The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Sharp or Square - FINAL FOUR BEST BETS: March Madness Picks | Arizona vs. Michigan, Illinois vs. UConn

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

The Final Four is set! The final weekend of the 2026 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament tips off this Saturday as the Illinois Fighting Illini face the UConn Huskies, while the Michigan Wolverines square off against the Arizona Wildcats. Betting expert Chad Millman and professional gambler Simon Hunter welcome back college basketball bettor Joshua "Duck" Nunn of the Big Bets On Campus podcast to break the games down for our gambling audience. Duck provides his best bets for the Final Four, including college basketball picks and predictions for coach Tommy Lloyd and his Arizona Wildcats, who enter the Final Four as top-seeded underdogs against Michigan and coach Dusty May. Plus, can Illinois coach Brad Underwood get the best of UConn coach Dan Hurley after the Huskies' emotional buzzer-beater victory over the Duke Blue Devils? Who will win in a battle of Andrej Stojakovic versus Alex Karaban? Can Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg get the better of Arizona's Ivan Kharchenkov and Jaden Bradley? Plus, we also recap the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, which saw our experts nail both their underdog picks on the Tennessee Volunteers and Iowa Hawkeyes. Listen in for everything you need to bet smarter on the Final Four! #Volume 0:00:00 - START 0:03:00 - DUKE VS. UCONN ELITE 8 RECAP 0:14:32 - ILLINOIS VS. UCONN FINAL FOUR PREVIEW 0:21:30 - MICHIGAN VS. ARIZONA FINAL FOUR PREVIEW -- All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet  Subscribe to Sharp or Square for gambling advice, best bets, and predictions from sports betting experts Chad Millman and Simon Hunter. Follow on all platforms: https://www.instagram.com/sharporsquare/ https://x.com/SharporSquare_See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you're. know is somebody coming after me listen to kingdom of fraud on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts welcome to sharper square the podcast we are presented by hard rock that

we are part of the volume podcast network this is the show that makes the square sharper and makes the wise guys pay attention that's been especially true during the NCAA tournament i am shadmullen i am joined as always by my BFF, my co-host, my companion, my compadre professional better. Simon Hunter. Hello, Simon. Chad, how we feeling? Dude. Turns out we are great college basketball handicappers because we have crushed it.

Last week, I think Iowa was Simon says. I think Tennessee was our brass balls or something like that. So we had them outright to win as underdogs plus money. my goodness my goodness that was amazing yeah you know me i i definitely parlayed them together as well and unfortunately lost it all in the phillies uh the phillies have just been horrible to start the season and i've been i've been paying for it so um like i always say don't bet with your heart bet with your head and bet it with my heart has been costing me but when we listen to smart people like duck we've been uh we've been winning some money so um yeah the wopsical get into it with

the duke game and like that but i always talked about these these games And it didn't work in Tennessee and Michigan. But betting the dog, whoever down 20 at halftime, it has to be profitable over the last like 10 years. Like you take in college basketball, the team down at halftown by 20, you know, I really do think it was like 30 to 1 or 25 to 1. Tennessee, they obviously got rolled. I think they lost by 30, obviously.

But Yukon, same thing. It was like crazy. I think it was like 25 to 1, put a little on it. And, yeah, that, you know, it doesn't always work out. But when it hits, it really hits big time, right? That's why we love college basketball. So we definitely got diving into that one because there's just between the Hurley and the referee and, you know, what's going on now with Duke with, even at the end of with Coach Kay,

but they just keep having these horrible soul crushing losses. Like I said, I am a fan. It's a childhood team. But I'm not like a true Duke fan. This will affect me. It hurt that night. But the next day, I was just like, man. I rewatch replay.

It's like those are the best, those are the best sports moments, right, Chad? Isn't that what we go on our driveway and we're looking to envision that shot? It's the best. It's so insane that it happened the way it did. And you can look, John Shire said it after the game.

