Previewing Michigan State hockey's Big Ten Championship game versus Michigan

This week on the Sports Round Table, Madi Warden and Emily Martin join the show to break down Michigan State's upcoming Big Ten Tournament title game. Also, PJ Pfeiffer and Luke Joseph help preview both the men's and women's basketball games to begin March Madness.

What is Sports Round Table from The State News?

The State News sports reporters discuss all MSU sports.

Brad: 00:12

Welcome back to the sports round table at the state news. My name is Brad LaPlante with Maddie Warden and Emily Martin of also the state news.

Brad: 00:23

Woo hoo. Ready?

Brad: 00:26

Woo hoo. How are you guys doing? Go green?

Madi: 00:29

Go white. Fired up.

Brad: 00:30

Fired up. So you both are our resident hockey experts at the state news.

Madi: 00:36

Duh.

Brad: 00:37

Of course. Right?

Madi: 00:38

Who

Brad: 00:39

would have? Michigan State has been on fire. Adam Nightingale with coach of the year. Yep. Player awards had, Artem Levshanov, defensive player, freshman of the year.

Brad: 00:51

Correct? And, there were a bunch of honorable mentions, for players like, you know, Isaac Howard, Dorward, and, Augustine. Right?

Madi: 01:02

Augustine got Augustine was on a second team.

Brad: 01:04

There you go.

Madi: 01:06

Nico Mueller was, sportsmanship. Sportsmanship award.

Brad: 01:11

Sportsmanship award. That's a high one.

Emily: 01:13

He's such a good sportsman. Carson, Isaac, and

Madi: 01:18

he's just so sportsman.

Brad: 01:20

Is this Who is it? So sportsman here.

Emily: 01:22

He's so sportsman like. You know? Just Nico Meuller.

Madi: 01:26

Right. Joey Larson was the 3rd for honorable mentions. And then, I think Artie was first team all freshmen, and then Trey Augustine was second team, all freshmen.

Brad: 01:41

We love that. So, so so we we do love that. Michigan State is coming in to face off against

Madi: 01:50

School down the road.

Emily: 01:51

Iconic School down the road.

Brad: 01:53

School down the road for a, just interesting matchup that I did not see coming.

Emily: 01:59

Oh, absolutely not. I don't know how many people actually did see it coming.

Madi: 02:02

I don't think anybody did.

Brad: 02:04

I as as we've just discussed, I literally had Minnesota written in the document up until I've I've I was gonna I was gonna change it if it changed. But I was, like, so confident that that MSU would be facing Minnesota. Wrong. And that was that was obviously wrong. I also thought that Wisconsin would have you know, I thought that Michigan State would have faced Michigan this previous weekend

Madi: 02:30

Oh, yeah.

Brad: 02:30

I thought

Emily: 02:31

so too.

Brad: 02:31

We thought that Wisconsin would have taken care of business and beat Ohio State. I mean, that's the whole point of having a 3 game series is so Who's it more? Right. Exactly. And usually the better team or the the team that played better in the regular season, I should say.

Emily: 02:46

Yeah.

Brad: 02:47

Usually, they are the ones that come out on top. But in this case, that did not happen. And you saw Ohio State who was, you know, on a really good run. So

Emily: 02:54

Yeah. I think all bets were off the table, obviously, for this Big 10 tournament. It was crazy. Yeah.

Madi: 02:58

I think so too. But, I mean, for a little fun fact for you, this is the 3rd year in a row that Michigan has gone to Mariucci Arena in Eaton, Minnesota. Because they're back to back big 10 champs and then they just beat them for the semifinals weekend. So, I mean, imagine how Minnesota feels. Like, they've had teams that are on top of the world, and they get beat by Michigan 3 years in a row with no chance to win a Big 10 championship.

Brad: 03:25

That's that's that's crazy. I mean, that's that's the real rivalry right there.

Emily: 03:29

Yeah. So

Madi: 03:29

Yep. It really

Madi: 03:32

battle of who can draft more 1st round picks and get them on your team.

Brad: 03:38

Right. Yeah. I mean, that's the that's the beauty of just saying college hockey though. Right? Is that there's so many, you know, I mean, you had Michigan with Fantilly and then he just went to the, you know, the Yeah.

