Blue By Ninety - Final 4 Bound!!

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

Michigan destroys Tennessee and is headed to The Final 4!

All right. Welcome back to Blueby 90, presented by Feldman Chevrolet of Highland. Head to Feldman Chevy of Highland.com and go check out their spring collection. You know, the the the ice has thawed. Now it's time to think about, you know, your next car. Maybe there are some, you know, damage from potholes at this moment. You might need to take a look at what they've got because they've got some great deals over there. I'm just enjoying by. Joel Honigford, my new co-host. And Joel, I've got my, it's actually the 2018 Final Four at on. I thought it was appropriate to wear today. Yeah, we spoke about this, I think, two podcasts ago about the Final Four. Maybe this was the last podcast. I don't remember. The Final Four being like that point in the year where you're like, all right, like, this is where we're supposed to be.

Yep. We expected this to happen. in the season, like, we're here. We're obviously playing Arizona. A lot of people are saying that this is the national championship game. I think, like, while the matchup is definitely, out of all four teams, Michigan, Arizona is the best matchup. I think the idea of, like, this being the national championship game can be kind of a trap. Yeah.

Because if you beat Arizona and you're like, we just beat the other best team here, and then you go into the national championship kind of with your guard down a little bit. It could be bad. Nonetheless, we're in the final four dominating win off of Tennessee, which felt good. Literally just beat those guys around the court

the whole game. Yep. So, yeah, it's a good feeling on this Monday. Yeah, 100%. I mean, I don't think that we're sitting here like super, like, satisfied. Oh, we can hang it up now. Everything's fine.

but I do think that getting to this point, you know, you definitely hang a banner. So it'll be the second banner hung for this team. And so it's an accomplishment, right? I think obviously this team is for sure still hungry. This fan base is still hungry. You know, to go get a natty would be unbelievable. But I think you got to acknowledge the accomplishment of getting to the final four. Heading to Indianapolis, I'll be there for sure.

I'm still in talks to finalize exactly what it's going to be. But I'm talking to our guy Clayton Anderson, who has been our country singer at some of our tailgates the past couple of years. He's got his own country barred right downtown Indy. We're going to make it the spot for Michigan fans all weekend long. So I'll be there, you know, I think Friday and Saturday. So they'll have live music, country music, and we'll have a bunch of stuff going on there.

So that'll be fun. We'll also have, if you're back in Ann Arbor, we'll have part of our squad back at Hopcat again. It was bumping all weekend long, which was amazing, having a bunch of you guys out there. So it's been super fun. But yeah, man, it's just like this is what you, this is what you plan to do if you were Michigan going into the season. You know, right? You get YACS from the transfer portal. You get Mara, you get Res, all these guys, right?

And, you know, I still, I, I, I can test the idea that it's this, like, super roster, right? Because none of these guys, other than Yaks, the rest of the guys were pieces to the puzzle. They weren't, you know, all-stars that you went and got. But, you know, you knew you had a really good roster going into the season. You won a Big Ten championship, which now looking at that, the way that they won it, you know, with four big 10 teams in the elite eight, right? Now two big 10 teams in the final four. You know, that's even more impressive.

Now we look back on it. But you, on top of that, then go into the tournament and, you know, you're playing your best basketball right now. You know, you're getting to the point where you go on a 21 to nothing run. You know, it was 1716 at the end or in that game. all of a sudden it's like 35, 16, and you're like, holy shit, what just happened? You know, so it's just awesome to see that this team playing their best ball right now and to be able to say, all right, we've, you know, we have done what we've needed to do so far

with two games left on the schedule. Yeah, and we haven't played perfect basketball. Not everybody has clicked at the exact same time, but I think the ability to navigate that and figure out, hey, you know, who's the guy right now? Who do we need to prioritize? Obviously, Yax has been going off. Like, he's a freak. He's got the most consecutive 20-plus-point games in the NCAA tournament since

Jawan Howard, 1994. That's crazy. He's on fire right now. We have the most wins in school history and also the most 90-plus point games in the NCAA tournament. So the boys are on fire. firing on all cylinders. We're clicking, we're peeking at the right time enough.

It's like a pretty cliche thing to say. But it's true. Like we really are peeking at the right time. For sure. And I heard somebody say that if anybody's going to beat Arizona, it's going to be Michigan. And in the same sense, if anybody's going to be Michigan, it's going to be Arizona. So it is going to be an absolute dog fight. I mean, we match up very well to each other as far as size-wise.

So it'll be interesting. They start three freshmen who, I believe, last game combined for 54 of their points. So they're legit players, obviously the big man inside. So it'll be fun. I think, I don't know, I just think it's going to be really hard to stop Michigan right now. I think they're absolutely dominant. Kadeau is playing unbelievable yaks, obviously. And Namari Burnett turned it on a little bit.

bit, which is good to see. But it'll be fun. It's probably the best matchup of the college basketball season this year. I think it's the like before this, it was Michigan Duke, in my opinion, because that was right in the thick of the season, too. They played that on a Saturday right in the middle of February, in the middle of, you know, conference season, which is crazy. But now to your point, this is like, this is a big boy matchup.