That's not the one play in which they lost the game, right? They missed a free throw right before that. They had multiple instances where players just fell to the ground and lost the ball and handed it to Yukon. It was almost like out of a movie or like in Friday Night Lights. I used to love the show Friday Night Lights. And at the end of every game, there'd be these crazy, impossible situations

where the other team made the exact mistake that it needed to make at the exact time. That's kind of what it looked like watching Duke. Like they were in a movie and completely forgot how to play basketball for a little while. and Yukon, which is such an emotional team to watch. Look, I am in the middle of Yukon country. Like I can literally see Luke Murray, the assistant coach for Yukon. I can see the back of his house from my window where I'm sitting right now. And like, it is a crazy Yukon environment here.

Half my block is going to the final four. And so you could almost hear people screaming all around my name. neighborhood when you kind of won that game it was so miraculous and i freaking love watching danny hurley coach he is all it and that whole referee thing in the end like i don't even know what he was doing i don't know why he went up to the guy i do i do i saw the clip basically the ref said he was saying something to him and they couldn't hear anything because everyone was going so crazy so he basically really got right in his face to hear what he was saying so the ref said he was the one talking to him. He's the one that initiated it.

Ah. Yeah, yeah. He's such a psychopath. I was right there with you. I was like what just happened? Because watching that live, I could not believe what I just witnessed with the coach. But again, this is why I love this guy. Like, I'm so glad he didn't go to the NBA, right? And the NBA would not work. But in college,

you're just, it's the best. Because again, they're still they are adults, obviously, but it's like kids with the crazy head coach. That's what it always feels like. And he is that perfect bill of. He's right on the borderline of madness and genius. Yeah, you can never doubt Yukon.

This is ridiculous. What is this, Chad? Like 20 years of Yukon doing this, man. It's amazing. It's totally amazing. Listen, between the men's and the women's teams, I live in the basketball capital of the world. In the middle of Connecticut.

Central Connecticut is the basketball capital of the world, 35 minutes from Springfield. basketball and in its entirety of success and culture is I'm in the center of it. It's like I'm the heartbeat. We got to go to the Final Four in Indy, at least transition to that. All things betting in these two monster matchups, Illinois, my home state, this show's all about me, and Yukon, Arizona, and Michigan. Listen, our buddy, Josh Nunn,

a.k.a. Duck, co-host of the Big Betts on-campus podcast, has been with us all through the tournament. He's kind of been crushing. He's giving us a lot of guidance, and that's kind of why we're crushing. Doc, welcome back to the show, my friend. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's been a real fun tournament up to this point. We saw crazy activity in the Sweet 16 and in the lead eight rounds, and it's going to set up for an electric final four this weekend. I'm excited to break it all down. How you guys been? We've been at the window a little bit.

We've gotten the listeners home on some fun bets. Hope you both are doing well. Doc, I feel like we're giving you a gift. I know you're at Disney World right now, and I don't know what you're doing there, but I know when I would have to go to Disney World, if I could get an excuse to do 30 minutes of something that wasn't being at Disney World,

I felt like I was being given a present. So you're welcome. Yeah, I appreciate it. It allows me some time to dive into doing what I love to do best, and that's handicap these games and talk about college athletics. So I'm really happy to be on with you guys. Disney's going to be fun, though. We're here a week.

We're going to be at Disney for about four days. We're going to do some beach stuff. So I'm excited to be in Florida. Yeah, whatever. Listen, you before the tournament began gave us an exotic. A fun bet on total seeds in the final four under nine. Congratulations. It's at seven.

Michigan 1, Arizona 1, Yukon 2, Illinois 3. The second bet you gave out, also really fun. Last week, three or more lower seat upsets outright in the Sweet 16 plus money. Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee. Well done, my friend. Thank you. Yeah, it just seemed as though there was some level of top heaviness in this NCAA. tournament, particularly with the 4-1 seeds.

