Blue Devil's jamut.
Yeah, yeah, they don't have the resume. Luckily, a lot of the teams around them don't have a great resume either. The fact that Cooper Flag didn't play doesn't help when you lose, but at least you don't get blown up by twenty plus, you fought back into the game and then what happens at the end. It just kind of feels like that's what it's been for Carolina as of late. But you also wonder it's like, does that uniform does that jersey carry some weight when it comes to our Tournament's better with North Carolina in it than out of it? I don't know. I mean that's a it's a different way to look at it. But there would be there will be some that will argue that they didn't deserve to be in if they do get in, but they will just because they're North Carolina. North Carolina has a lot of built in advantages here. But at the same time, I think it just shows how mediocre to even less than mediocre that program is at this point. And there are larger questions I know that need to be talked about when it comes to North Carolina basketball.
Yeah, I was gonna ask you, you know, I get the perspective that I don't think they're going to make a move, and I'll tell you why really quick. Is that probably about a month ago. This is a little inside college basketball. But if there's ever a time to do it, it's now. Hubert Davis had one of those coaches calls coach. I think it was a radio one of the Monday radio shows that all these coaches do, and he basically said, hey, we're behind from like an nil perspective, and it's not just it's not just the money, it's the infrastructure around the team. I mean, I think the trendy thing that I think if you love college sports. And even if you don't, you know that all these college football and basketball programs are hiring basically full staffs, basically of evaluators that are working on the transfer portal, working on high school recruiting. It's not just three assistant coaches do the recruiting anymore. It's a much bigger infrastructure. By the way, speaking of the ACC Louisville which has had a double digit lead basically the entire second half, Clemson has cut the lead to four with one minute ago. Clemson has the ball, so we'll keep you updated on that one, and they actually scored, so they got a two point deficit. Now Louisville up seventy five seventy three. In the other semi final with Carolina, Carolina basically Hubert Davis was like, he had a direct quote of we need more help. You know, even where I thought the sport was gonna be two years ago, it has changed significantly whatever. So they just hired a quote unquote GM to kind of help them with nil stuff. Carolina alum worked as an agent, so I don't think that they're going to fire him, but I will say this would be the second Miss Tournament in three years overall, this is year number four for Hubert Davis. And if you remember, they were basically on the bubble that first year until the end of the season. Then they got red hot and to the NCAA Championship game. But even that season, they weren't good for most of the year. So you're talking about basically three of his four regular seasons were basically nothing to speak of. You do make a deep tournament run last year, you have success, but you're probably gonna miss the tournament for a second time in three years this year, and yeah, it's just not good for Hebert Davis.
There's no other way to put it.
And as you said, Carolina, I know college basketball is an evolving sport and maybe being a blue blood doesn't matter quite as much as it used to. But when you're Carolina and you missed the tournament two out of three years, that and nothing's official yet, but that's where it looks like it could be going not very good.
If you're a Carolina fan.
Yeah, it looks maybe they make it, but even if so, it's just like, this is not Carolina basketball. I said this before, and I say it a lot. I mean, I grew up in Winston Salem's. I knew a lot of people. My first girlfriend went to Carolina and I was there all the time as a matter of fact, So like that school and the tradition, how much they care about basketball. We didn't actually do this exercise, but I was trying to think of what what is Carolina basketball in reference to football? And I was thinking Michigan. I don't think they're like I think Kentucky and Alabama are very similar, right, I think Alabama football and Kentucky basketball are pretty similar. Then you look at Duke Maybe maybe Dukes Ohio State, I'm not sure, but like I look at it like Michigan program, that's that's looking for a championship and just couldn't stand what they were seeing. For such a long period of time. They were going coach to coach, nothing was working out. Maybe Oklahoma can.
Really quick, Yeah, go ahead.
I think Michigan's a perfect analogy. And I'll tell you why. One little nerdy. But both are really good academic schools.
Yes they are both.
What do they always say, Michigan man? Well, North Carolina has hired internally every coach Dean Smith to his assistant Bill Guthridge to Matt Doherty, who was a Carolina player, did not work out, bringing Roy Williams, bring in Hubert Davis. They haven't had an outside coach for any of our lives, probably sixty years. Okay, Then where I think the the parallel is totally fair is some of the nerdy, behind the scenes stuff.