This is the big dogs of the season, you know, and before we get into, I want to break down, you know, that game in a second. But before we get to that, I want to talk about just Michigan as a whole. How about this weekend just being everything's coming up, Michigan, and it's in everything school. I know you've talked about that in a press conference very famously, you know, a few years ago, too, which I loved. But, you know, men's final four, the women played,

we're recording this on Monday, the women play tonight in the elite eight for a chance at the final four. They're going up against a very good Texas team. Let's be honest with that. And then the hockey teams headed to the Frozen Four in Vegas in two weeks, too. So it's just, I mean, it's pretty awesome to have all of this going on. So for you as an alum to watch that happen and just be like, everywhere you, I was watching Dave Portnoy, I know he's very, you know, he's controversial, whatever,

but he was on FS1 this morning as a Michigan alum and he's like, literally everywhere you look, it's like Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. Right. Yeah. I mean, I was thinking about this yesterday. I cannot think of another school that is as dominant in as many sports as Michigan is. I remember seeing the graphic a couple years back about like the Big Ten championships. Michigan has won in all sports combined compared to all the other Big Ten schools. And it wasn't close. No. Extremely dominant everywhere.

Like obviously, if you look at Yukon, okay, they're really good men's and women's basketball. But their football team, you know, is not the best. Obviously, they've been a little better. But Michigan covers all grounds, like consistently, too, consistently good in all sports. which are also an extreme academic school. It's really the epitome of college. Like if you want a school where you can enjoy high-level athletics and some academics, listen, the University of Michigan is the place to be.

I don't care about any of the controversy. It is the best school in the nation. Say what you want. You can make a claim for anybody else, but it's true. Nobody else is as dominant as Michigan. That is just the fact of the matter. It really is. It's all around.

It is, you know, and they have, you know, Michigan has, what, 29 varsity sports, I believe. To your point, they win Big Ten championships in pretty much every one of them, right? Men's gymnastics won a Natty just a couple years ago, right? I think women's gymnastics, they go to the regionals this week, I believe. They're, you know, they're consistently good softball. My wife's a softball alum. She has four Big Ten championship rings, you know, herself. They're an unbelievable program.

Wrestling's good. Women's basketball, men's basketball, football. You know, it is from top to bottom legitimately an unbelievable athletic program. So, you know, I know Ward Manual gets a lot of flack for a lot of stuff, but you got to give him, you know, and the rest of the athletic department, they're flowers, right? When you look at it from top to bottom, you know, a lot of people just look at it as just football as a microcosm, right, or whatever.

But when you're running an athletic department, that that's that large, 900 plus student athletes, you know, it's pretty impressive to see what they do. And, you know, this is why it's so fun to wear the Block M around, you know. And no, I mean, I went to, I went to Europe a couple years ago on our honeymoon. And we're looking at the Basilica and, like, there's a guy wearing a Block M hat right next to me. I'm like, I'm thousands of miles from, you know, from home and it's still there.

It's just that, that's the fun part about rocking that block M everywhere you go. Yeah. And like, to your point about Ward Manual, I think that is super true. Obviously, you see the football scandal on what has gone on there. And, you know, you point the finger at Ward Manual. And where there's some mistakes made, maybe some not great decision making, sure. Yeah, we can say that. But in terms of the school and its entirety in athletics, he has done a really good job.

Yep. And like football is obviously the face of Michigan historically along with basketball. But we're dominant everywhere. It's just the facts. Like it's not an alumni bias or something like that. Like just look at at the tenure of all the programs. It's been unbelievable. Bowl and it continues on too.

Like last time we were in the final four, 2018, obviously that was the Jordan Pool year with the buzzer-beater against Houston. And then actually I heard Yax say that he thinks that this is the best Michigan basketball team of all time. They're really good team. They got to win it, which Elliot did say, I think Elliot corrected him a little bit. It was like, yeah, we think we are if we win it. So they did add that. But to your point, I mean, you said it earlier.

Most wins in program history, a lot of these wins, I forget the stat, but it's like 90% of them have been double-digit wins. They haven't had very many single-digit wins. So, yeah, to your point. Yeah. So I would also like to acknowledge that we almost got an all zip-up final four. I don't know if you've heard this, but Dusty May, where's a zip-up, Tommy Lloyd, Brad Underwood, wear zip-ups. Dan Hurley, unfortunately not.

He's a blazer guy. Shire's a zip-up guy, right? So, yeah, I had the chance, which why don't we talk about that game, too, for a second while you're on it. I mean, Duke was, in my opinion, it was like Michigan, Arizona, Duke were the best teams in the country. and then there was the next tier. That was like all year long, right, consistently. And they're up 19 points. Blow the lead, you know,

screw up the inbound play with 10 seconds left. It goes as bad as you can possibly draw it up. And then Mullins hits a freaking 40-footer from the logo. I mean, one of the most instant classics of all time. And the call was a man. amazing from the commentators. But, you know, that is like the best part of March, right? You love that in the first round, too, because there's usually upsets with that.