We only ended up seeing two of them get to the final four, but it really wouldn't have affected anything regardless of Duke and Yukon's outcome for this specific wager. We saw Iowa give Illinois a real run for their money in the elite eight, but I just kind of thought that that number on the total seeds to make the final four was about one too high. And so I thought there was value and taking the under. And that turned out that it was. And then as we get down to these later rounds of the tournament, we see the talent disparity gets so condensed.

And so the pricing in these lines was very competitive. And it really wasn't that much of a shock to see the teams that ended up winning do so. It wasn't the monumental upset that allowed for that second exotic to cash. It was just two or three really competitive teams playing. another real competitive team. These lines were about three points or less, almost in every circumstance. So we had a couple of breaks go our way

to get that one to the window. And I think it really allows for some compelling matchups now that we're even beyond the Sweet 16 and into the final four. And now you've got extra money to buy yourself a turkey leg. Now I got extra money

to buy myself something that I won't need when I'm at Disney World this week. Listen, Duke, we talked about Duke. Simon, they struggled against Siena. in the first round. They trailed TCU in the second half. They had their hands full with St. John's in the Sweet 16.

They blew a 19-point lead to Yukon. We've all seen how it ends. Duke up to only 10 seconds left, inbounding the ball. Matt Mitchell played this clip. And Boozer, they double them. Back to Saar. Now I head to Caden Boozer.

And a steal. Mullins gets it. It's Caravan to Mullins long-ranks three. Oh, it went in. Edwards, Bedlam. Bedlam here. All right, Simon, I want Matt Mitchell to play the second clip from Duke, and then I want your reaction because everything about what happened is so Duke.

I cannot believe the way it went down. Matt Mitchell played a clip. Bobbled it, back for Starr, needs to get rid of it, does for Caden. Seven seconds, tried to throw it ahead, deflected, stolen by Connecticut, seconds it's Mullen's up top for the wind oh he hit it with three tenths of a second to go falichy smith ran off the bench that should be a technical but with three tenths of a second to go connecticut has the lead 73 to 72 Simon as a duke guy this is the clip that made the rounds on the internet and it felt like the most duke thing ever that this guy was out there claiming it should be a

technical he's looking he's literally looking for the technicabre to give Duke the opportunity to get back to the free throw line. As a Duke fan, how do you feel about that? Yeah, as a fellow Duke douche, I right away was like, yep, that's a tech. Where's the rest in this? Yeah, like I said, it's been a ton of karma and pain just coming as a Duke fan. Like this year, I've handled it better in the past. Like there's been just every year.

Like, you know, we've wasted so much talent that's come through Duke. and, you know, that play, you catch the ball, you bend down, you heave it over your head like a grainy shot up into the air. You just eat up three seconds throwing the ball into the air. And he did the exact dumb move, right? He tried to move the ball down the court did not the violation penalty, right? And it's like, it's just, it's brutal because I even saw the clip of them going over that exact moment in that play and what to do in those final seconds the night before the game. So it's why we love sports. And I talk all the time, like, People can get mad about how I get on about championships.

But it's so hard. You can have all the talent in the world if you're not mentally right in the right moments. And the other team is, like that kid shooting that ball huge, right? Because his teammate passed it back to him. And a split second, he's at half court. Half court shooting that three. So it's the best, Chad. It's like, again, why we talk about why we love basketball?

It's those exact scenarios. And as soon as they got the deflection, everyone knew. I feel like we all know that way. They were going to somehow hit it through it. And it's like, oh my God, they're doing it. This is actually happening right now. So, yeah, the Boozer brothers handed out of the class afterwards, did all the interviews. You know, I just can't get over.

They're just kids. And they handle like such a professional. This new generation, chat, is. Yeah, well, they're so savvy. Look at what Caraband did, right? There's five seconds left. He gets the ball in the wing. He's their leader.

