Hour 1 - Round 1 Upsets, Adam Lefkoe

Summary

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The Dan Patrick Show — Hour 1: Round 1 Upsets, Adam Lefkoe

Date: March 20, 2026
Host: Dan Patrick, with the Dan Patrick Show crew
Guest: Adam Lefkoe (TNT NCAA host)
Main Theme: March Madness Opening Round Upsets, Tournament Reactions, and the Impact of NIL

Overview

This episode kicks off on a Friday morning after a dramatic first March Madness round, with Dan and the Danettes recapping upsets, memorable games, and broadcasting quirks. The conversation includes a wide-ranging discussion with Adam Lefkoe from TNT, who is covering the NCAA tournament and shares an insider look at studio dynamics, player impact, and the changing economics of college sports.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. March Madness Round One Recap

Timestamps: 02:53, 05:21, 08:59–11:19

• Major Upsets:
  • VCU over North Carolina in OT
  • High Point over Wisconsin
  • Duke survives Siena
  • Texas (11) over BYU (6)
• Cinderella Moments:
  • The excitement of "small school" stories — High Point and VCU get national spotlight
  • The importance of a deep tournament run for underdog schools (media exposure, interviews, recognition)
  • High Point’s campus amenities (steakhouse, free ice cream) spark playful banter
    • “High Point has been a bougie hot school for a while in the culture…” — Paulie (06:47)
• Player Stand-outs:
  • Chase Johnston (High Point) — notable for mostly shooting threes, delivers a pivotal two-point bucket
  • Robbie Avila (“St. Louis Cream, Abdul Jabbar”) and memories of legendary tournament runs by little-known players

2. College Basketball Scheduling Inequality

Timestamps: 09:01–11:19

• High Point Coach Flynn Clayman Sounds Off:
  • Frustration over lack of scheduling opportunities for mid-majors; 22 wins out of 23, no movement in ranking metrics
  • “We couldn’t get games. They couldn’t get games…” — Flynn Clayman (09:18)
• Dan’s Perspective:
  • Power programs avoid dangerous non-conference opponents; the system favors “haves” over “have-nots”
  • Neutral/road games rarely happen; best hope is a tournament like Maui Invitational

3. Big Money in College Hoops: NIL Impact

Timestamps: 11:33–14:52, 27:57–29:40

• AJ DeBanza’s Price Tag:
  • Reports BYU paid $5–7 million (NIL) for freshman star; 35-point debut, but only first-round tournament exit
  • Is a one-year star worth the investment? Dan and the Danettes debate the merits:
    • “Is that worth five to seven million dollars? I guess it’s in the eye of the beholder.” — Dan Patrick (13:16)
• Where the Sport is Headed:
  • Lefkoe and Dan discuss “oil money and tech money” influencing program strength (e.g., Silicon Valley’s investment in BYU, Texas schools rising with resources)
  • One influential donor can change competitive balance overnight

4. Underdog Mindsets and Tournament Magic

Timestamps: 14:52–15:55

• “David vs. Goliath” Factor:
  • All D1 players want to prove themselves, especially under-recruited kids vs. blue-bloods
  • Observing confidence swings: underdogs gaining belief, favorites showing nerves

5. Poll Question: What Was the “High Point” of Opening Day?

Timestamps: 16:04–18:28, 24:42–25:32, 40:19

• Choices:
  • High Point upsets Wisconsin
  • Siena nearly topples Duke
  • Texas beats BYU
  • VCU overcomes a 19-point deficit to beat North Carolina
• Dan’s Pick: VCU over UNC — emblematic of both underdog grit and traditional power collapse
• Early Results: 54% favored VCU’s comeback over UNC (40:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Studio Banter & Show Dynamics:

• On Marvin’s “Suspension”:

  • “I want to personally apologize...I will never, ever put Anthony Davis on your top five all-time college basketball list.” — Marvin (04:11)
  • Dan and crew riff on Marvin’s absence, blaming both a top-5 list “sin” and his letting a previous day’s F-bomb air live

• Legendary NCAA Heroes Nostalgia:

  • “We’re still looking back at [Ali] Farokhmanesh, Fennis Dembo…” — Dan Patrick (08:37)
  • “Are you thinking Herald ‘The Show’ Arcenaux?” – Paulie (08:44)

High Point’s Cinderella Win:

• “For the first time in program history, High Point breaks through. We will see you in the round of 32.” — Westwood One Announcer (07:07)

Adam Lefkoe Segment

Timestamps: 24:06–38:37

• On VCU-UNC Comeback:

  • “VCU comeback is that great tournament experience where one team is white-knuckling and the other has a dude off the bench dropping 34.” — Adam Lefkoe (24:57)

• On Duke’s Scare:

  • “Duke getting scared but not losing is a perfect scenario because we want our top seeds to get the ever-living bejesus scared out of them. But we’d also like to see Duke/Kansas in the Sweet 16.” — Adam Lefkoe (24:57)

• Behind the Studio Scenes:

  • Jamal Mashburn’s unflappable confidence in the higher seeds, even amid an upset threat
  • Bruce Pearl’s infectious energy post-segment: “He wishes he could do a segment right afterwards.” — Lefkoe (27:46)

• On NIL and Tech/Oil Money:

  • “Money is imaginary to them…that money that doesn’t even feel tangible…and oil and tech right now is [where it’s at].” — Lefkoe (29:41)

• Shaq on Podcasting:

  • “He was like, drums are black people stuff, flats are white people stuff. And he says it so definitively...” — Lefkoe (32:52)
  • Lefkoe describes “white people stuff, black people stuff” locker room game, noting Shaq’s strong opinions on everything—even water.