But like when it's a number one versus number one going at it, you know, and Duke and Yukon, or sorry, number one versus number two, going at it in Duke and Yukon. And it comes down to that after a huge comeback. And it's Duke that loses. I mean, it's just there's nothing better. Right. Yeah.

And especially because Duke had, you know, top Michigan earlier this season. So that was kind of looming still with them being in that tournament. But the whole game, Duke is essentially in control. They are up 19. And somehow Yukon just slowly fights their way back in almost like a really quiet manner. You like you weren't watching that like, oh, like Yukon's about to go win this game. It was just, oh, you know, they're getting closer. and then all of a sudden they had a banger from the logo.

Freshman hits a banger from the logo. Also, the defender there, I don't remember his name, but I do know that his Instagram handle is get a hand up. And if he watched the replay, he does not have a hand up. He's actually not even looking at him. I don't know if he didn't think he was going to shoot that, but there was literally a second left. Like he had to shoot a nobody else was going to do.

hand down, man down, banger. That's just like you can't have that be your Instagram handle and then be famous for that exact thing. Literally. I mean, all he had to do is just put a hand up or acknowledge the fact that he was about to shoot that role. I mean, just jumping straight up with a hand up at least like, you know, blocks his vision or something. It doesn't give him, you know, a complete, like, non-blocked way. to the basket from 40 feet. I mean, it's an improbable shot no matter what, but like, do something rather than just

stand there, right? Right. And then the Duke broadcast after he hits the shot, obviously there's point three left on the clock, but if you're on the Yukon bench, like you're going nuts. And it always kind of works this way where like the dudes are going nuts. They run out on the court a little bit. Okay, get back to the bench. Pretty standard operating procedure there.

Officials are like, hey, get back to the bench. the Duke broadcast, they were begging for a technical foul. Immediately. That was their instant reaction. Yeah. Yeah, it was like, dude, that's probably the most blue devil thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Like, get over it. This is Marks.

That happens. Yeah, they're never, ever going to call that, especially in that situation. Because, like, the reality is you think it's a buzzer reader. So you think the game's over. And, you know, that would be the biggest controversy of all time if they, if they tee up the bench, give Duke, you know, free throws in that, in that instance. So they'll never do that. But you're so right. It's so Duke for that to be the instant reaction rather than, oh, we just lost because they mounted this comeback, you know, or like give the kid props for hitting the shot. It's an instant like excuse or something like that. So, yeah, man. I mean, just unbelievable. day. For us as Michigan fans, we were at Hopcat just having a hell of a time drinking

Woodson whiskey. We were doing shots of the Heisman with Woodson and Lemonade. They were unbelievable. And then watching our team go up 30. And then to follow that up with Michigan heading to the Frozen Four as well, winning it, you know, in that fashion. And then watching Duke lose in dramatic fashion. It was like, how could this day and weekend get any better right now? It was just a hell of a weekend if you're a Michigan fan. It absolutely was. And the Tennessee game was fun to watch as a Michigan fan in terms of, I mean, after we go up 20, it's kind of just like, you're just relaxing watching the boys beat them up.

Yeah. Like Tennessee was scratching and clawing and trying to get chippy with us, trying to start things. their big man comes down and throws a shoulder. And he's trying to get a fight started. He's trying to get somebody in trouble. And shout out to the boys for not getting involved in that. Dusty May got right in the middle of that, separated them. But I love Res.

In that moment, and Res is a big boy, right? I would not want, I mean, the Tennessee guy is a big boy, too. Don't get me wrong. But I would not want to go toe to toe with Res. And Res just sits there. Like, nothing can phase them in that moment because they know that they're the better team. That's the only way that Tennessee is going to have anything to say at the end of the day, right? And we're up 30.

We're up 30 points. I think Yax was sitting on the bench like scoreboard, scoreboard. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, just an unbelievable day. I think, you know, going back to that game, too, is, you know, Mara goes to the bench early with two fouls. And I don't know about you, but we're sitting there like, shit. This is the, all.

they do is offensive rebound. They're, you know, their big boys are their best players, you know, all that type of stuff. And it's, it's just one of those, like I was like, oh, this is, this is how Tennessee does win this game is we get in foul trouble. You know, to be honest, Rez hasn't been playing his best. So just having him on the floor with Mara on the bench was kind of a concern. But, you know, they go on the run anyway. And it just, to your point earlier about, like, it doesn't matter who it is that steps up.

