Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - North Carolina BELONGS in the NCAA Tournament, Crush San Diego State + ACC Bracket Predictions

Starting point is 00:00:00 I think it's safe to say that North Carolina belongs in the NCAA tournament. You are Locked-on ACCC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone. This is Locked-on ACCC. I'm Jackson Holes, are the host of Locked-on-Sircuse filling in for Alex Dono. He is on vacation. He is the host of Locked-on Caines.

Starting point is 00:00:34 And as always, we are joined by Kenton Gibbs, the host of Locked-on Wolfpack and former NC State defensive tackle. Last night, North Carolina, the team that everyone was crying about that they didn't belong in the tournament. They didn't deserve it. Well, they absolutely whooped San Diego State. So we're going to talk about that. Plus, throughout the show, we'll be giving our bracket predictions for all the ACC teams in the field of 64. Oh, by the way, that includes North Carolina because they just beat San Diego State. Kenton, how are you doing? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. How are you doing,

Starting point is 00:01:20 I am doing splendid. See, I had UNC losing. And you had UNC winning, and we'll get to it in just a second. But yeah, for sure, for sure. Guess what? I'm pretty sure they, belonged. Before we get to everything, this episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on college at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. So Kenton, first of all, congrats. You got the pick right, picking North Carolina to win. Certainly their offense was pretty damn good. They beat San Diego State in the first four, 95, 68. So Kenton, what are your thoughts on last night's game? Well, what a shocker that, and this is a genuine shot, that San Diego State's defense did not hold up at all.

Starting point is 00:02:14 That is legitimately a very shocking moment for me. They could not stop a noseblee last night and credit to North Carolina because they did shoot the piss off the ball. I mean, they were absolutely on fire for stretch of this game. But it was not hard to see when nobody for San Diego State could keep guys in front of them. I mean, R.J. Davis, every time he saw number 24 out there on him, he said, oh, this is, hey, go ahead. Ref, go ahead. Put two points. Score key. Put two right here, right now. Put two on the board for. This was an absolute demolition by North Carolina. And I just want to say, to be on the right side of history in this. I had to put aside my personal feelings about the University of North Carolina. And I had to say, you know what?

Starting point is 00:03:02 My job is to analyze this thing and call it down the middle. And as I saw it down the middle, I saw North Carolina was not only a team that belonged, they were just the better team. This isn't even a type of game that you look at and you're like, man, you know, one shot goes the other way or, man, if Elliot Cadeau gets called for stepping out of bounds, or man, if this happens or that, this was a beat down in the truest form of the word. I mean, this here was, again, North Carolina, everybody said you didn't belong. Everybody said there was uproar.

Starting point is 00:03:37 There were people crying and screaming and said, incident justice. We have people legitimate, legislator, going to call the law on this one, on your inclusion in this term. All the pressure in the work. And they come out and put on a performance like this. My hat has to go off to the Tar Heels. It really and truly does. Because, again, they're continuing that tradition of the ACC being disrespected by Bracketologists.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Oh, you did play well in the SEC ACC Challenge. Oh, this is a down year. Who do woo woo. Oh, you don't belong. Your 13 overall team in the nation is an eight seed. And yet every time in March, what happens? Every single time. They're always overachief.

Starting point is 00:04:24 We'll get to it. We'll get to it later. on, but the numbers back it up that the ACC over the past few years has actually been the best team win percentage wise out of any of the conferences. And I am someone who repeatedly this season has said that the ACC is down. Because the reality is it is down compared to other years. In prior years, if you were a 20 win ACC team, you made the dance. And there was no question that you made it. Yeah. You made it company. There was no problem. And it's different. now. It's different now, but yet it seems like the top teams in the ACC when they get to the

Starting point is 00:05:04 tournament, when they are selected, they do end up faring up better than some of the other top teams in other conferences. Relating it back to UNC and San Diego State last night, I thought one of the keys for North Carolina was getting out and running in the fast break, not allowing San Diego State to set up their vaunted defense. I thought early in this game, North Carolina was having a little bit of trouble. They had five or six turnovers in the first few minutes of the game. You could see San Diego State's length that they had on defense. And then Hoover Davis said an interview, one of the adjustments they made, very simple. Run. Yeah. Run them out the building. And also, it doesn't hurt that North Carolina goes 14 for 24 from the three-point.

