← Eye On College Basketball
Eye On College Basketball
2026 March Madness Round 1 Thursday Recap! UNC crumbles in VCU comeback; Duke's serious Siena scare; High Point! Chase Johnston! + a first Nebraska tournament W & more
01:11:19
Loading summary
Transcript129 lines
- [00:00]
Matt Norlander
Ion College Basketball is presented by Shipt. With Shipt, you can order same day delivery for everything you need for game day, groceries, decor and so much more from local stores. Download the app or order now@shipt.com that's s h ipt.com ion college basketball is also presented by Domino's. Best Deal Ever Right now you can get any pizza with any toppings for one great price at Domino's. Let me say that again. Any pizza, any toppings for one great price. It really is their best deal ever.
- [00:29]
IXL Sponsor Voice
Testing season is right around the corner and this is when confidence really matters. When kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments, it can make all the difference. IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now. So they walk into every test feeling prepared, capable and confident. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning, whether they're building math confidence, strengthening reading and writing skills, or reviewing science concepts. Designed for students from Pre K through 12th grade, IXL delivers personalized, interactive practice that adapts to your child's level and pace. It's an easy, effective way to support learning. As the school year heads into its final stretch. Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests proven in all 50 states. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixllearning.com audio Visit ixllearning.com audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.
- [01:57]
Matt Norlander
Hello?
- [01:58]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
Hello?
- [01:58]
Chip Patterson
Hello?
- [01:58]
Matt Norlander
Who is that? If you are watching live late on a Thursday night, we are into Friday morning on the east coast. If you're getting to this sometime Friday in the morning wherever you are in the world, however you happen to be listening to this show, if you're squeezing it in, we appreciate it so much. That is Chip Patterson who is back on the pod. His annual appearances, every tournament are a welcomed, welcomed appearance. Obviously brilliant work, reliable work, Yao man. Work with the COVID 3 podcast. We have so much to get to but first I want to hear that voice again. Chip Patterson, how you doing buddy?
- [02:32]
Chip Patterson
A great day, horrendous evening. Good to be with you. You are giving for those who aren't watching on YouTube, you're giving me like Lincoln Riley on signing day. Like a little garnet in gold.
- [02:43]
Matt Norlander
You know this is, this is plum new suit. Donned it here Definitely right. This is, this is getting rock title game for sure this year. And then I went, I went, you know what I did here? Those are some underdogs on the tie. A little work there, but it's tight. You know what, it's time. We're a good five hours into the wedding.
- [03:08]
Chip Patterson
Eastern time.
- [03:09]
Matt Norlander
Let's go.
- [03:10]
Chip Patterson
Hey everybody, who's watching? Thank you for hanging out. I mean every, a lot of this. We did not expect Gonzaga and Kennesaw to to drag that thing out. We thought that this was just going to be nice easy favorites lay the hammer down and I guess I don't know if St. Louis doesn't count as a favorite but a little hairy Portland.
- [03:32]
Matt Norlander
But if you are waiting for Gary Parrish. Gary Parrish will be in studio for another 45 plus minutes. He's not here tonight. Just like tomorrow night. He's going to take a late shift. He'll be on tomorrow night. I'll be off. We have to rotate because our studio stuff him in New York, me and Stanford, Connecticut, we both are loaded with studio stuff. We can't both be going on at 2:45am to do a podcast. So Chip is here. Chip is fun. Chip is awesome. Let's get right into it because so many people are going to intake this show and turn around and get ready for a Friday with six teen more games. We had a variety of stuff that went down here. Top four seeds went eight no on the day they went 160 in the round of 64 a season ago. Top four seats have never gone 160 in back to back years. So we need some more chaos happening. We did get plenty and we're going to dive into it. But of course VCU came back from a 19 point deficit. It's the largest first round comeback in the history of the men's tournament. Terence Hill Jr. Went Legend 34 off the bench in doing so. Outscored Carolina by himself down the stretch in OT win we saw High Point A12, the lowest seeded team to win on Thursday. Get it done. In thrilling fashion against Wisconsin. And a dude who only shoots threes won it on what else his only two of the season. Nebraska, congratulations. You have earned your first tournament win in program history. AJ DebonSA One and done. Season and tournament. We'll get to that. Arkansas, no problem whatsoever. But what about Duke? Big problems against Sienna. We will not take too long to get to the thrill ride that happened in Greenville. Speaking of Greenville, the the best site on Thursday three of its four games were must see TV thrill rides ABOUND there. Louisville got a scare, got it done. Louisville Illinois no scare whatsoever. Houston no scare. The late the late windows. Absolute snooze fests. We have to start with what went down with the comeback slash collapse in Greenville in the south region. VCU after trailing by as many as 19 pulls off the sixth largest comeback in NCAA tournament history. And as I just said, the largest in the first round. The only ones that are bigger ever. I'll be quick on this. 2012 BYU down from 25 against Iona came back and won in the first four. 2018 Nevada down 22 against Cincinnati got it done. 2001 Duke from 22 down in the final four against Maryland pulled it off. 2007 Ohio State 20 down beat Tennessee in 2005 that classic regional final. Louisville comes back to be West Virginia to get it done. And now we have this one added to the list. VCU has its first win ship since 2016. VCU now has eight wins as an 11 seed or worse. That's the second most of any school in history. The only school with more also happens to be in Richmond. It's the Spiders that have nine wins in the tournament in their history with an with an 11 seed or worse. Rams are hot man. They've won seven 17 of the past 18. Terence Hill Jr. Was the star of the day I think over all others with his 34. He comes off the bench by design. I love it. They handed Carolina back to back losses in the first round for the first time in school history. I'll let Chip for those that might not be familiar, I'll let Chip reveal why this game hits home. In particular the irony to all of it. Henry Vasar was owning this game early on. 26. He finished with 2610 and 4 assists missed foul shots. I guess he didn't know the rule. You got to hit the rim when you intentionally missed at the backboard. That ended all all chances there but big time stuff and so so impressive out of vcu. Floor is yours. Where do you want to take this? We'll get to the Hubert stuff in just a second but let's focus on this game and and how it played out after Carolina. I said this on hq. It's a hiccup in the universe because if that steal goes in and at the end of regulation and that shot in, it's an instant all time moment for Carolina. Wasn't even close. We get to the OT session, VCU handles the job and and and and brings a mini earthquake if not more to Chapel Hill floors. Yours bud.
- [07:33]
Chip Patterson
Yeah I didn't know that you would take this, but if you want to do butterfly effects, sliding doors, how about the 5 second call right in front of the bench when you had a timeout? You know, it's just there's a lot that was so bad. I mean obviously the free throws coming down the stretch, all the missed shots, overtime in general, both teams was just ugly. No legs at all. Misleading stat of the night. I didn't want to pull this out right at the top of the show, but miss me with the bench points 42, 7. Does that expose like the lack of bench options that Hubert Davis decided to use in this game which might have contributed to the lack of legs? Yes, but you're also taking Terence Hill who by the way was the 8, 10, 6 Man of the Year like you said, by design. So you know anyway. But this is to me a little bit larger about the way that this North Carolina team has looked. And you say why? Why this heads home for those who aren't aware, yes, I went to North Carolina, graduated in 09, was a great year. I, I felt like they were a team with shared goals, lacking connectivity. It was like they had connectivity issues. Like they glitch, they just go out think about into the first half against Clemson in the ACC quarters, beginning of the second half. It's almost like the football middle eight, right. That's how you lose the game. Oh, and then you storm all the way back just to win by one. Hooray. Oh, you kick in the back door to cover the spread against Duke. Hooray. The fact that this team, you know, even the Clemson game that they won in Seth Trimble's senior night to finish out the 18 oh home record kind of let the Tigers creep back into it. It was just not a team that coming down the stretch, even though they got the win against Louisville, they got the win against Clemson, they did not have a lot of juice, they did not have a lot of obvious connectivity. And it. Rod Brindmore, Carolina if I'm going to go total local Rod. Bryn Moore, the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes talks a lot about individual efforts and individual efforts can get you to a team win, right? But sometimes it felt like you were getting individual efforts from North Carolina players. It did not seem as though outside of that two man game that you would get going with Vasar. It wasn't a lot that just was clicking the offensive sets, they weren't good. How about this? Do you remember the play near mid court where Jaydon Young wasn't even looking for the ball and Vasar tried to throw it to him. I mean, it's just, they just not on the same page whatsoever. And so did I ever think that this North Carolina team was destined for something magical in this particular NCAA tournament? No. Because as I've detailed extensively, I'm all about the Juice ratings. And their Juice ratings were not high. They just didn't have a lot of juice. But at the same time, to be able to have that lead and then just let it slip away, I think just, it brings about all the larger questions that we don't need to get into here. And we have 16, 15 other games to discuss. But it's just like, man, you, you thought you were going into Cameron with Caleb Wilson coming back and you get Caleb Wilson the other hand in practice, followed by blowout loss to Duke, blowout loss to Clemson and a 19 point historic blown lead. It's, it erases whatever positivity came from an 180 home record. It erases a lot of whatever lingering joy might have been there. I mean, I, I sent you the picture of like me and like old roommates being in the Dean Dome for the Seth Trimble shot. Like it was, it was great. I'm fine with it. But for the overall discussion around North Carolina basketball, what could have been a year with a lot more to talk about as going to lead to a, an off season that I dread. Matt. I dread this kind of off season because the Civil War is underway. The spirit of Carolina basketball is hanging in the balance and those kind of things are not fun for, for anybody to be able to navigate.