Is that Carolina.
I think for for the first couple of years of this, nil Era felt like, Ah, we're Carolina. Kids are gonna want to come here, and then it's like, okay, but when you know this SEC school's offered me twice as much money.
Sorry, Carolina wanted to wear.
That that that that baby blue, but just not gonna happen.
I'll give you a quick example.
Aj De bonson number one high school player in America committed to BYU. Matt Norlander from CBS did a long form piece on his commitment and Carolina's pitch was basically to him, Hey, with our branding, you'll be able to make X Y Z on your first shoe contract. And he was like, Yeah, that's cool. But BYU's offering me this much money upfront to come there, so I'm gonna go to BYU. So you have the same kind of parallel with with Michigan, where they kind of felt like they were above the NIL stuff, then they finally embraced it. They get Bryce under with the number one quarterback. I just think it's the perfect parallel. I don't know if you had others that you wanted to get into.
Mischium was my favorite one. But I was waiting for you to say that it wasn't good. But you've actually made me feel better about it, so I'll stick with that. I think that that also lands with Hubert Davis maybe getting one more year with them really focused in on NIL, with the GM coming in and trying to kind of fix that. Now they realize, Okay, having the Jordan logo and the Jordan brand and even the Jordan name and all that kind of stuff, it doesn't matter anymore. Everything has changed across college basketball to such like if you're not playing the NIL game, you're probably not going to be there very long. I mean even Dabo is going to have to give in at Clemson. So I mean, you look at it there, it's just it doesn't matter what you used to be, and we the further you get away from being relevant, the further away you get from being good, the less of the new generation players know that you ever were, because tradition has been lost in this society because everything from day to day, our memories are so short term. Now I don't even know how to drive in my own city because I've been relying on my GPS for so long that when the GPS goes down, I'm completely lost. I was even thinking about that. It's like if I got if I had to make it to this destination and my phone somehow was dead, could I do it? And I was thinking about like this terror of being back in high school and trying to drive to a state championship basketball game and going an hour and a half in the wrong direction and then stopping for a map and realizing I was now four hours away as opposed to where I started from. So I had to drive that hour and a half back, go through my town, and then go in the opposite direction down Tobacco Road, only to get there at the end of the game and not even see it. And it was a buzzer beat or finish where our team won. So it's like, I look at all of that, It's like everything in our attention spans and technology and all this kind of stuff. Yeah, you can go find some history, but we don't have time anymore for history. We don't have time to go back and see all this kind of stuff. We know, Aaron, what North can a lot of basketball is supposed to look like. And that's why when I see what I've seen over the last few years, especially growing up so close to it and knowing how much it matters in that part of the country, I say, boy, and Hubert knows it too, Like I love Hubert Davis, but at the same time, Hubert knows what it's supposed to look like, and this ain't what it's supposed to look like.
Yeah, his quote a few weeks ago they have hired a GM, but he said, I'm going to increase the staff, and it's needed. I never would have thought in the four years that I took the job that one hundred percent what is needed is a general manager. There's just so much stuff out there. I mentioned owner, GM, fundraiser, basketball coach. It's so much on the plate that it'll take away from doing what's the most important thing, which is coaching basketball. And I think if you don't follow college sports on a day to day basis, that can sound like an excuse that's the sentiment across college sports right now. By the way, speaking of the ACC we do have a final. Louisville holds on they get a defensive stop. Seventy six to seventy three is the result that Louisville gets to win. They will face Duke Duke in the final because North Carolina had a laan violation with UH with just a few seconds to go, Jaymartin, I kind of cut you off on the Hubert stuff, anything any last thoughts here as we put a bow on this.
No, I got derailed because I was just I went to I went to the four Letter website and I saw Friday's best in the NBA, and the first clip is Brownie James three pointer over Nicole Jokic. I just lost. I just lost my entire train of thought when I saw it. Was just really all I know is that the Lakers lost that game, and Austin Reeves is really good. And you and I knew this already when they traded Dalton connect as part of that deal. It was just like, huh, were trying to get why are you moving him as part of this? That dude can play, You could probably use him. Dude had like twenty plus in the game tonight, he can play like he's somebody.
They need to find a way to hang on to one hundred percent. Let's see here.