Madi: 03:48

He's gone.

Brad: 03:49

So Well, that's the thing, you know, with Michigan and Minnesota, they've had so many powerhouse pro or, you know, or players and teams that, you know, they just end up with NHL talent right off the, you know, the and they they get, trekked off to the NHL. Then they got kinda got a a new reset, you know, every almost every year, but they kinda keep having a huge run of NHL talent. But then you saw this season was particularly unique because you had Wisconsin and and, Michigan State who

Madi: 04:20

Michigan State has 6 guys drafted on the team, and one of them doesn't even play. One of them's been scratched a lot.

Emily: 04:26

Victor Hurdig. Victor Hurdig. And everybody's been talking about Trey Augustine going to the runaways.

Madi: 04:33

Like, leaving after this year? I wouldn't be shocked. Yeah. With our goal tending that we have, pull up Kosa and

Brad: 04:40

I mean, if he's if he's ready, like, it's like, I don't know. I I mean, I guess I don't know what what in what would be in Augustine's best interest. Like, would you rather him develop with Nightingale, or would you rather him go to the ECHL?

Madi: 04:55

I mean, I don't think he'd go to the ECHL, though. I think

Brad: 04:57

he'd go

Madi: 04:57

to Grand Rapids.

Brad: 04:58

You'd think he'd go straight to Grand Rapids.

Madi: 04:59

I think

Emily: 04:59

he'd go to

Madi: 05:00

Grand Rapids a 100%. If he stays another year to develop with, I mean, with Luca and with John Moore and with Mhmm. Coach DeMichael, he's set for Grand Rapids after that, for sure.

Emily: 05:10

Everybody thinks is predicting at least 1 more year

Madi: 05:13

with I can see it.

Emily: 05:14

Trey staying.

PJ: 05:15

Okay.

Madi: 05:15

And then he out.

Brad: 05:17

Then he's gone.

Madi: 05:17

Which is good for him.

Brad: 05:18

Which would, you know, and would make sense. And that would, with the pass quo, that would be, you know, that would be good for him because then he would get, and he's a still still a solid goalie.

Madi: 05:29

Oh, yeah. He's great.

Brad: 05:30

You know, absolutely.

Madi: 05:31

So Especially if we build our, like, our young defensive core that we have right now. Wild. I mean, I feel like even if we didn't have Trey and we had Luca, we'd be really good either way.

Brad: 05:43

Yeah. 100%. 100%. And I think, and and and Luca has the the huge, you know, he was on what that that BCHL team that lost 3 games the whole year, which is crazy.

Luke: 05:56

I didn't

PJ: 05:56

know that.

Brad: 05:57

Think about that. Yeah. Like, he was I was following him the entire, like, college commit year that he was in his last season with, with BCH with the Pentaton v's. And he and his team lost 3 games, and they played 53 games or something like

Madi: 06:12

that. Wow.

Brad: 06:13

Like, it's it was wild.

Madi: 06:14

They went 36, 3, and 1, and he played 40 games.

Emily: 06:19

Right. So

Madi: 06:19

he played every game.

Emily: 06:20

Yeah.

Brad: 06:20

Yeah. And so it was it is crazy. And it it's not and to be fair, the BCHL is not the USHL. But, you know, it was it's still, you know, it's

Madi: 06:29

But still, I mean, he's playing in a league that has a lot of tough players that are either gonna get drafted

Emily: 06:34

As a

Brad: 06:34

goalie too.

Madi: 06:35

Oh, yeah. For sure. To have that kind of record?

Brad: 06:38

Yeah. That's crazy. So, for you guys, can we, just, I guess, give me a brief recap of, the Ohio State series and, how, like, that looked? Were you guys nervous that Michigan State wasn't gonna pull through or, you know, how'd they go? I know that Michigan State, they scored, then Ohio State came back, then Michigan State scored again.

Brad: 07:00

How'd that look?

Emily: 07:00

I'll I'm gonna just put this out there. I've never seen a game with that many reviews in in a 2, 3. Yeah.

