PTI - Should Miami of Ohio Get a Bid if They Lose?!

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss College Basketball, Miami of Ohio, and the NBA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon, Tony. I'm so sad. This year's NFL Combine.

It's over. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Who are you? What have you done with the real Wilbon? Huh? You know, we evolved. Did you watch? I watched some.

I watch very little. I watch the highlights today, and I don't understand why it matters the vertical jump of a quarterback. Honestly, I don't understand it. Offensive linemen. Defense of ends? Okay. Okay, because you're black in the passes. I'm with you.

I'm with you. What does it mean? Welcome to PTI, boys and girls. In today's episode, Miami of Ohio has a close call. The Knicks, Pistons, and Celtics are rolling, and the Oilers still have a goalie problem. But we begin today with big time college basketball played over the weekend. Number one, Duke, crush number 11, Virginia 77.51. Number two, Arizona, crushed number 14, Kansas, 84, 61. And on Friday night, number three, Michigan.

Crush number 10, Illinois at Illinois. 8470. Will Bond, what was the most compelling result of the weekend? Yeah, I don't want to say Michigan. I don't want to say Michigan. You have to. I have to say Michigan. So going into that game, I was really excited about that game because I thought, okay, I know what Michigan is now,

because I just watched them against Duke playing an even game. I said I would rank Michigan two. I would cede them as a one. Let's see what Illinois has. I think Illinois has some depth, some shooting, some size. I like what the alliance and I have put together this year. No, Michigan put it right back on them. And Tony, the size thing, and by the way, Illinois didn't turn in some dog performance.

Illinois played pretty damn well. They're not as good. They're not as good. And so we're starting to have some reveal. The Arizona game was impressive, although that was in Arizona. At Kansas, look, if I can't trust, and the best player on the team made some, he made some brilliant plays. But that wound up being a sizable margin of victory for Arizona. Yeah. Sizable.

Yeah. So here's what I think we are watching. Night after night, week after week in the last two to three weeks, we're watching good teams play good teams. Yes. And we are watching the great teams separate from the good teams. That's what you're because in addition to these games, I wrote these things down, addition to ones we want to talk about, number 16, Texas Tech beat number four Iowa State at Iowa State.

Yeah. Number four, Houston, beat Colorado by 40. And if you're impressed by 40, number seven, Florida, I believe, are the defending champions. They're starting to do it. Beat number 20, Arkansas and put 111 on them. And now Iowa State, which is now six, is at Arizona tonight. Look, so we're seeing this separation. I believe that Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Yukon are going to be the number one seats.

And I also believe that the number two seats could beat the number one seats because we see that. this year. In terms of answering this question, the only answer is Michigan beating Illinois. And here's why. The ACC is not as good as the Big Ten. Nobody is surprised that Duke buried Virginia like that. And nobody is surprised that Arizona, which was laying in wait for Kansas, because Kansas beat them the last time, no one is surprised that Arizona won that game in the same way that no one is surprised that Villanova could not beat St. John's. I was going to say, because St. John... We are not surprised. No, because St. John's looked terrible against you kind of missing.

They were going to come back. They were going to bounce back. When Patino comes out in the cream suit, the white shirt and the cream tie. Yeah. No, no. I understand. Rick Patino might be able to tell young people in the media this meant nothing. If you and I were standing with him privately, he would even try to say, he walked out there,

and he basically demanded his team put up that kind of performance. I just want to say this. Since the NFL ended, college basketball has saved this show. Right. Because the NBA was off for a week on the All-Star game. The NHL was off for two weeks with the Olympics. And I will say something I never thought I would say. What? Realignment may be helping. You look at Arizona and Houston in the Big 12 and they make a difference. They make a difference. They do, but it hurts some other parts. One of the things, speaking of that Big 12, how about Texas Techs without its arguably best player?