I know Disaga has given us an update, but the Denver Nuggets do hold on to win in a game that Lebron and Luka Doncic were among many who were not playing.
But Austin Reeves had thirty seven.
Austin Reeves had thirty seven, Bronni James had eight, five at five one of five shooting from the field. This is the Jays Susmith Show with Mike Harbert, Jason Smith and Mike Harmon Erreill.
Tell you what we will come back.
We will get the authoritative take on North Carolina basketball. In Out they lose to Duke essentially at the buzzer on a lane violation. Rocko Miller bracketologists for the Field of sixty eight will join us in just one moment. Should mention from providing extra support during busy seasons to replacing vacant roles, you need Express Employment professionals on your team. Express can handle everything from contract placements to finding the right full time team member. Solve your workforce challenges when you draft Express to manage workers, compensation, payroll, benefits, and more so you can concentrate on what really matters growing your business. Go to expresspros dot com if you've never used a staffing company. Here's how Express has helped businesses like yours. Eighty percent of businesses turned to staffing companies to fill temporary vacancies, seventy two percent you staff for extra support during busy times, and sixty eight percent to staff special short term projects. For all types of jobs and a variety of reasons. Choosing Express Employment Professionals is the move to make. Visit expresspros dot com today. Haven't used a staffing company before? This is the year to do things differently. Businesses are navigating a hiring landscape that has never been more expensive or regulated. Draft the experts and get the next pro for your team. Start at expresspros dot com to find a location near you.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Welcome Back Everybody, Jason Smith's Show with Mike Harmon, Jason and Micro Out Aaron Torres Jason Martin taking you till two am Eastern. In just a few minutes, we will have Rockomiller, a bracketologist from the Field of sixty eight podcast network. He's actually great on brackets.
I think he's.
At one of these games, maybe this UC Irvine cal Poly game. But he'll join us in just one moment. Before we do, though, let's toss it over the news desk, Steve Disager. It is twelve twenty five Eastern time. Tell us what is trending right now, my friend plunty.
And by the way, you see Irvine, the second place team is actually trailing late first half. But the Chicago Cubs are getting no hit in Japan right now. They're down three nothing to the han Chin Tigers in one of their tune up games before they face the Dodgers in Tokyo next week. The Cubs are using their regular lineup and they're zero for fifteen at the plate, down three to nothing bottom of the fifth against han Chin Tigers, not the Detroit Tigers. And we mentioned earlier in the show that Lebron James, apparently who's not on this road trip with the Lakers due to injury, got permission to go see his son at the state championship game in Sacramento tonight. His team, Sierra Canyon of LA is trailing third quarter against Lincoln of Stockton thirty one thirty. Just for the record, Bryce Drew a Price drew Bryce James the.
I've called Cooper Cup Cooper fin at least joined, Yeah, exactly.
Is a senior going to Arizona apparently in the NBA. Yeah. The Lakers almost pulled it off at Denver without Lebron James and Luka Donsig and four other injured players. They were leading with fifty seconds to go and then an eight zero run for the Nuggets won the game one thirty one to one twenty six. Austin reeves thirty seven points in defeat. Sacramento lost its fourth row. I mentioned the Lakers have lost four straight. Miami lost at sixth straight, Houston won its fifth in a row. Minnesota won at seventh straight. Cleveland won its sixteenth game in a row, went at Memphis, won thirty three one twenty four despite forty four points from John Moran. Toronto has won at Utah. The Jazz have dropped eight straight. Now to college basketball in the semi finals of Conference tournaments. Tonight in the Big East, Saint John's and Creighton advanced. Acc Louisville and Duke advance. The top two seeds will face each other tomorrow for the Crown. Duke advanced barely over North Carolina seventy four to seventy one with four seconds left. The Tar Heels had the tying free throw waved off due to a lane violation, and Arizona has put away Texas Tech in a Big twelve semifinal eighty six eighty Arizona against top seed Houston tomorrow. Houston won by twenty over BYU Iowa fired coach fran McCaffrey after fifteen years. Selection Sunday is this Sunday. To fill out the NCAA tournament field. The Seattle Seahawks are signing wide receiver Cooper Cup from the Rams. Back to you, Thank you.
Very much, Steve Disager.