Starting point is 00:05:54 line. They got hot at 58% credit to them. I do want to point out one funny thing about this, Kenton. Allow me, please. Okay. Oh, go for it. So San Diego State outside the net top 50. And this was a neutral site game. You know what that means? It wasn't a quad one. That's why North Carolina won, right? Surely it's because they weren't quad one. If San Diego State was 49, this game would have gone differently, right? Well, I'm. I'm sure it would have. I'm sure it would have. But ifs and butts were berries and nuts,

Starting point is 00:06:27 squirrels would never starve, my dear boy. Unfortunately, we live in the real world. And again, when I look at this game, even when you talk about North Carolina struggles, how long did they struggle for all of what? Five minutes or so. It was, oh, they're trying to figure this thing out. And then after that, what is it,

Starting point is 00:06:47 the six minute timeout or whatever, the media timeout, all of a sudden, the doors were blown off this thing. Again, I give credit to North Carolina because, again, they were hottest fisheries. You had to knock down those shots. You had to make that adjustment to say, you know what? We're typically a half-four team. We're going to run.

Starting point is 00:07:04 We're going to run. And honestly, if we're being very honest, looking at this North Carolina team, looking at what their strengths and weaknesses are, this should have been their motto all year long. It should have been, go, go, go. We're going to be masters of go. If you look at how they can best utilize the current skill sets on that roster, I don't want to see us ever slow it down unless we absolutely have to. I don't care if we're getting the ball out to the net.

Starting point is 00:07:30 We need to be going downhill, no frills right now, because all of their guards, for the most part, are at their best when they are attacking. They don't have a single guard that is the primary ball handler that I would say, hey, that's step back, that's his game. Hey, those pull-up threes, that's his game. They have many more who I'd say when he is putting pressure on the defense, when he's collapsing defenses, that's where he is going to create some problems for you.

Starting point is 00:07:57 And again, if my bigs are the weakness and I'm slowing this game down, who am I putting in very compromised positions where you have to give me something? You have to be a net positive offensively or else the entire offense kind of sort of falls apart. The bigs. So again, congrats to Hubert Davis for making the adjustment to say, we're running. We're running. We're gunning it. They slow us down.

Starting point is 00:08:20 They'll slow us down. But they got to make shots to do that, which is something San Diego State proved repeatedly in this game they could not do. Once again, North Carolina last night in the first four, everyone cried about them being in it. But you know what? They certainly deserve that W. They beat San Diego State 9568, just an absolute beatdown for the record. I know it's our job to watch these games. Yeah, I turn the game off with like 15 minutes left in the second half.

Starting point is 00:08:49 This game would break it over. I turned it off. I was like, if something magical happens, I can watch it back. Seems like it was just same old, same old. I missed nothing in the final 15 minutes. Sorry, I did not do my job properly. I stood to lose nothing from this game, okay? I believed in UNC, believe they were going to be winners,

Starting point is 00:09:09 believed they should have been in a tournament, but also a UNC hate watch is always in an NC status spirit. It's always in all. So either way, I'm like, you know, I'm going to be right, or UNC's going to lose this game. Either what, I'm okay. But to see what happened in this game, I mean, special stuff from R.J. Davis, man, special, special stuff. When you talk about what he did, again, this is why I say, when he is attacking downhill, he creates problems.

Starting point is 00:09:34 When Elliot Cado is attacking downhill, there are absolute menaces. 26 points, 8 of 12 from the field. How many shots did he take from deep? Just take a while, guess. Take a wild guess. How many? Three, four. Just take a while again.

Starting point is 00:09:49 Six. Guess how many he made? All of them. Yes. The man was sick from Zick from D. And you know why? You know why? Because he showed up and did the special thing that we expect special guards to do.

Starting point is 00:10:03 Guard play and experience. I was going to bring that up. Oh, uh-oh. It's back again. You know, great play by RJ Davis and Elliott Cuddle. Absolutely. And so with the win for North Carolina, they're in the field of 64 as an 11 seed.