Topin was starting to play like an All-American. He's out for the season. And they're going to and get that win at Iowa State. Very impressive. Let's move from the power four to the unbeaten mid-major. Miami of Ohio. The 19th ranked Red Hawks improves the 29 and 0

when they scraped by 11th place Western Michigan Friday on Trey Perry's left-handed land with four-tenths of a second left in the game. Miami has two regular season games and the MAC tournament remaining. Tone, if the Red Hawk

lose before the big dance, would they still deserve an enlarged bid? I think absolutely they would. There are, we up to 68 teams, or we had 72, however a minute. There are 37 at large bids. They're 29 and 0. If they lose one, they're 29 and 1. And they deserve to be in over, let's say, a sixth place team from the SEC or the big-eis. It would be a lot lower than six.

You might get, you know, 11th place teams. Let me give you the numbers of what's working again. them. Their strength of schedule is 321 out of 365. That's awful. Their out of conference strength of schedule is worse. It's 360 out of 365. They have only played in one quad two game. They haven't played in any quad one games. And the MAC conference has not gotten a second team in since 1999. But they haven't had a 29 and 0 team. They have a 29 and O team and they deserve a chance to be in there, even if they lose. Let's be honest here. If Duke or Michigan or Arizona loses a game in their conference tournament, it will not affect their seating at all.

It should not affect Miami. Miami should be in. You got to respect it. It should be in. Yeah. I mean, seriously, otherwise, you just turn the conference commissioners and the power four into gangsters. They're just bullies where they say, get out of here. We don't even want to see you. We don't want to schedule you in the regular season. That's right. There by helping you raise that strength of schedule number. I don't want to do. I don't want to. I don't believe this in football. I believe it in basketball. I am less charitable for teams getting in football. Because first of all, we've seen people make a competitive in basketball.

But I'm not even going there, Tony, because particularly with the Big Ten and the Mac, these kids all grew up together. They all basically got separated through the process of recruiting when you're in Michigan and Ohio and Illinois and Indiana. And now you're telling me, you go undefeated against whatever schedule you're alive. allow to cobble together. Yeah. And that's not good enough because we need a 13th team

from the Big Ten. So, come on now. So I had Joe Lannardi on the podcast today after you appeared on the podcast, Joey Brackens. And he said,

he felt that Miami would win their conference tournament and then be in an 8-9 game. The first game would be in an 8-9 game. Now, if they have any regular season games left, then they lose that and in the tournament,

that's different. But if they only lose one going in, then I am good with. By the way, sleepers, his sleepers? Who? St. Louis and St. Mary's.

St. Mary's. The St. Mary's the Zagga game. Pounded. Was good. Let's move to the NBA and specifically the Eastern Conference, Wilbon, so you will not be able to talk about the Lakers

beating the Warriors by 20 on Saturday. In the east, the Knicks pounded San Antonio by 25 points after beating Milwaukee two days before. The Pistons beat Cleveland and Orlando after their not-so-good week last week. And the Celtics put 148 points on the Nets on Friday,

then beat Philadelphia by 16 last night. Wilbon, which Eastern Contender had the most impressive weekend? I think Cleveland did. I mean, you can't, it can't, the nets cannot count toward any being positive. Right, they stink. They stink. No, they stink. They're the worst.

How did you get to talk about Cleveland? I didn't even mention Cleveland. Talk about being relegated. I didn't mention Cleveland. Oh, wait, so wait a minute, I confuse. So it's not Boston either. So Boston just ran up that score. Right.

On Brooklyn, 148 points. I don't care if this is. historic, and they would involve Larry Bird. You can't consider that. I get the Pistons is what I really meant. The Pistons... You confuse Cleveland at Detroit. Okay.

We do that all in my life. Yeah, Cleveland and Detroit. I'm going to say the pistons, look, we're getting to the point in the NBA, Tony, where the victories, when you play real teams, not the Nets, they're more competitive. They may be smaller margins. So I don't know what happened to Golden State. And by the way, Golden State looks like now, look, I don't know. Steph Curry's out another five games?