- [11:32]
Matt Norlander
Hey, Josh, we got that. We have that tweet we can throw up from the local police. By the way, this is where it goes really wrong for you when you've got local police departments putting out this and this is the Greensboro police. Please don't call us about UNC in your bracket. Cheeky. Inevitable. What else do you expect?
- [11:50]
Chip Patterson
Hey, hey. That is sneaky. Because there's some sneaky Duke, like there's a lot of Duke fans in Greensboro. There's a lot of state fans in Greensboro. I, I, I would say that there's a, there's a chance that that was extra trolley across the board, man.
- [12:05]
Matt Norlander
Congratulations to VCU. 18 had itself a nice night. We'll get to slew before we get out of here. But I do want to at least point out and we'll, we'll wrap on Carolina and we do need to keep it moving. I do not want to go too, too long, which is famous last words. It really is. It's late, though, and I'm going to be back here in studio tomorrow night. VCU to get this done. 28 and 7. Phil Martelli Jr. Winning his first tournament game. We've got a number of guys, first year, new spots winning on Thursday. By the way. You look around, really cool stuff like immediate turnarounds. Immediate turnaround. And now VCU will get ready to play Illinois after pulling this out and, and doing so when it had a very, like, low likelihood of winning, obviously, it went on a 16 to three run from about the nine and a half minute mark until four minutes to go. Was able to keep it within striking distance. And I just got a shout out. Nick Lewis was relentless. Like, Hill hit a three that didn't give him the lead. But when that three went in and I can't remember how much was left on the clock, I was like, oh, this really might go VCU's way. They like Carolina really might. It really might crap the bed here. It might stay in its pants. And that's exactly what happened. Vasar only wound up going 509 from the line. Trimble 47 again. That Trimble Steel, like, in the moment, I'm like, oh, my God, he's gonna make this shot at the buzzer. Didn't get it done. And for Caroline, like, this is. This is what the tournament does. It turns the heat up, it turns the spotlight up. And I'm not surprised that the discussion around this accelerated the way that it did. But let's get through a day or two. You know, the tournament's going to start tomorrow and, and everyone outside of the triangle isn't gonna be paying any attention to what the coaching situation is there. I know the chat right now.
- [13:52]
Chip Patterson
So, I mean, there's a. There's plenty.
- [13:54]
Matt Norlander
State lost, too. I know Duke almost lost. Dramatic stuff. They're not great for the acc. Sec. SEC is doing okay for itself. I don't know what's going to happen with Hubert Davis. That's obviously a topic that GP and I will get into as we move along here toward the end of March and then into April. I did say on HQ tonight, I. I don't believe that Carolina will fire Hubert Davis for a number of reasons. One of the biggest being he was Roy Williams is essentially handpicked successor, played for Dean Smith, gave up a job, a lucrative job, talking about the sport on tv, to basically work in service of the program. And has it. Has it been great?
- [14:34]
Chip Patterson
No.
- [14:35]
Matt Norlander
Has it been a catastrophe? No. But Carolina now finds itself as a Program as a fan base, looking around being like, what the hell, we're North Carolina. Why do we find ourselves as a men's basketball program in this kind of spot when we shouldn't be? Yes, some losses are obviously inevitable, but overall, in aggregate, on balance, are we where we should be? Is the arrow pointing in the right direction as a program? And Davis has made four out of five NCAA tournaments. Obviously made the title game in 2022. Got to the Sweet 16 two years ago. The one year that they didn't get it. They get to the tournament. He was the preseason number one. That's a pretty famous flop. A year ago they barely got into the tournament to begin with. They were the last at large team. They were an 11 seed one in the first four. Promptly were booted by Mississippi in the first round. And here we have it. There was a great tweet and Josh, I don't know if you've thrown this up already tonight or not, but it is one of those that kind of makes you go whoa. And it's a way to worthy Brian Ives who does a good job doing all stuff. All stuff. Carolina stats. And how about this one? If you're watching, you can see it here. I'm going to read it out for our, for our oral audience. A U r a l North Carolina is now 48 and 2 when leading by 10 plus at halftime in the NCAA tournament. Both losses were under Hubert Davis. The 2022 national title game versus Kansas and tonight against VCU. That title game lost to Kansas is the biggest blown halftime lead in the history of the tournament. And now this was the biggest blown lead by any first round tournament game. Floors. Back to you before we keep it moving, any lingering thoughts on, on Hubert Davis from an alum?
- [16:07]
Chip Patterson
The There was a crowd that was out on him from the beginning. Like from, from the moment he was picked. Yes. He's been fighting against it the entire way. He has not helped himself. If, if, if Jerome Tang is getting fired for some of the things he's saying at the postgame press conference. Hubert Davis is not helping the optics for the, the fan base. And the fan base don't make the decisions. I mean, that's going to come down to Lee Roberts. That's going to come down to Steve Newmark. That's going to come down to Bubba Cunningham. You know, there are a lot of pieces that are working there. But my last thing here and which is why. Hold on real quick. Yeah, how about, how about 62 shooting for VCU in the second half?
- [16:52]
Matt Norlander
Come on now and like crashing the boards and like timely rebounds left and right, just they didn't play perfectly but they played like they played the game at the exact tempo, speed that they needed to, to make it happen. Extremely impressive for a team with a first year coach to do that. Kind of speaks to the VCU culture. I was mighty impressed and I know they had a good fans contingent. Greenville also drivable from Richmond.
- [17:15]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, I, I wanted to make sure VCU got some flowers here. The way they closed the season, won the A10 tournament. I mean they, they played every game of that a 10 tournament with real pressure as a team that was both simultaneously chasing the conference tournament title, but also a bubble team. And so to. They've been playing. What's it like? Oh, we've been playing playoff football since mid November. You know, it's like, yeah, they've been playing like playoff basketball tournament basketball that year since even the end of the regular season. But you know, Hubert Davis, as you mentioned, was the, the handpicked successor from Roy Williams who won three national championships and is the connection to Dean Smith. And when Roy Williams makes a very public video about, renovate, don't relocate as the chancellor and the administration are thinking about potentially not only getting out of the Dean Dome, but taking it all the way off campus, like, you know, out to Carolina north, which for those who aren't aware is a former airport sort of land. And you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of motivation if I'm an executive, if I'm an administrator, to be able to have a big project to lead. Right. I look good at a lot of meetings. I'm, I'm doing something right. What are you doing as the president of North Carolina? Well, I'm building Carolina north and I'm going to put the Dean Dome out there with. What are you doing as the new athletic director of North Carolina? Well, I'm overseeing the growth of the Carolina basketball program. Like those are all things that if you were totally selfishly motivated by trying to be the most successful executive, that's something you want to do. But you've got Roy Williams out here being like, don't do that. Don't leave here. And most of the fan base is going to listen to Roy Williams. But Roy Williams also said Hubert Davis and the fan base is out on Hubert Davis. Again, we do not need to. There is so much to get into. You've got the wrong guy to open up the Pandora's box.
- [19:08]
Matt Norlander
I had to tee you up on it, man. This is this is.
- [19:11]
Chip Patterson
This is the biggest.
- [19:12]
Matt Norlander
This is now the biggest non NCAA tournament.
- [19:15]
Chip Patterson
I know, I know that the Internet's not working in Indiana. Not to do, you know, a little callback from years ago, but like I. That, that is sort of the thing is we don't want to become Indiana and the hire of Belichick has not worked out well. So no one's. There's not a lot of trust that the coaching search would go well either. So that mean they. Matt, they told me that in that hiring cycle, North Carolina was the best job on the market and they were going to get somebody. And you know, John Summerall, who is a candidate on that list. He. Do you know where he is right now, Matt? At the University of Florida.