It's just that's been the beauty of this team all year long is like somebody goes down, then freaking Roddy Gale, of all people, comes in, March Roddy and, you know, drills threes. Like, it's just like, you know, Elliot comes in. And, you know, even with LJ out, right, Trey McKinney has stepped up in a huge fashion. Obviously, Yax is being Yax. but like, you know, even Will Cheddar, right? I love Will Cheddar coming in. And he knows that his role has been very diminished, you know, now especially down the stretch,

comes in and makes a bucket. And, you know, a lot of people have a lot of things to say about Will and all that. Plays his ass off every second, dude. He's just hustling. His body's all over the floor. Namari Burnett, you know, him and Namari stayed through. the transition of a coach, you know, they were, if I was them, I'm probably gone because the team was, you know, that was such a disaster of a year in 8 and 24, you know, in the last

year under Juwan, they stay. And then Will Cheddar's crying at the end, you know, hugging all his teammates. It's just like, man, that, this team, it's not a super team. It is, they all love each other. It's like a true team, which is so crazy to me. in this era of NIL and Transfer Portal, like these guys play for each other. It's awesome. And I think the moment that exemplifies that the most is with a minute left in the game, Charlie May absolutely nails a three straight nylon.

And that was probably the loudest moment in that arena that game. I mean, they went nuts. And you look at the bench and they were going nuts. The ax is throwing a towel in the air. Like that moment, like spoke to me. like, man, these guys, like, really love each other. Like, it just goes to show you. You can take a whole bunch of guys from a whole bunch of different universities and backgrounds

and different ages and put them together. And, yeah, it's not a super team, but it's guys that are extremely dominant together. And they know how to play well together, even if it's just been a year of them being together. So I think you're 100% correct on that. And that also, that was a six shot. I mean, that moment was, I tweeted it out this morning. I said, I've watched this a million times and I'm going to watch it a million more. Because, like, I mean, just the crowd pop, like the anticipation when I think it was Will passes it over to Charlie.

And the crowd, it already starts going crazy. You can hear it. And then that was like the loudest crowd pop of all time. And the Axis towel goes about 40 rows up and the bench, you know, going crazy. Like, it's just, I mean, that is what college sports is all about. And, you know, I think that there's been so much change in college sports over the last five years. For those moments to still happen is like that is, that is why we all love watching. And that's why we all follow it, right?

And so, and it's freaking Dusty's kid, you know, who it's his senior year. Like that is just a moment. I'm going to start getting emotional because that is just a moment that you, like, they are going to think about that absolutely forever, right? Like that's got to be, you know, that's one that's hung in your, basement in your man cave, you know, photo with the, with the net from the final four, you know, it's just like, man, it is, that was one of the coolest moments that I've ever watched as a Michigan man. Yeah, it's, it kind of breaks down this whole idea that out of the

transfer portal era, you can't build like team culture like before because you guys, you don't keep guys around for multiple years to be able instill that in them. But like I said, that completely broke that. Not just that moment, but I think that was where it kind of came to head is to see the celebration amongst everybody on the bench. Now, I don't think Dusty May was doing backflips or anything. He was kind of just... I don't think he had it.

He didn't even crack a smile. That was the person I was looking for most. And he's just like hanging out. all right. Like you can you can let loose a little bit. I think you just folded his arms and went like this. And I'm like, man, you're up 30. He headed to the final four and your kid just hit a three. The crowd's going nuts.

Crack a little smile, Dusty. I would love to see it. But he does have a great appreciation for the fans. They asked him after the game because Michigan's cutting down nets. And he was kind of just standing below taking it all in. They asked him about it. And he went on to talk about it. how appreciative he is to be a part of the university.

And he understands that it means so much to the fans being here and going to the final four and having these types of opportunities and seeing the success of the university, not just a men's basketball, but all around. So for him to acknowledge that, too, means two things to me. One, he loves this university and he appreciates and understands all the people that are, affected, I guess, by it. And two, hopefully when he sees that moment, he's like, man, I got to stay here. I can't go. I can't go. I agree with that.

And I mean, I would be surprised if he's not, if he's not the coach at Michigan next year. You know, I think that, you know, his name, of course, comes up, you know, all the time now, especially with the UNC job and, you know, some of these other, you know, NBA jobs, whatever. it's going to happen. But I think he is a guy that wants to build something, right? And, like, he's got that here at Michigan, to your point. And, I mean, that shot the crowd going nuts. Like, that is literally all of that, you know, encapsulated into one moment.

And so, yeah, I mean, this is Dusty May. Like, holy shit, man. You couldn't have had a better hire, you know, in this just like quality of a guy, you know, to your point, being able to roster build in the NIL era, that takes a different type of coach these days. You're basically a GM and a coach all in one. And then, but to get the right pieces to the puzzle too and somehow make it all work. You know, there are so many, you know, I put out a tweet yesterday too. I had tweeted, I think, back in whatever month it was preseason,

where YACS committed and I said, and just like that, Michigan is a favorite to go to the final four. Well, all of the replies are like, you guys can't even, you know, you can't even win your conference yet, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, this is a joke. No way that you're getting way ahead of yourself, blah, blah, blah. It's like, no, he's done it now. And, you know, to be able to do it in just two years,

the job that he's done is just unbelievable. And to your point, like, I don't give a shit what Michigan State fans want to say or Purdue or Illinois, what they say about Dusty May. Like, he's a stand-up guy. I love him representing our, you know, our school right here, all that. You know, he does things the right way. And the guys love him, too. Like, he's, he's a very level.

guy. And so I just, I don't think you could have went with a better situation. And, you know, I do think that, you know, you can never predict the future, but I could see a world where he's here for 10 plus years, you know, and really, you know, builds a dynasty of a program. And he is a perfect fit for the university. He's absolutely a stand-up guy. He always has been, even when they've asked him about tough situations, when the football situation went down, they asked him about that. I thought his reply was super professional in terms of staying in his lane and not creating controversy,

but more supporting the university. I did see a stat that out of first two seasons, he has 64, correct me from wrong wins. And that is up there with the likes of, like John Calipari. So if, you know, that means anything to you. I saw Kenny Smith on CBS talking about the North Carolina job. And he was frustrated that they fired their coach.