• Final Four Surprise Picks:

  • “Santa Clara could take down Kentucky....Miami Ohio story continues and they knock off Tennessee...Northern Iowa over St. John’s would be unbelievable...I think Kansas makes a run to Indy.” — Lefkoe (35:22)

• Big East Nostalgia:

  • “Those MSG Big East tournaments felt bigger than the NCAA tournaments...we’re defined by contracts of money right now and not John Thompson. It was just a different feel.” — Lefkoe (36:55)

Lighter Moments

• Corduroy fashion discussion — Dan admits his fondness for “corduroy everything”
• Lefkoe’s toddler son calls him by his “full government name” when he sees him on TV (34:59)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:40: Food discussion and “Meat Friday” running gag
• 04:11: Marvin’s “apology” for missing the show
• 06:47: High Point school/campus quirks
• 09:18: High Point head coach Flynn Clayman’s comments on scheduling and “quad one” frustration
• 13:16: AJ DeBanza discussion — money and impact (NIL’s effect)
• 16:04: Poll question debate — “What was the high point?”
• 24:06–38:37: Adam Lefkoe interview — deep dive on upsets, NIL, inside stories, future picks
• 35:22: Lefkoe’s bracket surprises and upset predictions
• 36:55: Big East and conference realignment nostalgia

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Episode Flow & Tone

The show maintains the friendly, joking chemistry among Dan and the “Danettes,” balancing irreverent humor with sharp sports insight. The guest segment with Adam Lefkoe stands out for its energy and insider tidbits, with quick-witted banter, trivia, and bracket speculation. Listeners gain both strong analysis and the playful, everyman perspective on March Madness.

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Conclusion

Hour 1 of The Dan Patrick Show delivers a brisk, engaging rundown of March Madness’ chaotic opening acts. Through upsets, underdog stories, and an enthusiastic studio peek from Adam Lefkoe, the episode captures the fun, unpredictability, and culture of tournament basketball — all while interrogating the changing landscape due to NIL and conference realignment. It’s essential listening for sports fans seeking both informed recap and behind-the-scenes flavor as the tournament unfolds.

Transcript

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[Paulie]

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[Dan Patrick Show Announcer]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio.

[Dan Patrick]

Made it to a Friday.

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Whoo.

[Dan Patrick]

That was a fun day yesterday and last night. Hope your brackets are nice, tidy, secure. Adam Lefkoe, NCAA host on tnt, will join us coming up in a little bit here, some surprises. VCU over North Carolina and overtime, Duke survives Sienna and High Point drops Wisconsin. What kind of drama do we have in store today? It is a meat Friday. We have corned beef. We have pastrami on rye. We have beefed corn, which is a Dan Patrick show original. Our brisket and ground beef, courtesy of Heartland Steak Co. Has it better than we do.

[Marvin]

Nobody.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, oh, Todd's excited for this. Sounds really good. A little pastrami on rye. Throw a little mustard on there.

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[Dan Patrick]

Stat of the day brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the Dan Patrick show. Fritzi is here, Seaton's here, Paulie's here. And Marvin is back after yesterday's absence. And the audience would like to know if you have a statement that you would like to deliver or read from after yesterday's absence.

[Marvin]

You know, dp, I want to personally apologize everyone. I've learned the error of my ways and I will never, ever put Anthony Davis on your top five all time college basketball list. I was suspended yesterday because you were so angry about Anthony Davis being my starting center and my all time starting five. Forgive me.

[Dan Patrick]

I think it might have been for another reason. But that is another reason that was egregious on your part. You also let an F bomb from Matt Leinert be delivered to the world.

[Marvin]

Oh, I forgot about that.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes. Okay. And kids could have been in the car. And it's all about the kids. But we're glad to have you back.

[Paulie]

Yes, Paul, Some of the media thought that this was a planned day off. By Marvin air quotes. Okay, mixed reports, Dan.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I just wanted to let you have your say to the audience. Special social media, they were very curious. As for your absence, the timing of your absence after what happened on the show the previous day, happy coincidence. All right, first hour. Brought to you by Neutrophil. If your hair isn't playing like it did in your 20s, that hat doesn't work. You need a different strategy. Start@neutrophil. Nutrafol.com Enter the promo code. Dan Patrick, play of the day. Stat of the day poll question your phone calls. Coming up, we say good morning, those watching on Peacock. Thank you for downloading the app and our radio affiliates. Over 400 cities that carry this award nominated program. Also, Texas dropped BYUTCU starting out the tournament beating Ohio State. And St. Louis rolls Georgia 877, 3DP. Show operator Tyler sitting by, he'll take your phone calls. You know, you start to watch the tournament and you start to, and I mentioned this yesterday, there are going to be a couple of players where you go, wow, that guy. And it happens every year. And if you're High Point or vcu, all you want is can we make it through the weekend, can we get that exposure for our team? You want one week where you get all that recognition. And if High Point were to win another game or VCU to win another game, then you get the following week where you're going to have your coach being interviewed on SportsCenter. You're going to get all of this notoriety. People are just finding out about High Point. And High Point is an interesting school. They actually have a steakhouse on campus. I think they have free ice cream on campus too.

