Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - HOT SEAT: Florida State’s Mike Norvell Must WIN Big or Face Firing—ESPN Ranks Him #1 in Trouble
Episode Date: March 3, 2026Florida State head coach Mike Norvell lands atop ESPN’s “hottest seat” rankings for the second consecutive year—can he survive the heat again, or will FSU’s tough schedule and rising expecta...tions force a dramatic coaching change? Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs debate how many wins Norvell must secure to keep his job, break down Florida State’s 2024 roadmap, and spotlight the escalating pressure from ACC rivals and potential backchannel coaching candidates. The conversation turns to other ACC hot-seat candidates, including Bill O’Brien at Boston College, and whether “retirement watch” is looming for coaching legends like Bill Belichick at North Carolina. Plus, with Duke cementing its dominance in ACC basketball by dismantling NC State, the hosts question which squads are built for deep NCAA Tournament runs—and what’s next for embattled programs like the Wolfpack. Don’t miss the sharpest insights on ACC football and basketball’s most pressing storylines. Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at https://5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon. Mazda Like our players, we’re driven by the details. Because highlights make the reel. What it takes to get there makes it count. There’s more to a Mazda. Because there’s more to you. TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a College Basketball Parlay Profit Boost.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
ESPN has revealed their annual rankings of hot seats for college football coaches.
And an ACC coach is number one for the hottest seat.
You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.
Shout out to the everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen.
We're available free wherever you get your podcast.
free on YouTube. We're part of the number one
Locked on podcast network, your team
every day. He is Kenton
Gibbs, former NC State defensive
lineman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack.
I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown
Cainz. Unfortunately, Kenton's
Wolfpack run on the wrong side
of a Duke beat down last night.
I know Kenton's mad at me
for talking so much
NC State basketball, but when you
keep losing, I mean, it's not my fault
they've lost five out of their past six games.
Hey, Dono, you know,
You can see me after we turn this recording, though.
If it's that big of a problem, if you want to keep embarrassing me in front of our constituency, you know, this is a sin in a shame.
And yes, I know the embarrassment that starts with Will Way, but we ain't got to do that.
But I'm going to let you continue to cook up the intro because we don't have to spend the whole episode talking about state basketball.
We got other better things to talk about.
Yeah, and we won't spend the whole episode on that because we do have the quarterback situations all across college football exams.
I want to touch on that.
But first, the hottest seats for coaches around the country.
And this is not a specific ranking for just the ACC or just for Power 4.
ESPN put out their what they call way too early college football hot seat tiers.
And of course, the hottest tier is what they call the hottest of the hot.
And wouldn't you know it?
The hottest seat in America, according to ESPN, is the low.
one that is currently being sat in by Florida State head coach Mike Norvel.
But I'm going to say this, Kenton, something impressive about Norvel is,
this is now his second straight year being ranked as the hottest seat by ESPN,
which means he was the top guy to be first fired last year, and he came out of that unscathed.
So Mike Norvel has already escaped the hot seat talk once.
But now that the buyout's going to be a little bit smaller this year than last.
year can he escape it again but I will say KG be in the hottest seat two years in a row
that's an impressive feat for Mr. Norville you know Dono I here's the interesting thing okay
when you look up the Florida state head football coaches all time and what they did or what they
didn't do you run into some very very interesting fact toys one of which is the fact that
Willie Taggart was like talked about as if he was the worst coast of Florida State ever had
five mile and Mike Norvelle has a winning percentage that is 10% higher than his.
Ooh.
Wow.
Just 10%.
Well, I think what Mike Norvell, I guess what he did was he had a couple of great years,
whereas Willie just spread him out.
I spread him out too much.
And here's the thing.
I hear you.
I hear you.
Mike Norvelle has an ACC coach of the year, right?
Like that's more than even my head coach Dave Dorriga say, I get you.
But over a two-year span from 2022 to the end of the 2023 ACC Championship,
he put together a very impressive record of 23 and 3.
23 and 3.
Absolutely fantastic.
There's no way that you can downplay Norval going 23 and 3.
However, outside of those two years of 23 and 3, you are looking, and I could not believe this when I saw it now.
I could not believe this when I saw it.