This is the Jason Smith Show with Jason Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon, Jason Smith and microre Out. They will be back on Monday. Aaron Torres and Jason Martin filling in for the guys. Tell you what want to go straight to the phone lines. Is college hoops season brackets are going to be out, as Steve de Sager just told you, coming on Sunday, and we got to get you caught up on everything that you need to know going into the weekend. Friday games are almost complete, so to do, so we're gonna go to the hotline. Roco Miller, bracketologist for the Field of sixty eight, joins us Rocco.
First of all, are you at a game right now? Are you at a game right now?
Always a great question. You know, I get out there all season long and go to see a lot of these leagues play. Have a vast interest in all thirty one leagues, so great question. I did get back late yesterday from Vegas. We'll slow start this morning, but got caught up quickly and we got a lot of important games still going on here late on Friday night. So I'm going to be locked in here in the home office until the bracket comes out. We'll be doing the show reacting to all the picks live me and Jeff Goodman on Sunday, So you know this season, the next two days will fly by. I can't be distracted in the arena anymore, unfortunately.
All right, fantastic, So I'll just let's put aside how Carolina and Duken, Jason and I have to talked about it for the last half hour. Was it like, give us the context? Was this winning, you're in, losing, you're out for Carolina? Is it more complicated than that? How do you view what happened in Charlotte with North Carolina today?
Yeah, that's an interesting question because we have to be mindful of the fact that in the selection committee room, these are humans that ultimately vote on teams, and they might be coming from very different places. We know who the chairman of the committee of this year is the Bleck director, Bubba Cunningham at North Carolina. So with just all of those dynamics, and again like Cunningham can't be in the room when they talk about North Carolina. We get all that, But these guys have been together since Tuesday. I was with Stu Jackson late Monday night in Vegas. He's on the committee and he had to be there Tuesday morning. He wasn't even at the Gonzaga Saint Mary's championship game. So that just goes to show they've had a long week together already. And when you do that, I served multiple mock committees this year myself just recently, and I just naturally human human nature. You start to like the people around you. You know who represents GOO, and I think that can only help North Carolina. Now, that's why they're going to be very interesting heading in the Sunday. That's where the complication comes from that you might have been hinting at. I think when you look at the resume itself, it's really difficult to put them in. They're one in twelve and their thirteen hardest games in the quad one. I understand that like eight of those twelve losses are against some of the very elite teams of the country. Three of them against Duke. They played Auburn, they played Michigan State, they played you know, they played Florida. So they have a lot of teams that they had to play. They scheduled the fifth hardest in the country. There's a place for them that the community decides. So you know, all the other results, they're perfect besides the home loss to Stanford. Between Quads two and three, they won fifteen times. So they built a metric this year, or it's been out there for a while, but it's finally on the team chief for NCAA purposes. It's called wins above bubble, and part of the purpose of that is because all of those lower level wins for teams that don't have as many teams in their league where they get the constant opportunities at the top, they still have to matter and they have to mean something. They add up to something, and that number is has North Carolina forty second best in the country as of today, that would be within range of selection. You want to be in the top forty five. So if some of the members are looking at that strongly to try to figure out what to do with them, you could see Carolina squeak in. But I think in terms of bringing wins to the table, like significant and multiple wins against the field, they're in deep trouble because they only have the one win over UCLA and nothing else against the team that's actually going to be in the field.
Texas didn't beat Tennessee, even though I mean it looked good for the first half and then the second half, it just kind of win awry. As I think maybe you expected when you saw as the kay Ziggler done nothing in the first half, you kind of assumed that wouldn't stay that way, But did they have to win that game to get in. I know you had them out in your bracket toeer website there, but I wanted to double check and just see if some of the things that you've seen in some of these other tournaments have given them any life.
Yeah. So Texas' situation is very unique, just due to the fact that there's been a little bit of a precedent set over the years. You know, we've only seen five brackets. Something that got introduced in the quad system got introduced, and so one of the things that's been a good trend and a good rule of thumb that I've learned from the committee is that if you just take away the Quad four record, what's their effective record? Because most of those Quad four games, especially for US Coolact Texas, are just easy wins. And their record now after the loss today is twelve and fifteen. So it's really far out of bounds, and that's why I'm pretty far out on Texas. The other thing I'll mention for them real quick is, you know, a few years back, we call In Sexton played for Alabama and there was a really impressive Vandergilt team around that same time frame. I want to say twenty eighteen, maybe twenty nineteen. They both got in with fifteen losses because they have beaten number one seeds, number two seeds. They had a ridiculous collection of wins at the top of their resume. This Texas team does not have that. They needed this Tennessee win just to have something in that area. Their best road win was Mississippi State, which is a good roadwin, but they're like an eight or nine seed. That's it's not top of the board level went away from home. So if you're gonna lose that many times, the committee had told us over and over again, you better have some extraordinary victories on your resume. Texas quite easily does not have that. So I don't think they're going to hear their name called for Rocko.