[Paulie]

Yes, Paulie, High Point has been a bougie hot school for a while in the culture, you know, they have an ice cream stand, they have a steakhouse. And it all got exposed yesterday. For those who just learned about High

[Dan Patrick]

Point, here is the call as High Point pulls off the surprise against Wisconsin.

[Westwood One Radio Announcer]

Nine seconds. Boyd wants it inside. Five, six seconds. And Boyd, they launch down court manners. They got sweet throw on the glass slipper. It's a Cinderella stor Oregon. For the first time in program history, High Point breaks through. We will see you in the round of 32.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, that's the High Point University student radio having some fun. Somewhere in there there's a description of what happened at the end of the game. This is how it sounded on Westwood One. Jump stop, inside reverse layup.

[Westwood One Radio Announcer]

No good. We've had a side mark's got it ahead. Johnston on the run to the basket, let him in. 10 seconds to go. Roadie with the inbound to Boyd and a timeout taken by High Point before the inbound.

[Dan Patrick]

So Westwood One radio Chase Johnston, one of my favorite players. His first two point bucket of the year. All he does is shoot threes. But in that moment, the game winning basket, a two pointer. Robbie Avila was St. Louis Cream. Abdul Jabbar. See you get these, these players and we always look back. We're still looking back at Ali Farouk, Manesh Fenis, Denbo, who was there was another player. Trying to think maybe he played at Wyoming as well or Montana.

[Paulie]

Are you thinking Herald the show Arsenal.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Paulie]

Weber State.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, we state. Yes. Good call. Good poll. Yes. Marvin the R.J. hunter.

[Paulie]

Georgia State with his dad.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, his dad was more famous than him.

[Marvin]

Correct. But he was the guy that was hitting the shots.

[Chuck]

Yes.

[Josh]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Georgia Southern. Is that right?

[Marvin]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. All right, we'll get phone calls coming up. 877-3-DP show email address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter handle @DP Show Flynn Clayman is the High Point head coach and he was pretty vocal after the win against Wisconsin.

[Flynn Clayman]

It's pretty obvious to me that something needs to be done about this non conference scheduling. High Point in Miami, Ohio are 2 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'd 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.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, I understand it. And yes, you want to get games. You're not going to get neutral sight and you're not going to get home games because put yourself in Wisconsin situation. Would you go to High Point to play a game? And the answer is no. You play a rigorous schedule in the Big Ten. Now do I like that? Belmont and High Point and some of these other schools, Miami, Ohio don't get to test themselves. No, I don't like that. But I'm just looking at the business side of all of this. If you play a demanding schedule, do you want to go on the road against a very dangerous team? Now do you want to test yourself? Sure. But everybody is scrambling. Everybody's trying to improve their rating, their ranking, all of that and a neutral site isn't going to happen. The only way this happens is if High Point would get invited to the Maui Invitational, you know, something like that. But it's not going to happen. You know, it's more of the have and the have nots. Your moment is right now. When you get in the tournament and nobody conduct you, they can't hot. Wisconsin can't say we don't want to Play High Point. I mean, High Point is a very good team, an exciting team. They score points, they put pressure on you. But gotta be honest though, if I'm Wisconsin, I'm not going to play a home game at High Point. I'm not going to play a neutral site game against them either.

[Paulie]

Yeah, Paulie, but we've talked about this for years with college football, that there's not a scheduling czar to build storylines. Can you imagine if college basketball had a scheduling, scheduling czar and next year High Point opens at Wisconsin or vice versa.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, but you don't have the same players on the team. So yes, you can say, hey, it's a rematch when it's really not. Unless you have your core players. They have their core players then maybe, but it doesn't work that way. You know, when Iowa and LSU played in women's championship game, and then I said, you got to open up the next year with Iowa and lsu. Well, the core of those teams was still going to be there next year because of women's basketball. They're not going pro with men's. It's just interchangeable shifting. I mean, you could have somebody at High Point on Wisconsin next year because they saw that player playing go. Why don't we just take him? Speaking of money, AJ Debanza got somewhere between 5 and $7 million from BYU. Now, he's a wonderful player. He is. Sean Miller, Texas head coach, being interviewed. Hey, what can you do with AJ DeBancer? Basically nothing, because you're watching somebody who was just passing through college basketball and he was a wonderful player this entire season. I don't know if you say, boy, we got our money's worth there. He had 35 and 10. And the first freshman with 30 or more points in the NCAA tournament debut since Steph Curry back in 2007. Dad of the Day brought to you by Panini America. So according to front office sports, Debancer was paid between five and seven million dollars to go to BYU. They won 23 games. They had a 500 record in conference, a number six seed and a first round exit. Is that worth five to seven million dollars? I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