Starting point is 00:10:19 They will take on six seed. Ole Miss on Friday at 4.05 p.m. Eastern. Now, when you look at the seeds, you would think that if North Carolina wins this game, it would be an upset, but me and Kenton are going to tell you that actually it's the opposite. If Ole Miss wins the game, it would be an upset. You don't want to miss it here on locked on ACC. Staling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more. Experts ready to help you take your business to the next level. Upwork gives businesses flexibility by connecting them with top freelance talent

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Starting point is 00:12:19 Of course, we're always joined by Kenton Gibbs. So North Carolina is in the field of 64. They will take on six-seat Ole Miss on Friday at 405 p.m. Eastern. We'll talk a little bit about this matchup on Friday. Plus, throughout the show, we'll be giving you guys our predictions for every ACC team in March Madness. So I teased at the end of the last segment that despite North Carolina being an 11C, Vegas is actually favoring them.

Starting point is 00:12:51 against Ole Miss. So don't be fooled by the numbers here, Kenton. UNC, on Fandu, is a one and a half point favorite. Ole Miss, 169 and overall defense across the country, seems like a pretty good matchup on paper. What do you think?

Starting point is 00:13:08 Oh, absolutely. This is a great matchup on paper for UNC. And like I've talked about a lot, like you've talked about a lot, like every bracket ad talks about this time of year, it's going to come down to guardplay and experience more so than anything else. And here's the biggest deal.

Starting point is 00:13:22 In this game against San Diego State, the front court was not a net negative. I don't think they need to be great. I don't think the front court guy need to dominate in any way, shape, form or fashion to get this team to about the elite eight. I really don't. I think they need to be a just net zero. Don't get dominated. Don't dominate. Just, hey, keep this game mostly about what the guards do, and you'll be fine.

Starting point is 00:13:48 And so with that in mind, who do you think has better guards between the Ole Miss and UNC? Who do you think when you look at those two teams? And you say, and so that's where my answer is going to lie. I get why Vegas did it because Vegas understands the same principles than everybody else does. It reminds me of a few years ago, I believe Michigan was once an 11 seed. And I forgot who they were taking on in the first round. It was one of the Colorado teams, I believe either Colorado or Colorado State, one of them. And I remember when Michigan won that game, everyone's like,

Starting point is 00:14:17 an 11 seed just beat a 6 seed. And I'm like, well, actually, it's not that crazy because the 11 seed was favored. So do not be fooled just by the number for folks that are still filling out their brackets. You might want to pay attention to what Vegas has to say about these matchups. Both teams, to me, are very well balanced. You got six double digit scores on Ole Miss. UNC, they only have three, but they are a much better three-point shooting team than Ole Miss. That being said, we can kind of get to our ACC bracket predictions and we could go with

Starting point is 00:14:50 North Carolina. I have them beating Ole Miss and then Iowa State before following the Michigan State in the Sweet 16. What do you think about North Carolina and their chances in March Madness? Jackson Hozier, can you please get out of my head right now? Can you please get out of my head? Because I agree. I agree 100%. I agree 100%. Here's the deal on why I see North Carolina advances so far and I'm 50-50 on them beating Iowa State. I really am. I think it's a coin toss and I said, you know what? Even though I'm a wolf packer, I got to have some conference pride here. I got to take off my locked-on wolf pack hat and put on my lack-on ACC out.

Starting point is 00:15:29 I've got to have a little pride in these guys here. Because like you talked about, three-point shooters, experience, senior guard who has shown us his propensity. Say what you want about RJ Davis. But one thing that you cannot say about him, when the lights get bright, he shrinks. No, no, no, no. He's one of the greatest playoff risers or postseason risers that we've seen in college basketball. I expect him to do more of what he did last game. Do I expect him to be as good? Do I expect 29 per game? You can apply that to the whole North Carolina team. I mean, if they're going to shoot 14 to 24 from the three point line in every game, they're going to win the

Starting point is 00:16:10 whole thing. Right. And that's what I'm saying. Am I expecting that exactly? No, but I am expecting RJ to show up as RJ. Even if you go back to last year, NC State beats him in the conference championship. In that game, NC State threw every look you could imagine at RJ. They blitzed, they did drop coverage, they went over the top. They gave him some of everything you can imagine, and he still had a good enough game to keep UNC in the ball game.