Madi: 07:08

And they had 2 goals that Were revoked. Were revoked, and then they tried to challenge Nash's goal, I believe, and it stayed on the board. Yep. But even Nightingale said postgame, like, that's the most reviews he's ever seen in a game before. Loudest I've ever heard, Munn.

Madi: 07:23

I honestly going into it, I was worried. I really was just because Ohio State has been so hot, and they beat Wisconsin who was at the top of the big 10 ahead of us for a second too. And then just seeing the way that Ohio State has played defensively, it goes to show, like, even our team last year. Like, we've I know that I've talked with people about it. Like, we arguably to people, we could have had the worst roster last year, and we made it as far as we did because of the conditioning that our coaches put us through.

Madi: 07:55

And I honestly can vouch and say that that's probably They pull when they need to. Yeah. A

Emily: 08:06

100%. They pull when they need to.

Madi: 08:08

Yeah. A 100%.

Emily: 08:10

I was confident up until, like, the last little bit because we were only up by 1, and, Ohio State pulled their goalie in

Madi: 08:19

the final minute. And they rushed us right when when

Emily: 08:22

they when they did that. Mhmm. And so at that point, in the in the final minute, could have been anybody's game if they scored on us. Yeah.

Madi: 08:28

And I was scared that we were gonna go in overtime.

Emily: 08:30

I thought so too.

Madi: 08:31

I was terrified. But I

Brad: 08:33

think And overtimes overtime I mean, it's it is a playoff game, so it is 5 v 5.

Emily: 08:37

Right.

Brad: 08:37

So I guess it's a little bit more fair. Yes. You know, it's not like it's 3 v 3 where it literally could go anyway, and the first team that wins possession is just going to be the winner.

Emily: 08:47

Yeah. I think it just goes to show our our defense was very very strong even till the end. Like, no, we don't get tired. And I think that's one of the biggest strengths, especially with our conditioning is, it seems like a lot of, Big 10 teams get tired quickly, and they show it.

Brad: 09:01

That's how Michigan State was under Dan Cole.

Madi: 09:03

Correct.

Emily: 09:04

Yeah.

Brad: 09:04

Like, they I mean, they would play, like, 2 periods, and then all of a sudden, it'd be like, they give up 7 goals

Madi: 09:09

Correct.

Brad: 09:09

In the 3rd.

Emily: 09:10

And I know a little bit has to do with, what Adam Nightingale has been teaching them. I've noticed in a lot of the press conferences, like frustrations, a waste of emotion. And I I was literally talking about that with my therapist. I was like

Brad: 09:25

No way.

Madi: 09:25

I was like, he's out of something.

Emily: 09:27

Like, this

Madi: 09:28

is smart. That's good.

Emily: 09:30

That's good.

Madi: 09:30

That's good.

Brad: 09:31

That is good. That's funny. I love that.

Emily: 09:33

Yeah. It's really interesting to think about the way that his his words just kinda play out in the game, and nobody even realizes it.

Brad: 09:40

Mhmm.

Madi: 09:41

And I've talked

Emily: 09:41

to a lot of fans, and they're like, this team has had an insane amount of chemistry this season compared to any other season.

Madi: 09:49

Yeah. And I mean, imagine what they can do next year. Like Yeah. Yeah.

Brad: 09:53

Yeah. That's crazy. I I do think, you know, it it is a bummer that MSU isn't gonna get a one seed at, the NCAA tournament. At least it's not looking likely, you know? I think even if they win, it's still kind of a you're you're gonna kinda have to hope for a lot of things to happen.

Madi: 10:11

Right.

Brad: 10:11

Because, like, it's all based on, you know, computer projections and whether or not MSU's win versus Michigan is, you know, good enough to to overcome. I think Denver might be in that last spot.

Luke: 10:22

I

Madi: 10:22

haven't I haven't checked. BCBU, NODAC, and Denver.

Brad: 10:26

Right. So, like, you know, you're gonna you're gonna have to hope that, you know, I I haven't checked. It's so, to be fair, you know, they're they're the status of those conference championships. But Michigan State at least, like, even if they lose, won't lose a 2 seed. So, which, you know, is, is gonna be, you know, it's gonna be fun.

Brad: 10:47

But I think this upcoming game against Michigan, first of all, is gonna be crazy. Like, ticket, I I can't imagine what the prices are.