Outside of 23 and 3, he has gone 15 and 30, 15 and 30.
Oh.
Every one win, two losses outside of those two years.
Now, the first two years, the excuse was,
Well, he's taking over a program that was already on a downward spiral toward the end of Jimbo.
And then Taggart took you to the basement.
And then he had to get you out the basement.
And for two years, he got you out the basement.
But now you're back.
You're back.
And here's the thing.
With all due respect to Norville, with all due respect to Florida State, I will give him.
I will grant him those first couple years.
Sure.
I'll grant him that all day long.
Absolutely.
I get it.
But these last two, this is.
this is it.
This is beyond year four.
So even if the transfer portal did not exist,
this is your high school recruiting,
fully coming to Ruth.
This is fully like, hey,
this is beyond,
you've gotten everything that you wanted.
And these are the results.
It's ultimately extremely disappointing.
But hey, Teflon might.
He survives another,
being at the top of the hot seat list.
Let's see if he could do it one more time
and pull off a Houdini trick.
of being the first ever coach to be atop it twice in coming.
Yeah.
Okay.
How many games does Mike Norvell need to win this year not to get fired?
I think if he wins eight, I think he's got a chance,
but even eight might not be good enough.
I disagree.
I think eight is such a market improvement.
You can at least say like, hey, he's going to get it done, right?
Because here's the thing.
Eight from last year is a three-game improvement.
over what they did last year.
I think you live with that.
I think you live with that.
I think you live with eight wins and whatever comes out of that because at least you can say we're trending in the right direction.
Now, if we say eight gives them a chance, then that means that you have to win nine to firmly save this thing.
Yeah.
And with all due respect, I mean, if he needs nine or more to firmly save it, go ahead and fire him now.
Go ahead and fire him.
Yeah.
Because if you fire them at 8, if you fire them at 8, can you really, can you really do so and not have to pay out the entire buyout, if not more than the buyout and what's left on the contract?
I highly doubt.
I mean, here's my theory on what's going to go down.
I think that Florida State, if they haven't already, and they may have, because there were reports that they were even, you know, trying to go after Lane Kiffin this past year.
How serious those reports were I don't know.
But I think they're going to kind of keep back channeling and just sort of seeing, you know, talking with agents and such, you know, if they feel confident they can land someone that they think is an upgrade over Mike Norvell.
And they're going to be back channeling while he's coaching this upcoming season.
And that's why I say eight might be good enough because if they don't feel through the back channels that they can get, you know, one of the two or three guys that they really want, they might decide eight wins.
like you said three game improvement,
which would have been after a three game improvement
from the previous year.
So, okay, we can give Mike a little longer.
But while they're back channeling,
if they feel like they can get somebody they really like,
then eight might not be good enough.
It's kind of the way I see it.
And you know what?
Here's the deal.
I had not considered that until you just said it.
But when you really think about it,
Florida State's probably going to be the best job available
in this next coaching cycle coming up.
Yeah.
When I talk about, hey, there's X amount of schools that winning eight games a year ain't enough, that list of schools, right?
How many of them replaced the coach all last year?
How many of them?
And then when you think of how many teams didn't replace their coach last year on that list, how many of those coaches don't have the grace of one bad year?
If Marcus Freeman had a bad year and they don't make the playoffs this year, is Notre Dame getting rid of them?
I'd say no.
I'd say no, right?
So that's another one of those schools off the board.
If Ryan Day has a bad year this year,
it doesn't get them to the playoffs.
The Ohio State Fire.
No.
No.
Okay.
I'm looking around and I'm saying
Bama might be the only job that could pop open
that's bigger and better than this one.
Everywhere else that you would think of,
Kirby Smart could lose out for the next season and a half
and Georgia wouldn't get rid of them.
They wouldn't get rid of them like that.
He's the prodigal son returned.
home. He's a Georgia alum. He is
all the, he is Georgia football.
He'll be bad. LSU
just hired Lane Kiffin. I mean,
you're looking at, if you're looking
around the jobs in the nation down, you tell
me, I could see potentially
Alabama and USC
popping open. Those are the two
really big, like, hey, this is big time.
Oregon ain't getting rid of landing.