Well, the thing was, he did what was expected of him. Yeah, the team's success. He was like, hey, it's not my fault. We didn't have enough good players

[Dan Patrick]

watching Sienna against Duke yesterday afternoon and Jerry McNamara, Sienna head coach, at least for the time being. He played his starters, you know, virtually the entire game. And I like what he was trying to do, he was rolling the dice. He was saying we can maybe steal this, that my starting five is pretty good and if we, you know, get hot, you know, we can put some pressure on them. Which is exactly what they did. They were up 13 at one point. But then you saw the shots. I'm always looking for shot when guys play a lot of minutes. I want to see what your misses look like. And they were hitting the front iron. They retired and I think they subbed with like 10 seconds to go. But Sienna nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history, knocking off number one, top seated Duke. It's fun, but it's a neutral site. Different times of the day and night, and you get these kids where you're supposed to win these games or you're not supposed to win these games, and you see the confidence grow or you see the doubt start to creep in for those who are supposed to win. Happens every year. That's the beauty of March Madness. Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

And especially in these David versus Goliath matchups. It's all Division 1 basketball players. So some of these guys were probably under recruited and now they want to show the big schools. No, no, we're just as good as you guys. We just weren't recruited as heavy as you guys at Duke or North Carolina or wherever else.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, it was fun. It was a lot of fun. I mentioned that the 116 was the new 12 5, but high point as a 12 taking down Wisconsin, VCU and 11 with their win against North Carolina, Texas and 11 against number 6 BYU. So both elevens ended up winning and one of the twelves ended up winning as well. But this is what happens in the beginning of the tournament every single year. And it'll be the same this year as far as today and tonight. There'll be one or two surprises, there'll be one or two players. Where you go, man, I fallen in love with his game. Well, that's a great story. Or that's a fun team. Which poll question today? Seaton.

[Seaton]

We got a few options here. Todd has actually submitted what I would consider to be a near perfect Todd Fritz.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, my God.

[Seaton]

It's the exact right amount of Todd. Okay, what was the high point of yesterday?

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, God.

[Seaton]

What was the high point of yesterday? Is it high point beating Wisconsin? Okay, Sienna putting a scare into Duke. Texas taking down AJ Devanta and BYU. VCU coming back down 19 to beat North Carolina. What was your high point of yesterday?

[Dan Patrick]

I would say VCU against North Carolina because you're down 19 and you end up coming back. I mean, that's one of those. I'd like to say it's more about vcu, but man, it might be an indictment on Hubert Davis. Free throws missed. Now you don't have your best player. You got a lottery pick who wasn't playing. But you should, you should still. You're up 19. You should still win that game. But that is not a good look for Hubert Davis. Once again, big shout out to Heartland State co. They have provided all the meat here for our Meat Fridays. So thank you guys. Doing it every Meat Friday for us. Even some questionable meat Fridays they still provide. They live up to their end of the bargain. They're sort of the AJ Debanza when it comes to providing the meat. He'll be complimented, but Dylan, you know it. It's up to him to raise his game as the resident chef. Yeah. After. After what happened last week in the most controversial Meat Friday, I believe in our show's history, although I thought it was very tasty, the Indian food. But we're back now. I told him you got to make a comeback here. And. And he did. So Heartland State co thank you for all the great deliveries, gift packages that you give us. All right, we'll talk to Adam Lefkoe. He's a big time host for March Madness. Always great to talk to him. He's also a co host of Shaq's podcast as well. How about we Dan Patrick, shut the hell up. We take. And speaking of the Lakers, Luca drops an oh, by the way 60 LeBron and oh, by the way, triple double. They're chanting MVP for Luca in Miami last night, I believe. Is that right, Marvin?

[Marvin]

They're not the most rabid fan base in Miami.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm just saying. Just saying that was a little bit surprising. But you know what? I checked the odds. Second best odds to win the mvp. Right now it's Luca behind sga. How about we take a break here? Back after this in the Dan Patrick Show.

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Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook, and all the best guess, do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Think about how many skills they have

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[Dan Patrick]

He still smelled of podium champagne and expensive friction.

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You look at the top four number one seeds, what do you think UCLA is going to do? Break down that for me, my friend.

[Flagrant and Funny Host]

Obviously, UConn is the overwhelming favorite in this tournament, but I'll be honest, I think people are kind of sleeping on

[Podcast Announcer]

Texas experts are suggesting that UCLA is the number one challenger to UConn and that right after that would be Texas. SCC is so is so deep and so thick in just about everything. It really is annoying. So it's UCLA, Texas, South Carolina, LSU, only ones that could possibly upset UConn.

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On flagrant and Funny, we're giving our unfiltered takes on the biggest moments, the conversations everyone's having.