He's the guy who's won national titles. He had an opportunity to take a contested shot, recognize the situation, saw his teammate coming up from behind, and knows what kind of shooter he is, and got him the ball in a really good shooting position, even though it was a long shot. It wasn't nearly as contested. And the guy made it. He made the exact perfect play. How much of that is because of the coaching? How much of that is because situational awareness? How much of that is because he had been through four seasons of college basketball?

you know, it's probably a, it's, it's a, it's alchemy, man. It's all of it. And let's talk about what that means for Duke and for Yukon, I mean, as we get to the final four right after we get this word from Hard Rock Bet. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida's sportsbook. The biggest weekend in college basketball is almost here. Semifinals are set, international champion, is just day. days away from cutting down the net.

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We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you

funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source,

the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabakina is arguably the best player in the world. right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving well good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right. First game up Saturday, 6.09 p.m. Eastern. Three-seed Illinois, two-seed, Yukon, Doc. Illinois is a two-seed. two-point favorite. The total is 139 and a half. I'm not really surprised that Illinois was the favorite in this game. The Big Ten's had a better tournament. They've been playing incredibly well. I think that there's more enthusiasm and more respect for the way the Big Ten plays than Yukon plays coming out of its tournament. And I think Illinois has been a phenomenal team and a

phenomenal offensive team all year. Were you surprised at the number? Did you see Illinois as the favorite in this matchup. I think it's probably competitively priced. A point and a half is where I would have made it. So I think we saw that line open about that and got bet up a little bit. You can find some two and a half on Yukon if you like that side. I think the question comes down to if Yukon can force some turnovers against the Illini, who are a top 10 level team in protecting the basketball offensively.

But Yukon, they're going to gamble a little bit defensively. And we've seen those gambles pay off at times. we've seen those gambles lead to easy shots for their opponent. I think it's critical to see Yukon force some turnovers of Illinois. Illinois is not going to force them. Their defensive mosaic is just one where they just don't attempt to provide a lot of on-ball pressure and they don't force a lot of turnovers. So I think we're going to get an honest game in the half court from Yukon.

We're going to see a lot of opportunities for Yukon to run their sets, and we shouldn't have turnovers be a real liability for them. But if they force 10 or 12 turnovers of Illinois, that's going to really put the pressure on the alinae. Can Yukon make some shots? Entering the final four, they were 27 out of 93 from deep. And we saw it in the game against Duke. We saw guys like Solo ball and Caraband and Mullings go a combined two of 17 from three.

And they were still able to find a way to win the game. I know that Yukon wants to play some high, low, they want to get the ball inside. and I think Terrace Reed is a guy that can really have an impact here, as long as he can stay out of foul trouble. Yukon played Illinois earlier this season. They dominated the matchup, but Reed was in foul trouble. I think he only played about 14 minutes. If he is able to stay on the floor, stay out of foul trouble,

and impact the game on both ends of the floor, I think Yukon has a really good chance to win this game. Illinois cannot start slow like they did against Iowa. Yukon is too athletic. there's too much tenacity on the defensive end. I think it could be real trouble for Illinois if they're just trying to play catch-up against Yukon like they had to against Iowa.

I just don't foresee that Yukon is a team that's going to surrender a real big run as long as their big men can stay out of foul trouble. So the pace is going to be slow. Both of these teams are going to be methodical on the offensive end and both are 296th or slower in offensive operating tempo. I think Terrace Reed is going to have a big game. So the way I would play this initially, if you don't love the cider total either way,

Reed's point total is 15 and a half, and I'd go over there. I think he's going to get to the stripe. I think he's going to get, and Yukon will be able to procure some paint touches. If Yukon has any confidence with their shooters and they're nailing a few shots early, that's going to require Illinois to expand their defense, and Reed's going to cook in the post. So I like over 15 and a half points for Terrace Rita. I think Yukon can win this game. I initially said on this program earlier in the tournament that I thought there was a chance that Yukon might have been a hair overseeded.