No. Michigan just got their new head
coach. And Florida just hired some
role. Florida just hired some role.
Mario is bringing Miami back.
of all the schools that you can say like, hey, if they, if they have a bad year this year,
they're getting rid of that coach. And this is, and let's be quite honest about Clemson,
is that a better job to Florida State if it opens up because Daubold decides to leave
or is fired or there's a mutual. I'm going to say no. I'm going to say that's not a better job.
I mean, listen, with all due respect to our Clemson listeners, it's the truth.
So when you're looking at what this job is, when you talk about that back channeling,
I'm starting to see what you're saying now
in terms of he might need my nine
to keep it safe
because ultimately this is going to be
the crown jewel of jobs.
Last year's job cycle was brutal.
You had all these blue bloods.
You had all these great teams.
You had all these fantastical.
Like, hey, we've won national championships
in the last five years, Dono.
How many teams that won one in the last five years were open?
LSU, Michigan.
How many teams are we looking at?
next year. How many are we looking at next year that would be open? None virtually. None.
None. Nobody but Bama is in that category. So yeah, I can see nine being in.
Well, I'm going to ask you on the other side, if you see nine or more wins on Florida State schedule coming up,
plus Mike's not the only ACC coach who's considered to be on a hot seat. He's the only one on the hottest of the hot tier.
But there's a couple of bills who show up on this list as well.
want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on
ECC. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real
time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a
live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. Use your sports knowledge
in the moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving
the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always
knew the game, but I never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. But now I can actually
take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator. Play-by-play,
you decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the U.S., download the
Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk
and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives LLC,
a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.
Thank you for making Locked on ACC your first listen.
And if you're an Everydayer, join the Everydayer club and make your status official.
You go to Lockedon Podcast.com slash Everydayer.
You're going to find Everydayer clubs for all your favorite shows, whether it's locked on
ACC, Locked on Wolfpack, Locked on Cains, any of the other awesome shows.
You get exclusive perks when you become an official Everydayer, like add-free versions of
our episodes, exclusive Discord server access with other fans and other hosts.
want to try this out locked on podcast.com slash everydayer to find the everydayer clubs for you
Alex Dono alongside Kenton Gibbs. All right. So Kenton, if we say, hey, it might take
nine wins, eight at the very least for Norville to keep his job. Let me give you Florida State
schedule. You tell me if this is a win or a loss. They open up against New Mexico State,
win or loss? Win. I agree. Home against SMU. Loss.
at Alabama
Lost
Home against Central Arkansas
When
Home against Virginia
I think they'll get their
Game from last year
I think they're good they get back
I'm gonna say a win
I agree
At Louisville
Lost
At Miami
Lost
Home against Clemson
Lost
At Boston College
I think they fired
Norville by here.
But if they don't.
Maybe. Yeah, you know what?
That's after the by week.
The buy week is right after the Clemson game.
If there, what would that be three and five after the Clemson game,
Norville might already be gone.
And that's my point.
I think that they fire him.
Like you talked about the bi week being that week, I think the ACC set this up for him to
get by my conspiracy brain.
Let me put all my tinfoil hat and do the knowledge.
But I think this is set up for them to have three very difficult games.
in there. I think if they keep Norville, they win this game. I think if Norval's
gone, they lose it. Yeah, I think that settles it. I mean, we can go through the remainder
of those games, but like you said, if they're three and five, Norvel's already gone. So at
Boston College, that's probably a win, right? Yeah. At Pittsburgh?
There's a pick-um. I want to go pit.
Yeah, I think I want to go pit as well. Home against NC State.
Loss.
Home against Florida. It's probably loss. Yeah.
you're looking at four or five wins unless, which it happens every now and then they,
they overachieve those expectations.
I mean, I'm sure if we played this game with Virginia's schedule last year,
we've had a lot more losses.
Here's the thing.
There's one act of God team every year.
There is one, at least, that we look up and we're like, wait, they won how many games?
Yeah.
They did what?
With whom Florida State could be that team?
But very seriously, it would take an act of God to save Mike Norville's job here.
Because like you talked about, Dono, not only is this schedule not the easiest,
you are headed into a buzz saw going into the by week.