- [19:51]
Matt Norlander
Okay. There we go.
- [19:52]
Chip Patterson
I think that's a pretty good.
- [19:53]
Matt Norlander
You're venturing into football. Nope. All right, it's time. No partners. We got too many games. I'm not having Chip going down the deep dive on Carolina and venturing into cover three territory. Josh, cut this off. Hey. Hey. Let's look at Paris right now. If you're watching on YouTube. Let's go. Getting everyone together to watch the game is fun until you realize you're running low on snacks right before halftime. That's why shipped is there for you on game day. Whether going for that classic spread, chips and dip or mixing in even a few healthier options, I can, and so can you order all the favorites for same day delivery to keep the party going, especially now that March is here. And if that ship bowl is looking suddenly too empty, no stress. Just place another order and it shows up the same day. Shipt makes last minute hosting so much easier. You can get snacks, party supplies, decorations and more delivered from nearby stores. I'm talking grocery runs from places like Safeway or Albertsons, party, decor from Michael's or even a quick target order, all while you're getting ready for guests. With Shipt, you can order same day delivery on groceries, gifts, and so much more. And shoppers are known for incredible attention to detail and care. Plus, with an annual Shipt membership, you get unlimited orders, zero delivery fees on orders over $35, exclusive deals, and even the option to request your favorite shoppers again. Download the app or order@shipt.com that's S H I P T.com protein is now
- [21:18]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
at Starbucks and it's never tasted so good. You can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of
- [21:25]
Chip Patterson
our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.
- [21:32]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
All right, Norlander, we're settling this right now. We're doing a pizza topping draft.
- [21:37]
Matt Norlander
A full on Pizza Draft, two Loaded Pizza builds just 9.99 each with Domino's best deal ever. I am ready.
- [21:44]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
GP all right, I'll go first. Let's go. Handmade pan crust, pepperonis, extra cheese, jalapenos, onions and garlic parmesan sauce please.
- [21:53]
Matt Norlander
Garlic parmesan sauce. Okay, I'm going thin crust, red sauce, spinach. You know what, give me some banana peppers too. Thin crust. It's the four seed of all pizzas. I stand by it.
- [22:05]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
See, this is why this deal is perfect. Everyone gets exactly what they want.
- [22:09]
Matt Norlander
Especially for a watch party. You can build all the large pizzas you need, customize each and every single one and keep the whole crew happy for just 9.99 each.
- [22:17]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
Any toppings, any combo. That's why this is Domino's Best deal ever With Domino's best deal ever. You can get any pizza with any toppings for just 9.99. Prices higher in some locations. Select this online only offer from 223 to 46 size. Availability varies by crust type max 7 toppings 6 for New York style and pan crust. Stuffed crust is extra. Extra excludes XL and specialty pizzas. Minimum purchase required for delivery prices, participation, delivery area and charges may vary.
- [22:45]
Matt Norlander
We'll keep it right at tobacco and
- [22:47]
Chip Patterson
the new chancellor is a Duke grad. Man, how are you supposed to be able to wrap your arms around the leader of this new decision? Being a Duke grad, you can't trust him.
- [22:56]
Matt Norlander
Speaking of Duke, I see that's a transition. Told you a two hours we had this afternoon session. Like give us great, incredible, come on, give us good matchups, give us thrilling ball, give us some upsets. We had the night session. Couldn't even compare to the day session. Duke wins in the east region 7165 over 16 seeds Siena. John Shire, he took the wobbly way there, admitted Jerry McNamara out coached him accurately so. But he is the third coach ever to win an NCAA tournament game in each of his first four seasons on the job. Joining Thad Mata and Jerry Tarkanian. Duke was a 20 half and a 28 and a half point favorite. Barely got out of there. It trailed 43:32 at the half. It was the first one seed to be trailing at halftime against the 16 in history. No team that has ever. How about this one from our research group. No team that has ever trailed by at least 10 points at halftime in their first NCAA tournament game has gone on to win the NCAA championship in that same year. This was Duke's largest halftime deficit in any tournament since that aforementioned Maryland game that I mentioned earlier in the 2001 Final Four. The fact that Malik Brown told Tracy at halftime, we thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game. I love the honesty, and yes, it was evident. And then Duke went out and outscored Sienna 39:22 in the second half. It mauled them on the boards. It was able to be after being -11 in the first half, plus 17 in the second half, had 13 rebounds in the first half, had 30 in the second half, had four offensive boards in the first half, at 12 in the second half. Cam Boozer finishes with 22 and 13, went 13 of 14 from the line, which was the quietly, the most pivotal and crucial part of this entire game. That Boozer only missed one, and the one he missed was near the second half when it was maybe still possible for Sienna to rip this one. Kate and Boozer good again. 19 points, 5 dimes. Kaden Boozer has set or tied his career high in college in each of his last three games. Extremely crucial from his side. As for Sienna, made us believe Jerry McNamara played his five starters. Four of them did not come off the floor, period. One of them came off in the final minute for like all of 30 seconds, but full of Fox, Riley, Mulvey, Galvin, Doty, who was definitely playing hurt and. And so impressive. And Justin shoats all played 40. Doty at 21 points. Incredible stuff out of Siena. There was a point in the second. This. This timing.
- [25:39]
Chip Patterson
I.
- [25:39]
Matt Norlander
So I was watching my kids had school off today, and it was awesome to get to watch the first parts of the tournament at home with my kids who happen to not have school because of a religious holiday and, you know, going in the day, I'm thinking, all right, this is the window. I'll be able to leave my house and drive into the studio. Duke should be able to be comfortably ahead. And that's a. That's a perfect window. I should be good. Well, that's how it goes down. And just as I was getting ready to leave, I want to say Sienna was up by like 12 points, 13 points. It was. It was before the under 16. I know that because I got ready to leave once the under 16 had passed. They missed two bunnies at the rim. And then Duke went down the floor and scored. And I think they scored on the next three possessions. And the game went from a possible 15, 14 point. Sienna lead down to a six or five point sienna lead. And that's in that, you know, even though that wasn't inside the 10 minute mark or the, or, you know, the 13 minute mark, that's where Duke made it possible that it could actually rip this one back and, and get it done. A thrilling, a thrilling game. Like we've only had 216 over ones, but we've had a good, over the years we've had a good, you know, 13 or 14 situations where 16 has like really, really put a scare into a one that this feels like it was one of the four or five biggest scares ever. An excellent way to uplift the afternoon. Your thoughts on the game, Chip?
- [26:59]
Chip Patterson
Number one. If, because it's the Duke Blue Devils, it would have been the biggest ever.
- [27:05]
Matt Norlander
No. Okay, so let's just dive into this real quick. Is it actually the biggest ever? Because just real quick on my end, the first one's, the first one ever is an earthquake. It's a 20 point beatdown of the number one overall seed after we'd never seen it happen with UMBC. And then the next time it happens, it's. It's FDU, the shortest team in the tournament that only got into the tournament because another team, Merrimack, was not eligible to get in the field. Remember, if Merrimack could have played in the tournament that year, it would have gone out of the nac. Instead, FDU gets in on a technicality. It's an even worse team. And then it beats the smallest team, beats the tallest and biggest player and the, and the, you know, the player of the year in Zach Edie. And then you've got a shorthanded Duke team down two starters. It is the number one overall seed. It does have the player of the year, but it would have been the third instance. Do you think this was the biggest shocker? Because I don't know if there can ever be a bigger shocker than the first time it ever happened with the number one overall seed with a 20 point deficit.
- [27:56]
Chip Patterson
100% fair. I think this is a facts first feelings that Purdue and Virginia are both programs that are distrusted by the general sporting public in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that it was Virginia or Purdue, given some of the other earlier than expected exits that both of those programs have had, that would be this one with the Duke Blue Devils. Because you're the number one overall seed just like Virginia was, you are. It leveled up in terms of the overall trust factor, I thought, I think in terms of the way that basketball fans would take it in, they would consider it the biggest ever you know, even if the. The. Some of the stats in facts don't necessarily line up. It's Duke. It is. Duke would have been huge. You mentioned Jerry McNamara. The. Do you like that as a style if you are an underdog? Because I. I thought that conversation was interesting. If. If you are fighting that kind of uphill battle and you've got your guys that you trust, you just. You ride with them. Because he was all. Because he was changing the offense. Right.