Starting point is 00:16:37 So I'm looking at this young man, and I'm saying he always shows up when the lights are bright is. I'm expecting him to do that in the same. And Elliot Cadeau, hello, brother, where are you been? Where are you been? You know? Nobody expects him to be the big sport. But when he is setting the table at the rate that he was last day,

Starting point is 00:16:55 12 assists. I mean, that's a playmaker supreme right there. He's got the table set for everybody. And if you haven't watched Titanic, start from the small fork on the outside of work your way in. What a job by him in getting everybody else to the table to eat. So I look at these guys and I say, I don't think that Ole Miss has enough in the chamber to stop them. And when I talk about Iowa State, again, Iowa State presents a lot of problems because they are a team that they have a lot of things going for them in terms of their guard playing.

Starting point is 00:17:27 Their experience can match up well with UNC. But I haven't seen those guys play at the highest levels in the biggest games in the way that I have from UNC. Boy, wouldn't it be something if we end up being right in North Carolina goes, to the sweet 16. Oh, those people. We got to bring them even more tissues already. But I just want to get to the numbers here quickly. So like I told you early on here in the show,

Starting point is 00:17:51 the ACC tends to outperform in the any other conference in the NCAA tournament. And the numbers back this up. If you count North Carolina's win last night, over the past four years, the ACC, you ready for this? 34 and 15 in the NCAA. to a AA tournament that is a 69% win percentage. That is the best of any of the other conferences in March Maddenance. So the teams that get in, they usually go pretty far. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. My flabber has been thoroughly gassed. I am confused. Every year for the past

Starting point is 00:18:36 five years I've been hearing, this is not your father's ACC. This is not your dad. Hey, this ACC, you know, Jordan and worthy ain't walking through that door. Hey, Jimmy V. and company ain't walking through that door. Hey, JJ Reddick and Christian Laytoner ain't walking through that door. And lo and behold, it still happened. The ACC still finding way to win. Rick Petino and all the things that he bought with him, hey, walking through that door.

Starting point is 00:19:03 And yet and still, somehow the ACC continues to produce. Again, there is, the metrics are the metrics. and I'm not going to be a guy that says completely throw away the metrics, none of them matter at all. But I will say year in and year out, we hear about how down the ACC is until it's time and the games matter the most. And honestly, I'm going to say something that's a little controversial here, but I don't care. I'm going to own this one. The reality of these early season matchups in a lot of these big games, when you look at how much turnover there is for some of these teams, I could really give a rest behind about games played in November and sometimes even into December because teams are still

Starting point is 00:19:46 figuring themselves out at that form. You know, teams are still, and I'm not just saying, oh, and only the new year should count and that's it, but they should be weighed a little bit more heavily in terms of, okay, teams are finally starting to get their identity. You're starting to figure out who you are. You're starting to mesh as that, you know, for example, how many transfer players of Syracuse have in their rotation this year? They had four. Okay, NC State, I want to say there was Hill, there was Huntley-Hapfield, there was, and James as well, or no, Hill, Huntley-Hapfield,

Starting point is 00:20:21 and I can't remember the other guy, but there were multiple transfers on this team that all played big men, Dantrez-Dowell, so I cannot forget him, three guys that are all transfers playing big minutes out of the gates. So, you know, you're looking at this and you're saying to yourself, these teams are not who they're going to be in the end in the beginning of the same, season. But again, the ACC, SEC, SEC challenge was the end-all be-all, and the SEC dominated, therefore, they're miles better than everybody else when it's like, in reality, a lot of those

Starting point is 00:20:49 teams just have more continuity than their ACC counterparts that they matched up with. You're right, but also I don't necessarily agree with your conclusion because, yeah, it applies to every team. It's not just the ACC. Every team has got to adjust. And, yeah, the ACC SEC SEC challenges in the beginning of the season. But if the ACC, if the roles were reversed, would the SEC be saying the same thing? Like, ah, well, we're just trying to figure each other out and everything like that. Yes, the SEC gets a beautiful about for everything. The point is that both sides are trying to figure each other out because it's still early in the season

Starting point is 00:21:28 and we're still in a new era with the transfer portal and you're bringing in all these new players and everyone's adjusting to new roles. I mean, a lot of, a lot of these teams are simply building mid-major, also. star teams. That's what they're doing. They're taking the best players from the mid-major schools, and they're sitting here saying, all right, so you were really good at your mid-major school. Now you're going to come here and be our fourth best play. And it's a little bit, it's different for every single team. But the bottom line is that the ACC, when they get to March Madness, they outperform any other conference in all of college basketball. And we believe that North