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So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the latest on the tournament, we got you listen to Flagrant and funny with Carrie Champion and Jemele Hill on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of

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[Dan Patrick]

We'll get to phone calls on this Friday. 8:77 3 dp show operator Tyler sitting by, who take your phone calls. First day of our bracket challenge. The celebrity bracket challenge. And as you might expect, Philip Rivers is leading the first day of our bracket challenge. Last place is Rebecca Lowe from the Premier League. On NBC. Second to last is Connor Hellebuck, the gold medal winning goalie for Team usa. He had a good month, though. Just saying. Fritzi is in there and Jason Garrett, Melissa Stark, Darius Rucker, they're all tied for second place. But it's. It's early. It's one day. Speaking of the tournament, he's Adam Lefkoe, TNT sports studio host, co host of the big podcast with Shaquille o'. Neal. Whoa, look who's got a shirt and tie on today. That is not for this show.

[Adam Lefkoe]

How do you know are you working on. Take this right off afterwards, put on a black T shirt and go to work. How do you know that? You don't know that.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know that. But let me give you the full introduction. Adam Lefkoe hosting studio coverage from TNT in Atlanta. He's got Bruce Pearl, Jamal Mashburn, Jalen Rose, Seth Davis back in studio today at noon. I knew it. I knew it. You're already dressed, ready to go. You got two and a half hours ready. Can we start with the poll question for Lefko? Seaton, would you give him the first hour poll question?

[Seaton]

Sure. This is from Todd Fritz. What was your high point of yesterday?

[Dan Patrick]

High point?

[Seaton]

Beating Wisconsin, Sienna putting a scare into Duke, Texas taking down AJ Advancer and BYU or VCU coming back down 19 to beat North Carolina.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Being on television. Great job, Seaton. You're the man. I would say the VCU comeback is that great tournament experience where one team is like white knuckling and trying to hold it on and the other team has like a dude off the bench dropping 34, which is like a beautiful combination from like a broadcast ratings perspective. Duke getting scared but not losing is like a perfect scenario because we want our top seeds to get the ever living bejesus scared out of them. But we'd also like to see Duke, Kansas in the sweet 16. So I thought that was perfect.

[Dan Patrick]

But you normally have. If you look at every tournament where you have your champion, they get a scare at one point. It's rare when you just blow through people and you act like you're the running rebels of unlv. Yeah, you're going to win, but sometimes you win and it might be by a couple of points. So that might have been the scare there. But if Sienna wins, I think statistically might be the greatest upset in NCAA history.

[Adam Lefkoe]

That. I mean, I don't know. UMBC was pretty special. Fdu because of who Zach Edie was like this seven foot five, like larger than life. And FDU was the smallest team in the tournament. That one felt crazy. And Duke's injuries made yesterday more explainable in terms of why they were there. But like two different scares. Howard was right there with Michigan yesterday, hit 10 threes in the first half, but the second half you go, oh, yeah. Okay, difference. Duke, you're going. This could be an issue against tcu. That one felt like we might be seeing actual issues here.

[Dan Patrick]

The reaction, though, in the studio, as you're watching games, you're not on tv. Yeah, but who gives you the best reactions when you're watching these games at tnt?

[Adam Lefkoe]

So MASH is like super chalky. So MASH is like, I'm going, Sienna's up 5. He's like, man, it don't matter. Sienna's up 11. Nah, don't matter. And I go, mash. Not all the top seeds are gonna win. Like, there's gonna be upset. And I'm telling him, hey, a 12 beats a 5 every year. And then. And then he's realized, because Mash is such, like, a man, he knows the debance of family. Like, he really. So to see him go, they could lose this game. Like, the realization come. That was really beautiful.

[Dan Patrick]

Beautiful, yeah. Jamal Mashburn and Bruce Pearl's in there. I'm sure Bruce is a know it all.

[Adam Lefkoe]

He's not like, why do you paint him in this picture? Like, I feel like this is, like, character assassination. I'm gonna, like, stand up for him.

[Dan Patrick]

I had the other day.

[Adam Lefkoe]

I know. And you were like, tell the truth.

[Dan Patrick]

Like, it was intense, but I was Tom Cruise and it was A Few Good Men and he was Nicholson, and I just wanted to know if he was on Auburn's payroll. Yeah, that was all.

[Adam Lefkoe]

The thing that I like about Coach is that, like, we'll get done a segment and, like, we get off the air and he goes, that was fun. That was like. He's like. Like he wishes he could do a segment right afterwards. So I love that energy.

[Dan Patrick]

Did BYU get their money's worth out of AJ Debanza?

[Adam Lefkoe]

They got another top recruit coming in next year. We talked about BYU basketball all season long. I know my guy Chuck has said that you can't do it all with one guy, but I think it's really interesting how sports are changing. With nil, Texas Tech and football, we're expecting them to be a powerhouse. I would imagine all that Texas money, smu, all those teams are going to come alive. I'm sure Texas A and M is going to get some money, too, but that. I forget what they call it. There's, like, a Silicon Valley building right now in Utah of all these tech companies in Utah. And my guy, Ryan Smith with the Jazz, the way he's investing right now, I. This is the beginning for byu because I. I think it's a complete game changer. I think it is. And as Debanza debonsa has a phenomenal NBA career, we're always going to mention byu. Just like when we see Kevin Durant, we talk about Texas.