But he made the statement that North Carolina has a history of hiring coaches that plan to retire a tar heel. Now, maybe, like we said, maybe that's been a lifelong dream. I have no idea. But I see Dusty May as being the Michigan coach. I think he loves the university. The university clearly loves him. And like we said, Lord Manuel has got to knock that out of the park

because this dude is elite. He is absolutely elite. And he could continue to take Michigan to that point. Because to your point of the guys really liking Dusty May, he's going to be able to continue to build these teams. that are going to the Final Four every year. I mean, the fact that he took an 8-24 team and has created what we have now,

Sweet 16 last year, Final Four this year, like you can't say enough about the guy. He is an absolute stallion, and he needs to remain a Wolverine. So Ward Manuel has got to get that right. 100% agree. And I think, too, we talked about this a little bit, the last podcast.

It's only going to get better, in my opinion, because he's going to be able to recruit his own and then, you know, just fill the pieces with portal guys instead of the other, you know, right now it's more the latter. Like obviously four starters are transfers right now, which is what you have to do when you take over a program, right? You know, unless a lot of people are like, Bill, you know, he bought the roster. It's like, did you want him to just sit and, you know, play with,

with not good players, like when it's legal to go into the portal, what did you want him to do? But no, I think that, you know, we're in good hands under Dusty May, and, you know, they have to pay up. I extend him, do whatever you need to do to keep him here. Right. It's got to be the case. So, all right, Michigan versus Arizona on Saturday,

I believe we're the 9 p.m. game. which is the primetime game. So I, this is, Arizona is who I was watching during this tournament. And I was like, oh shit. I don't know if I want to, I don't know if I want to face them because they, they are very similar to Michigan where they are,

you know, it's funny. This basketball team for Michigan was similar to your football team. which was the boa constrictor style, right? It's like you're not doing anything super sexy a lot of the times, but you just squeeze the life out of the other team and they just can't do anything. So it's been awesome to watch that happen for Michigan. But I also think Arizona has a little bit of that in them too, where all of a sudden you look up and it's like, man,

their team that is playing Arizona hasn't scored in eight minutes, you know, or something like that. And this is just, it's going to be a battle of some real big boys. Yeah, two teams that are extremely efficient on offense, but also very solid on defense. I didn't really realize how unreal Michigan is at defense, but they are phenomenal. And it's fun to watch. I think a huge key for us going into Saturday night, we have to keep Mara out of foul trouble. He has got to be in the game.

He has to be. I mean, his size alone is so impactful for anybody who comes into the paint. I mean, the dude can practically scratch his knees standing up. His arms are so long. So he's got to be in the game. I mean, Arizona is a dominant team. And they are a team that is extremely consistent in terms of just how you play. Like you said, the boa constrictor style.

In Michigan, kind of has the tendency throughout the season to, to be wishy-washy, but obviously when they're on, they're on. And they have been. I don't think Arizona is going to let us get away with any mistakes. Obviously, against Tennessee early on for our transition offense, we were kind of a little lazy with the ball, turned it back over, weren't scoring how we needed to in transition offense. Obviously, we got to that.

But we just need to be firing on all cylinders. It's going to be a heavyweight fight. and it's going to be a really fun game to watch. And I do think that in the final four, the best two teams are playing at 9 p.m. Like that is just the truth of the matter. It's just how it is. So, yeah, I mean, Arizona,

listen, Purdue was playing unbelievable basketball throughout this tournament, throughout the Big Ten tournament. You know, you talk about peaking at the right time. Purdue was, and they were, they had been playing unbelievable until they ran into Arizona. And Arizona made, made them, I mean, it wasn't a 30-point win, but Arizona took care of them pretty handily in that second half.