Starting point is 00:22:02 Carolina is going to follow suit as an 11-seed play in team, the team that nobody wanted in, is going to go to the Sweet 16. That is our prediction, myself and Kenton Gibbs. Coming up, talking about the other teams, of course. You got Duke, Louisville, and Clemson. So don't go anywhere here on Locked-on ACC. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping and entertainment, it's easy to lose track. And that's where Monarch money comes in, your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch money isn't just a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center.

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Starting point is 00:23:09 Locked-on Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked-on's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channels. Search Bracket Breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day. It's Locked-on ACC. I'm Jackson Hulzer. That's Kenton Giv. I'm the host of Lockdown Syracuse. Kenton Gibbs is the host of Lockdown Wolfpack alongside

Starting point is 00:23:46 Grayson Boone. And folks, later on today, you are going to hear from myself, Kenton Gibbs, Grayson Boone, and Isaac Shade in ACC squad. I believe that's dropping at 5 p.m. Eastern. And don't worry, we're going to talk a lot about North Carolina and their inclusion in the NCAA tournament. That was before obviously last night's results. But still, it was a fun conversation to say the least. Let's talk about now some of the other teams here on this episode that are in March Madness. We can go in order from Seed, I guess. Let's start with Duke. Kenton, where do you have Duke finishing here in the NCAA tournament? And let's assume that Cooper Flag is healthy and ready to go. You know, assuming that Cooper Flag is healthy and ready to go, I don't see a world where

Starting point is 00:24:36 R.J. Davis and I'm sorry, not R.J. Davis, Caleb Love, rather, his old running mate. and Arizona can knock them out. So that leaves them in the final four. But when they get to the final four, I think that Barnes Boys are finally going to get it done. I think that it's Tennessee's time. I think that this is their year to finally get a national championship.

Starting point is 00:25:01 I don't know what it is. But I think what Justin Ganey has done over there as an assistant coach, what Barnes is done, I think that they are finally ready, finally primed to, have their one shining moment in postseason success here. And with that being said, I think that it's going to be a real, real tough time for Duke getting by them. Even with the health of Cooper Flag, if Brown is not healthy and rolling at a high clip, I don't see them having

Starting point is 00:25:29 enough rent protection to keep Tennessee from winning that game. This is really weird that we are agreeing on a lot over the past few days. It's really weird. I do have Duke winning the whole thing. But it's funny you mentioned Tennessee because that's why I have them playing in the four. I have Duke and Tennessee in the final four. The other side of the bracket, by the way, I have Florida beating Michigan State. So I have two one seeds and two two seeds in the final four. Yeah, it's a little chalky, but guess what? That's usually how it works out in March Madness. And it's impossible to predict which six seed Cinderella is going to make a final four. So don't even try to do it. That being said, I have Duke winning the national championship. I think

Starting point is 00:26:11 they are the best team top to bottom. I think they are the type of team that even if Malik Brown is not healthy and does not play in this tournament, they can survive his loss and win the whole thing. So I have Duke winning the NCAA tournament this year as the national champion. Of course, they need Cooper Flag to be healthy in order to win it. And you'll hear my thoughts on the SWAT episode. If Cooper Flag is not healthy, the Elite 8 is probably their ceiling. That's where I see them finishing if Cooper Flag cannot go for whatever reason. Let's stick in order here and go with Clemson. So Kenton, where do you have Clemson ending up? Clemson is in such a interesting situation because I think that they got one of the

Starting point is 00:26:55 better draws out of everybody. But even with that better draw, you're still going to run into Houston. And what, what is it the Sweet 16 or so? Would it be? If they have to play Houston, that would be in the Sweet 16, but Houston has a very tough round of 32 matchup. They would have to play Gonzaga potentially. I'm not worried about Mark few and company. Every, we do this every march with him. We do this every. Zagas thing is that they just don't win, but they usually go far.