Miller joining US bracketologists for Field of sixty eight as well as bracketeer dot com. Real quick, not real quick. We got plenty of time here, But Rocco back to Duke and Carolina. And this was a question Jay Martin and I were talking about earlier, and I don't know the answer, side be curious for you to answer it. Carolina playing Duke without Cooper flag like like.
If they had one.
Do they get less credit because Cooper Flag is not on the court? Do they get Are they dinged even more because Duke was less than one hundred percent?
Or are they are?
Is the committee truly looking at what is supposed to be a quote unquote blind resume and who's playing who doesn't. Is it doesn't really matter to them?
That makes sense?
Yeah, it does, it does. And I'll just say this, It's discussed in the room that and it's well known in the room who's available and who's not available. And that goes back to any game that happened throughout the season. It's not just today. I think today impossible not to know that. Right if you're watching any channel, it's being talked about, so you know. And the way the community approaches that is it gets discussed, it gets introduced, and then it's up to each individual member on what it means. I think the one thing I caution about taking it too deep is just because Cooper, Flag and Brown were not available, that doesn't mean, and I'm just kind of playing it out for you, if North Carolina would have won, It doesn't mean that Duke would have won if they had them. You can't prove that. So the result is still the most important thing, but you can take you know, any of that information to your consideration process for whatever that's worth. So for me being not inside the room, but also having a lot of good context over what these committees do each year, I just basically have to treat at parn Square because so much of that is subjectivity and it's the results typically speak for themselves. And I also would say, you know, we saw Duke. I know they played Georgia Tech, but when when Cooper flag went down, they were down by I think nine points and ended up kind of starting to slowly take control of that game, end up being plus seventeen without flag yesterday. So I think what they taught the committee and they taught me and and Brown went down a little bit later, I believe is that this is a darn beat team. And even if you're beating Duke without those two, it's a really impressed to win. So I would I would just answer the question by simply saying they would have gotten enough credit to get in.
What do you think about the SEC writ large right now? I mean, obviously they've been stellar throughout the season. The only thing that I have wondered, is because we've seen so much of them playing against each other, is there an over Is there any risk of overvaluing them? Do you think anybody in that conference is going to get overseated or are they as good as advertised?
That's an excellent question, because I get a little concerned about that too. Ken Ken Pom put out a pretty good article I thought a couple of weeks ago about overvaluing the league. Now again, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna discredit anything that the teams at the top are absolutely elite. Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, even Kentucky's got a really dangerous side, Texas a and m brings a football game to the basketball court, you know. So there's a there's a lot of great at the top. But then you see kind of how teams from Mississippi State on down built their resumes, and it really kind of starts to irk you because they basically have a nice set of wins against each other, and they did a really strategic job of getting those wins when they were not at home, so they picked up all their best road winds again kind of against each other from Mississippi State down and that's been really interesting to study and examine. And I think everybody's in a little bit of a different spot. I'd say Georgia and Arkansas are in the safest spot of the bubble mix, assuming Mississippi State's pretty safe as well. And then from there it gets interesting because Vanderbilt is a team you know that I actually like on the core. I like the way that Byington built the roster all that stuff. But that's not what this is about. This is about evaluating the results and how they scheduled well. Out of anybody near the bubble, Danderbilt by far had the worst schedule three hundred and thirty first in the country by the net non conference schedule measurement, and the committee taught us forever, if you're anywhere near the cut line, you're out with a non conference schedule like that. So just because of that, Vanderbilt could eat you know, if we see a couple of bidstill and they could still happen in like the Big West, if Irvine wins, it could happen in the Mount West, if Boise or Colorado State win it. There's a couple others with Memphis, you know, Looming if they don't win it. If some of those spots start to go, Vanderbilt could be in a real jeopardy. I think, as it stands now, with no good steals officially out there yet, they're going to be safe and probably up on the ten seed line. But the culture they start to drift into the eleven area, I'd be careful if i'd the Commodores. Then you get into Oklahoma. You could pick Oklahoma apart, inside out and sideways and find ways to keep them out. They only won two road games all year. I know they got a good chunk of resume wins, especially non conference, that make them probably survive this and get in. But there's a lot of reasons you could pull them out to And then you know, Texas we covered and I think that's where it stands, So I think, you know, I think they'll get the core in and then Texas will be out, and then we're down to Oklahoma or Andy.