And so, you know, and they did that against Trey Kaufman-Renn, who, to be honest, dominated us in the Big Ten tournament championship. And, you know, him and Braden Smith and Fletcher Lawyer, like those three are three of the best basketball players to ever have come through the Big Ten. Right. And so what Arizona did to them with freshmen is really incredible. And so, I mean, Co-A-Pete is phenomenal, I think, to your point, that matchup between him and, you know, Rez and Mara is going to be the one to watch. And they're going to go after Mara real early, I think, just the way that Tennessee did and say, all right, let's try and get him out of the game and have him sit, you know, with some fouls.

but they're also going to offensive rebound. And to your point, I don't think that if Michigan wants to win this game, they have to play their best game and not make any mistakes. I mean, I think once you get to the final four, you can say that just about anybody, right? They're the four best teams in the nation. But, you know, even against Tennessee, the first, I don't know, seven minutes, it was ugly, you know, turnovers and not boxing out

and not making shots and stuff like that. Like Michigan cannot have a sloppy start because Arizona will take advantage of that. And there's not going to be, I would be shocked if there's a 21 to no run in this game. Right. So, you know, Michigan's got to be very buttoned up right from the beginning. It can't be a slow start on Saturday night. Yeah. And I heard some people mentioning that Michigan has not played a lot of close.

close games this year, which is true. We haven't played a lot of close games. But I think that we have earned the right to not play close games. We have done a good job of not making that a thing. Why would you play a close game if you had to? And when it comes to Arizona, if we can jump out and get ahead of them, let's do it. Like we play really well when we're ahead. I think against Tennessee, they kind of have a little bit more fun to the point where it was

fun to watch. But against a team like Arizona, like if we can get ahead and then continue that push and just be consistent in the way that we play and do the fundamental things well, because that's really where our mistakes have come from, is just getting a little rushed or not boxing out, things like that. But I think we'll be just fine. We've been shooting the ball well. Roddy Gale has been unbelievably impressive. That guy has come to play. Did you see the stat that I put out this morning? It was, he has, let's see, going into the tournament,

he had made four threes in the last 20 games. He's made five threes in three games in this tournament. Yeah, that's phenomenal. Yeah. I mean, unbelievable. Side note here, complete side note. I wonder how the matchup was. Obviously, Tennessee has Akpara, former Ohio State guy, and Roddy, also former Ohio State guy.

I wonder what that's like for them. Two, former Ohio State guys who have left and seen more success, like, is there animosity there? How does that work? I have absolutely no idea. I mean, like, really want to keep the other answer. Yeah, it's a good question. No, I mean, it's guys like that that have stepped up at the right time. I think that's going to be the important thing for Michigan in this game too

is you have to have like the timely shooting, right? You know, all right, when you have the chance for a big three to take the lead, you got to hit that, right? And so I know there's going to be the battle down low, obviously. It's going to be the, you know, that's the big focus of the game. But, you know, Elliot Kudow is going to have to have a health. of a game, not only just running the offense, but we're going to need him to hit some big shots. You know, Trey McKenny's going to have to come in and hit a couple threes. And if Roddy can hit a

couple threes again, I mean, it would just be unbelievable, right? So, yeah, I don't think we're going to get to the point where on Sunday it was even Mara hit a three at one point. It was just like, okay, this is just, you know, these boys are having too much fun at this point. But it is going to that's what wins these games in the final four is when you get the shot, you have to hit the shot. I'm not going to say, obviously, you're making everyone, but there's always those timely shots that a miss or a make can really change the direction of the game. Yeah, and Michigan did a really good job against Tennessee of one more pass.

You were open with the ball. He was closing out one more kick to a wide open shot. Charles Barkley even said that. He was like they take a good shot and turn it to a great shot. So to be able to continue that is going to be really helpful. Because we have a lot of guys who can knock down threes who have shown to knock down threes. I mean, Trey McKinney has been unbelievably consistent at just making shots at any point in time. And same thing with Yax.

Yax is a real good shot creator. But to continue that aspect of our game is going to be huge too. And to force Arizona to run all over the court to defend everybody is going to be hard for them. It is because toss in Amara, he dunked it from the block. He posted it up, and I'm like, oh, for sure, this is going to be a hook shot. And then he just slammed it home. I'm like, dude, this guy was like six feet away from the hoop. What is going on?

It's really impressive. It is really impressive. But so, I mean, I'm going to reiterate it. but to keep the fundamentals solid is going to be essential for us to be successful on Saturday. And I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a really fun game to watch. Hopefully, you know, we don't make it a close game. Yeah.

We can play a little comfortably. But we do have that kind of edge to us, that swag to us right now, which, like I said, it's when Michigan plays best. Like maybe some people don't like that watching. that they might think it's, you know, a bit of overconfidence. But the truth is, like, that's when we play our best is when these dudes are feeling good, they are playing good. And you cannot deny that. Yeah.

I'm just looking at Arizona's roster, too. They have eight guys that are foreign. There you go. That's unbelievable. And, I mean, it's, I think, three starters. But, you know, just looking at their, you know, Crevas is seven foot two. obviously him versus Mara is the like, you know, real big boy matchup. But Co-P at 6-8-235 as a freshman, you know, but he's a big boy, right?

And he's more like Rez, in my opinion, but probably a better, better at creating his own shot and his own everything. But he's, you know, he's going to be able to do, I, you know, I think looking at, if, if Michigan can stop him from just getting to the basket without following, following, sorry. I mean, that's going to be the key. You know, I think you want to know what's funny, what's lost about the Arizona team, Bryce James, LeBron's son is on their roster.