I have said all along that by Halloween, Mike Norville can be an employed coach for Halloween
because he'll be pretending.
It will not be, it'll be a costume.
It will not be something that he actually is going into Halloween weekend.
So, you know, ultimately, I think the Florida State schedule doesn't do them
any favors here.
And the reality is the buyout as high as it is, how long can you continue with this?
Right?
Because if you look at Florida State football year over year and what they've been, you know,
how, what's, when's the last time that we saw Florida State be this bad for this long?
You see what I'm saying, Donno?
Like, you're a Miami guy.
I'm sure you would love to say, oh, they were this bad for this long then.
but like I can't remember it no yeah you you would have to go back yeah you're talking seven wins
in two seasons with no road wins like that's unprecedented terror like you're talking pre bobby bowden
the last time they were that bad that that would be darrell mudra last time they were that bad
who was the coach in 1975 so congratulations dono man you weren't born yet then that's that's how long
ago that was where you weren't born in
You're making me feel old.
No, no, no, I wasn't bored till 84.
There you go.
You weren't born then, you know.
No, no, no.
You weren't even a twinkling your pop's eye yet in 174.
So, you know, that's, that is a, just an insane thing to think about.
You can't keep that around.
You can't.
No, you can't.
Because at that point, you could, as much as we like to, as much as we like to say things are fluid and they move up and down, look what happened with Nebraska.
They thought, oh, good, ain't good enough with Pellini.
And then they went out and got all these other coaches that stunk to the high heavens.
And they let things, they let folks sit around and they let their status as a run of the meal,
if not worst team, calcified and hardy.
And that is what will happen with Florida State in a state where you've already got a ton of other power four teams there.
You've already got Miami.
You've already got Florida.
Hell, now you even got UCF in the power four.
That's right.
There are power for teams all around you.
You cannot allow yourself to calcifies.
We just kind of, the money just doesn't add up all the time for us.
We can go through a lost decade person.
No, you don't want that.
It's all right.
So Norvel headlines ESPN's category of the hottest of hot.
He's in that category with Luke Fickle of Wisconsin.
Now, I'm pretty sure I saw this correctly about a month ago.
I actually give Coach Fickle credit.
He actually declined a contract extension,
which is weird that they would even offer one to him
with what a crappy job he's doing.
But credit to him for declining it,
like, I don't deserve this.
So, like, I actually give Coach Fick some credit for that.
Dave, Miranda, Baylor is also in that category.
It's always Mike Loxley at Maryland.
The next category is we want this to work.
And the coaches in that category, actually there's only two of them, Shane Beamer at South Carolina,
and Bill O'Brien at Boston College.
Now, what do you think the logic would be that we want this to work?
I guess they just figure, you know, as a former NFL coach, like Boston College can have a hard time
hiring someone of that profile.
But I think you and I both agree, even Boston College, I think, can do better than Bill O'Brien.
And the words are party next door.
I hear you talk about we a lot.
Oh, you speak French now?
What is this?
Who is the we that wants this to work?
Here's the thing.
I want Bill O'Brien out of coaching big-time football as a head coach.
I never want to see him do this again.
Bill O'Brien is Bill O'Brien.
I keep begging people.
Can y'all show me a team that you could tangibly say was much better because he was its head coach?
Every single team that he's left has gone on to have more success after him.
He's the good luck chuck of coaches.
That's a great analogy.
Boston College, let him go and go find your soulmate.
It's time.
It's time when Penn State let him go.
They took off.
Penn State got so boogie.
Winning 10 games a year wasn't enough.
That's what happened after you get rid of Bill O'Brien.
The Texans.
The Texans got so good all of a sudden out of the blue.
people are now looking at C.J. Stroud saying,
hey, hey, this guy may be terrible because the Texas aren't winning anymore.
This is what the world has become now.
So ultimately, I don't know who the we is that want that to work,
but I want better for Boston College.
I don't want better for Bill O'Brien.
I want better for Boston College.
Meas better for Boston College means Bill O'Brien turning around.
Sure, whatever.
I'm happy for it.
We just don't see that happening.
I don't see that happening.
