Best of March Madness Part 1: Blue Blood programs ARE DEAD, Unc & Iso Joe TEAR UP their brackets after Arizona & Illinois advance

Summary

Club Shay Shay – Best of March Madness Part 1 (April 1, 2026)

Theme:
This special “Best of March Madness” episode dives into the dramatic shift in college basketball's power structure, the impact of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) and the transfer portal, and recaps stunning upsets and standout tournament performances. The crew—Joe, Uncle Joe, and Ocho—debate the end of the blue blood era, break down key games such as Illinois’ and Arizona’s advances, celebrate the Big Ten’s growing prominence, and clown each other over their busted brackets, all with the signature Club Shay Shay energy.

---

Main Theme: The Death of the Blue Blood Era

Timestamps: 00:00–04:41

• The hosts agree the “Blue Blood” programs (Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina) no longer dominate college hoops.
  • “Rick Picchino didn’t hold back, declaring the era of blue blood programs is officially over.” (00:17, Joe)
• NIL deals and the transfer portal have leveled the playing field.
  • “Now all of a sudden, [schools] that were typically doormats… are playing in the college football playoffs.” (00:50, Joe)
  • “With college basketball being a professional sport now, it’s different… you got a lot of these cats, they going with a bag.” (01:41, Uncle Joe)
• All schools can attract talent with money and resources now.
  • “Money is money… his money spend over here, Arkansas, just like that money spent at Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky.” (02:11, Joe)
• The conversation parallels college football’s transformation post-NIL, citing Nick Saban’s own frustrations about the loss of control.
  • “All you got to do is incentivize the better kids to come to your school now if you got enough money.” (02:35, Ocho)

---

NIL & The Capitalist Shift in College Sports

Timestamps: 03:13–05:31

• Coaches want to control the NIL/transfer system now that players have leverage.
  • “Now all of a sudden… let’s get a hold on this.” (03:53, Joe)
  • “College has robbed these kids for so long. Let them get about 15, 20 years to get back.” (04:15, Joe)
• They argue for a reasonable eligibility limit (e.g., not having 26-27-year-olds in college).
  • “We can’t have no 26, 27-year-old playing damn college sports.” (05:31, Joe)

Memorable Quote:

“I thought we love capitalism. America is the greatest country… Now they telling—Hey, don’t dream too big. Ah, nah. Let me get mine.” (04:33, Joe)

---

Loyalty is Dead: The New Player-Coach Relationship

Timestamps: 07:05–09:32

• One-year scholarships and transfer freedom mean loyalty is gone—players are businesses too.
  • “You want us to be loyal while you doing business?… I’m a business too. I’m incorporated. I’m an LLC. Hello.” (08:13, Joe)
• Coaches must "recruit" their own players every year to prevent them from transferring.
  • Paralleled to relationships: “Don’t you gotta recruit your girl every day?” (09:04, Joe)
  • “If you don’t recruit or somebody else recruiting—Hello. Damn.” (11:01, Joe)

---

Game Recaps & Tournament Analysis

Illinois vs. Houston

Timestamps: 15:00–19:58

• Illinois beats Houston 65-55, advancing to the Elite Eight.
  • “We did not shoot the ball well. We did not play a really good game, and we’re moving on to the Elite Eight.” (17:52, Joe)
  • Highlights Illinois’ toughness; Houston struggled offensively and lacked chemistry.
  • “Give Illinois credit in this. They played hard, guarded, they were tough defensively.” (16:04, Uncle Joe)

Iowa vs. Nebraska

Timestamps: 21:56–27:46

• Iowa rolls over Nebraska 77-71 in a high-scoring, offensive shootout.
  • “26 combined three-pointers, minimal whistles, and defense… well, hey, take a choice.” (21:56, Joe)
  • Nebraska made a crucial error: only four players on court after timeout.
    • “How do you get out there and don’t notice you ain’t got but four players?” (22:38, Uncle Joe)
  • Iowa’s bench production (38 points, 7/12 from three) was key.
    • “You give me 38 points off the bench and let them shoot like that for three, I’mma win a lot of games.” (26:08, Joe)

Michigan vs. Alabama

Timestamps: 32:00–36:44

• Michigan outscores Alabama thanks to Yaxel Lindenborg’s near triple-double (23 pts, 12 reb).
  • “Michigan was more efficient than Alabama from three… Alabama held on as long as they could.” (32:00, Joe)
  • Alabama’s missing injured starter factored in.
  • Talk turns to Bama’s underrated basketball history.

Tennessee vs. Iowa State

Timestamps: 50:16–51:50

• Tennessee dominates the boards (21-rebound advantage) en route to Elite Eight.
  • “They had 16 offensive rebounds, shot 51% from the field.” (51:36, Uncle Joe)
  • Freshman star, but team powered by experienced upperclassmen.

Arizona vs. Purdue

Timestamps: 51:50–55:38

• Arizona’s three stud freshmen (Burris, Coff [Carson Karchinikov], and Cold P) combine for 52 points, ignite second-half run for Final Four berth.
  • “These jokers came out in the second half… Arizona locked in.” (52:42, Joe; 55:07, Uncle Joe)
  • “Collectively, as a team, I don’t really see nobody beating Arizona, man.” (54:29, Uncle Joe)

Illinois' Size Advantage

Timestamps: 55:38–58:16

• Illinois uses dominant size to maul Iowa and reach first Final Four since 2005.
  • “They outscored the ninth seeded Iowa 40 to 12 in the paint and out rebounded them 38 to 21.” (55:38, Joe)
  • Freshman Keegan Wagner and Stojakovic praised as future lottery picks.

---

The Bracketocalypse (Hosts Tear Up Their Picks)

Timestamps: 21:24, 59:03–61:16

• Illinois’ and Arizona’s wins bust most brackets; hosts good-naturedly argue about who is "cooked."
  • “Joe Cook. Huh? Joe Cook.” (21:28, Joe)
  • “I should be in first right now!” (21:41, Ocho)
  • Ocho boasts methods: “If you got an animal in your name… that’s who to use.” (59:42, Joe)
• Playful jabs as Ocho claims to keep his hopes alive with Arizona and Duke, while Joe and Uncle Joe look for long-shot scenarios.

---

Insights on Coaching, Player Development & Sports Mentality

Timestamps: 36:44–44:08

• Importance of basketball IQ, versatility, and mental toughness
  • “Having a great IQ for the game, knowing how to pass, knowing how to play the right way, that’ll get you a long way.” (36:15, Uncle Joe)
  • “The game is 90% mental, 10% physical… it all comes to how much you know up here.” (39:21, Ocho)
• Frustrations with young athletes who don’t study or execute ("Give me your phone… you don’t remember the damn plays? See, that's O.C. Joe, that's why I couldn't coach.” (40:47, Joe)

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “If it makes dollars, it makes sense—with a C.” (08:28, Joe)
• "Don't you gotta recruit your girl every day?... That's what you do in a relationship. That's how you stay together… Guys, you gotta recruit the woman that you with.” (09:04, Joe)
• “You never apologize for winning, but we know we can play much better.” (19:33, Joe)

Comic Relief:

• Extended jokes on old-school discipline, growing up in the South, and how shop talk turns from sports to Publisher’s Clearing House checks.
  • “A whipping solved everything in the South.” (47:50, Joe)
  • “Back in them days… it wasn’t no ADHD, you were just stupid.” (47:16, Ocho)

---

Notable Segment Timestamps (Quick Reference)

• 00:17 – Blue blood era is over; NIL has leveled the playing field
• 03:53 – Coaches want control now that players have leverage
• 08:13 – “I’m a business too… I’m incorporated.”
• 17:52 – Illinois’ ugly win: “We did not shoot the ball well… but we’re moving on.”
• 21:28 – Bracket chaos begins (“Joe Cook”)
• 26:08 – “Give me 38 points off the bench… I’mma win a lot of games.”
• 36:15 – “Having a great IQ… that’ll get you a long way.”
• 47:50 – “A whipping solved everything in the South.”

---

Takeaway:
This episode captures the changing landscape of college basketball—with big money, fluid rosters, and traditional powers dethroned—while delivering sharp game analysis, bracket heartbreak, and plenty of the lively, humorous banter that defines Club Shay Shay. If you missed it, you’ll get both expert insights and a taste of the cultural moment shaping modern college sports.