- [28:59]
Matt Norlander
Right.
- [28:59]
Chip Patterson
Duke changes the defense. McNamara changes the offense. They'll be able to continue to hit some doty starts to heat up from outside. There was some good past the chalk here between McNamara and Shire, but. Yeah, you didn't. You didn't change the equation the way that a lot of coaches do, which is with a different rotation with a different lineup. Do you like sticking with your same crew, knowing the athleticism. Right. That you've got here?
- [29:24]
Matt Norlander
Right. And man, we have so much more to go on this day. And the games are starting again in less than 12 hours. I like the idea like they ran out of battery. So a couple of reasons why Duke won the game. In addition to just being the better team on defense and then the zone they throw at him was also a factor that actually helped Duke in the midst of the second half. But. And Duke wasn't playing deep either. Don't get me wrong. But Duke had six guys play 20 plus minutes. Sienna had five guys play 40 minutes. So there was still. But he basically was like, we're gonna go all out with our best five, see if we can get it done. See if we can make it happen. And they just. They. The battery life on their playing like it was. Was fading and fading and fading. They wound up shooting 9 of 26 from 3. Duke was flying 5 of 26 from beyond the arc. All credit to McNamara. He seems like he should be in line to be the next Syracuse coach. We'll see. Appreciate all the tweets and messages and notes about what Paris and I talked about earlier in the week. John Shire does not have to leave Duke. Jerry McNamara will not be heading down to Durham. But I do appreciate that there was a subsection of college basketball enjoyers in this country that was like, you guys don't. And telling their friends or family. You guys don't realize what's on the line right now. 11 at the half. You understand what could happen. Do you even have any idea? I got a kick out of that. That was real fun. Sienna, thanks for making us believe Duke. We wait and see if Gongba Even plays against TCU on Saturday. But if. If this result makes you. If you're. If you're someone that had Duke in your final four or better title game, winning it all, all that and you see this performance, you say, wait a second. Did I make a big mistake? I think that's fair and valid at this point. We'll see how Duke rallies or doesn't. But not having two starters, a major, major, major issue for them. Yeah, Super.
- [31:07]
Chip Patterson
I mean, GP's not here. I gotta play the role. Super small sample size. Data sorting.
- [31:13]
Matt Norlander
Yep. As in like today. Data sorting.
- [31:16]
Chip Patterson
As in just the NCAA T. Yeah, that's.
- [31:19]
Matt Norlander
That's about as. That's about as small as it gets.
- [31:22]
Chip Patterson
29th for the Duke Blue Devils out of 38 teams that have played an NCAA tournament game. Sienna, do you want to take a guess on where they are?
- [31:32]
Matt Norlander
22.
- [31:33]
Chip Patterson
6.
- [31:35]
Matt Norlander
Wow.
- [31:36]
Chip Patterson
Again, adjusted for opponent. Right? Because you're dealing with adjusted offensive, adjusted defensive and you know, Bart Torvik adjusted chance of. What is it? What's the chance of beating an average D1 team? I think. Is that what it finally checks out to? Yeah, if you. If you just take only the data that is being sorted is just the data in NCAA tournament games. Duke with the worst performance of any team that did not lose so far in the NCAA tournament.
- [32:04]
Matt Norlander
Let's keep it moving in the west region. The game of the day. High Point 83, Wisconsin 82. We have a 12 over five. This was the lowest seated team to win on Thursday. Chase Johnston, his first two pointer of the year came with 11.7 seconds to go on a turnover. Breakaway rush to the rim. Can I get it in? I do. Suit's 26 years old. Let me bring up his latest stats here. I. How many threes has this guy launched this year? High point 31 and 4. Owner of a 15 game winning streak. Chase Johnston. This dude has shot well. He had taken five two pointers all season. Today was his first taken 123s. His three point rain is rate is outrageous. Your boy hit this one. I had High point winning Wisconsin, buddy. Wisconsin can't get out of this round. Wisconsin has lost to a 12 seed four times in a row. And five of the past six, its last win over a 12 came in 2003. Now it had to be a five when that happened, of course, but man, oh man, it's the most. So five straight losses, that's a five versus 12. No, it's this five. Fifth overall. No other school has more losses as a five to a 12 than Wisconsin's five pack. Wisconsin has a six straight first weekend next that. I got a couple more nuggets here, but you take it away. This was, this was a glorious game. I, I think this is going to be one of the three or four best games of the entire tournament. It was an awesome way to get the festivities really rolling on Thursday. Chip.
- [33:47]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, unfortunately for Wisconsin, it played into the kind of game that get got us all excited, but also gave High point a chance to win. I just felt like I was watching the entire game. Wisconsin's defense not be set in High point, get good looks at the rim or be able to get the ball moving, be able to get good shots. Wisconsin can play those games. Has played those games regularly, regularly scoring up in the 80s and the 90s thanks to what you've got from Boyd and Blackwell, who obviously delivered in a really big way. I thought Boyd was awesome in the second half specifically, but man, I just did not trust Bucky at any point in this game to get stops. And you know, you let a High Point like, do you know what this was? You spent a lot of time. I'm not saying you spend a lot of time, but you and many others spent a lot of time talking about the losses have to matter. I felt like on my notepad I wrote like this is one for the wins, like for the, for the people who say like in Miami, Ohio. Right. You know, you, you obviously did the, the reaction to the first four win. But I don't know, man, there might be something in the fact that this team has won 30 plus games this year. There might be actually something to the fact that even though a model is going to take into consideration all these strength of schedule arguments and, and give you a rating that if the individuals involved in this basketball game have won together 30 times, they might have confidence if this is going to end up being a really close game coming down the stretch. And that's exactly what they had. So kind of like sneaky bad matchup for Wisconsin. Now a little bit less serious is, is Greg Gar just a Bo Ryan recruit merchant because he has not made it out of the first weekend since early in his tenure. And I know no Wisconsin fan wants to think about that, but I know they're talking about it right now.
- [35:32]
Matt Norlander
They're aware of it. When a loss like this happens and it kind of comes all to. More to the. To the forefront, yeah, it gets noticed in a significant way. Wisconsin, man. Jeez. Nick Boyd, his final game, 27.6 assists, 5 rebounds. Had himself a nice Game. That was a good defensive stop on him at the end of the game though. John Blackwell, 22 and 10. They were such a good combo, such a good pair. That's the, that's. This tournament will hurt you. Wisconsin had such a season to be proud of. Given all the high end wins, it got how it looked for a majority of the, you know, final few weeks going in and then you get, you get picked off again by a 12. A damn good 12. It just stings. As a fan, I get it. Like you're a Wisconsin fan. You're not even saying like get me to the Final Four. We'd love it. That'd be a dream. Get us back there. It's been more than a decade, but can we like this is the group that we should be able to make a sweet 16, right? No, couldn't even get it done.
- [36:28]
Chip Patterson
And like High Point had a lot of fans out there and that game was in Portland, you know. Oh la. Oh gosh, sorry. Let me pull this up, make sure I've got it. Well, you put. I thought, I thought that Brad Nessler and Wally in Portland had a great run of games for the most part. Did you.
- [36:50]
Matt Norlander
Were you.
- [36:50]
Chip Patterson
Did you have sound on? Because of Chase Johnson obviously wears number 99. That's like yeah. You unique.
- [36:56]
Matt Norlander
Yeah.
- [36:56]
Chip Patterson
Did you hear Brad Nestler go into the parable of the lost sheep?
- [37:01]
Matt Norlander
I.
- [37:01]
Chip Patterson
He.
- [37:02]
Matt Norlander
He starts talking about.
- [37:03]
Chip Patterson
He's like, he's like the parable of the lost sheep. They said if 99 are found but one is lost, the shepherd will still go find them. Well, there's 99 breaking away for a layup. I was like, hell yeah, Brad.
- [37:15]
Matt Norlander
I don't think I caught that. No. But I was also like I was pinging around. I had, I had the two TVs with the two multi views. I didn't go quad box. I went two different or sometimes I. A primary game like High Point Wisconsin had to go one primary and then I had three on the other one and all that stuff. Trust me, we had it cooking at the home office before I had to come down here to. To HQ Studios. Flynn Clayman, we got to hit him real quick. So he did the encore interview after which was awesome. But then he went into even more detail at the presser afterward. Josh has this queued up. Let's just listen to him real quick and what he had to say.