All right. So there's another category called retirement watch. And that category has three coaches in it. Deon Sanders, Colorado. There's been a lot of speculation about that because he's had some poor health.
Yeah. So that like you kind of feel like that retirement could happen at any time based on the recent headlines.
Of course. Kirk Ferrence at Iowa, who's been on that job for like 60 years. And Bill Belichick at North Carolina.
And I guess like it is fair to say, Kenton, obviously things are going poorly enough.
Just based on the results on the field, if they don't dramatically improve, you would have reason to fire him.
But it probably is more likely, even if Belichick does really poorly this year, that it's more of like, hey, we won't fire you if you retire first, like that sort of thing.
Donno, I work in startups and people accuse us of ageism a lot.
but what happens a lot when we have older folks who are underperforming
is the thing we like to call refirement, okay?
Yeah.
Refirement is when like we want to let them go and we agree to give them like a severance
and all that as if they were terminated,
but we let them tell the team and we let them put on LinkedIn that they retired.
And when they do that, it leaves them with a little bit better of a look and all that
because startups require like always on.
Like I was on a call with my CEO the other night at like 1130.
And, and, you know, I was, I was getting complaints from some very important people in my personal life about, hey, they got to stop, right?
Older people can't do that.
Bill Belichick.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Bill Belichick is there.
He's there with, with, with University of North Carolina.
He's at that point where, like, hey, there are requirements for this job.
There's a way that you need to recruit for this job.
There are things you need to do for this job.
I don't think Bill Belichick's willing to do it.
We all talked about the biggest thing being, how would Bill Belichick recruit?
We've seen his recruiting.
I don't think he's trying.
It's not happening.
Same thing with Dion Sanders, which his situation may be a little bit different with some of the health.
Since being the coach, he's had to beat cancer, he's lost toes.
He's like, there's been a serious, and that's not a joke.
He's had some serious health issues that do not allow him to do the things of the job.
Bill Belichick, it's not his health.
It's just personal decision to not do the things.
And so, I mean, he's there refirement right now.
Refirement is coming for him.
And that is one coach I would not invite on this show.
Bill, you are not invited.
You are not invited.
Now, Mike Norvell, when you get fired,
as long as you promise to never do the corn rolls again,
you can come on this show.
You can come on this show.
Bill O'Brien, we'll consider having you on as a guest analyst once a week.
But Bill Belichick, stay your tail away.
Go somewhere.
go you're a man of principal.
Well, and I feel like he'd be a pretty terrible guest anyway.
I mean, he usually, he doesn't go out of his way to say anything most of the time.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I asked him a question about player development at ACCC Media Days,
and he immediately went off on the tangent about something completely unrelated.
And it's just like, yeah, yeah, don't come to us after your refinement, you know,
go to one of those other podcast network.
We're number one for a reason, baby.
You ain't invited on the train.
All right.
Well, coming up next, the Duke Blue Devils have already cemented themselves as number one in the ACC.
And it happened again last night at Kent and Gibbs and Will Wade's expense.
You want to keep it locked right here.
We're not done yet on this brand new episode.
Workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing, and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open.
When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs.
Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking.
for from skills, experience, location.
So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post.
And here's a stat that says it all.
In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours just made 27 hires on Indeed,
according to Indeed data worldwide.
So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates
who check all your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs, listeners of this show will get a $75
sponsor job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves.
at Indeed.com slash podcast.
Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now
and support locked on ACC by saying you heard about Indeed on this show.
Indeed.com slash podcast.
Terms and conditions apply.
Need to hire?
This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
College basketball is nonstop, as Kent and Gibbs found out last night.
Big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night from
early tip-offs to late-night West Coast shootouts.
There's always action on the board.
And now Fanduil is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins
with a college basketball parlay profit boost.
You can build any college hoops parlay you want.
Rivalry games, ranked matchups, whatever fits your read, you can mix spreads, totals,
player props, and match how you see that slate playing out.
Then you apply that profit boost and instantly bump up the potential payout.
Go safe.
Go bold, ride with the team you've been following all season.
It's your parlay, your style, now with more upside behind it.
Head to fendool.com to get started.
That's fendual.com, fan duel.
Play your game.
Thank you for making Lockdown ACC, your first listen for your next listen.