But these guys, they have played really good situational basketball. I mean, the comeback alone, I think that you can see that really become a springboard for Yukon. I think they have a really good chance to win this game. So I wouldn't be surprised if it comes down to the last two minutes. if, you know, the thing about Yukon, they block a lot of shots, and Illinois really do try to get the ball into the, get it to the rim. I think Yukon has a really good defensive advantage here. It's going to be hard for Illinois, specifically Stoyakovich,

who comes in off the bench, and, you know, his dad, Pesha was such a shooter, but he likes to get to the tin, he likes to drive and create off the bounce. I think he's key for Illinois, and I don't know that his game really suits what Yukon wants to do defensively. So I kind of think it's a tough matchup for Illinois, and Yukon really should have a good showing here. Simon, I think in honor of your co-host, we should bet Yukon is an underdog.

Let's just take them out right. Yeah, I felt like Joe Polbook right away. As soon as I saw this open, I was like, okay, I wonder what the pros are going to do, and they've obviously come in and taking a position on Illinois here. And I'm like you guys where it's, you have Yukon, who has the players who have, been there and done it and the coach who's been there and done it playing a team that hasn't really

ever been in this type of scenario before now they have a whole week to think on that's why i love college of basketball it's like they've gone back to school and they're the heroes for this week right they're not some schools are on some break whatever it is they're enjoying themselves right i know they're working hard they're getting ready for what's ahead but it's like mentally you you drink a little bit of it we're hurried we've seen it the man's a crazy person i'm with you i mean I don't know if we're going to make this brass balls or Simon says, but we got to take Yukon's money. I mean, what show would this be if we don't take Yukon's money?

I'm so happy Duck is on there with us because I thought I mean you're going to be just the Joe public. It's nice to hear some pros are joining us on this Yukon side. It's so funny you say like these kids back at school. And last night, I took our dog out, you know, like 10 or 1030. And I don't know why. It was what, Monday night. And I started thinking about, like, I wondered if everybody who was, maybe I just, someone had just, oh, I had just seen like a clip of the Yukon thing again.

You know, I was scrolling before I took the dog out. And I was thinking myself, oh, I wonder if they went back to campus and, you know, if everyone's going. Oh, it was a scene of everyone on Yukon's campus going crazy. So I was thinking, like, oh, my God, I wonder if the kids are back on campus and what happens and when they're going to go. and thinking about what a difficult transition it would be to go from being in stores and the celebration that's happening and then having to get on a plane and come down from all that and get focused for the game.

That's what the coaches are supposed to do. But you're right, it's totally wild. Simon, we're going to do it. Let's do it right now. Our brass balls, bed of the week, presented by hard rock bat. We're going with the Yukon Huskies. You know what it takes?

It takes brass balls. Not even plus two. We're taking them outright. Second game, say 8.49 p.m. Eastern. Everyone's saying this is the Rio Championship. I don't buy it because I love the pluck of both of those teams, and I'm going to see Yukon in the finals. Michigan is a one-and-a-half-point favorite.

This line duck has not moved. The total 157 and a half, obviously much higher than it is for Yukon and Illinois, two slower-paced teams. What are you thinking about this one, Doc? A true coin flip. I've seen these teams play numerous times, and every time I watch Michigan and Arizona, I feel like either one of these teams can win the national championship.

I never really felt that way watching Duke. I felt like Duke had some flaws, and once their personnel was injured, it just kind of seemed like a team that was on a different level than Michigan and Arizona. Arizona has such a fifth gear. We saw it against Purdue, where the Wildcats scored 19 points in the first six minutes of the first half. And then they went on this unbelievable cold stretch where they couldn't hit shots,

they couldn't hit free throws, they weren't making three-point shots, which they don't take a lot of. It was probably the coldest stretch I've seen in quite some time for Arizona. They go into the half down seven, and you just saw them completely tear Purdue apart in the second half. 48 to 26, they outscored the boilers in the second half. and there was just there was no answer for Purdue Michigan is really going to have to play this well in the post

or it could be trouble. I look at Michigan completely dominated Tennessee and you could tell right away with Tennessee in the elite eight that Tennessee was getting open shots from the outside, which is not what they want to do, but that's what Michigan was giving up and Tennessee was not hitting them. Even when the game was in the balance and Tennessee was banging on the offensive glass and collecting offensive rebrands,