Starting point is 00:27:26 I'm not worried about Mark few and company. Hold on, but you're going to sit here and say like Houston and everything like that, you know, the team that just, they're always that team that outperform. in March Madness every year? No, no, no. They're not the team that all-performs in March Madden every year. However, if it wasn't for one injury,

Starting point is 00:27:44 one flute injury in a terrible moment, in the middle of, what was it, a elite eight-game against you? No, it's been Sweet-16. Then Duke goes on to play the NC State. And C-C. State, you know, hey. Shout out to DJ Byers, brother. I mean, you're never happy about injury,

Starting point is 00:28:02 but I think you're happy about not playing Houston last year. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And this year, I don't see that fluke. injury happening again. I think that they get taken out by Houston, I mean, by Houston, but, but Brownell and company, I do want to thank you for beating McNeese State for no reason in particular. I do want to thank you very much. It is greatly appreciated. I think Clemson got a very interesting draw. They have a very tough 12 C to McNeese State.

Starting point is 00:28:30 I think they're going to beat them. But that being said, I don't think it's going to be easy. Then their next opponent is either going to be Purdue or High Point. I'll be honest with you, Kenton, I picked High Point to beat Purdue. And my analysis behind that is I had a friend who went to High Point. And so, you know, it's just that bias that has to come into play here. It's his March Madness. You got to pick some upsets. It's one of those really fun times where you can have one person who is an officiantado of the sport.

Starting point is 00:29:00 And another person who's just sitting here filling out a bracket. And the person sitting here filling a bracket can do better than you. Yeah. My brother, who doesn't follow a lick of sports, can sometimes have a better bracket than me. Why? I don't know. He just fills out random numbers. So, hey, I think Clemson, regardless, is going to win the first two rounds?

Starting point is 00:29:19 Then you got Clemson or then he got Houston in the Sweet 16. I have Clemson winning. So that gets into the elite eight for this year. I think Clemson's really good. I agree. I think they're really good. I don't think they're going to be Houston. They got great, great point shooting.

Starting point is 00:29:34 So you know that they can get hot on. on any given game, but then they're going to run up against a bad matchup in Tennessee in the elite eight. And that is where they get knocked off once again. So back-to-back years, Clemson goes to the elite eight, but they are eliminated. I think Clemson fans will take that though if they're in the elite eight for the second straight year. And finally, because we already talked about North Carolina, we can go to Louisville.

Starting point is 00:29:58 Somehow an eight seed. And they also don't have an easy draw either because, hey, if they win that round of 64 game against Creighton, their reward is playing the number one overall team in the dance, and that is Auburn. So Kenton, where do you have Louisville finishing here? Hey, listen, Coach Kelsey, y'all have got nothing to be ashamed of, okay? Y'all've got nothing to be ashamed of. Y'all have had a hell of a season.

Starting point is 00:30:25 It's ending in the round of 32, okay? It's ending in the round of 32. I think Auburn is an absolute buzz saw this year that, that lose. Louisville just does not have the horses in the stable for. You would need a team of that Duke, of that Tennessee, of that. You need a team of that ilk and of that level to stop this Auburn team. I don't think that Duke has it. I mean, I don't think that Louisville has it.

Starting point is 00:30:51 I don't know why I keep calling Duke. I don't know. I don't think that Louisville has it at this point in time. I would be pleasantly surprised. Ruined my bracket, Louisville. I'm okay with that. I'm all right with that. You get Auburn out the way.

Starting point is 00:31:04 I'm not upset at you at all. I just don't think they came. I have Louisville beating Auburn. Oh, he just doing whatever. He's a do it. He's a clipback. So, no, no, no, no. Here's the thing.

Starting point is 00:31:18 Auburn's cold. They're cold right now. They're entering the tournament, having lost three of four. And Louisville is not a typical eight seat. See, as much as this is a penalty for Louisville, this is a massive penalty for Auburn. You work your tail off all year long. You get the number one overall seed, and your reward is a potential second round

Starting point is 00:31:41 matchup against a team that was ranked 10th in the country in the AP poll after selection Sunday. That is Auburn's reward. You wouldn't be sitting here saying, I'm crazy if Louisville was seated properly as like a five. A five seed beating a one that happens like every single year in March Madness. And oh, by the way, usually there's a lot of upset. in March Madness. And then the winner is ultimately someone chalking.