Transcript

[Joe]

Hello, it's your favorite sports funk here. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button to join the fastest growing community on YouTube. Remember, Nightcap doesn't happen without you, so please subscribe or you're gonna make Ocho cry. At the St. John's upset, Kansas, Rick Picchino didn't hold back, declaring the era of the blue blood programs is officially over. The blue bloods no longer control basketball any longer. There is no difference between Kentucky, North Carolina than Illinois, St. John's there is no difference anymore. There is no difference between Michigan State, who's a blue blood, and the other teams from the conference from Mississippi. When they get going, it's all going to be the same. Joe has nil at the transfer portal, has it leveled the playing field because before the nil is, Indiana had no chance of doing what they did in football 16, 0. So now it's made a lot of these programs. You see what Texas Tech was able to do. You see some of these other programs, Ocho, that were typically doormats.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And now all of a sudden they're playing in the college football playoffs. Now all of a sudden the teams that normally were there and he said the blue Bloods as we know them, the Kansas, the Kentucky's, the North Carolinas and all these teams, it ain't.

[Uncle Joe]

It ain't. I, I agree with you. I think the, the playing field is so even nowadays, fellas, you know what I mean, that the blue bloods are really getting kicked out. When you think about it, you know, it's not, it's not like it was back in the day. Everybody wanted to go to Kansas, Duke or Kentucky. That's not it.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

With college basketball being a professional sport now, it's different. It's, it's. You know, you got a lot of these cats, they going with a bag at just like anything else. You know what I mean?

[Joe]

Yes.

[Uncle Joe]

Now they ain't gonna come out and tell us they going. But come on now.

[Ocho]

I mean, come on now we know

[Joe]

because before, because think about it guys, before, before they was giving out them bag. The bonds are going to North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, somebody like that Acuff going to one of those blue bloods.

[Ocho]

Probably.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And the funny thing, but now money is money. Hey, his money spend over here, Arkansas, just like that money spent at Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky.

[Ocho]

It all, it all's been the same. And there you go because say the same thing. You have coach coming out saying this about basketball, that the blue blood program no longer run college basketball. Hell Didn't Nick Saban say the same thing about college football? When the playing field is even, now everybody, we can go and get whoever we want.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Need some boosters. All we need is a little cash, just a little change, you know, that's very enticing. All you got to do is incentivize the better kids to come to your school now if you got enough money. And all of a sudden, you ain't got no control now.

[Joe]

And they want to, and they want to, they want. They like capitalism. But you see what they're trying to do to them college kids, because a lot of the kids are getting that capitalism. How they looking on your. Now all of a sudden, we. We need to put a. We need to put control on this. Yeah. On the port of the portal. College coaches always had a portal open.

[Ocho]

Always.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

You see them coaches start leaving when all of a sudden that nil came to. Came to be. And the money was going to be spread around. All of a sudden, you know what? I think the game has passed me by. You think now all of a sudden, you ain't the only one. Now, ain't nobody care nothing about no scat pack, no hell cats, no demons.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You guys say, hey, Texas say we got Ferrari, Lambo. Yeah. Ohio says, what you want? These other programs offer money, too. So guess what? We see these coaches start to deal. Coach K. Then you saw Roy follow him out the door.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You saw Coach Saban, he's like, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, don't, don't, don't do that. And I think Coach Saban is the greatest college coach ever. But we know what time it was. Hey, hey. Now all of a sudden, let's get a hold on this. Let these kids, these kids. No, no, no, no. College has robbed these kids for so long.

[Uncle Joe]

Long.

[Joe]

Let them get about 15, 20 years to get back. Then y' all want to do something with it, but nah, don't do nothing with it now. Cuz you know why? Y' all know why? They want to do something with it now. But I. I thought we love capitalism. America is the greatest country in the world because you can come from nothing and make something.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that I.

[Joe]

Hey, hey, hey. And that what?

[Ocho]

Hey.

[Joe]

An American dream. Whoa, whoa. Now they telling. Hey, don't dream too big. Ah, nah. Let me get mine. No. These coaches been jumping and jumping. Now you want to cap it. You ain't putting no cap on this. How much these college coaches make? Not in football, not in basketball. Now, now I get it. Now if you want to say, look here, man, I'm gonna give you five years to play four. Hey, you shouldn't be 25, 26, 27 Ocho playing college, no sport.

[Ocho]

Right.

[Joe]

Get your ass out and get a job, get a wife or get whatever. But you shouldn't be playing with no 18, 19, 20 year olds. I'm. You shouldn't have no 7, 8 years draw the line at some. You. Oh, we got to draw the line somewhere. We can't have no 26, 27 year old playing damn college sports.

[Ocho]

I got a question too. Hey, are there certain scenarios. Hey, uncle Joe. Certain situations, injuries, ACLs or, or, or

[Joe]

things messed it up. What Kobe did. Kobe knocked. So basically now, now, and guess what? OO now kids can go to juco and they ain't even went to school. So you still got four, five years to play football.

[Uncle Joe]

You can do two in juco and still.

[Joe]

Yes. And that ain't nothing.

[Uncle Joe]

But it's schools out here un oo like the University of Arkansas to where when they get these cast this nil money, they don't even tax it. It ain't even no tax on it. Yeah.

[Joe]

What?

[Uncle Joe]

Yes, yes. It's some schools who giving out nil money. Who don't even, who won't even take you. You can't even collect tax from it. These guys, hey, man, hey, they, they getting it, man, by the boatload, you hear me? I'm trying to.

[Joe]

Hey, and I ain't got no, I ain't got no, I ain't got no problem with it neither.

[Uncle Joe]

I'll try and get it.

[Joe]

Because for the longest time they've all guys have always gotten money, but they didn't call it nil.

[Ocho]

No.

[Joe]

You know, you, you from, from, from, from high school coaches or parents getting jobs at the university, mom getting a home or, or a car or getting a job or something, you know. Hey, yeah, I tell you what, you buy the car, I'm gonna have this school here to put gas in it. If somebody bought the car, somebody else put gas in it. But, but I'm going over here because

[Uncle Joe]

they bought my house. There you go.

[Joe]

So, so I, I, I don't have a problem with it. I want these kids to make as much money as they possibly can because for the longest time colleges have used their name, image and likeness. And I don't have no problem with guys leaving because guess what? That college scholarship is for one year. College can get off a player after one year if they see fit. But now when the players got a little Power. And they can go somewhere else and get a little bit more money. Oh, that ain't how you do business. How many coaches have released a player that he thought he had a four year ride there?

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, it's been plenty of time.

[Joe]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

So I'm go, guess what? I play good over here. Somebody you paying me a million, Somebody go offer me two.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. That's why in college, college sports, they can say what they want, but it's never going to be any loyalty in it when. When it comes down to these guys making money. They in it for making money, but it's a bit.

[Joe]

I thought it was. Hold on. You see what it is, Joe? You see what you just said? It's a business for them, but it's

[Uncle Joe]

loyal to us, right?

[Ocho]

Please. Hey, Joe, funny thing about it.

[Joe]

So you want us to be loyal while you doing business? We being loyal. Nah, it's a business. Guess what? I'm a business too. I'm. I'm incorporated. I'm an ls. Hello.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And so I need to worry. I need to worry about my bottom line too. Like you worry about your bottom line. I need to worry about mine. Yeah. So guess what? We both worried about our bottom line. What is in the best interest of you? What is in the best interest of me? If it work? If it works, it works. Because if it makes dollars, it makes sense. With a C. Come on. Which is why you got to recruit your players every year. You absolutely do. You absolutely do.

[Uncle Joe]

No matter.

[Joe]

No.

[Uncle Joe]

No matter the relationship that you think y' all might have a great relationship, you got to still recruit that guy, man. Cause guess what?

[Joe]

Don't you got to recruit your girl every day. You gotta wake up every day, Joe, and kiss and tell her how much you love it and how much you miss her. And when she gone for a little while, you say, baby, I missed you. I'm so glad that you in my life. You gotta recruit. That's what you do in a relationship. That's how you stay together for an extended period of time. Guys, you gotta recruit the woman that you with. You gotta recruit the man that you with.