Right, he's on the team. He's on the team. And arguably better than Brony at this point in his career, arguably better than Brony. Yeah, arguably better than Brony. Yeah, Bryce James plays for the Wildcats. Kind of crazy. It's insane. I think people forget about that.

I saw something. I think it was when they won their game to go to the final four, or maybe the game before that. And he was sitting on the bench, hadn't played at all. So when they went to celebrate, he, like, ripped off his warm-ups to try to act like he's, you know, played. I can respect that. Yeah, just pretty crazy that that's forgotten about.

LeBron's son is on this team because they're that talented, right? He doesn't even get a shot at playing. So, yeah, man, this is the, like I said, it's a big boy matchup. I'm looking at it as, you know, some people like you said are saying it's the national championship for real. I'm just looking at it as the next game on the schedule, right? And I'm assuming that that's how Dusty has these guys playing. and preparing.

So I, you know, but to your point, it's the premier 9 p.m. You know, Indy is going to be unbelievable, especially, you know, Arizona fans are going to travel. I'm not doubting that at all. But with Michigan, you know, it's a four-hour drive. You know, it is. And we know it because, you yourself, you've been to a couple of Big Ten championships. We've had a hell of a time tailgating there and all that.

So, yeah, man, it's, I think this is going to be an unbelievable atmosphere in the city and then in the arena this weekend. And the best way to enjoy the game is with some Woods and Whiskey. There you go. Here's the funny thing. Woodson Whiskey is not even sold in Indiana right now, but I'm working some back channels to make sure it gets to Clayton's Country Bar on Saturday night. So we're working on it to see how we can how we can get it. there to serve. So doing everything we can. But man, this is, this is a, we've talked about this. I think a few podcasts ago about just how fun this time of year is. You know, it's getting nice out.

I was out in T-shirts and shorts today. You know, it's like 65 and sunny. I think it's supposed to be really nice in indie this weekend. You know, the Pistons are playing. There's, the Red Wings are playing, not as well. But, you know, spring football's going on. Michigan's in the Frozen Four, the women's elite eight, the men's final four. It's just like, this is an awesome time. And it's just, it's so fun. It's so fun right now. It is a lot of fun.

And it's a lot of fun when Michigan is doing well and doing well in all areas. And yeah, I don't know. I just can't stop saying how excited I am. for Saturday night. It's going to be so fun to watch. It is such a sick time of year, and Michigan is an incredibly fun team to watch. It's going to be the big 12th player of the year

versus the big 10 player of the year. It's got to be fun. We just got to dial it in, keep a hot start. Don't make any little mistakes, and I think we will continue to dance. Yeah, last thing I wanted to say before we sign off here is get your opinion on playing in these big games, in these championship level games.

The preparation and, you know, now it probably feels, it feels like a year and, you know, a day all at the same time till Saturday for this team, right? It's like, you know, it's Monday right now. They probably travel on Thursday, do it. I think they do usually a Friday practice, right? and then, you know, playing on Saturday. But, and then you get to Saturday, you don't play until 9 p.m.

So you're sitting around waiting all day. How do you as an athlete not get over mental about it, you know, and thinking too much? And, you know, when the lights turn on and there, you're in a football stadium, you know, with a little tiny basketball court and there's 80,000 people in there, you know, what is that like? And the preparation the week of and then once you're, you know, once you get into that arena as well. Yeah. I think a lot of people like the idea of, hey, you know, it's just another game. Prepare the same way. Don't do anything different.

And while you try to make that the truth as much as possible, the reality is that this is Michigan versus Arizona. Like when we were preparing for Georgia and the college football playoff, yes, we prepared the same way. But the moment held way more weight and energy. And you knew that. you could feel that. Now, when you go out there, you know, on Saturday to play, a lot of that comes down to how has your coach mentally prepared you for this game? Is he throughout practice all week making it this huge moment to where like now you're putting a little bit more pressure on yourself than you should be? I don't think Dusty May is going to have any trouble with that. I think he is a very even keel person who is going to kind of

ingrain this in their mind. Hey, listen, like this is what we need to do to win. He's not the type of guy that's like, if we want to win, we got to stop them from doing this. He is, if we want to win, this is what we need to do. So for them to go out on Saturday, it's going to be definitely a heightened event for all of those guys. That's just how it works. Like, that is human nature. But the moment they step on the court and, you know, they tip off and then they start

playing basketball, they're going to be completely fine. Like, it's going to be the game of basketball again. and it'll still be super heightened for the fans. But yeah, it carries more weight to it. Like, you'd be a fool not to think that that's the way that it is. And they're going to be amped up walking into the stadium into the stadium with a basketball court, which is sick. It's raised up a bit, which is super cool. But yeah, at the end of the day, like, it is just another game once you start the game.

There's a lot more energy and emotion leading up to the game. that point. And like I said, it's going to come down to Dusty May and his assistant's ability to regulate their emotions a little bit this week in practice and leading up to it. I don't know exactly when they'll travel out there. But as far as like day of waiting till 9 p.m. to play, I have never waited that long. But night games are always the worst in the sense that you just sit around all day. Like you're going to be playing later that night. So what do you do during the day? I don't know.