Last one for you, Rocko Rocko Miller from Field sixty eight bracketology expert joining us. You know three number one seeds feel pretty set in Stone Auburn Duke in Houston. My question is a little bit complicated. It's not just who gets it. But there's been this perception, fair or not. And I'm not saying that you would agree with this, but there's been a perception that the games on Sunday don't matter. That basically, you know, Tennessee a few years ago felt like they should have been a seed line higher. They win the SEC, they don't get credit for it, blah blah blah blah blah. I bring it up because basically everybody that could get that fourth number one seed, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Michigan State are all playing on Sunday.
I don't even know if there's a question there.
I just feel like if like say, Michigan State loses on and gets the last number one seed and Florida wins or Alabama wins.
Or something, I just feel like there's gonna be a lot of people pissed.
I mean, do you have any thoughts on like does it actually matter on Sunday or there? You know, I don't want to put like the Committee's not, you know, not even doing anything on Sunday, But there is this perception that the bracket basically gets set on Saturday night and that Sunday results don't matter, and when you have four teams battling for a number one seed that could all be playing Sunday.
I just feel like it could get a little bit complicated.
Yeah, it can't get complicated. So you get a couple of answers to that. So one the committee will be pretty much wrapped up with the process. The sixty eight teams will be selected at that time, and then they'll have to build contingency brackets. Some years they have to build as many as twenty brackets. They could actually have to build more than that. They might build only, you know, eight brackets, just depends on how it shakes out. With these potential automatic bids being stolen, they won't know that till late. You got to wait for the big West, Mountain, West, et cetera. Leagues that listed already. So there's that part of it. But that's more bubble related concerns for the committee. I would say with the teams this year, I think our four are set regardless of what happens from Saturday on, mainly because Florida and Houston have done plenty enough to lock those spots up. You looked at Florida, they have the two best roade wins money can buy I mean neither Platinum, Gold, Elite level Road winds both in the state of Alabama.
They go to the.
Jungle and win by nine, shock the world in that win. Then they go to Tuscaloosa, one of these teams they theoretically would be competing with for the final one spot, and they won there. So Florida and Alabama could actually meet on the same side of the bracket. And maybe they are now that might be done now. But even if Alabama beats them in Nashville, to me, and I think to the committee would agree, it's more impressive either way that Florida won in Tuscaloosa than anything that can happen in Nashville. And then you go a step further and you see that Alabama's lost seven the games, Florida's only lost four. I mean, this decision is pretty much done in my books. And then you look at Houston, a team that's ten and oh true, road wins dominated the Big twelve. They've made it to the final, they have nothing left to prove. They could lose to Arizona in the championship game, and I think they're safely in the one spot. And I think Florida and Houston are like three A and three B in the order in the teching order that to go either way. I've been leaning towards Florida just because, like I said, those two platinum gold road winds they got in Alabama and Auburn really make them just kind of show that they can do it at the highest level. Houston's best road wins are really good as well. They've wanted Arizona, Texas, Tech, Kansas, etc. But that's not the same as going to Alberta, Alabama. So I'm giving the tiebreaker to Florida, but would not be surprised if it gets slipped by the committee.
That's really interesting.
I haven't heard anybody make the definitive case that Florida, independent of what happens the next day or two, has the spot locked up. Roco Miller bracketologists for Field of sixty eight. You can follow on Twitter at Roco Miller eight Roco No pressure. But j mart and I are hosting tomorrow and night too, and we're probably gonna be talking about the exact same things and the exact same teams. So you know, if you're available eight to eleven Pacific, we'd love to have you on again. But we appreciate the time, and you know, stay hydrated, get as much rest as you can these next few days.