Without Steph Curry another five games, can they still hold on to a play in spot? I very specifically said we're not going to talk about that. I didn't mention the Lakers. Oh, you mentioned, okay. So here, you know my feeling about any individual games that they don't really matter all that much. I don't believe that the Knicks or the Pistons or the Celtics had any particular worries. San Antonio was on the fourth game of a five-game road trip. Schedule loss.

Detroit had to prove that what you saw the week before on home games, that that that wasn't really who they are. And as you say, the Brooklyn Nets stink. So I want to go to a larger issue here. And for me, it is the Boston Celtics. You know that I believe that they are the most surprising team in the NBA this year. You call it early. And they win these games. They win these two games by 53 points combined and they shoot 54% from the field. They do this without Jason Tatum, their best player. And Jalen Brown has now risen up to be their best player in these two games. He had 55 points, 15 rebounds, 17 assists, and shot 18 for 29. That's his case for MVP. He just stated his case for MVP. And he's a terrific defender. Right?

But the issue, no matter what else you say in the East, the issue comes down to is Jason Tatum coming back? Tony, so you're saying, as much as you believe in Boston, you don't believe they could win without Jason Tatum. I'm not sure they can't win, but I think with Jason Tatum, and people are going to say, Well, how will he fit in? Well, he's played there for seven or eight years. He knows how to fit. There's no break-in period with him. What this last week did was exposed a little bit of a flaw in Detroit,

which needs the second score. Yes. Yes. The next, Tony, it may have exposed that they are what we think they are, which is up and down, which is unable to sustain, but their defense is better. I mean, it's not Tibbs defense, but it's better. You don't love Boston.

I actually, I'm starting to, I'm starting to really like Boston. Yeah. Did you see that kid in the middle last night? He had like a thousand. Unbelievable. Who is he? Let's take a break.

Who's Robert Parrish last night? The Oilers hope they'd solve their goal problem, but do they need to try again? Is he like 27 and 17? I don't know who he is. Man. The runaway leader in the U.S. half marathon championship took a wrong turn. The Brad Steebles find that kid somewhere? Yeah.

Does he know what he's doing? Yeah. Because I think he knows what he's doing. Oklahoma City, the Celtics. Let us find out what's possible. hopping with the populace. I'm going to get the first one. Go to my glasses.

Here we go. Are we starting? Do the oilers need to add a goalie before Friday's NHL trade deadline? No. And they sort of just moved, made a move that tells you they probably won't worry about the goaltending. They'll worry about the defense. So the oilers are the second best offensive team in the league and the fourth worst defensive team. That's insane.

You just can't score six goals every night, as Mr. Drysiddle said recently. They traded Stuart Skinner in December to the Penguins. He was terrible. They got rid of him. They get Tristan Jari. It's terrible. Who goes from 2.66 to 3.85 goals against. That's terrible.

Connor Ingram, the backup, I mean, he's not much better. So what they did, though, Tony, with the goaltenders all being bad, you've got to think, what about a defenseman? So they go out just now, minutes ago, and they get Connor Murphy, a solid defensive veteran from Chicago, block shots to compare with Darnell Nurse. Defense is what they need to improve not necessarily goaltending. Okay.

Not necessarily. Not necessarily. Tristan Jerry's save percentage is 860. Right now, just in Edmonton, he's 57th out of 58 goalies. That's awful. He has given up four plus goals in his last five games. And he's not the only one infected by this. The great Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida.

He is 55th out of 58. He gave up to the Islanders, because I watched this yesterday. He gave up five goals to the island. Is it possible he's just tired? This is what I want to get to. These two teams, Florida and Edmonton, have played so many playoff games in the last two to three years. Florida has played going to the cup finals, winning twice out of three years, 68 extra games.