Starting point is 00:32:11 Someone chalking is most likely going to win the tournament. It's usually a one seat. Having said that, usually every year, a one seed is knocked out in the first weekend. It happens every year, basically. So why not Auburn against a team that might be the best eight seed of the tournament in Louisville? I mean, what other one seed do you have losing?

Starting point is 00:32:36 I mean, do you think that Florida would lose to one of Yukon or Oklahoma? Well, don't hold on now. The way that you sold me, Yukon the other day, you can't take that. I mean, I think it's a tough matchup, but I think Florida would just run and gun them. I do agree. Florida is, they are special with their pace and space and how they do things. But if you're talking to me about one eights where this could work out, Louisville and Auburn kind of have to be it because Louisville's not an eight. Louisville is not a true

Starting point is 00:33:07 So I agree I agree that if you're talking about which one is the most likely It's them but I think that we're We're going to run into that rare case Because even if you look at Auburn lost three of their last four One of which last second buzzer be there

Starting point is 00:33:21 Another of which You end the tournament It's a last last second thing Where I believe it was like broom slipped Or something like that And late in the second half against Tennessee I'm not saying I'm not saying that losing three out of four, it doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:33:39 It does, it does, okay? Because you start off 27 and 2 and then finish like that down the stretch, has to mean something. However, Bruce Pearl, you know, this second or third go round, Bruce Pearl has been doing all right enough in the tournament to where I think you can make it to the round of 30, make it pass the round of 32. But again, if Louisville is to get it done, hey, I'm excited for you. I'm excited for you.

Starting point is 00:34:05 I'm fired up for Kelsey's crew if they can do. Every year, a team that we think is going to go really far. Yeah. Ends up not even making it pass the first weekend. Auburn is going to win their first game, and then they're going to run up against the best eight seed in a very long time in the Louisville Cardinals. And I think Louisville is going to knock them out.

Starting point is 00:34:26 And then they're going to go to the Sweet 16. They're going to play Michigan. I think Michigan's a very good team. just like Auburn, but at the same time, I think that's where Louisville winds up. Sweet 16, losing to Michigan. We got a Michigan, Michigan State elite eight. I cannot wait.

Starting point is 00:34:45 Then Michigan State goes to the final four. They play Florida. You got a Florida Duke national championship, and I have Duke winning the whole thing. Kenton, who do you have winning the whole thing? Again, I got Tennessee winning it all, man. I really think that this is their year. I think they are going to,

Starting point is 00:35:02 going to be the squad to take out Houston. And again, I do have Duke making the final four. You know, I do have them making the final four, but I think that they come up just short against a very experienced, very good Tennessee team there. And I'm going to tell you something. The other side of this thing I've got, and I know that this is nasty business. I know it is. I'm just going to accept that it is nasty business, though. I've got Texas Tech coming out on that other side. I've got Texas Tech coming out. And I've got Texas Tech coming out. And I've got Texas Tech losing to Tennessee here. Okay.

Starting point is 00:35:38 That's a little bold. Now that is, listen. Because I'll tell you why it's just bold to try to guess which team that's not a two-seed or one seed is going to make that final four. It's just really difficult to pick it. You're absolutely right. But there's, I just have a very strong feeling about Texas Tech this year. I'm like, they're, they're going to catch lightning in the bottle.

Starting point is 00:36:02 over these next couple of weeks. And I think that they get it done in a way that gets them to the final four. And maybe they get a break or two, the rolls in their way. But I think Tennessee wins that game. All right. So you got Tennessee over Texas Tech in the national championship. I have Duke representing the ACC beating Florida in the national championship game. And of course, in the comments section below, tell us why me and Kenton are both idiots.

Starting point is 00:36:28 Who do you have winning the national championship? crunch the numbers. Tell us why you think this team is going to go far. Tell us your Cinderella pick. And I'm here to tell you right now, we're all probably going to be really wrong because some 14 seed is probably going to end up in the elite eight. Like always, because it's March and it is absolute madness. The field of 64, which really is what the tournament is, begins tomorrow. Actually, the first game is Louisville in Creighton. I can't wait. Kenton can't wait.

Starting point is 00:37:00 You can't wait. Folks, this has been another great episode of Locked-on ACC. And coming up later on today, Locked-on ACC squad, where we talk more about March Madness. Everyone, take care.

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