- [37:49]
Flynn Clayman
Obvious to me that something needs to be done about this non conference scheduling. High Point in Miami, Ohio are two and oh in quad one games we couldn't get games. They couldn't get games. Akron couldn't get games. UNCW couldn't get games. Belmont couldn't get games. We won 22 of our last 23 games and we didn't move up one spot in the metrics. Not one. We won 22 of our 23. We've won 25 games by double digits. That team right there is a fantastic team that beat five top 10 teams. If we can get games like this on neutral courts and some home games, I think we know who's really the best teams. I'm proud of these dudes. And we're not just here to win one game. We're here to get to the sweet 16.
- [38:28]
Matt Norlander
I love the fact that he. First of all, no one knew who this guy was until today. And in his opportunities and moments on a national stage, it's about talking about his team, talking up the other ones. He had more to say about UNCW and Belmont and, and all these other high majors, some of whom didn't win their automatic bid and couldn't get to the tournament as a result. And he's like, I'm done with the nonsense. I'm calling it out. Like, this is something that we have to live with every single offseason. Claiming got was bumped up after Allan Huss left. He's the coach in waiting. I expect Greg McDermott to retire and has to take over here relatively soon. So because of that, claiming got bumped up. High Point was a. A program that had more than 4 million in nil this season. It's a tournament team a year ago and with that people didn't want to schedule him and, and we're not gonna. You could. I'm sure most people saw what claimant said on the court afterward. That's easy to find. I just love that he took that moment like I was like ready to run through a wall because he's got some really valid points now. Two zero and undefeated Quad One run. That's, that's not exactly the most cracks at the bat, but now they got him and he was saying like they can't run from us in this tournament. They got to play with us in this tournament. He should be, he should be talking like that. He should be Peacock. And just a little bit there. I, I loved every, every bit of it and I don't know, maybe high points about to go on and get absolutely rocked here and it's next game when it has to play Arkansas on Saturday out in Portland, maybe that'll be the case. But good on him. Good on his program. That was such a fun, fun game. I mean. Ohio Point gets his first win in tournament history. Chip first went over a power conference team in the history of the school. They were 0 and 57. It was only the second time ever I had this nugget in my stats and facts to no piece earlier this week. Only the second time ever a Big south team won a first round game. The first one happened back in 07 with Winthrop. 31 wins, most by any team in the Big south ever. Rob Martin, by the way, had 23 and 10. Johnston's three from the logo. I want to say that cut it to three. It's going in one shining moment. I'm sure the winners probably what both of those need to be in one shining moment just for a guy like him. Leads the D1 in three point percentage from. From NBA range where he's been shooting. Incredible, awesome, awesome stuff. What else you got on this before we keep it moving.
- [40:47]
Chip Patterson
I'm glad that for the overall conversation of the tournament as a whole, I thought that vcu, because it's North Carolina and because of all the North Carolina stuff probably would have gotten folded in there. You throw in High Point. Now we really come up with a few fantastic rebuttal to the Cinderella is dead because the number of columns and the number of infographics and the number of words that were used to say how we're never ever going to see upsets again and the gap is larger than ever. And this was the other thing. And look, I, I had this discussion on like on CBS platforms today. They were like, look at how big these spreads are. I mean this is just. Yeah, we're losing the tournament.
- [41:28]
Matt Norlander
Do you know. Hold on, Chip. And if you don't. Josh, can you look up in real time because I don't have any ide. How many dogs covered today? We had 16 games. I just. My guess, my guess is it was 8 and 8, but I don't know. I'm pulling that off the top of my head.
- [41:41]
Chip Patterson
Well, you've also got some tight spreads in there that aren't like I. The thing that was like popping even but like Kennesaw making it a game. But this just. Yeah, it was a lot of evidence from today's first round. And obviously High Point really gets to be the face of it as a very classic 12 5. You know, the way that they are being a 30 plus win team coming from the Big South. But I, I find myself being like, all right, we, we still have the tournament we love. We're still good with it with this.
- [42:14]
Matt Norlander
Let's take another break. I want to get to what Texas did to byu. That's another double digit. See no shortage of double digit seeds. Getting it done here. What, what Chip was mentioning is, is definitely, it's definitely pick up on a trend there because we, we saw a bunch of teams that maybe were not expected to win or cover or be competitive do just that. So we'll talk about that after the break and get to the rest of the day's games on Thursday. But first, one more word from our partners.
- [42:38]
Domino's Sponsor Voice
This is Gary Parish. I have a confession. That confession is that sometimes, yeah, I hit an afternoon wall. Say in between doing the ion college basketball podcast and you know, walking to the broadcast center for a night in studio, I realized I probably didn't get enough rest. I need some caffeine. I want something sweet, but not like some big sugary drink. And that's why I'm obsessed with the new fruity rainbow shots from five Hour Energy. They seriously taste like a handful of classic rainbow candy. Bright, juicy and fun, but with a caffeine kick built in. It's like caffeine finally got that flavor glow up it always deserved. It was 17 flavors total in the five hour energy lineup. There is something for every mood, but this fruity rainbow launch is all about that bold, sweet fruity chaos. What do I love most? It's the big flavor in that tiny portable two ounce bottle. I can throw it in my bag, keep one in my car, stash it at my desk, keep golf bag. It's no bulky can, no sticky wrappers, no sugar crash. It's a zero sugar treat. That's totally sweet tooth approved. So it feels indulgent, but it's actually practical. If you're gonna grab caffeine anyway, it might as well taste like candy. Get candy flavored Chaos with fruity rainbow 5 Hour Energy shots available online at 5 Hour Energy.com or Amazon.
- [43:54]
Chip Patterson
Get in the game with the college branded Venmo debit card. Rep your team with every tap and earn up to 5% cash back with Vet Venmo Stash, a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance, just school pride and spending power. Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit card@venmo.com collegecard the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA Select Schools available Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at venmo me stashterms max $100 cashback per month.
- [44:23]
Matt Norlander
You know how during tournament season there's always that one game you absolutely cannot miss, whether it's a buzzer beater in the men's bracket or a massive upset in the women's tournament. That having instant access right when the action heats up is everything. That's why Sling is so clutch. Get instant access to the men's and women's college basketball tournaments. Starting for just $4.99, you can catch all the action on TNT, TBS and more. So when the moments that matter happen, you're not scrambling to find a stream. And if you're thinking I want even more hoops, you can add an extra pack to your subscription for just $1. Sling offers flexibility. No overpaying, no over committing their flexible passes. Subscription lets you watch live college basketball when you want and you can start watching in minutes. It's tournament level excitement. Just tournaments so crazy they'd be crazy to miss. Sling makes it easy to watch the games you want when you want without locking into a full subscription. Sling lets you do that. Visit sling.com to learn more. All right, in the west region, we had 11 seed Texas beat BYU 79, 71. That almost in all likelihood ends AJ DeBont's college career. He did speak about this afterward and what he said to the media at the post game press conference and he got asked about it again in the locker room is exactly what he has actually told me off camera before and what his father told me when I went out to BYU back in January. It will not only be a family decision, it will truly be the decision of his mother. They just have a different family dynamic. Like they're super close. Keep in mind, DebonSA doesn't have an agent. His father is his agent. And he's not a super controlling father. Like I actually think some of the image of what his dad is is kind of misguided versus the person in the family that I've gotten to know. That being said, come on now, this, this is it. But he did keep the, the door ever so slightly, slightly, slightly ajar and saying he's going to talk with his mother and see because the one thing that he did promise his mother is he would get his college degree. So we all expect him to be one and done. But he is intent on getting that degree and not waiting until his 40s to get that get that done. Congrats to Sean Miller in Texas. They take a flight thousands of miles, you know, deep into Tuesday, into Wednesday morning, two time zones away. They get this done. They'll Face Gonzaga. We'll get to Gonzaga before we get out of here. But they're able to to get this win and they get a a pretty good game out of modest Volcanus who can be a handful 23 and 16. Here's a stunning stat from our research team. He's the second player since 2000 to play on a double digit seed in the tournament and have a 20 and 15 game and a win. Demonte Sabonis did it in 2016 with with Gonzaga. Good on the horns. I. I'm an idiot. Nothing, nothing else new here but I had BYU in the Elite Eight because I'm an idiot. So, so it goes. But on that note, if you're watching, listening like this is this is part of the secret of enjoying this month is take a couple gambles on your bracket picks and when they blow up, kick your feet up, take your shoes off, lean back, let the chaos reign supreme. Just let it all shower over you. That is the key to enjoying this tournament. To DebonSA for his end scored 35 and a 10. He had five turnovers. His 35 were the second most ever by a freshman in the tournament game. The record is De' Aaron Fox's 39 with Kentucky. He was the first freshman DebonSA here tonight to have 30 plus in a first round game since Steph Curry in 2007. Good on him. Most points in the tournament game by A freshman. It's Fox 1. DeBonsa 2. Mark Aguirre had 34 for DePaul back in 79. For official record keeping purposes, most points by a freshman in the history of men's D1. Chris Jackson 965 at LSU. Kevin Durant 903 at Texas. Debons at 894 and Trey Young with 876. And then most points per game by any freshman in the Big 12 all time. Trey Young has the record. Then it's Beasley Durant and DeBonsa finishes his season at 25.5 points per game. That will lead the country in scoring. Your thoughts on the game, Chip?