Make sure you check out our other shows.
Kent and Gibbs and Grace and Boone do an awesome job on Locked on Wolfpack,
covering all things NC State.
I cover all things Miami on Locked on Cains.
I know Kenton, I've given you a hard time.
Miami was, I guess, fortunate enough not to have Duke on their schedule this year.
Although, you know, I would have loved the storyline of Jay Lucas going up against the team he used to coach at.
But Miami was able to avoid Duke this year.
You know, we weren't expecting NC State to win last night.
But it wasn't close.
And Duke shot 55.2 percent in that game.
I mean, Kenton, what happened and what happens next after dropping 4?
five of your six games at NC State.
I just want to let our everydayers know and the people popping in just for one time.
If you see Donno with a black eye tomorrow, you have no proof that I was there.
You have no proof that it was me.
I was nowhere near there.
And I know Donno is a man of principle and honor.
He will not call the laws on me.
We'll handle this like men in the back room.
But I owe you a free shot.
I will not call the cops.
But when we look at what's going on here, I mean, the story of the night was
Duke. You've got to start with Duke
and how great they've been and how long
they've been great. At the end of the day,
Duke ever since their loss
to UNC is winning games by an average
of over 18 points
per game. I believe it's over 20, but
I know for a fact that it's over 18 points
per game. They are whipping
the wheels off of team,
off of teams. Unfortunately,
NC State was already
darn near down to the studs.
It was already a situation where
the wheels were looking wobbly and they were
looking like they were ready to come off.
That team, the NC State team that we saw last night,
we're coming undone. They look like they have nothing to play for,
as if they're not a lock for the tournament.
And the thing that's so disappointing about this thing,
they're so much better in terms of talent than the Kevin Keyes team.
And yet the team that went to the final four from Kevin Keyes last year,
where he would have been fired if they would have lost that game to Louisville
that they trailed in the ACC tournament on the first day, right?
That team had one loss.
by 20 points.
One, this is the third 20 point or more loss for NC State in the last six games.
This is the third one.
Louisville, UVA, this one.
Again, all credit to Duke, you know who they are, you know how they're coming.
It's not a game.
It's not a joke with those guys.
You know how they're coming.
If you don't show up right, they'll blow your doors off.
And guess what?
It just happened again.
game. Cameron Boozer did more
player to year things. I mean,
you know, JJ,
JJ Jackson said he's only been averaging 18 and
9 over the last 5. He needs to
pick it up. That's it, huh? I said
only 18 and 9
would make him not only NC State's leading
score, but also our leading rebounder.
This is that gluttony they talk about
in the Bible. But guess what?
Guess what, Donna? Apparently,
Cam Boozer must be a fan of the show
because he goes up to put 26, 9, and
four on our dome pieces. So that's,
that's the type of stuff that they can pop out with any night.
You talk about the shooting percentage.
They got what they wanted at the rim, too much size, too much skill.
We know that our perimeter, we know that NC State's perimeter guards,
they struggle.
They struggle with perimeter defense to say to least.
So ultimately, credit to Duke.
I don't want to take anything away from Duke.
I don't want to make this about NC State just gave it away.
No, no, no.
Duke took it.
It wasn't that.
Duke from the beginning of the game.
They took all of it.
said, hey, this is our house now.
We've walked in your trap.
We're going to give us the butter, the popcorn with the extra butter
and a little bit of cheesy spray if you got it.
That's what they did.
And NC State gladly said, sure, sir, whatever you so do need,
the Lenny is yours for the night.
Yeah, well, I mean, Duke is a machine.
I know something we're going to talk about on the squad coming up later this week
is, you know, who else from the ACC?
Because we're going to get eight or nine teams into the tournament.
But, you know, who else is built to make a team?
a deep run because Duke is the obvious answer as they often are. But, you know, UVA, Miami,
UNC.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So that's something we're going to get to on the squad. But huge thank you
and shout out to Kenton Gibbs, Lockdown Wolfpack. Follow him on X at TGIF underscore Kenton.
You can watch me and listen to me on Lockdown Canes and follow me at Alex Dono. And we'll talk to
again on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the number one lockdown podcast.
Network, your team every day.