Take a couple of showers and waste some time. Some guys nap, right? Like, you know, hang out, nap a little bit, chill. But I remember, like, it was so funny. I had never really thought about it. I had only thought about it from myself, like, tailgating-wise. I'm like, fuck, yeah, I love night games are the best, right? And then once I got close to the team and you guys as players,

And you're all like, no, we hate it. We love noon games because you get up and you go straight to the stadium. You're ready to rock right away. You know, because it's hard to like wait, wait, wait, and then get yourself amped up at the right exact time. Right. So now there will be a game, you know, before them. I don't know how do you go out to the tunnel to watch that a little bit,

you know, how exactly you manage that. But I think it's just one of the, those things where it's like there's a lot more media around all week, right? And you got to do, I'm sure there's like a couple appearances like you guys have had a, you know, bowl games in the college football playoff. It's like you got to do some more different team things. So to your point, it's like how do you, how do you with all that going on still continue to do what you did every week to get you to this point? And the one thing where I really like Michigan's chances in that is they never get out of their body.

No matter what's going on, it feels like they're always in control of what's happening in front of them. And, you know, even there have been times this year, even on Sunday versus Tennessee at the beginning, you know, they're all over the place. It's they're turning the ball over, whatever. You know, led by Yax, it's just like there's no phasing, you know, any of them. And it's just like, all right, stay the course. This is going to come to us. And you see that sometimes, especially in these final four games, like big stadium,

different court. There's nothing behind the hoop. And the first few minutes are like airball, airball, you know, because guys are not used to it or they've got the jitters. And so if Michigan can continue to stay the course and just play within themselves, that's going to give them the best chance to win this game. Yeah. And they're not four into a big stage. Right. For really any of those guys, obviously they're new, you know, a handful of them knew

the university this year. But I think the most beneficial thing for them in terms of not making Saturday night bigger than what they need to is to not watch your college basketball previews and things like that to hear other people's opinions about how well they play. Like they know who they are. And I'm sure that Dusty May is probably telling them the same thing. Hey, don't watch that stuff. Don't look at the media. I mean, Nick Saving calls it the rat poison, right? Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And it is, and it is. So, you know, I think they feed off of the hype in a sense, but it's never beneficial to hear people criticizing how they think you should play in order to be successful. Like, just go out and do what you've done. You are peaking at the right time. You're extremely dominant. You guys mesh well together.

Just continue to do that. Like, this guy is sitting on his butt to analyze your games. like don't don't listen to that you don't need that and my only prayer for saturday my only prayer is that the color commentator for the game not not steve lapis please just let's let's get this in order get it got Robbie Hummel out there seriously Robbie does a great job in my opinion I mean he's been awesome with big 10 network it's cool to see him kind of making that leap to the the bigger networks. But I mean, Steve Lapis, I'm sorry.

I'm sure you're a good guy. But like, it was unbearable to listen to the last two games. And, you know, he's like trying to call travels on us and was blatantly wrong on some of the goal tendings. And he didn't even acknowledge it. He didn't acknowledge it. We watch a replay. It's clearly goaltending.

And he doesn't say a word. No. It was like, I don't know where if he like went to. Tennessee or his kids there right now or what? But I was like, I kept asking, like, am I going crazy, like hearing this? Like, am I super biased? But I think it was genuinely just like that, that bias of a commentating crew, whatever you want to call it.

I mean, just it was, I don't, I think that we'll have the big boys, you know, raftery and everybody else there this week. So I'm pumped for that. But, man, well, I'll, I'll. I'll have more info going out on our Twitter and Instagram this week about Clayton's Country Bar and Indy. And then in Ann Arbor will still be, we'll have a crew at Hopcat as well. But, yeah, I mean, we're going to have a hell of a weekend. The lead up is, you know, is like, it's, I love this anticipation because even as a fan,

you get a little bit, you're just like, you know, you want to, you, it feels sometimes like I, I have to go play a game. Right, yeah. Yeah. And it makes the work week a little bit more manageable. You got something really exciting to look for at the end of it. So yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, you might as well to pass the time.

Go check out some cars at Feldman Trevely of Highland. You know, they're helping out. I know they've got Roddy Gale, actually. This might be the key to him. He's got a Feldman car. So he, you know, he, Felman Chevrolet of Highland, my guy, Jason there, helped him out, hooked him up with a car deal. And so that's probably the key, in my opinion.

You know, so you might as well go check them out this week at Feldman Chevrolet of Highland and have some Woods and Whiskey this weekend. You can buy it online, by the way, at Woodsandwhiskey.com. So if you're, even if you're not in the Ann Arbor area, you know, you definitely can still buy a bottle and get it shipped to you right now in time for Saturday. It's been good luck so far for us. So it's been awesome. But yeah, that's right.

So for us, you can follow us at Blue By 90 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, at Blueby 90 podcast on YouTube and Blueby90.com. We appreciate you. Go Blue. Go Blue.