bounds. The shots were not falling, and you can just tell that the run was coming from Michigan. But, you know, you look at Arizona. They shoot fewer threes than anybody in the country. Only 25% of their shots come from beyond the arc. So they're going to get the ball into the painted area. Michigan has an exceptional rim-protecting defense. They block and alter more shots than anybody in the Big Ten. You've got Mara who has 100 blocks. Yaxel and Mores Johnson each have 50 block shots this season. but what's going to happen if those guys get into foul trouble? That's where I would be concerned with Michigan, as if they're big guys get into foul trouble.

And Mara has had a propensity to do that during this tournament. Well, when he has to sit, they slide yaxel down a position, and then they've got a couple of different guys that they rotate in, and they play fast, they hit outside shots, they create a little bit of tempo off of that. I could certainly see that happening here, where Arizona is able to get shots at the rim and procure trips to the file line, and Michigan counters with some pace, three-point shooting.

I don't know that they'll go on this huge run that we've seen them go on in every game of the NCAA tournament, but I definitely think the points are coming here. Michigan is 22nd and adjusted tempo. Arizona is 56th out of 365 teams. But Michigan is the most talented offensive team that Arizona will have faced all season, and I just kind of feel like these two teams are going to go back and fourth years. So if you put Caddo and Burnett and Roddy Gale on the floor at the same time, if Michigan's post guy, Mara has to sit with foul trouble,

it's going to create pace. It's going to create open looks. Their offensive system is so well-oiled. I really think this is going to be an offensive game here. So I actually lean over the total. The total is high at 157 and a half, but I lean over the posted total as these two offenses are both top five in efficiency. I think it's strength on strength here, and I think that the points are coming.

Simon, what are you hearing? Are you, have you seen anything, heard anything? Anyone telling you anything on this one? Yeah, just like I heard a couple pros around in Illinois. I heard some pros like Michigan, and it's just another battle tested team that's very long. And you saw how when they're rolling, they can dominate teams, right? Not just offensive, but defensively. I mean, they're just really talented.

So I don't know. It's personally, honestly, won Arizona. I feel like, you know, even going back to the early 2010s and early 2000s, thousands. Arizona was just always that team, right? I mean, even going back to, I mean, when's the last best run they had, Jane Cardin, so it feels Arizona State. Oh, right. They were great, like, look, they were great for decades under Lude Olson, and then they won that title. I think it was like 99, 2000, something like that. But it's been a minute since Arizona had them. All right, duck. We've been running hot with the exotics.

anything new, anything for Monday's championship game. If you're handicapping it all the way through, let's finish it off for the fans. I think we will see Yukon advance, and I think we will, it is really a coin flip. You're splitting hairs. I think Michigan does a better job of forcing its opponent to be something that the opponent does not want to be. So I think Michigan will force Arizona to have to shoot some threes. And they have some shooters that can bury the outside shot, but it's just not in their DNA makeup for what they want.

For that reason, I think Michigan moves on. I think Michigan and Yukon play for the national title. Another one that I think will be a really, really good game. It's all line dependent. If this comes out at six and a half, seven and a half, I'd be on Yukon. If it's two and a half, I'd probably take Michigan. And I would guess gun to my head, Michigan would end up winning the whole thing. Wow.

Very, very close game. Michigan. Well, I'm married to a Michigan alum. That could get really annoying in my house. But, Doc, you've crushed it all tournament long. I want you to enjoy Disney World. I want you to spend all the money you've won on really important things that will make the world a better place because they were bought. at Disney World. Thank you.

Josh Nunn, Doc, co-hosts of the Big Betts on campus podcast. This has been Sharper Square, part of the volume, podcast network, watch or listen on YouTube at Sharper Square. Like the video, subscribe to the channel, download some Spotify, Apple Pods, whatever you get your pods. Rate, review, subscribe, leave us five stars, say whatever you want.

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