[Dan Patrick]

If you look at nil and I had somebody works with the ncaa, you know, we were talking about the sec, and I said, you know, is. Is the SEC a thing of the past? Of, you know, when you looked certainly at football and he said, you got to have oil money and you have to. Or have tech money, because everybody's got the chance to be able to sign these players and do it legally. And that's maybe, you know, adds credence to what you're saying that if you have tech money and all you need is really one philanthropic donor who's willing to say, hey, I'm okay with this here. Yeah. What you can do with five to seven million dollars, I think I got you, A.J. bansa.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Exactly.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Adam Lefkoe]

And then you factor in the amount of attention that Mark Cuban got for the Indiana football run, and he is like one of those established tech guys. I know a lot of tech founders and money is imaginary to them because they're going, well, my company's valued at. At $400 million. And I go, you live in a one bedroom apartment in the Lower east side. And it's like, it's not even real. So you need that. That money that doesn't even feel tangible and it won't impact it. And oil and tech right now is

[Dan Patrick]

that we're talking to Adam Lefkoe, TNT sports studio host. And if you're listening on radio, Visualize Lefkoe with a nice crisp shirt and tie.

[Adam Lefkoe]

When's the last time you wore a suit to be on television? Not insulting your orange button up right now, but I'm just curious.

[Dan Patrick]

It's corduroy, by the way.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Oh, my God. It's textured.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes, it is. It's corduroy. You know, I've fallen in love with corduroy.

[Adam Lefkoe]

It's a nice material.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I'm like, I'm bringing it.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Have you ever gone corduroy top and corduroy bottom?

[Dan Patrick]

I would do it.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Water would just flow right through you.

[Seaton]

Great.

[Dan Patrick]

It does look like picture day for you. Yeah.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Thank. This is very weird. I thought about doing this with no pants and going back to, like, when we would do zoom calls together, but I'm getting picked up in about 12 minutes, so.

[Dan Patrick]

Wasn't there that CNN analyst who did a Zoom call?

[Adam Lefkoe]

I had PTSD yesterday thinking about Zoom. Like in the. Like when. When the pandemic was happening.

[Dan Patrick]

It was cool.

[Adam Lefkoe]

And then afterwards, people like, hey, you want to hop on a zoom? And I'm like, nah, I don't, like, I don't want to do any of this. Like, I was looking around this hotel and I go, where am I supposed to sit? Like, do you want to see my bed that's a mess right now. Or, like, the table with food on it? It's a weird situation.

[Dan Patrick]

So you co host the big podcast with Shaquille o'. Neal. Shut the hell up. When are you surprised? When's the last time he surprised you, by the way? I think the last time I wore a suit and tie probably was football night. In America, maybe. Or maybe the Olympics or maybe handing out the super bowl trophy. I don't. It's been a while. It's been a while. I have all of these ties. I probably have 75 neckties.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Do you think there could be a campaign where a Dan Patrick tie makes it into, like, a hall of fame somewhere? Like a broadcasting hall of fame or something like that? Or like a NBA?

[Dan Patrick]

Like, I. I did. I did donate a Blaze. Somebody had a sports bar, and they said, hey, would you give me a blazer? And I gave them, you know, one of my suits, and they framed it. I'm like, all right.

[Adam Lefkoe]

And as funny as he didn't put in the bar

[Dan Patrick]

in his bedroom. Yes. When's the last time you were surprised by Shaq?

[Adam Lefkoe]

So, like, we play a game on there that started because he would go around the green room and, like, he'd pick up, like, a Ritz cracker and be like, this is white people. And then he'd say the S word. And so I was like, wait, do you believe everything in the world is white people stuff or black people stuff? And so now we play that game all the time. And his, like, he was like. I was like, wings. And he was like, drums are black people stuff. Flats are white people stuff. And he says it so definitively. And we. I've done this with Barry Sanders and Bo Jackson and Tom Brady. And, like, we. I did to them. I said, water, thinking it's water. Like, we're made of water. The planet is majority water. And they both were like, white people stuff. So, like, I'm.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm just amazed at water is white people stuff.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Because I think they, in their heads, thought about who drinks water in the locker room and who drinks Gatorade. And they were like, the white guys drink water. That's what they said. And so I'm. I'm always amazed at, like, Shaq's. Shaq has, like, definitive theories on things. And that. Because I'm like, anything's open to interpretation. Shaq is definitive.

[Dan Patrick]

I think you need to make it bigger that it's not just a podcast. That's a TV show.

[Adam Lefkoe]

I 100% agree. We've been. It's my favorite. It started because we were doing NBA on TNT and LeBron was on the bench, and he was eating. You could see the package said Red Vines. And he goes, nah, black people call it Twizzlers. And I go, no, I'm. I'm reading the package. And he goes, now, white people at Red Vines. Black people eat Twizzlers and then, then I was like everything, I was like holding up pens, you know, like, what about this table? What is this table? I missed you. I missed you a lot. And when I got the call and they were like, hey man, like they'd like to go on. I was like, that's really early. I'm gonna be in a tie. And I was like, I miss Musk. And so I'm, I'm happy to see you, man. This has been great.

