The Dumb Zone FREE - Bracket Dan is here for March Madness and Tim MacMahon's new Luka book tells all | DZ 3-18-25 PREVIEW

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

Hear the entire episode of The Dumb Zone by subscribing at DumbZone.com or Patreon.com/TheDumbZoneBracket Dan is here to help you fill out your bracket to earn the big bucks. Tim MacMahon's new Luka book takes you behind the scenes on the decision to trade Luka Doncic. Blake has a lofty goal involving his car and Jake's head keeps bleeding everywhere ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Hey now! What you are about to hear is a free preview of one of this week's premium episodes of The Dumb Zone. If you would like to hear this program in full, along with the full archive... Ah, shit. If you would like to hear this program in full, with the archive of all of our past episodes, you can subscribe at DumbZone.com I can't take anymore. It's the Catholic, it's the fun. Hold me, hold me, hold me. Arizona, Miami, Michigan State, who's it gonna be? Can Duke do it? Can someone do it? I can't do it.

Hold me. Hold me. End of message. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Can someone do it? I can't do it. Help me. Help me. End of message. There it is.

OK. All right. And welcome here, everyone. As you may have been a part of this tradition before with the ticket, with the Hang Zone, and currently here with the Dumb Zone. We do this every March. We welcome in our bracketology scientist, our expert. Here he is. He is he straight sports folks. It's bracket Dan bracket Dan. It's nice to have you here

Thanks for having me dudes bros You're the guy who likes a little hoop maybe some suds been preparing all year You don't go to work on Thursday or Friday and if you do you use a little fake screensaver thing I'm a guy who loves turny time I'll probably be at Hooters. Yeah, for sure. For the opening round. A lot of people like the tournament.

For you, the tournament is a way of life. Yeah, no, I've been preparing for this. Love brackets, love filling out brackets. Filled out quite a few of them. Scenario has a great one. Yes. But yeah, I'm interested. Really, I'm interested in anything.

Funniest TV shows, bracket. Yep. Best 80s movie tits. But this is where it all started. The NCAA tournament. The big one. Yeah. A granddaddy of them all.

Yeah. Sure, yeah. Yes, absolutely. So you guys want to take phone calls and stuff? Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's ever been a time where people needed you more than right now. Can you do that actually on this medium? I don't know, but I aim to find out.

Like with the ticket, it was easy. You press a button. Like you had listeners, and now you got like five people watching you. What are we doing? Let's try to go to the phones and see if we can help people out as they try to fill out their brackets.

Okay. Well, I got a call list in front of me. Who's up first? Let's try Dave in Flower Mound. Dave, you're on. You get to talk to Bracket Dan. Go, sir. Oh, yeah.

Hey, Bracket. First time, long time. Appreciate you. There's been a lot of talk these last couple of days in Detroit at the tournament near some people even suggesting that maybe could Troy upset Kentucky now that Detroit fans are talking about that what's what's interesting Dan is that I'm sure the live stream brought this up yesterday but we didn't talk about it at all maybe you guys did bring it up at all I mean Mark Pope has never won a tournament

with a Wildcats but they should be getting Lamont Butler back and the Trojans are the worst three-point shooting team in the tournament. Can the Cinderella this year beat Troy? They'd have to beat Kentucky in the first round. That's a great question, Dave. Don't let them eat the napkin. Bracket Dan, go. That's a long question, yeah.

Well, clearly, he's just talking about the tournament, which, if you don't know, comprises 64 teams split into four groups. They're called regions. Ah. Now schools, for the most part, not assigned to a region because of where they're from. It's just where the games in that group are played. Each group or region will have 16 teams ranked from 1 to 16. It's okay. And so then the matchups follow the rankings. The number one team in that certain region will play the number 16 number 2 15 and so on and then the tournament single elimination and eventually one team emerges victorious from each of the four regions that group is then called the final four of course there you will see the dumb zone broadcasting live from San Antonio thanks to Lone Star Beer. I get the intrigue now. Let's go to Patrick if we move on the phone lines here. Patrick.

You're on with Bracket Dan. Hello gentlemen I just was curious since Dan is technically a resident of Hot Springs, Arkansas does he think that Arkansas can move on to defeat Kansas once again? Boy that is a great question for you Bracket Dan. Thanks Patrick. What do you think? Thatitell can move on to defeat Kansas once again? Boy, that is a great question for you Bracket Dan. Thanks Patrick. What do you think? That's interesting. What about those Root Hogs? Interesting to think about it based on geographical location because a lot of people talk about

the attitude of certain teams, but altitude can also affect teams. So when you're traveling to a different region. And then you might not want to pick based on attitude or altitude. Some people pick teams based on colors or mascot preferences. That's not a great strategy. But if that's what makes you happy, by all means, brackets should be fun. But just want you to enjoy your time here.