- [48:17]
Chip Patterson
So I understand, you know in all the studio shows came back to more DebonSA and DebonSA and like you know what's he gonna do? And even asking every analyst to well, should he come back, you know the. You all did this song and dance as well. I will say that at the top of my notebook here is about Vocatitis. I thought he got whatever he wanted. You know this is a Texas team that wants to attack the rim.
- [48:40]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, sorry to Interrupt. Chip. The biggest thing with BYU here is the bigs didn't show up the way they needed to quite clearly. Yeah.
- [48:47]
Chip Patterson
And they gave us what, a glimmer, maybe three to four games where it was like, oh, well, if. If this BYU dials in on defense. But I. Oh, you know what I thought it was. I thought it was a regression. I thought it was the same regression to the, like, Olay defense that we saw BYU play. And so, yeah, look, BYU is still. The Texas should not feel good that BYU is still in this thing with the one possession game when they were 4 for 22 from three. And what was it like? They hit their four three right there at the very end of the game just to be able to continue to cut into the lead. Debons, it goes for 35. But in general, the way the game played out, I just thought Texas was able to do whatever it wanted to, which showed for me, you know, great performance for Boca Titus, and just a real regression to BYU's flaws coming back to the surface.
- [49:37]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, congrats on Texas. We'll talk on them even more obviously over the weekend as. As they get to see Stick around. Sean Miller is a really good coach and they. They schemed it up the game, planned it up, and he even admitted going into halftime like, I don't know if we can stop him. And part of that was, you know, his ability to draw fouls and to get to the line. But they weathered it. DeBonsa got his. I was actually surprised. I actually thought BYU needed to get debons and make sure that he got another extra shot or two in those final couple possessions, and it just didn't happen. And. And there you have it. So blessing is short.
- [50:09]
Chip Patterson
You know the agent world better than I do. Does Sean Miller have the same agent as Darius A. Cuff and HA debonsa? Because, God, that guy does a lot of promoting for them.
- [50:19]
Matt Norlander
I love it. I love. I love. This has become a new thing with Miller. Like, he can't.
- [50:23]
Chip Patterson
I know he's just messing up all the opponents.
- [50:26]
Matt Norlander
I know that's. But hey, listen, I appreciate. I appreciate the honesty for DeBonta. BYU let down season. No getting around it. Just no getting around. The Richie Saunders injury was. Was a huge issue. I actually thought if Saunders had been healthy and they played this game, I thought BYU would have won. But that's a what if. We'll never know for sure. But this is not what you signed up for. Yeah, you put a lot into this roster. A lot of money, a lot of time, a Lot of effort, a lot of optimism. BYU will finish the season somewhere near, you know, 23 through 26 at Ken Palm 12 loss, team six seed, can't get a win in the tournament and wound up finishing the season 3 and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3 of 3 and 5 or 4 and 6 down the stretch. That's a stinger. And, and we got a really good Debata performance, but we were. Now, what we didn't get was a Debata run, a one or two game win. We just don't get it. And that's kind of a bummer. And, and in the midst of this game happening on a Thursday night, this happens every year. There's just a couple of teams where it's like, oh, yeah, they were in the tournament. Where'd they go? Wait, where are they? Wait, are they here? Where they. Where'd they go? Where'd they go? Like Georgia. Did you have a season? Did you play in the tournament? What the hell was that? This happened in Georgia a year ago. It's just inevitability. When you got 16 games on a, on a first round Thursday or first round Friday, a couple of these teams just get poofed just like that. And that was unfortunately, BYU's fate. Let's keep it moving here, buddy. Let's talk. Nebraska 76.47 over Troy. That's in the west region. First tournament win, school history. So happy for that fan base that took over Oklahoma City. Nebraska was.08 going into this. Gets one on the board. It was game 3105 for Nebraska. To Nebraska fans watching and listening. Congratulations. I mean that sincerely. You have rooted for this team for however long you've been walking on the terra firma and you got to experience this finally. That's got to be incredible. How about this for your Huskers, first team to win by at least 25 points in your first ever tournament win since UMass did it when Caliperi was coaching them in 92. You now have 27 wins this season. Now the most ever in one season in school history. Price Sanford, big time stuff. I mean, just cash money, cash money. Nebraska made the game too boring. It just, it dropped down the list of priorities early on in this, in the afternoon because win was not in doubt. You had it done. And good on Hoiberg. He had last experienced a tournament win on the sideline when he was at Iowa State in 2014. Nebraska held Troy to 47 points, their second fewest in a game. Quickly on. On corn. Go ahead.
- [52:52]
Chip Patterson
I. I'm so happy that it was the way it was because I was already imagining that lemon booty pucker up of like having to bring it home against Detroit team that was getting Sanga back and you're like oh gosh. I just, I, I don't know if I wanted for that but instead what is it? You're clearing the bench you're putting in. I was on CBS Sports HQ in the 12 o' clock hour. Avery Johnson was talking about the bench warmers and scout teams and how much fun it is when you're up by a bunch in an NCAA tournament game and you clear the bench and Fred Hoiberg got to do that. Go Big Red is just like echoing through the place in Oklahoma City. I am happy for Nebraska fans. I will say this. Spinning it forward obviously the challenge is going to continue to get more difficult but 14 three pointers huskers like those rims Matt. I, I, I, I think that might be something that's, that's a good little rhythm to be able to carry into your next, your next game. I, I prefer in some of those moments the, the coronation especially if it is a situation like that it to have them for blow a lead. Heaven forbid that happened on this Thursday would have been a little bit devastating. So congrats to Nebraska and I like, I like what we saw. I, I think, I think you can be able to carry it forward.
- [54:09]
Matt Norlander
Yeah. Now we see you know how much more the story can continue here in Nebraska's got a tasty matchup with Vandy. We managed. I'll read off a few results and you tell me where you want to go with it. Here Vandy beats McNee7868. McNeese gave him a good punch. They came out, they came out of the gates flying and had some, some good looks early there. But then Tyler Tanner takes over 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists. He played so so well and was the most important player in that game. McNeese again, you know shows up, plays well. A year ago this was the team. This was the one mid major that actually won a first round game in the 12 over five spot by beating Clemson. Couldn't get it done this year. So Vandy versus Nebraska. We wait on that. Michigan didn't have any issues with Howard in the second half after it was actually a pretty competitive interesting game early on but the Wolverines get it done there and they crack 100. I got a note here by the way from, from Dave Warlock. I Want to read first time since March of 073 Teams scored 100 plus points on the same day in the tournament that year was Tennessee, Florida and Kansas. This Today it was St. Louis, Michigan and Illinois all getting to 100 plus. So that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool stuff. A few more results. TCU beats Ohio State first tip of the day, 6,664 in the east region. Xavier Edmonds of TCU patiently kind of worked the paint, got it done. Big to big passing, baby. It's big to big. It was really, it was beautiful stuff there that they were able to get that done. And then Dixon gets his third win in the tournament as a coach. That now ties the record at TCU with a guy named Buster Brannon. TCU now 7:1 in this past eight only loss was to KU in the Big 12 quarters. TCU led this game by 15 at the half. They made nine threes tied to school record there. Ohio State has lost in the first or second round six straight tournaments that it has played and not the six past tournaments, but the six tournaments that it has been involved in. And they did not get a good play to end it. Bruce Thornton, his career ends with a missed heave just behind half court when they had 4.3, 4.7 on the clock. I don't know what was going on there. They had the timeout beforehand and you get 4.7, you need to get to the three point line at absolute minimum. Couldn't get it done. That's a, that's just a bad execution. Congrats to TCU for holding on because Ohio State made it interesting. Thornton actually hit a 3 with less than a minute to go. That put the game in doubt there. Quickie thoughts on any of it? Yeah.