That has to wear on you. That's almost a full season. I think that wears on goal. I think the teams, because they don't know if they're going to make the playoffs. I think these teams are exhausted. You know what I would do if I was Edmonton? I'd trade for Bobrovsky. I'd bring him in.

He's too tired. No, you know what you want to do? You trade for Connor Murphy, a Blackhawks to fissman, because they haven't played any playoff games. He's got to be fresh as a daisy. The Blackhawks haven't played a playoff game in probably eight years. So, you know, it's a good move. Am I reading you the second email?

You are. That's the rule. I read one, you read two. So, who made the biggest gaffe this weekend? The Pace Car Driver in the U.S. Half Marathon Championship, or the lighting dude in the Yukon UMass hockey. So let me explain this with the pace car.

The pace car went off the course. The racers behind the pace car didn't know to not follow the pace car. They're following the pace car. They followed the pace car. The woman who is leading, when she finally climbs back into the race, she finishes night. This happens more often than people think. Really? I saw this happen in a race about 10 years.

Well, how about this? Okay. The guy misses, he thinks it's not a save. He thinks it's a goal. It's a save. Then he turns the lights out. In three to three in overtime, you can't do that. Can I-

You have masks at home and benefits from this? Can I tell you? About a penalty shot or something. The biggest calf. The biggest calf, Shane Lowry. Shane Lowry puts one in the water on 16, puts one in the water on 17, double bogeys. But the guy who's won a British Open. Shane Lowry needs two double bogeys.

He loses a three-shot. in the last tournament. Three holes in this. But at least Lowry, who won like $8 or $9 million last year, it's not going to affect his life. When you saw it, what did you think? I screamed out loud because it's Shane Lowry. Stunning, particularly in the part three.

Nobody does this. You cannot pace car? So who's responsible? Who's accountable? If you're not following a minute, you and I have been in pace cars in our life at the racetrack, right? Yeah. The pace car sets what?

The pace and the direction. And you can't have a UMass. lighting guy, go dark. You can't have that? If you're a runner in that race, you have to know the course. The course is marked. It has a specific kind of tape. It's marked. I understand the instinct to follow the pace card. But it's a mistake. How much he lost? It's a mistake. How much? You lost $20,000. Really? That's not like Shane Lowry. Oh, no, no, no. They don't make that much. Marathon or half marathons can't pay that much.

And the UMass lighting guy. I get that. And I don't want him fired. I don't want just a penalty shot. What pro golfer of that consequence do you know that lost a three-shot lead on the last three holes. Ever? I was going to say it's Van de Valdian. That was one hole. Nobody knows what we're watching us with that meeting. That was one hole, don't you think?

Enough female. Let's take one last break still to come. The Lions ship out, David Montgomery. Wow. That's a wow. Michael, Jeffrey, Jordan, winning. Another three-beat. Shane Lowry faced the press.

He did. And was great. He was. And was great. And people love him and they sure. More respect for him. But I do. The second one in the water, why are you going right?

What are you doing? Right? It looked like something we would do. Yeah, well, we'd be shorter into the water. Yeah, well. We wouldn't hit it as long. Happy time, people. Happy 54th birthday, Maricio Pochitino.

Pochitino is the coach of the United States men's national soccer team that will play in the World Cup this summer. Previously, Pochitino coached Espanol in La Liga in Spain, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea in England's Premier League, and Paris Saint-Germain, where he won League. in France. It's around. Along the way, Pochitino coached Nessi, Mbapé, and Namar.

Pretty good. Pretty good. The U.S. MNT has two high-profile tune-up games in Atlanta later this month. One against eighth-ranked Belgium on March 28th, and the other against sixth-ranked Portugal on March 31st. The United States is ranked 15th. After those games, Pochitino will finalize his roster

for the U.S. World Cup team, which is as big a deal as we have in soccer. World Cup in 101 days. Also, he's coached Cole Palmer at Chelsea, coached Harry Kane and son at Tottenham. Harry Kane. Everybody except Pele, he seems to have coached. Nobody on the U.S. team as good as those guys.