[Uncle Joe]

Somebody else trying to recruit somebody else.

[Joe]

Hello. Get what and get what? He got nil. Dollars too. Cause the guy that you. If somebody see you, well, let me let you know what, Joe. I stepped in the water. The water was cold. It chilled my body but not my soul. I stepped in the water, I said, Lord, Lord have mercy on me, cuz, trust me about this. If somebody see yo with you, Joe, your girl with you your girl with you? Oo, guess what's coming. Another dude that got a nil package. Yeah, so you got to recruit her. Just like these crews gotta recruit them. Because I stepped in the water. It was up to my knee. I said, lord, Lord, have mercy on me. Yeah, y' all ain't ready for real shot. Y' all ain't ready for it because he asked you, you know, in Malachi 3 8, he asked a rhetorical question. He said, will a man rob God? He already knows the answer. He said, yes, theoretically, you can't rob God, but you can and tithe in an offering. He said, now, in 3, 10, he says, now, if you believe in me, if you tithe and you offer, he says, I'll open up the windows of heaven and pull you out a blessing you will not be able to receive. That's what the Bible teaches us. So if you don't recruit your girl, that relationship, because a school and college of the player is a relationship,

[Uncle Joe]

you

[Joe]

don't recruit or somebody else recruiting. Hello. Damn.

[Ocho]

I like that. I like that.

[Uncle Joe]

It's cold out here now, fella.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, hey. You know, the funny thing about it, the game always.

[Joe]

You just got the game always been

[Ocho]

cold, but, you know, now we got jackets.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, look, look, look.

[Joe]

Check them out. Check them out, huh? You know what I'm saying?

[Ocho]

Now, we got jackets.

[Joe]

We got the church. We got the door that the church is open. Now, you don't say, hey, I'm sure now, you know what I'm saying? I look here, now, we gonna pass the complexion. Played around now, God don't like noise. You know what I'm saying? That what they say. They say God don't like noise.

[Ocho]

No noise.

[Joe]

No.

[Ocho]

Hey, hey, you know what?

[Joe]

After.

[Ocho]

After hearing you preach, you are also a brother of the cloth with me. You. You. You are now anointed.

[Uncle Joe]

Huh?

[Joe]

Yes, sir. Yeah, I'll say.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, my goodness.

[Joe]

But you know what? I think as you get older, you learn a lot more. Because guys, you know, we. We wouldn't recruit nobody. Hey, this is what it is. Stay if you want to, leave if you want.

[Uncle Joe]

Right?

[Joe]

Hey, as you get older, you know, your boy ain't what he used to. You know, I got. Got me, look, you know, I got me a little cane. I go get around on, move fast. So, you know what I'm saying? I can't catch what I used to catch. You know what I'm saying?

[Uncle Joe]

You know what I'm saying, guys?

[Joe]

I can't catch what I used to catch.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You know, you. You get what you can now. Yes, sir. Once upon a time is what I wanted.

[Ocho]

Now you get what you can.

[Joe]

Yeah, man. Hey, when you go fishing? Yeah. I don't know if Joe, you up in deep sea fishing.

[Uncle Joe]

I ain't been deep sea fishing.

[Joe]

Sometimes when you go deep sea fishing, you looking to catch a particular type of fish. Come on now, you get to be my age, you can't. You know what I'm saying? I catch catfish, I catch crappy bass, walleye, pike, you know what I'm saying? Flounder, sheephead, rock fish. I'm just saying keep it at 1000 with you all.

[Uncle Joe]

I like it.

[Ocho]

I like it.

[Joe]

Whatever bite. Whatever bite.

[Uncle Joe]

It's a little different nowadays. It's a little different.

[Joe]

It is. It's absolutely. It's a lot different.

[Ocho]

Yeah,

[Joe]

it's a lot different out there. But you got to. And these guys know. These guys know their value. Get what you can get. Obviously you want to go. You know, I think for the most part, 90 of guys that go to college have aspirations of playing in the next level.

[Ocho]

Absolutely.

[Joe]

Probably 10 will. But in the process, if I can make me a couple of million dollars before I even get there.

[Uncle Joe]

Hello.

[Ocho]

Not. Why not? The game is the game. They didn't played it a very long time.

[Joe]

Yes.

[Ocho]

Pendulum has happened to shift now. And now with that pendulum shifting, now they want to control it. Oh, now they want to change the narrative. Well, hell, you didn't made. Oh, you made billions off playing billions of years. Billions. Ain't nobody battered the eye. Ain't nobody said nothing.

[Joe]

Nope.

[Ocho]

Oh, now that now. Now the playing field is even.

[Joe]

Oh, it's a problem.

[Ocho]

Come on.

[Joe]

All that money y' all made off the backs of these college kids, now it's a problem. They're getting a little bit. They still. They could never. Because the system that was in place was in place for 75 years. Oh, yeah. So it would need at least 75 years for them to catch up. Now they get a couple years, they get what, four or five years of nil money. Now all of a sudden it's an issue. Now all of a sudden.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh yeah, they gonna come up with something to where they gonna cat. Of course, they gonna just keep continuing to let this go on.

[Joe]

Illinois beat the Houston co. About to score 6,555. The freshman keep Liverpool, Illinois. Wagner and McCovic are the first freshman teammates to each have double doubles in the same NCAA tournament game since freshman's became available to play in 1972. 73. You talk about 14 and 10 and 13 and 12 and they, you know, neither team shot the ball particularly well. But when you look at Houston, Joe, they shot two free throws the whole

[Uncle Joe]

night and win no game.

[Joe]

The game. The game would have been even more lopsided if Arizona couldn't. Fighting a line. I could have made that free throw. They're 12 or 21. Beat them on the glass. They beat them on the glass. Both teams shot 9 of 23 from the three the. The align. I shot 43% from the floor. Houston was worse, 22 of 64, 34% from the floor. And we know the Cougars can turn the defense up, but in the process, they didn't really get anything cheap.

[Uncle Joe]

Nah, they had to scrap for everything.

[Joe]

And they couldn't. They couldn't. They couldn't buy. They couldn't buy a bucket. They couldn't buy.

[Uncle Joe]

They couldn't. They couldn't. I'm giving Illinois credit in this. They. They played hard, guarded, they were tough defensively. Un oo. It took Houston forever just to even score a bucket.

[Joe]

Yeah, I was looking at. I was like, hold on. Because I had. I was going. Trying to go back and forth and I'm looking, I'm like, damn, it's 15 minutes. It's five minutes already going out the game and it's only 42. I'm like, what the hell? Hey, Hey. I said they shooting in a peach basket with a bowling ball. I'm like, well, dangle.

[Uncle Joe]

They made.

[Ocho]

They made it ugly, huh? They made. They made it real ugly. Illinois.

[Uncle Joe]

They did, bro. They did. They made it ugly. They. They were tough defensively, Uncle Ocho. And then they got a. Illinois's got a lot of guys that can go off the bounce and they can score that ball and put pressure on you. I didn't think they played great, but they played good enough to win Houston. They played so bad at the wrong time that this 10 point, this 10 point victory for Illinois really should have probably been about 15, 20.

[Joe]

Yes, absolutely, Houston, Absolutely.

[Uncle Joe]

They look terrible the whole night. I'm be honest with you. They had no. No type of chemistry, no flow, continuity. None of that coming in this game to where, you know, I thought Fleming would kind of get off to a good start, you know, kind of seize the moment, but none of that happened, bro. It was a super low scoring game. And Illinois.

[Joe]

Stu Yovich looked good. He got. He had 13. How do we do? Light on prize picks? I don't think. I think somebody. I think somebody let us down with the. Brandon Smith let us down. Because he needed 21 and a half, and I think he had 21. That's the boy from Purdue.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yeah. I think that for. For me, guys.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

If I'm Illinois coach, I'm like, look, guys, we did not shoot the ball well. We did not. We did not play a really good game, and we're moving on to the Elite Eight.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yeah. We gotta feel good about where we are. We held that team to 55 points, but un.

[Ocho]

You got to think about it, though. Do you really tell your team that with the performance that you had tonight, you happen to win because the other team plays so bad, but going, but going forward, you're not seeing teams. They're gonna, they're gonna shoot this bad.