[Dan Patrick]

How's the family?

[Adam Lefkoe]

I don't know if you want to know. My son is really smart. He's two and a half now. My wife is great and my son says my full government name because I'm on television. So sometimes I'll walk out and he'll go, Adam Levco. And I'm like, you should not know my name. So life is good.

[Dan Patrick]

Give me the surprise today or tonight.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Okay. I think we're going to start with two upsets right off the bat. I think Santa Clara could take down Kentucky and I think Akron is going to be a Sweet 16 team. So I think Texas Tech with JT Toppin is going to get banged up. If I had to pick the. I think the Miami Ohio story continues. I think they knock off Tennessee and I think America's team advances. And if I had to pick one bigger upset, one that would like, like a, a real double digit seed, I, I northern Iowa over St. John's would be unbelievable. Like I love Rick Pitino and I think they're focused. But like I covered the Big east all season long and the drop off on teams and who they play. They've played two teams in this tournament since January and if no and they, and if St. John's isn't scoring, you reach that point where you're like, how are they going to manufacture points? Right now everyone's like Rick Patino. But I do have my surprise team, I guess in the Final Four. I think Kansas makes a run. I think they go all, I think they go to Indy. I really do.

[Dan Patrick]

By the way, let me go back to the Big east because do you realize when Syracuse and Connecticut wanted to play big time football, they ruined. Why couldn't you have just been the best basketball conference in America? Because they were that. Yeah, if you could say to Syracuse, you can give up football, Connecticut give up football, we go back to the Big East. What do you think?

[Adam Lefkoe]

I think I go back to the early 2010s when all this was happening, like 2010 to 2014. I think it was about fear because I remember I was in Louisville and so they're in that whole ACC thing too. And it was like, why does nobody want me? Because it was all this realignment and it was. It was a fear that you were going to get left out and there was so much security in the acc. But dude, I completely agree with you. Like, I went to syracuse When Jerry McNamara was playing and those, those MSG Big east tournaments felt bigger than the NCAA tournaments they did. And, and it was so special. I mean, the Kemba run and it was tough, but that's what's. We started this conversation talking about nil. We're defined by contracts of money right now and not John Thompson. Like it. It was just a different feel.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Because I was there with all of those coaches back in the 80s and you know, we were right across. CNN was right across the street from the Garden and you would have the Big east tournament and I would just go there all day and all night and it was.

[Adam Lefkoe]

And dudes were dressed like this. That's the reason the tournament was great. You'd have dudes that were clearly leaving their office jobs sitting in the garden at like 2:45 to watch Cincinnati, West Virginia and you're like, Bob Huggins couldn't

[Dan Patrick Show Announcer]

go on a run.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Like big, Big east basketball in New York was special, man.

[Dan Patrick]

Tell Shaq I said hello.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Okay, I got you.

[Seaton]

Dan.

[Dan Patrick]

Dan. Patrick, shut the hell up. Don't be nervous today.

[Adam Lefkoe]

All right, you know what? Now I'm gonna be. Thanks a lot, Dan.

[Dan Patrick]

Appreciate you playing mind games on you.

[Adam Lefkoe]

Love you guys.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you. That's Adam Lefkoe. He's a popular studio host. He gets to wear a suit and tie and I don't. He's also the co host of the big podcast with Shaquille o'. Neal. Update the poll results. We'll come back with your phone calls and we'll have our play of the day after this.

[Dan Patrick Show Announcer]

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh my God. Of the day. This is the play of the day.

[Westwood One Radio Announcer]

Check this out to Anderson driving. Step back in circles now. Johnson, catch and shoot. You. Time out. Time out. Portland. Do you believe it?

[Dan Patrick]

High Point University student radio Chase Johnston, one for five on two point attempts this season. And the one make was the game winner yesterday. He's 68 for 138 from three point range. Actually he's in three and a half point range, maybe four point range. He's going logo. Quick release, man. All you kids out there, you can work on your shots, work on a quick release because you could have a beautiful shot. But if you don't have a quick release, you'll never get it off. That is our play of the day early poll results. Seaton, what do you have for me today?

[Seaton]

Yeah, what was your high point of yesterday? Right now, the early leaders. And that one VCU's come back over. North Carolina has about 54% of that vote. Next closest is high point over Wisconsin.

[Dan Patrick]

Play of the day brought to you by True Green. Don't waste another weekend doing your lawn care yourself. Partner with the official lawn care treatment provider, the pg. Get a golf course quality lawn the easy way. Sign [e-mail]. sit back and relax. Josh in Nebraska leads us off this morning. Good morning, Josh. What's on your mind today?