Okay, no, I appreciate it. Yeah, send me a text tomorrow. We'll see if we can do it again. As we to talk to you guys all right.
That is Roco Miller Field to sixty eight. Make sure to follow him on Twitter at Roco Miller eight. Lot of bracketology and a lot of results from throughout the day in college basketball, Disager is going to come back and get you all of the details on one of the craziest days on the college hoops calendar.
The Sager's Up Next. Fox Sports Radio.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific.
Welcome back, everybody, Jason Smith Show, Mike Harmer, Jason Smith and Mike Harmon are out. They'll be back Monday. Don't you worry? Er toords Jason Martin taking you up until two am Eastern time, so we want to do toss it over the news desk Steve de Seger, I don't know if Jason might give you the extended update.
We have it every sep it's a week night.
They j Martin, I clearly like you more than Jason and Mike King, but no, I just thought this was a good time to bring you in.
I got to add to what you just said in the last segment about the Sunday meaning anything to the NCAA committee. In my very young days, I can remember in Los Angeles it was the year before Seth Greenberg became Long Beach State coach. The Big West was a very good basketball conference. Believe it or not, they already were going to have three teams going to the NCAA Tournament and almost a fourth because Long Beach State was I think twenty three and nine and playing in the conference final. Unfortunately, back then, if you can believe this, the Big West Conference final was on during the selection show. No, I'm not kidding. And so the NCAA Selection Committee said, Long Beach State, if you beat number one ranked UNLV right now, you're in. If not, you're out. That's how they solved the problem. What it was astounding, so needless to say, it forced the conference to move to an earlier start time, and now they're Saturday nights instead of Sunday afternoon.
I've never heard of that, I do know. I will tell you.
When Yukon was in the AAC, and I know it's only because it's Yukon, but they played in the championship game one year and it went like double overtime and it basically went into the selection show. But it was the AAC and nobody cared. So like I just I think, yeah, I think that this was literally.
Three to four bids from this league.
What is so okay?
I I early nineties.
Wow, that's amazing. I did not know that at all.
Truly stunning, but not a stunning is this. Let's get to the postgame press conference at the Pig ten quarterfinals after two seed Maryland has blown out Illinois. Maryland head coach Kevin Willard at the microphone for the media.
Coach Dave Ryan Hart w CBK Radio.
After a slow start by both teams, and there was a couple of free.
Throws by Illinois and it was it.
Was a six to four ball game, and boy, and things just seemed like it took off for your ball club.
Then Rice hit four threes.
I'm not kidding you. This question goes on for thirty five seconds. Wow, is this out of that?
So he just did play by play. It's like, yeah, it was seventeen minutes ago. I like that offensive bound.
Through the whole box.
We all know there's got it.
There's gotta be I'm from New York.
There's got to be a question.
And then he proceeded to go another twenty seconds in the game. I got nothing for you.
That was great.
I will say Willard's a pretty funny guy. Hell, he'll just and he said, I'm in New Yorker. He'll kind of just tell it like it is.
That could have gone one of two ways. He chose the humor route. Wow, congratulate.
I wonder if they hadn't won, if if everyone would have been so jovial.
But yeah, not just one bleue out Illinois. It was eighty eight sixty five. It'll be two seed Maryland against one seed Michigan State in a big tear perhaps in the final this weekend. I don't want to jump the gun here, but they're both in the semifinals of the Big Ten. Michigan State over Oregon seventy four to sixty four. That was pretty close. Game three seed Michigan advanced over Purdue tonight eighty six sixty eight, and as we mentioned earlier in the show, Wisconsin three, Ucla Toath eighty six to seventy. We can update that the Chicago Cubs in their exhibition will not be no hit in Japan tonight. They are still getting shut out in the seventh inning three nothing by the han Chin Tigers. The Cubs offense is two for twenty one in this game. And as far as late night college hoops, Mountain West, Colorado stayed out to a twenty three to eleven lead on Utah State first at Thank.
You very much, by the way, UC Irvine in the Big West, another team, you know, kind of one of those bad league, good record teams. They are tied in the Big West semifinals. Thank you to Segar, Jason Smith Show, Mike Harmon Air Tours, Jason Martin.
One hour left, Fox Sports Radio,