Thanks for the call, Patrick. We go on to Mike in Dallas. That's really what Bracket Dan is all about, Blake. It's just having a good time. Yes. Hey, Mike. Mike in Dallas. Hello.

Jake, Blake, Clayton, you guys got me? Yes, sir. You're on the line. You really can't have it all. You're talking to Bracket Dan. Is Bracket Dan there? Hello, Mike. What do you got?

Holy shit. Need some help filling out your Bracket shit. I know. It took me a minute, too. But I'm feeling out your I know it took me a minute too but I'm used to it now because I get to work with them every year oh I just woke up and I'm already nervous um bracket Dan hello big fan my eyes are excitedly drawn to one game as if it were the bulge of a tranny. Michigan, San Diego, the 12 verse five in the east. San Diego steals the ball a lot. Michigan averages 14 turnovers. This just come down to Michigan guards, Burnett.

Hey Mike. Donaldson. Hey Mike, as a long time fan of Bracket Dan, I don't have to tell you a 12-5. Hate to see this man coming. Thanks for your call. Tell me Bracket Dan. Thanks for your call. 12-5 upsets actually very popular picks every year.

In 2024, as a matter of fact, two 12 seed winners. Grand Canyon beat St. Mary's and James Madison beat Wisconsin. It's like half of them. In four first round games. That is, hold on a second here, 50% of all the games. Hey, he wants you to have fun, but he also, he's a data guy at heart. We have Mark is up next. Person's name is Mark.

Hey Mark, you're on with Bracket Dan. Brack. What's up bud? Hey Brack, it's great to hear your voice again man. Hey man. Tennessee alum, I just wonder if this could be our year to finally break through to the final four, got to the elite eight last year, we're number two seed again. And a follow up, if Luca was on any one of these 64 teams, would they win it all? God, that's a good one.

That's a great call. Let's see if Rick Barnes and the boys can get back to the Final Four bracket. What do you think? Well, only 11 number two seeds have ever lost a number 15 seeds in the first round. You might remember Princeton beat Arizona in 2023. They went on to beat Missouri in the second round that year to get to the Sweet 16. They lost to Creighton. So really, you got to think about that when you look deeper into the tournament.

Thanks for the call. Can I interject as NIT Jake over here? Sure. I saw, pardon my take, talking to Alex Caruso about this. How many guys in the league are there? And Caruso settled at like 20 to 30. That they could get you to the championship game 16 seed.

Like being on any team? Yeah, because his point was like, big men are just going to, they're just going gonna destroy you. There's just no chance. These are grown big men who you know from going to NBA practices can actually shoot threes if they just get to. Could you take...

So Luca's a lock, yes. Can you imagine Yannis? Oh my gosh. Okay, every NBA player, if you put them on the worst women's team... They would be... yes. Do they go to the finals? Yes. They would never lose. You just have one player. Any NBA player so that...

Can we make it like, not g-league so not to a guy Ronnie Not Ronnie and not like Kessler Edwards Or does it have to be any NBA player who ever likes 20 minutes and I put it to you Let's we can lower it Jayden Hardy. That's exactly what I was about to say. Okay, Jayden Hardy Yes, would win a women's national championship Jayden on the 16th seat So the first game they play is against like, UConn or whoever's good. Yeah. I think Jaden Hardy on a 16th seed in the men's division could get you a couple wins for sure.

Yeah. But he's... I don't know if you're winning all... All... If you're going all the way. But yeah, women's is... Yeah, he would... They would win every game. That's good to think about. It's good to know that Bracket Dan still has a little

vein of misogyny in him after all these years. Who's next? Oh, I got a vein for the ladies. We have Ted in Coppell. Ted. Yes, yes Bracket Dan. My question concerns the top overall seed, the Auburn Tigers, who come in having lost

three of four. It was just a few days ago that Bruce Pearl, their coach, said on national TV that, quote, my guards aren't pussies, end quote. Now as the authority on all things pussy, in fact as we enter this Lenten season, dare I say the Pontius Pilate of pussy, bracket Dan, does Auburn have what it takes to win it all? That's a great question. You might know, well it sounds like you do know, that only two number one seeds have ever lost to a 16 seed since the expansion to

64 teams in 1985. Both upsets have happened in the last seven years so what does that tell you? Well it tells you that number 16 seed UMBC beat Virginia in 2018 and then Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue with Zach Edney, or Zach Edie, excuse me, in 2023. The first one, though, is considered one of the most, the biggest mysteries in all of college basketball history. No one knows what UMBC is, or if it's actually a real school. They don't, it's, like all of a sudden they're in the tournament and then they're gone. Yeah. And no one's heard from them before or since. So great call Ted. That was.