[Uncle Joe]

They're not gonna be, hey, Illinois's coach probably telling his players, we not gonna shoot this bad.

[Joe]

We.

[Uncle Joe]

We played. We ain't play no great game neither. We a play our best basketball. You know what I mean? A top team like Houston, like, they are two seeds. Like, a lot of people had them

[Joe]

pick to win it, right? I, I like Illinois, but I did not see them going. I did not see them getting beaten either. I didn't. You know, I pick. I, I, I thought they, you know, caught a couple of highlights of their game, but, man, they guys, whew, boy, look here. I mean, they got about six or seven guys. I can't pronounce their name. They had to go for. They had to. They got brothers on the team. They got Timaslav Isovich, his brother Isovich, St. Yovic, Huber, Ruchas. I, I, like, damn. Where y' all getting these guys from?

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, Stakovic had been playing great the whole season. I can't believe he come off the bench. I thought he was starting.

[Joe]

Yes, yes.

[Uncle Joe]

Illinois got a good team.

[Joe]

And I think that's. That's the thing. Look, that's the thing you do. I mean, we, We've all been a part of teams. We've won ball games. Yeah. And, and the coach says, look, you never apologize for winning, but we know we can play much better. Yes. Than what we played. And so that tells you the, the, the room that we can improve because we beat this team. And this is not. That's, this is not anywhere close to. To how well we. Absolutely.

[Uncle Joe]

Absolutely. So if I'm Illinois, I'm feeling good about the next game. I mean, we, We. We played probably the toughest team, one of the toughest teams left in the tournament. Now we still get a chance to move on. We just got to tighten some Stuff up and be better next game. But, yep, for the most part, Illinois answered the bill, man. They answered the bill.

[Ocho]

Hey, who Illinois got to play next, Joe?

[Joe]

Iowa. Big Ten.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, yeah. They both in the Big Ten. Huh?

[Joe]

Big Ten for a chance to go to the. The final.

[Uncle Joe]

I wonder what was the. What was the series like this year on. On them playing? They probably played twice, right? Probably two or three times.

[Joe]

Yeah. And then, hell, you got Iowa State on the other side, and you got Michigan and you got Purdue. But Big Ten got to be feeling good about themselves. They like, hey, y' all look at us as just a. A football program, but they look at

[Uncle Joe]

our basketball, Big Ten ball, and they doing their thing. They still.

[Joe]

Yeah, because, you know, you think about Ohio State, you think of Michigan, you think of Penn State, you know, you think of, you know, big, you think football. Yeah, they like. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. You know, we go, hey, it's time. It's time for us to shine, too. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I. I had Houston going far. I think I had Houston. Oh, yeah, I had Houston going to the Final four. You did?

[Uncle Joe]

I did.

[Ocho]

Hey, how the bracket looks now, man?

[Uncle Joe]

Come on.

[Joe]

Joe Cook. Huh? Joe Cook.

[Uncle Joe]

Y' all got me. I know Ocho probably cooked over there, too.

[Joe]

Oh, he'll be tomorrow.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Who you got?

[Joe]

Yes.

[Ocho]

Hey, I should be. Hey, Unc, I should be in first right now.

[Joe]

Nah, I'm not sure about that, Ocho.

[Ocho]

I'm definitely in the league. I asked Ash. I guarantee that. I mean, we'll get to that point, but I'm just saying. I know I'm in the league now.

[Joe]

We'll get there in a minute.

[Ocho]

All right.

[Joe]

But the. The Illinois, they move on to the Elite Eight thanks to a 65, 55 victory over the Houston Cougars. They advance. Iowa is headed to the Elite Eight after 77, 71 victory over Nebraska. This one was all offense, 26 combined three pointer, minimal whistles, and defense. Well, hey, take a choice. You can't make this up. All season long, Nebraska only said four players out. I will get some layup and one that really sealed the victory. I'm trying to figure out Joe out of a timeout. How do you. How does Fred Hoiberg, a guy that played the game, college game at elite level, he's coached a game out of. At an elite level. How does this happen?

[Uncle Joe]

I don't know how you get out there and don't notice. You ain't got before players out there. Man, I'm Saying, yeah, it's on. I put it on the coach, but it's players too. Like, I mean, it's a pivotal moment, man. We, we still got a chance. It was still 40 something, 46 seconds on the clock, you know what I mean? Like, you had plenty of time to, to get a stop and to come down and make something happen. I know they kicking they self behind this, but I'mma get our credit, man. They were shooting a cover off. I thought Nebraska shot the COVID off of it too. This was a good shooting game. These dudes play hard, Uncle Ocho. I thought they got great contribution. Iowa did from the bigs. They just know how to play make. They move the ball, they play the right way, getting good and wide open shots, playing for one another. And you love to see basketball when it's played like that, bro. Like you didn't know who was going to be.

[Joe]

Iowa did a great job of protecting the basketball also. They only had five. You can win a lot of games. You're gonna win a lot of games like that. They shot 52 from the floor. They shot 43 from the three they only shot. They only went to the free throw line. This, like I said, it wasn't a whole lot of free throws. They went to the line 12 times. Nebraska went 11 times. But like, like, it's kind of like, like out of a timeout. How do you, how do you get caught with too many men on the field? Don't go out of a timeout.

[Ocho]

Yeah, football, that's crazy.

[Joe]

I'm like, bro. So I'm looking at basketball like, bro. How. How is this possible?

[Ocho]

Nervous pressure. The situation, sometimes the lights and lights too bright. You make mistakes like that, you're not thinking right, overthinking it, analyzing it too much instead of just being stuck right in that moment. In general, that's the, that's the only way something like that happened.

[Uncle Joe]

Go ahead, Joe. I think probably Horberg was probably too busy thinking about the next play. Uncle Ocho drawing up a play. But I just don't know how you don't. I don't know how you ain't see those four. You ain't have a four guys out there. This is really my first time, honestly. This is really my first time really watching Nebraska play and Iowa too, in this tournament.

[Joe]

They.

[Uncle Joe]

They both look good. I. I think I will. Beating Florida has gave them momentum and confidence to feel like they can beat anybody.

[Joe]

Yep.

[Uncle Joe]

You know, don't, don't pay attention to that nine seed they got. They ain't no hey, don't pay attention to that. Hey, them boys out there balling, man, they playing the right way. They playing the way basketball is supposed to be played. Moving that ball, getting great shots

[Joe]

and

[Ocho]

great, great shots is. Is exactly what they were doing. Hey, Joe.

[Joe]

And Unc.

[Ocho]

But only two people was in double figures out of the starters. Brother. Brother. But it's Thursday, Nebraska, right? Yeah, but they used.

[Uncle Joe]

You see them too. You see them, too.

[Joe]

The Hawkeyes had two, three guys in double figures, one starter and two backups.

[Uncle Joe]

Two starters.

[Ocho]

Two starters and two backups. That's what I did.

[Joe]

Yeah, they had four guys with double figures. I thought you was talking about Nebraska had two guys in double figures.

[Ocho]

Now, I was saying two starters for all kinds.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah. When you get that kind of production off the bench, think about it, Joe, Think about this. They got 38 points off the beat. Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

At a high percentage, too. It wasn't like them.

[Joe]

They was ch. 6 and 7, 6 and 10. Their bench. The bench guys made seven. Seven of their 12. They made seven of the 12 threes. You getting that kind of production off the bench? Hey, I'm happy.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

You give me in a college game, you give me 38 points off the bench and you let them guys shoot like that for three. I'mma win a lot of games. I'm gonna win a lot of games.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

In college, I'm getting 38 points from my bench and the guy's shooting seven, making seven. Three. Yeah, I'm gonna win a lot of games.

[Uncle Joe]

I am. Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe]

And.

[Uncle Joe]

And, and they guard too. I would, ain't they? It ain't just olay when you come down here like them dudes guarding too, Uncle Ocho. They ain't just out there offensively like they playing great team defense, help position.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

You know what I mean? Game rebound and we out.