[Josh]

Good morning, everybody. Thanks for taking my call. About a year ago, I called in to let you guys know that I was going to propose to my fiance at Notre Dame. I don't know if you guys remember, but she did eventually say yes at Notre Dame. We get married in June and I just wanted to provide you guys an update. I'm a high school teacher, so I haven't had a chance to call in yet this year. But I just wanted to thank you for the advice. And by the way, Adam Sandler sent us a card with it with an autograph for our wedding because we invited him to. I sent you guys an invite. I think you guys an invite, but I haven't heard back from you. I know you obviously can't come, but again, I just want you to know you're on our Zillow account, so. You are not Zillow Zola. Sorry, too many Z's. But the point is, you guys are actually invited to the wedding. It's in Omaha, Nebraska. I know you can't make it, you're a busy guy, but I just wanted you to know that this isn't some publicity sense try to get you to come. You were actually invited. So, again, thank you for the advice. Thank you to all the people who told me where to propose that Notre Dame. You guys were 100% a help and I love the show as always. You guys are the best.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Josh. And congratulations. Good luck with that. Chris in Syracuse. Good morning, Chris. What's on your mind today?

[Chris]

Hey, thanks, Danny. I got a few things to throw at you. Yeah, after Yesterday, if Jerry McNamara wants a Syracuse job, I'm sure, it's his because the South Florida coach wasn't interested. And to your point, Dan, that wouldn't happen when Syracuse was in the Big East. And yesterday you guys were talking about Michael Jordan wearing number 45 when he came back from baseball. I think it partially represented getting his fourth and fifth championship. And if he played for the Yankees in about 50 years, he could have taken number 456. And I've got an awful mock headline off of yesterday's show. Les Nessman. Dan's guy Freed would still be the minor league home run king. And I'm shocked. Yesterday when Rhonda called in and mentioned that she was an ex model, that first she didn't try to convince her to be in Dan Patrick show bracket challenge. I mean, an ex model is better than no model at all.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I know. Thank you, Chris. Have a great weekend. Yeah. Rhonda called in, said that she's a former model. Buddha in San Francisco. Good morning, Buddha.

[Buddha]

Nobody happy me Friday, boys. Every day is one shining moment. Welcome back, Marvin. DP Luka Doncic is on a heater right now. Yeah, and as Marvin says, he's hot in the fish grease, man. I mean, dropping 60 in front of Bam in Miami and getting MVP chance from LeBron's old stomping grounds, that must have been pretty cool. And Dan, if Luca hasn't scored more points in the past seven days than Anthony Davis has scored since the trade went down, I'd be shocked. I don't know. Thank you, Nikki Harrison and Dan. I wanted to call in and backup support and shout out my man Eric Weeks. Listening to the whole Sammy Soucer gate unfold yesterday was hilarious. And I leave you guys with this DP show tailored stat of the day. March Madness brought us one shining moment. Fritzi brought us one dining moment. And Weeks, yesterday brought us one damning moment. Man, that was Emmy worthy.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Buddha. Yeah, we had an issue yesterday. Seaton was sitting in Marvin's chair because Marvin was suspended for. Marvin was off for a day. And our cameraman, Weeks was trying to help. You know, we had some technical issues, and he was getting in behind the desk, and he just happened to bump the Sammy Sosa figurine. Priceless figurine, by the way. And it broke. It shattered. It was fixed, kind of. There were some people who I thought were culpable who knew it happened and then did not bring it to my attention until I brought it to my attention when I saw the chalk outline of the Sammy Sosa figurine on the floor. And a bunch of pieces there shattered. And so was I. But weeks, the cameraman apologized and he put Sammy Sosa back together again. It was kind of a Humpty Dumpty kind of thing. And then I'm blamed because I put the figurine perilously close to falling off a desk. But I go back to Matt Leiner dropping an F bomb. Marvin let it be on the radio and then all of a sudden Marvin is not here. Yesterday, Sammy Sosa gets bumped because Seaton then has a problem when he sits in your chair. Our cameraman knocks it off and it shatters. So I can't blame you, Marvin. I have to blame Matt Leiner because if he doesn't drop an F bomb, you don't get suspended. You don't have a day off. And then maybe Seaton doesn't have a problem up front.

[Marvin]

Yes, Marvin, but maybe I should blame you because you didn't have to suspend me.

[Dan Patrick]

I gave you the day off. There's a difference.

[Marvin]

Coincidentally, yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Chuck in North Carolina. Good morning, Chuck. What's on your mind today?

[Chuck]

Hey, Dan. I don't want to sound like that guy from Dallas that calls in raising hell, but that yesterday in Greenville, Hubert Davis and them. I don't understand how you get rid of a coach that's a player, alumni coach, a media darling. Almost his whole staff is ex players and players that played for Carolina. They don't have any out of bounds plays, but two, they're not physical. They. I about lost my mind, Dan. I was at the game. I coached high school ball and that's ridiculous. They got. Roy was disgusted. He walked out. I thought he was going to cry.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I kept watching. Now North Carolina doesn't have its best player. Let's. But you still can't blow a 19 point lead. You can't. And this is another first round exit. I think it's the second in five years. And prior to yesterday, NC 481 all time in the NCAA tournament when leading by double digits at halftime. The only previous loss was 2022, the national title game against Kansas. More college basketball coverage coming up next hour to meet Friday, more of your phone calls as well. 877-3DP show operator Tyler sitting by the gang's all here reunited. It feels so good. Fritzi, Satan, Marv, Paulie, yours truly. Hour two after this.

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