- [56:29]
Chip Patterson
So first of all, cycling back to Howard, I just thought the shot making was awesome in the first half. I am familiar with Bryce Harris as a Lavelle Moton appreciator and somebody who takes in a decent amount of MEAC basketball repping. Lavelle and the Eagles. So I was very aware of him. But I just, I just thought that Howard was making tough shots and it was super impressive. Not surprised that water found its level a little bit right there. TCU is my favorite football teams. Intramural basketball team. Okay, I'm gonna say that one more time. The TCU men's basketball team looks to me like the football team's intramural team because they are so athletic. Their defensive pressure can totally change the game. But buddy, they need to get that ball as close to the basket as possible to score. And that's exactly what happened on the game winning possession. We are just going to slowly but surely, I mean, David Punch as your, you know, one of your best players all year long. That's kind of been this team's, you know, modus operandi. Pressure got to Ohio State early. I thought that good, good on TCU to be able to hold on. As the Buckeyes eventually did go on their run, officials started calling it a little bit tighter. Foul trouble got TCU in a little bit of trouble. But, man, you know, you want to talk about trying to spin this thing forward. Vanderbilt, Nebraska, interesting X's and O's battle, but tcu, Duke, whoa. I mean, hope Duke's ready for a fist fight. Yeah, that's exactly what the Horned Frogs want to do.
- [58:01]
Matt Norlander
Louisville beat South Florida in the East 83.79. This game was super weird. Like this game was wrapping as some more exciting stuff that we've already talked about was happening in real time. Louisville gets its first win in the tournament in the first round since 2017. Pat Kelsey gets his first one in the tournament as a coach. USF covered. I know that because a lot of people made a big deal out of this. People are alleging I picked South Florida to make the sweet 16. You can't prove it and I will deny it. It's a bad job by me. Joe's opinion. Isaiah Nelson played well for South Florida, I guess in total, but they got down too big. Louisville got it done. No, Mikel Brown Jr. They move on and will face Michigan State on Saturday. But weird game. South Florida just could not.
- [58:46]
Chip Patterson
I mean, his three point shooting, I mean, it's just like, yeah, at one point it was like 3 for 25 in the first.
- [58:52]
Matt Norlander
It was weirdly like, weirdly awful. Operationally awful.
- [58:57]
Chip Patterson
And they are not an elite three point shooting team by percentage. But even still, it was just, it was really tough. Meanwhile, Louisville's 13 for 25, one of its best three point shooting percentage games of the season. I think. And I know that they're a team that has a lot of very skilled shooters. A lot goes into that. It was one of the very first games of the day. So much made of Mikel Brown Jr. You know, situation, all the excitement about what USF might be in this spot. Ultimately I am, I'm not excited because USF came and kicked in the back door to cover, but I am excited that they are at least able to go back because, you know, Brian Hodgson is there. Isaiah Nelson comes with him from Arkansas State. Pinion comes with them from Arkansas State. You've got Division 2 guys out there. I mean, do you want to hear some reckless, reckless, like, offhanded, just grabbing stuff out of the corner of your brain, you know, at this. Which happens at this time of year. I was on with Haley Sutton. I was like, haley, I think this might be college basketball's Kurt Signetti. You know, he shows up, he brings some players with him, he brings in some D2 guys, pulls it all together, and, you know, you just. I'm not saying he's going to win a national championship in two years. This is like previewing it going into the game, but I'm just glad that the Bulls at least do after this season. That was a success. 15, 3 in conference play. You get into the NCAA tournament, I think you're excited about the future. You tell me, coaching carousel. Is he still going to be there, or is that a one and done situation?
- [60:33]
Matt Norlander
Providence seems the likely landing spot develops
- [60:36]
Chip Patterson
over the next few days. It's hard out here in the streets for a basketball coach who has a good season.
- [60:40]
Matt Norlander
There we go. Let's. Let's tour through their other results. Here it is getting late, late on the east coast, and I want to turn this out so people can have it ready for them for their days on Friday here, I'll read off the scores. You tell me what you want to hit on here. A M beat St. Mary's I was surprised it wasn't close.
- [60:53]
Chip Patterson
I'm so glad I get to say that Rashawn AG is one of my favorite players.
- [60:58]
Matt Norlander
Okay.
- [60:59]
Chip Patterson
In. In the sec because Texas A M, for most of my viewing, fell into the SEC slop category. Are you familiar with SEC Slope? Okay. Shout out to Will Warren, Basket under review. You know, like, I like his watch list. I like some of his previews. And. And at one point, he started saying, yes, yes, more SEC slop. And it's just there were a lot of games that kind of have that. That feel of just, you know. Yeah. All right. Texas A and M and Mississippi State. This could be fun. This could be, like, really poorly played, but I feel like AG is so soft around the rim. And then there's one play in this game where he drives down the baseline, cocks it back right hand and just throws it down. The. The ferocity and the tenderness is something that's always going to speak to me. So. Always fun to see AG have a good game. I also was going to ask you. This is kind of the ideal for buckyball, right? Like, if you were going to take a game to advertise what Bucky McMillan could do in terms of completely discombobulating St. Mary's in this game. Like totally like from the jump. Just like, whoa. What? Wait a second. The. The pressure is too much. We're getting their defense shifting all over the place. We're getting all these open looks at the rim. I. I was always pretty impressed here with the performance defensively as well as obviously being able to win by double digits.
- [62:22]
Matt Norlander
They'll play Houston, which demolished Idaho. Took a complete expected outcome there. Cougars will get it done, but 63.50aM and the fewest points allowed in a. In a game by A m ever. Period. Ag was awesome. St. Mary's just hasn't gotten to the sweet 16 in more than a decade and a half. They get there, but they are not able to crack through and get a win or two or more years than not. That's just how it goes. That's just the way it's been under Bennett. Mild curiosities. If we wait and see if Ben is going to remotely entertain the Arizona State opening. I wouldn't think so, but never say never. Michigan State won over North Dakota State 92 67. What do you want to say? They shot 59 from the field. It was their best shooting performance the tournament game since 86. They've won a tournament game in five straight years for the first time in school history. Yes, you heard me correct. It had not happened until this year. Fears had 11 assists. They get it done. Izzo now has 60 total wins at in the. In the tournament in his career. As does Calipari. Arkansas beat Hawaii 9378 in the West Region. Arkansas is going to play High Point in the final game that will be played on Saturday. Period. On that schedule. Acuff 24 and 7. Acuff and Malik Thomas are the first freshman duo ever with 20 points, five plus assists in a tournament game, period. Malik Ewan showed up and was awesome as well. You have 15 plus points. He was the first. No, sorry. Second Arkansas player with 15 plus points, 10 plus rebounds and five plus assists in a tournament game joining Corliss Williamson. Man, like great stuff out of Arkansas. They didn't even let Hawaii have any kind of remote hope there. The rest of these games that we're going to hit on real quick before we bounce out of here. They're just snoozers. Illinois was able to rock Penn. It wasn't close. I didn't think it would be close. Illinois just. They outclassed them as you'd expect them to do 105 to 70. So good story. Out of pen and getting there. Playing one of the epic Ivy League title games. Illinois gets done. Merkavich. David Merkavich, 29 points, 17 rebounds. He was an outright beast. Jared Burson, a Burson banger. Here we go. Illinois scored 1.55 points per possession in its win. Per Torvik, that's the third highest PPP in a tournament game in the last 18 years and the highest since Nova had 1.57 against Miami in the Sweet 16. In 16, Merkavich is 29 17. No other freshman in tournament history has as many points and rebounds in a single game. No other freshman, 29 17. Good on Merkavich there. Slew made Georgia look like a freshman team. I don't know what the hell went down there in Buffalo. 102 77. And St. Louis could have made this 150, 115 to 60 if it wanted. Outrageous performance by Josh Shirts program. They'll face Michigan. They've got a 36 hour turnaround. Don't ask me why. Kind of weird. They played the last game of Thursday and they got to play the first one on Saturday against a 1 seed.
- [65:13]
Chip Patterson
Oh, by the way, like the, the Midwest region is cakewalk for Michigan. I mean this is just every. You. We spent a lot of time talking, talking about like the hardest draws, hardest regions. Man, Michigan's got a lot of advantages. Add this to the list. You asked about what happened in Buffalo, Matt. I want to know what happened in Athens because I don't think there was any scout for this game. I mean, this was a Georgia team that already, I'm not counting on them for. But so much you're going to, you're going to have your pressure, you're going to be able to get out there. You try to force turnovers, you try to go get those easy buckets, you know, all those things. But man, they looked like totally bewildered at everything that St. Louis, as though it wasn't what St. Louis has done all year long. I mean, truly baffling stuff in terms of the preparation standpoint. I am not a college basketball coach. I'm not your film study guy here in the college basketball world. But it was very surprising to see Georgia seemingly, seemingly seem so unprepared for what the Billikens were going to do. Also, I had not thought about this until. You're the awesome community here. You know, all of the US's who were gathered before the show got started. Have you all discussed that Josh Shirts might look like a Billiken?