[Joe]

But I thought I would needed their bench tonight because they, they had. They had three starters that gave him eight points. One starter played 14 minutes, gave no points. Banks played 15 minutes, gave him two points. Kale Combs gave him 20, play 27 mil, gave him six points. So they need. If they don't get that kind of production from their bench, they're losing the ball game.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe]

You can't have a starter play 14 minutes and give you no points. And another spot. So you got two spot starters that play 29 minutes. Yeah. You get two points, two points.

[Uncle Joe]

You got to find a way.

[Joe]

Three of your five starters. Three of your five starters give you eight points. You're losing that game. Unless you start, you guys come in and they give you 16 and they give you 19 and then you get another three. A guy hits a three.

[Uncle Joe]

I agree.

[Joe]

So you get 38 points from your BE.

[Uncle Joe]

I agree.

[Joe]

But contributions gotta, you gotta have that. I mean, it's. And, and you know, look, it always happens like this in, in a tournament game. In tournaments you always get. You always got to basically expect the unexpected. Cuz somebody gonna pop up. Joe. That you least expected.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And give you. And give you. Oh, you know, give you one of those performances.

[Uncle Joe]

Yes. Yeah. And that's. Hey, look, that's what we needed for Arkansas. But anyway, I'm, I'm on our. Our. Our was great. You know, you gotta have like, like UN said, you gotta have contribution from guys who maybe you didn't necessarily think, you know, they were going to give you that much. You know what I mean? Like, you. You got some guys who will step up and play outside, outside their bodies in this type of environment. It'll be great for you. And see, the thing is, it's like if you haven't played against a lot of these teams and you only get to play them in the tournament, you know, so trying to fill them out. It's kind of like boxing, you know, the first couple rounds, trying to figure you out, see what you got. It's like the first few minutes I'm trying to feel you out, see what's going on, then I can kind of make my move. But I think our man, they define the remedy, bro. They play hard. Like I said, they didn't beat the. They beat the number one seed, which was Florida. Yeah, they confidence through the roof. I think they think they can be there. Anybody? Uncle Ocho?

[Ocho]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Uncle Joe]

Once.

[Ocho]

Once they beat Florida, then you got. You got them two young bulls coming off the bench, you know, playing like that, being that efficient. 6 for 9 and 1. 1 for 6 was 6 for 10. 1 for 6, 4, 11. Yeah, you could damn near beat anybody.

[Joe]

I think the biggest thing, a biggest thing that has to happen when you upset a higher seat, you can't be satisfied. A lot of times, you know, you see these Cinderellas, they upset us. A number one seed or number two seed, they get satisfied. Florida, I mean, Iowa doesn't seem to be satisfied. There's like, okay, damn, we here.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Yeah. You get your first basket, Joe, you get your first basket in the NBA. You're like, okay, that wasn't as hard

[Uncle Joe]

as I thought it was.

[Joe]

Y' all gonna let me. My first, My first time I touched the rock. Hey, I get the preseason game. Hey, the first ball they throw me, I catch a touchdown. Oh, that's. Oh, okay.

[Uncle Joe]

I do, right?

[Joe]

And you beat a team, you beat Florida when nobody gave you a chance. Probably only people in the locker room that believed in you and your fan base. And you pull out that just don't be. And we see this a lot in football, too, Ojo. Sometimes a guy team get upset and they like, oh, man, we knocked off this team. And then you like, they go out there the next week.

[Ocho]

Yeah, it happened all the time.

[Joe]

Nah, nah, don't be. Don't be. Be greedy.

[Uncle Joe]

That's what I'm saying.

[Joe]

You know, people like, man, why you greedy? Hey, I want to win Mega million. Powerball, Cash four, Cash three, Fantasy five.

[Ocho]

All of it.

[Joe]

I'm trying to win all of it.

[Ocho]

Every last one.

[Joe]

Yes. Hey, hey, guys, you remember they used to send those publishers cleared houses and they talk about, you can win 40 states.

[Ocho]

Remember that? Hey, Joe, you take a picture with the check at the front door?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, man, I remember that thing they said, today, you won a million dollars. I'm like, oh, I'm jumping. I'm happy, man. Please, everybody got to talk about, you want a million dollars. But don't think we didn't play the train and send it in.

[Ocho]

Hello.

[Joe]

Hello. Cause, you know, they used to. I don't even know. I don't know if they still even have that. But they used to announce the winners on television. Such and such won $1 million. Like, oh, my goodness, what would it be like to win a million dollars?

[Ocho]

Especially back then, though, you know how much money?

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, what you talking about,

[Joe]

man? That publisher cleared. How they. And y' all remember the. The Maga? I think it was a TV guy where you get like 13 CDs for a penny.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe]

What? Yeah, you get 13, eight tracks, you get CD, you get record. Yeah, for a pity. Uh, what was it? Columbia? I think it was Columbia. Chad, what was it? I remember that.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Y' all don't remember. You could get. You could get a record. You get like 13 for a penny.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, I remember.

[Joe]

Michigan beat Alabama. The Wolverines had the most overall play on the floor. Yep. Yaxel Lindenborg, who did it all tonight, finishing just three shot, three assist shot with triple double. He had 23 points, 12 rebounds. Michigan was the more efficient than Alabama from three point range, connected on 13 or 27 attempts. Alabama, hey, Alabama held on as long as they could feel. Young Junior LeBaron Field, y'.

[Uncle Joe]

All. That's what I'm talking about. Game change. You need guys who can get to get, get to that chicken Uncle. Oo. Hey, who, who can get to that? Who, who got a bag? Hey, man, we need if you a score. Yeah, perfect. We need you to, we need you to get some buckets. The rest of us, we can do the dirty work.

[Joe]

One more guy to come along with him. He needed one more guy because Michigan had too many guys. You. They got 33 points.

[Uncle Joe]

They missing 20.

[Joe]

So he needed what?

[Uncle Joe]

He needed another, you know, they missing 20 points a game, you know.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, yeah, I forgot.

[Ocho]

He hurt

[Joe]

your guy, tried to be free. Hello, Ross.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, but if they'd had him, they definitely, they, they probably would have really had a chance.

[Joe]

They definitely have a chance. Yeah, but I ain't know. I ain't no Phil. Y' all was not that nice. You know, you, you see clip, you saw. I see highlights of him and stuff like that. Now. He could, he could. Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. I got a chance to watch Alabama play a few times because they in the SEC obviously playing against my Razorback. So they got some guys who can go.

[Joe]

Who.

[Uncle Joe]

You know, and they got some, some tough, gritty guys too. They got some tough, gritty guys. So they, they, they pretty good.

[Joe]

You know, people look at Alabama and people just think about football. Yeah, but Alabama used to have basketball.

[Uncle Joe]

What you talking about?

[Joe]

I mean, you, you know, you. They had. Ori went to Alabama for them. They had Alabama. Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

And they had a Gerald Wallace I played with. Know.

[Joe]

Yeah, before then. That was before your time. They had Bobby Lee hurt. They had Ena Squatley. Oh, they had come guys.

[Uncle Joe]

They got some dogs. Some. Some boy raised down. Down deep in the south.

[Joe]

And ma. Hey, prior to him getting hurt, Antonio Mc.

[Uncle Joe]

I play with McDyess. Huh?

[Joe]

I'm talking about. You talking about 6, 10 and can leave the building.

[Uncle Joe]

He like that, Ojo. I'm talking about.

[Ocho]

He can jump. He can jump like that.

[Uncle Joe]

Head tap. That boy. Hey, that boy could fly. That boy could fly.

[Joe]

Before we hurt that knee. Oh, he was. Hey, cuz, I was in. I was in Denver when he got there.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

I was at Brian steals came there. LaFonso Ellis. I was there when Jalen Rose got there. All of them Dimbe Mutumbo, all of them Rodney Rogers mellow. So. So. Hey, but McDist, who, Lord have mercy, man, before he hurt that knee, he was something to deal.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, he want nothing to play with. That boy was sick.

[Joe]

He was like that. But Bama has some Hoops they normally keep.

[Uncle Joe]

They normally keep some Hoopers though. They, they basketball team.

[Joe]

Really? They may not.

[Uncle Joe]

Obviously, you know, we know what the football side, what the football program does, but basketball wise, they rarely ever slouches now they, they normally keep some, some pretty good guys over there.

[Ocho]

Yeah, I know that. I think Alabama football, it overshadowed it. They so goddamn good.