Not as good as any of those guys. No, that's what I'm saying. Happy anniversary, Luis G. Ome, on this day nine years ago during a spring training game, the Mets infielder nonchalantly caught a bat whizzing into the Mets dugout in one of the most impressive spring training

baseball plays ever. Our pal, Ron Darling, calling the game made reference to the Highland Games in Scotland in terms of comparison. The bat accidentally flew out of the hands of the Marlins, a Daini Ichavaria. Gioome stayed with the Mets through the 2023 season, appropriately as a glove man, though this catch was bare-handed. Since then, Gio May has bounced around the league, spending time with the Braves, Angels, and Diamondbacks.

Most recently, he played in the Astros organization. Everyday dopes have no idea what kind of hand-eye coordination professional athletes. Remember when I'm drawing a blank on the Spurs caught the bat in the air, the bat that was flying through San Antonio? Genoblee. Oh, the bat.

Not that kind of bat. A real bat. Flying, yeah, flying. Look how great their hands are. Yeah, another great. Unbelievable. Happy Trails, Chad Baker Mazara. USC's leading scorer,

a 26-year-old transfer from Auburn. 26 is no longer with the program after a bizarre scene during Saturday's lost in Nebraska. Baker Mazar was leading the Trojans with 14 points when he left the court with an apparent leg injury, only to later return and sit with fans rather than the team. You can't do that. I have no idea what his relationship is with head coach Eric Musselman,

and the L.A. Times reports there were an accumulation of issues, but you cannot go sit in the stands. Sort of seems like something Ron Artecet, either would do or did like 30 years ago. I'm just worried, Tony, that something else comes down about behavior and why he did this. I'm worried about that. I understand that worry.

We don't know anything in here. What might have caused? But that is a bizarre circumstance to go sit in the stands. I mean, that you're saying I'm not part of this team anymore. I know it. You know it. I'm not part of this team. It's like five, six schools.

Been a lot of schools including J.C. Yeah. Tweed's 26. People stay in college now until they're 40. The money's too good to leave. Let's go to the big finish. We have lots of time. The Lions are sending running back.

Montgomery, the Texans for offensive linemen, two scrubs, and two picks, are you surprised? Wow. I mean, I don't think they want Jemir Gibbs by himself in that back, though. Montgomery is a tough guy. He's being traded for a fourth and a seventh. I was angry when the bears got rid of him. Seems like he's going to Houston. Janice is set to return to the court tonight.

Trey Young, your boy, is expected to make the Wizards debut Thursday, your thoughts. My thoughts are that Milwaukee really isn't any good, and they're tanking. They're tanking at the moment. The Wizards have been tanking for Thursday. three years and continue to tank. I think it's great that Tray Young's going to play. I would go under on five games for the rest of the season. I'm one over on that.

I'm under on that. Speaking of not playing, Joel M. Bean will miss at least three games with a strained right oblique. Is that a big deal? I was looking forward to him going up head-to-head with Wimbanyama on the Spurs. I believe last game on that long road trip. But Zion missed the Pelicans game Sunday, snapping a career high streak of 35 straight play.

Disappointed? Yeah, he never plays that much. So he's had a good year in terms of being healthy. Was he the first pick when John Moran was the second pick? Wouldn't you have expected more by now? Both. Yes. He would have expected more by now.

Not worked out well for either. No, it really is not. Last one, Tyler Reddick is the first NASCAR driver to win the first three races in the season. You're impressed. Michael Jeffrey Jordan winning again. Yeah. Three straight. Going for a four-peat in Arizona.

Do you think the key is to get in a lawsuit? Do you think that? How about that? If that works out? Count that, it's already for us here. We're out of time. We're trying to do better the next time. I'm Tony Cornynizer.

I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow on knuckleheads. You can get the podcast on the ESPN app or Apple podcast. Mom would have been 100 today. Wow.