- [66:33]
Matt Norlander
No.
- [66:35]
Chip Patterson
And that maybe the decision to, you know, just sort of stick with it is, is a little bit deeper than we even realized.
- [66:42]
Matt Norlander
Well, it's also due to the fact that they're going to more than double this pay and probably double more than double the nil. So I say.
- [66:48]
Chip Patterson
Or is it because he looks and feels at home?
- [66:52]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot going on there. The only other result we didn't get to is Gonzaga 73, Kennesaw State 64. Closer than I would have thought. Jalen Worley had himself a nice game for sure. They were able to attack the boards. Davis Fogel, a freshman who's going to pop next year in a big way. He had 17 here. Graham Ik had 19. And so good on Gonzaga, Kennesaw State, if they've been able to shoot a little bit better from three, maybe it's actually winds up being a game. John Henson made that point tonight on the HQ desk and he's, he's right there. But the Zags get it done and they can they, they rarely get upset in the first round. So Mark Few gets it done there. And that's your Thursday. I wanted to at least touch on every single game that we had. I we have one more sponsored segment. Oh, by the way, if you were not familiar, it's time for the starting five. You ready for the starting five, Chip?
- [67:40]
Chip Patterson
I'm ready. Fired up. All right.
- [67:42]
Matt Norlander
Sponsored by five Hour Energy and their fruity rainbow flavor. Treat your taste buds to an explosion of fruity candy flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. Get candy flavored chaos with the fruity rainbow five hour energy shots online at 5hourenergy.com or at Amazon. Here's our starting five. Let's just look back on the past oh boy, 14 hours and talk our our five favorite moments. Things that that went down as this was happening. I'm going to give you it and then if you got a bonus one, you can feel free to toss it in here. Number one, Terrence Hill, Juniors three that changed the game and maybe the future of Carolina basketball. Maybe. Yes. That's number one for me for sure. Number two, I think it's Chase Johnston's winner. The two pointer on the runaway. But the three from the logo, that's when you heard that building pop. High point fans came out strong. I saw them do the same thing a year ago when they went to Providence. Plane flights aren't holding those people back and frankly some of them got access to PJs to get it done. So they showed up.
- [68:45]
Chip Patterson
Did. Did you know that at High Point University they do. They've got a model airplane so you can practice pitching yourself if you happen to sit next to an executive on an airplane. No, they do. They've got model restaurants. If you happen to be able to sit down to be able to make your pitch to an executive, they're trying to set you up for success. Matt.
- [69:05]
Matt Norlander
Okay, fair enough. Number three on my list is the Sienna Duke stretch for about 45 minutes when we were all forced to reckon with the idea that Duke as a number one overall seed might lose to Sienna. Sienna would have been, would have been just unreal to get to experience that. But got too close to the sun, couldn't hit enough threes. You hate to see it. Number four, I'd say debons, 35 and 10 to end his career in a losing effort. Good on Texas for getting it done, but it was nice to see like he went down swinging like that. That's a really, really impressive performance. 35 and 10 in your first and only NCAA tournament game. That was a big moment from Thursday. And then I would say Flynn Klayman's on court interview after High Point. When I separate that from the Johnston stuff that won it and the three from the logo, him immediately going into like WWE like promo. It was awesome. I, I love that. So those were my five. You want to throw in a bonus? Any, like anything big, anything small. Just highlight for you from the day.
- [70:06]
Chip Patterson
Chip the Fred Hoiberg Sam the talking about their family, how much it means for them to be able to be there to deliver it for Nebraska. The Go Big Red chants Fred Hoiberg legitimately a little bit overwhelmed. He said from the moment we ran out of the tunnel. So everything that meant for Nebraska and also I mean the day did get started with a game winner.
- [70:30]
Matt Norlander
You know.
- [70:30]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, TCU be and the Thornton shot before that, you know, like it was just that's your good tit for tat. Like that's some primo March Madness stuff. And then I think that's about it in terms of the really, really great high level stuff that I want to make sure gets added here from from our great friends at five Hour Energy.
- [70:49]
Matt Norlander
That was the five Hour Energy starting five sponsored by five Hour Energy's fruity rainbow flavor. Treat yourself to a candy like flavor explosion and satisfy your sweet tooth with this zero sugar treat. Once again you can get in on the candy flavored chaos online at www5hourenergy.com or Amazon today. Real quick look ahead then. We're going to wrap this show. I got to drive home and drive back into the studio tomorrow. Chronologically, here's what we're looking at to get your day going on Friday. Just as a reminder, we've got Santa Clara, Kentucky in that 710 battle in the bottom right of your bracket. In the Midwest, we've got Akron. And that'll be on CBS when we've got akron, Texas Tech, 1240 tip on True TV. Also in the bottom right of your bracket, we've got Liu, Arizona 135 on TNT. Obviously that game will be in the west in the top right of your bracket. And then Wright State versus Virginia, 1:50pm on TBS. Those are your first four in the window. Still a pretty decent window even though you've got a two involved there and with, or, excuse me, a one involved there with Virginia or Arizona and then a three involved with Virginia as we wrap this pretty solid Thursday. Not an epic one, but a good one this Friday. Truly this Friday surpassed today.
- [72:02]
Chip Patterson
No, I do not think so.
- [72:04]
Matt Norlander
I'm inclined to agree with you, but man, I'd love to be wrong if you can't remember it off the top of your head. Miami University, approximately 4:30 Eastern TBS against Tennessee. That will be in Philadelphia. That'll be the most anticipated game of the day and we'll see what the Redhawks can do against the Volunteers. Chip Patterson, you're the best, bud. I appreciate you. He's going to the Houston Regional, by the way, so we're going to try and squeeze them in at least on one more pod before the end of the tournament. But that might be schedule dependent. So we wait. We wait and see. We wait and see on that. We've got people doing fins up in the chats. We'll do a fins up for gp. You want to do a fins up just for gp okay, there we go. We want to flap the Red Hawk wings just for.
- [72:46]
Chip Patterson
I mean if you're gonna go through the Panama Canal to go get this.
- [72:50]
Matt Norlander
Don't even get me started on that. Don't even get me started. Did we get, did we get the number of how many dogs covered today? I guess we didn't. I'll have to figure that out. I don't. I didn't.
- [72:59]
Chip Patterson
I will say, you know, you're talking about will today surpass tomorrow. The thing that I am a little bit disappointed about is I fear that one of the best games might be Missouri, Miami and it's just gonna be at the very end of the night.
- [73:16]
Matt Norlander
Well, we'll see. We'll see. I will be back in studio. I've neglected to mention this on the on the Miami University pod when they won on Wednesday night. I'll be in studio again tomorrow night. Over the weekend they might actually let me stay home Saturday and let the pod go live like immediately Saturday so we can go a little bit earlier. But GP's gonna do the show tomorrow night and then I'll be back and I'll be doing shows Saturday and Sunday. Continue to watch CBS Sports hq. Good second screen experience. Obviously we appreciate everyone that's dialed in there and I'm sure there's other stuff I should be promoing, but I I'm forgetting we're at we're at after 2:20am to anyone that watched live. Apparently we got a ridiculous live number
- [73:53]
Chip Patterson
this time in the in the chat.
- [73:57]
Matt Norlander
No chance. No chance whatsoever. But we appreciate everyone that dialed in and if you squeeze this in before your Friday watch began, we so very much appreciate you. You are real ones. Continue to share the podcast with your friends. That's the Great Chip Patterson, Illinois 1. We'll see if Fornelli ops at some point to make some sort of appearance on the show. I appreciate you guys GP taking the reins tomorrow night. I'll talk to you again on Saturday. Let's have a phenomenal Friday of NCAA Tournament Fall.
- [74:32]
Chip Patterson
Paramount Podcasts
- [74:35]
Matt Norlander
Monster Energy Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the og. It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar energy drink thing, but Ultra is a whole lineup now. Now you've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise and Vice Guava, and they all bring the Monster Energy punch.
- [74:53]
Chip Patterson
So if you've been living in the
- [74:55]
Matt Norlander
White can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe, and every single one is Zero Sugar. Tap the banner to learn more.