[Joe]

It does, it does, it does. It's just like Michigan football. Michigan has some players come. Basketball players come out here too. Now don't sleep on Michigan basketball players.

[Uncle Joe]

But Michigan, that's a football school, huh?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. I mean people just talk about the Fab Five, but hey, man, when they had Glenn Rice and Mills and all those guys, they, they had some guys.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, now they have some guys. They have some guys.

[Joe]

But the number one seed so far, other than Florida advanced. Who does Michigan play next?

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, you, you, you see, you see 10.

[Joe]

Oh, oh, they play Tennessee.

[Uncle Joe]

You see Michigan got a lot of juniors and seniors too. Yeah, hey, they, they got experience that they, that they banking on, but they got guys playing well. The one thing though that I noticed about their bigs, man, they can pass. I'm tell y' all something, man. In today's game.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

You got any young Hoopers is out there listening? Chad, Y', all, y' all hear me out, man. Having a great IQ for the game, knowing how to pass, knowing how to play the right way, that'll get you a long way, bro. Michigan got some guys on. I'm talking about them back door passes. When you got them guys playing over aggressive.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

Sitting, picking roles for your bees and they can play make. They take a lot of pressure off your guards for guys who really can't get by their man like that.

[Ocho]

Right, right, right.

[Uncle Joe]

You know what I mean? You got different ways to get open to exploit the game and manipulated in, in so many different ways. When you're big is versatile like that. That's why yoke is so special, man. Look at Jokic.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Oh, you see what he had?

[Uncle Joe]

You saw no, what he had.

[Joe]

33, 33, 14 and 12. Yo.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, he playing in our face right now. Yeah, I know that right. That man playing our favor.

[Joe]

Yeah, we.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, hey, y' all think he don't hear the chatters about who should be mvp? He always gonna be in it. But the man triple double for sure.

[Joe]

I think you know what it is, Joe. Give me a guy that has, that have iq, be it football, basketball, baseball. Because a lot of times oo, we play with guys dude. Robotic, you say hey, hey bro, this right 10 to 12. Well, the guy standing right there, you go run behind. Dumb Dumb don't run behind him. The quarterback ain't gonna throw you the damn ball. You run behind the db. Cut in front of him. Man, you know what? Hey, I saw, bro. God.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, IQ maker.

[Joe]

Hugh. Boy, I. Son, I hate to tell you this, but if Dynamite were brains, you couldn't blow your nose. Come on.

[Ocho]

And Joe, the better your iq. Especially when it comes to the game of football, obviously. I'm sure basketball is the same way where you can see what's going to happen before it happens or knowing what's going to happen actually before it happens to be two steps ahead of everybody else at times. At times I could just speak for me, playing receiver. Joke.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Always two or three steps ahead of the person in front of me.

[Uncle Joe]

Right.

[Ocho]

Two or three ahead of the safety. Because I understand what you have to do and I know where you gonna be. So understand how to manipulate what's in front of me and give the illusion that I'm doing something that I'm really not going to do.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

So I can get the spot I need to get to as fast. Tail.

[Uncle Joe]

I understand it.

[Ocho]

You know what I mean?

[Uncle Joe]

I think, Yes. I think you may. I think you may even have to have that in basketball more than you do in football, especially if you got

[Ocho]

the ball in the hand.

[Uncle Joe]

Because I don't.

[Joe]

Well, because the floor, if things happen,

[Uncle Joe]

you have to understand floor spacing. You know what I mean? I think that's the biggest key. Especially these young guys who really don't know how to play the game. You know, they don't understand floor spacing and getting deep corner, getting out your man way. You know, you got a guy operating, you standing right next to him. Cut. You know, you have a lot of these cats gotta learn, Ocho, because they all growing up with the ball in their hand. And when they don't have it in their hand, they just look like statues out there. They don't know what the hell to do.

[Ocho]

Yeah. And you know, Uncle Joe, you know what they always say when it comes to sports? The game especially once you get to the highest level, the game is 90.

[Uncle Joe]

Mental, hello.

[Ocho]

It's only 10. Physical, hello. Middle. Because so now it. It all comes to how much you know up here. How can you see the game and see things before they actually happen?

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Always having a plan. If plan they don't go right. How fast can you. Can you. Can you reenact?

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

What happened with plan B?

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Being able to adjust on the Fly.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

I mean it, man. It's. Oh, it's.

[Joe]

That's what makes me so upset. Ocho is that. And we talk about this all the time. I said, ocho, he got help to the inside. Why would he get beat outside when he know he got help inside? If you got help outside, why would you get beat inside? That's what kills me. You see the guy. You see that safety coming down? If you see the safety coming down, what do you think the man on top of your head gonna do? He going inside, the safety is coming down because now he has outside contain. Bro. How you get beat on that, man? I. What you mean you didn't know? Did you watch film? They did it on film 10 times, but every time I. But give me your phone right quick. Let me see how many phone numbers you got in the last. The last last five days you got that. You wrote all this down, but you don't remember the damn place? See, that's O.C. joe. That's why I couldn't coach, man.

[Uncle Joe]

It.

[Joe]

It drove me crazy that we go over stuff and they show up on film. They're going to give you this. Look. It's just like spags. We already know if spag get you. If. If. If spags feel threat, he's coming with pressure splits. You know that it's coming. Why is it in a situation that we've gone over and over and over and over? You effing up.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, I know. Hey, I know exactly what you mean, boy.

[Joe]

Man, you know it's sharp. It ain't okay. It is not okay. Stop telling me that it's okay.

[Ocho]

It ain't.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, damn.

[Joe]

Like, bro, how, How. And you mean to tell me so. So let me get this straight. You can't remember one damn play, but you quick to tell me I got 1300 on the SAT.

[Uncle Joe]

I got.

[Joe]

I gotta. I got a 30 on this act. I can't tell who took the test for you.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh,

[Joe]

your SAT must have been just. Is this a square, a rectangle, or a circle? Because ain't no way in hell you can't remember this, but you got a sport. 13, 1400 SAT, bro. That's why I. I just. I just don't have the patience. I just. I don't. I try. I just don't. Because if I can get it. And I know when I got there, I didn't know nothing. I ain't know nothing about no over, no under. I didn't know about no coverage. And I know no 2. I ain't no 1 I ain't no 6. I know queen quarters. I ain't no 7. I ain't no 8. I ain't no nothing. And for me to pick it up and to be able to do flourish in it, Lord have mercy. I get mad every time I think about somebody that effed up a coverage.

[Ocho]

Hey, Joe ain't. Joanne had no choice but to get it. Joe had no choice.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, none of us had a choice, Ocho.

[Ocho]

Hey, I talked to I, too. I talked too much not to get it, Joe.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Ocho]

I had to be on top of my game.

[Uncle Joe]

Oh, yeah. I, I, Yeah.

[Joe]

Cause if you don't talk people out their game, you. You talking. You worried about me. You got the flat here. You carry me up the scene. Yeah. Nothing today got 15. Your black ass supposed to be in the flat. Why you worried about me up the scene. Oh, man, but you ain't. They would rather. They would rather shut you down on your blowing assignment, saying I. You ain't catch no pass. As opposed. You got the flat.

[Uncle Joe]

You got hood ain't done that. Yeah,

[Joe]

I just, Man, I, I be thinking about stuff. I. Lord have mercy. I said, Lord, you could have. I said, I, I wouldn't mind, Lord, if you took a little bit of talent and gave me more patience. He gave me all talent. No patience.

[Ocho]

You know, I, I, I can see you. I can still see you coaching for some reason. Hey, even. Even though, hey, Joe. Even though he say I don't have the patience for it, but I understand that what he could do, especially with his structure and discipline when it come to playing, whatever sport it may be, whether it's football, whether it's basketball, but being that he knows both really well. Yeah, I can see Coach, especially at the highest level, you get somebody like that in the building, man, stop playing.

[Joe]

Because it's hard, Ocho. I mean, it's hard to develop this level of discipline if you're not already disciplined. No, that's what, that's what, that's what that's got. I mean, you're like. I mean, it's just like it's obsessive. I mean, it's, it's a. I don't know. I don't know if I want somebody as disciplined as I was on your. Because it ain't, it ain't healthy. And the thing is that it drives you crazy. Because everything. My grandfather, it had to be right. And so I always tried to do everything because there ain't no it. He didn't like if you. It wasn't no. Good job. I remember he told me and my brother. Well, he gave us. He gave. Told me and my brother to watch the truck. He gave us a dollar. No, he gave us two dollars. He gave us like 350. I got a dollar because I just watched the tires. My brother was in charge of washing the truck, the body, dried it off and do all that other stuff. We were going to the house. We run the house, pop out, Papa. We done. He come out there and look at it. He looked at me. He. Me and spanking standing side by side. He looked at the truck. He looked at me. And spanking. He looked at the truck.

[Uncle Joe]

He looked at me.

[Joe]

Don't laugh. Y. He say anything is better than nothing. But you two fellas real close together. I look. I look. If I live with Daniel. I thought we did a good. Oh, Joe. I thought we did a good job. Hey, hey, hey. You know what I need? I need my brother. See, my sister don't like when we tell the story, but that joker was hard.

[Uncle Joe]

He was hard on it. Yeah, there was.

[Joe]

There. There was. There was no excuses. He didn't. He didn't tolerate excuses. He did not damn either. Get it. I'm like that. I'm like. And I. I remember being Spanking walking up. He like, we real close to. Yeah, that's what he said. So.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, hey, listen.

[Joe]

That's what he said. So I could. I couldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't do it. O. I couldn't do it. It took a lot. Because, you know, when you have kids, you have to develop a certain level of patience. I'm talking about patience to the up degree. Because like. Like wet in the bed. They gave you two youth about two years old, maybe two and a half, three. Boy, if you was four years old, let alone five, six, seven. They were teasing you. They were teasing. Teasing. Boy, Barney Porter shut down on your ass. Mary Porter gonna shut down on your ass. Oh, hell, no. Like, somebody. And I like, you know, kids have problems where they. You know, they wet the bed. It's a lot of things. Like, a lot of this stuff, like you had. Boy, they beat that up. All that. You all. All those. That what kids have now talk about, you know, he got eight.

[Ocho]

Hey, listen. Hey, Joe, back in them days, you know, it wasn't no adhd. You were just stupid.

[Joe]

That's it.

[Uncle Joe]

You were. You was.

[Joe]

You were stupid. Yeah. They tell you, guess what? They tear your ass up, and all of a sudden you're like, damn, I could do this homework so good. Oh, four plus four is eight. Eight times four is 32. Oh, I could do my homework. Well, with Barney and Mary shut down on your ass, I could read. I'm like, damn, that don't go. Easy, boy. You know, a whipping solved everything in the South.

[Ocho]

Everything.

[Uncle Joe]

You got him.

[Joe]

Hey, you. Hey.

[Ocho]

Hey, Grandma. Hey.

[Joe]

I'm gonna tell the story. We go.

[Uncle Joe]

Go.

[Joe]

My granny used to have a saying that, like, my aunts never come in the house. And, you know, they wouldn't speak because my grandfather was big in that you couldn't walk in his house and not speak. But you know how women. I mean, they. They teenage girls, you know, they might be on their cycle or whatever, and they walk in the house and then it wouldn't say anything to him. My grandfather say, is there something on your mind? You want to. No, sir. Hey, hey, look at. Oh, joy. Joe, I'm telling you, y' all need to get my brother boy part of it. Play that. All that coming in the house and all that sucking your teeth and slamming the doors. No, when you walk into the house, it's, yes, sir, it's, hey, good. Good morning, good morning, good afternoon, good night, whatever the case may be, but don't you walk in that man house and don't. What?

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, man. Hey, y'. All. When I was in elementary, bro, we still. You still getting paddles? You get paddle?

[Ocho]

Yes, we have. We had paddles.

[Joe]

I was in high school. You could get paddle in high.

[Uncle Joe]

I know when I was in elementary, you get a paddle. I went to the office one time. Ms. Goan what she gave me, she hit me three times with that paddle.

[Ocho]

You got that paddle, Joe?

[Uncle Joe]

One time, Ocho. One time.

[Ocho]

That's all it took, huh?

[Uncle Joe]

Three times. She hit me three times with that paddle, boy. Hey, hey, hey. Never again.

[Joe]

Three. Oh, boy. Y' all got off life, man. I remember my homeboy told the teacher her breath thing. She gave that joke about.

[Uncle Joe]

He probably deserved it.

[Ocho]

Hold on, hold on now. So he got 35 legs for the teacher. I know he got some when he got home.

[Joe]

Nah, they. No, hey, I. I was. I was just surprised he. He.

[Uncle Joe]

He.

[Joe]

He lasted long in school. About as long as Skippy in the military. You know Skippy, he skipped the military got you? No, they. He wanted. I mean, once they got to a certain age, I was like, I don't really expect. I mean, if a guy missing 15, 20, 30 days in the second, third, fourth, and fifth grade, as soon as he get big enough, it's a rap.

[Ocho]

It's rap.

[Joe]

I mean, we roll I. We ride by. They rolling dice. So I like. He ain't. They ain't come. If you rolling dice at 7:30 in the morning, what's your chance of you coming to school, Joe? What's the chance? It ain't.

[Uncle Joe]

It ain't none.

[Ocho]

I got you.

[Joe]

Okay.

[Uncle Joe]

Well, hey, the boy hustle early.

[Joe]

There it is. Penalty beat Iowa State 76 62. The balls pulled away in the second half because of their superior size, physicality, toughness, as Iowa State seemed to crack without star forward Joshua Jefferson. Rick Barnes and the balls are back to their third consecutive Elite Eight. Will have a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time in team wow. History wow.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, I'm happy for Tennessee. Another sec blood, another team.

[Joe]

Yep.

[Uncle Joe]

They got some young guys. They got the freshman admit who. Who will be a lottery pick this year, Uncle Ocho. But the rest of these guys are juniors, seniors. They got a. I think they got another freshman or two coming off the bench, but for the most part, Gary, they, they got. They got the upperclassmen doing the dirty work while the young guys, you know, doing all the scoring, you know what I mean? And this was surprising to me. It was surprising because I was led by two guards. That's a senior, you know, Obviously I thought both of them played well, but Tennessee too much, bro. They. They. Bru, they got some bruises under that basket, man.

[Joe]

They got out. They out rebounding Iowa State by 21. You get out rebounded by that. You. I'm surprised the score wasn't more lopsided. Think about it. If you get out rebounded by 21.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. They had 16 offensive rebounds, shot 51% from the field.

[Joe]

For the first time since 2001. The Arizona Wildcats are headed back to the Final Four. The Top City Wildcats punched their ticket with a 7964 win over the number two Puru Boilermakers, setting a school record for wins in a season 36. In the process, the Wildcats will take their 13 game winning streak to Indianapolis where they'll play the winner of Sunday's game, Michigan and Tennessee against the veteran Purdue team. Arizona was led by its talented freshmen. Braden Bur is 14. I can't even say his last name. Carson. No, Coff, 18 and co op had 20 combined for 52 to up phase up faith on the biggest stage in their young careers. I was a little worried in the first half though, Joe, but boy, these jokers came out in the second half.

[Ocho]

I don't know what kind of adjustments they made at halftime, Uncle Joe.

[Uncle Joe]

Nah, they. Hey, hey, they coach told him, look, y' all gonna mess around, and we gonna be looking back on this game, talking about, man, we should be still playing. That's what he told me. Y' all need to come out with a little sense of urgency in the second half. Because in that second half, Uncle Ocho, the two freshmen. Matter of fact, the three freshmen, the guy number eight, I can't say his name neither, but Cold P and Burrow and Burris, they turned it up in the second half. I thought Cold P really got into his. He got into a rhythm. The big boy, he got into a rhythm, and he was going at them bigs that Purdue got. That's why Purdue was able to hang into the game. And that's why when you see Arizona play against Arkansas, we kind of thin and frail down there. We got guys who could play on the perimeter, but we ain't really got enough girth to deal with them big guys. Purdue had that. Purdue had some big. That was going at them. They was offensive rebounding. They was making it tough for Arizona. I just thought in the second half, Arizona, everything kind of slowed down for them freshmen because all three of those guys freshmen. Number eight is a freshman. Freshman. Burry's a freshman.

[Ocho]

Hove.

[Uncle Joe]

Huh?

[Joe]

Carve Karchinikov.

[Uncle Joe]

He nice, bro. He nice. Great in transition. Can shoot the three. He played fearless. Get to the bucket. He didn't make no 3 tonight, but for the. For the most part, he's been a great energy source for those guys. Man, they. They play well together. They got some great.

[Joe]

Some.

[Uncle Joe]

Some good bigs mixed in with these freshmen who kind of doing some heavy lifting. Uncle Ocho, but they deep. They play of the year. Was a point guard, bro. Yeah. I don't even know if he was a leading score on the team. Maybe he was, but I didn't think he was the best player in the Big 12. That's just me personally. But collectively, as a team, I don't really see nobody beating Arizona, man. Gonna lie.

[Joe]

It's gonna be interesting to see what. What Michigan does with Tennessee tomorrow. We'll see what UConn and Duke does.

[Ocho]

That's gonna be a good one, boy.

[Joe]

Yeah, but Arizona look good. They look good. Four guys had four guys in double figures. They did because.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, hey, Purdue. Purdue is a disciplined team, Uncle Oo. They ain't, you know, they ain't gonna typically beat themselves. They had a few turnovers here and there, but for the most part, they play the right way. They play through their bigs. They point guards play, make score. I Mean, it was a tough game. Like you said in that first half. I thought Purdue was gonna run away with that thing.

[Joe]

Yep, I did too.

[Uncle Joe]

Arizona locked in that second half, fellas.

[Joe]

They came out that second half, it was like, oh, damn. They start. Hey, they started letting them threes go. They started. Hey, they started crashing the boards and getting second chance opportunity. I'm like, okay, yeah. And you see, once they got the

[Ocho]

lead,

[Joe]

pretty soon you ain't see number, tail lights.

[Uncle Joe]

Nope. Everybody pitching in doing something, they, they, they, they're a great team collectively. Bro, they gonna be tough to beat. I ain't gonna lie. They gonna be tough to beat.

[Joe]

Illinois going to their first final four since 2005 when they were led by Darren Williams. Team in college basketball figured how to use their size to an advantage. The third seed, Eli outscored the ninth seeded Iowa 40 to 12 in the paint and out rebounded them 38 to 21. Whoever saying size doesn't matter.

[Uncle Joe]

Illinois got, hey, that big seven one Junior they got down there, that big boy in the paint playing around these perimeter guards that they got who can score. You know, Keegan Wagner, he gonna be a, he gonna be a lottery pick. Okay, Ojo. In this year's draft. Oh, hey, hey.

[Joe]

He got busy today, Joe.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, that's another freshman. That's another freshman stepping up, making plays, playing huge.

[Joe]

Guess who else stepped up, Joe?

[Uncle Joe]

Who?

[Joe]

Stojakovic.

[Uncle Joe]

There you go. Yeah, you know what? He might come out too, Uncle Ojo.

[Joe]

He might. Junior.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, he played well. He played well today. I mean, super efficient. You know, we look at his dad because his dad was such a great three point shooter. He can shoot it, but this boy, he'll get to the rack okay? Ojo, he ain't even shoot no 3 tonight.

[Ocho]

Yeah, he had 17 points. He was 7 for 9. Yeah, he did off the bench too, Uncle Joe.

[Joe]

He's been doing that.

[Uncle Joe]

He been doing that all year, though. I ain't gonna lie to y'.

[Ocho]

All.

[Uncle Joe]

I done seen Illinois play a few times. He been doing that all year. He been doing that all year. Illinois's got a great chance. Yeah, you got the, you got them big boys in the paint who know how to play and ain't gonna take no bull job down there. You got you a few guards who can get to that chicken. Yeah, and you guys, you got a chance.

[Joe]

Hey, the Atlanta man, they look, they, they look good. I will, I will. Hung around as long as they could.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah, they did.

[Joe]

They needed, they really needed their guard, their guards to like play above their head.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe]

Sturge played well. I mean, I mean, he did what he did. He does what he normally does. He does. He did what he was supposed to do.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And hell, I don't think. I don't think he's been off the court. I think he's played all 40 minutes, damn near all games.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah. Yeah. Nah, he did. He had to.

[Joe]

What we.

[Uncle Joe]

What we saving you for? Yeah, you gonna have a whole week of rest if we could win. Hey, but, yeah, they guards. They guards. They had to get something from your guards, bro. At this juncture, you know, the tournament, you gotta have some guys who you can lean on, perimeter wise, but you also need some good bigs, you know, who gritty, tough, and can get you some chippies around the basketball, right? Illinois is ready, man. They ready for the next round, fellas.

[Joe]

They.

[Uncle Joe]

They might be. Who they got next, huh? They don't play Arizona, do they?

[Joe]

No.

[Ocho]

Yeah, we got. Hey, hey, either way, that's gonna be hell. Either way, whoever, whoever. They got to play out of them, too, is gonna be hell, boy, man.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Cause they honestly. Yeah.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Okay. And then the winner of with the out here at the bottom, Iowa State in Michigan.

[Uncle Joe]

Ocho, you had Arizona when you got Arizona winning.

[Ocho]

Go ahead. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You know, my bracket, My bracket's still intact, baby. I told you.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, hey, I ain't gonna lie to you, Ojo.

[Joe]

You do.

[Uncle Joe]

You do for a win, bro. You do for one. You do for one.

[Ocho]

Put me like that, Joe. Don't do me like that.

[Uncle Joe]

You do for one, huh? You do.

[Ocho]

Talking about, look at my bracket, Joe.

[Joe]

Huh?

[Ocho]

What we talking about? That's what I do, Joe.

[Uncle Joe]

So you need you.

[Ocho]

Hey, Joe, you might have played the game of basketball, but when it come to picking winners, that's what I do, Joe. I've been a winner all my life.

[Joe]

See, that's why we can't never let it win, though. I don't know who worse, Ocho or Joe. What?

[Uncle Joe]

Come on, man. Come on, come on.

[Ocho]

I, I, I don't brag. I don't brag. Y' all the one making fun of me, talking about, I pick mascot, man holler about.

[Uncle Joe]

He on brag. He did. Just got through gloating talking about he animals.

[Ocho]

I don't win.

[Joe]

Hey, he picked all animals. He got the wild cat. He got huskies. If you got an animal in your name, that's oo to you. That's what he did. That's what he did.

[Ocho]

See how y' all know some of the things y' all don't say hurt me. How you know it don't hurt me inside?

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, your bracket busted too, huh?

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, my bracket.

[Uncle Joe]

I'm done.

[Joe]

I'm done.

[Ocho]

Hey, y' all need to just follow my lead from now on.

[Joe]

Your Ocho still got Michigan.

[Uncle Joe]

Hold on.

[Joe]

But.

[Uncle Joe]

But if Arizona. If Arizona lose their next game, I mean, what is it?

[Joe]

It's just a.

[Uncle Joe]

It's a three way tight end, huh?

[Joe]

Nah. Cause he got. He got Duke. He still got Duke. He got Duke going to the Final Four, and he got Arizona going to the Final Four.

[Ocho]

What y' all talking about? What? Hey, matter of fact, you know what I'm do.

[Joe]

Joe.

[Uncle Joe]

Uncle Joe, what you gonna do?

[Ocho]

Lotto. I'm gonna play lotto. And I know I'm gonna guess the right numbers. And whatever I win, I'm gonna split it with y'.

[Joe]

All.

[Uncle Joe]

You would do that?

[Ocho]

Yeah, for y'.

[Joe]

All.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Joe, you still got. Oh, yeah. Joe, if Michigan. If Michigan goes, you need. You need what you call, but you basically, you need him to get knocked out. You only got one chance. He got two chances.

[Uncle Joe]

What I need.

[Joe]

You gotta hope. You gotta hope. You gotta hope Duke at Arizona get knocked out. That's really the only chance you got. Cause you still got. You still got one team. You got Michigan going to the finals.

[Uncle Joe]

Hey, hey, hey, hey. Long as I got. Long as I got a fighting chance, you hear me? As long as I got a chance. Hey, you never know.