Madi: 10:55

I just, like, upwards of $1,000.

Emily: 10:57

Yep. I looked yesterday, and it was, like, 1500.

Brad: 11:00

That is insane. Who is paying

PJ: 11:02

for that?

Madi: 11:03

Who is paying for this?

Brad: 11:04

I mean but, like, what is it what is it for students, though?

Madi: 11:08

I mean, you had the it was first come first serve. Like, Munsters got dibs on tickets first.

Brad: 11:12

Okay. Well, so what are they paying?

Madi: 11:14

Like, $10. What?

Brad: 11:17

That's crazy.

Emily: 11:18

So then after that, it's across the board. It's anybody's game.

Brad: 11:21

That's crazy.

Emily: 11:22

But also yeah. And season ticket holders also, theirs is valid throughout the tournament too, which I thought was pretty neat that they don't have to fight for that.

Brad: 11:32

No. That's that's I mean, at least at least there's that. I think that, like, I don't know. I I feel like like if you guys could predict that this game goes goes because in my the way I see it, I think it could go either way. Like, I mean, I've seen MSU lose, like, 7 to 1, wasn't it?

Madi: 11:53

Yeah. That was tough.

Brad: 11:53

And then then they they they they had a a a, Michigan had a lead in the game at Yost right after

Madi: 12:01

4 to 1 and we scored 4 unanswered goals halfway through the 2nd period and then won 7 to 5.

Brad: 12:06

And that's and to me, that's a miracle.

Emily: 12:08

Yeah.

Brad: 12:08

You know what I mean? Like, you you like, Michigan State easily could have gotten. So arguably, should have gotten swept in that game.

Madi: 12:16

Yeah.

Brad: 12:16

And so right. You know, you're up you're up that much. Like, you shouldn't lose. But so I guess what do you what do you guys think is gonna happen is is is your expert opinion. What do you think?

Brad: 12:29

What do you think?

Emily: 12:30

I think they can do it.

Madi: 12:31

I think they can do

Brad: 12:32

it. I think that

Madi: 12:34

They can or they will?

Emily: 12:35

I think they will.

Madi: 12:37

It's all about perspective. And I think I I fully,

Emily: 12:40

with my entire chest, can say that especially now, not saying money is everything. But with the prices that these tickets are going for,

Madi: 12:49

it's There's not gonna be a Michigan fan

Luke: 12:50

in the house.

Brad: 12:51

No.

Madi: 12:52

And I know that they really feed off of Michigan State fans.

Emily: 12:55

And I think with the whole entirety of East Lansing being all eyes on Michigan State Hockey, I think it's gonna

Brad: 13:03

be fun.

Madi: 13:04

I think that after the first game against Michigan too, they definitely learned how to control their emotions a little bit better because, obviously, you see them go on the road to Yost twice and then also take that to, Little Caesars Arena. Which was wild. Yeah. I mean and you see, like, just the way that they played was a whole different team compared to what they brought against Michigan on night 1.

Emily: 13:26

I think it's gonna be tight up until the end. Like, I was surprised with how low scoring it was against Ohio State, in my opinion. I thought that was, like, it was an intense game. Absolutely. But I didn't expect it to be so so low scoring.

Emily: 13:40

Mhmm. But I think it's definitely I think it's gonna be higher scoring. Yeah. It is playoff hockey. It seems to be higher scoring, but I think it's gonna be very tight.

Emily: 13:49

I think so too.

Brad: 13:50

Interesting. And, yeah. That's that's crazy. I can't wait. Yeah, wow.

Brad: 13:57

And and I can't and it's a game, it's crazy because it's a game that I am jealous for. Like I'll be watching it on BTN, but I am jealous of people who are going to go to that game and get to see it.

Emily: 14:10

I'm very excited.

Brad: 14:11

Something that I I wish that I, like, had some sort of reason to go to.

Madi: 14:16

Yeah. Absolutely.

Brad: 14:17

You know? So anyway, with that said, we're gonna move on, real quick to, our that has been our hockey hockey portion. We're gonna move on to our trivia portion of the episode.

Emily: 14:30

Oh, no way.

Brad: 14:32

You guys won't get to see the end, but you guys do get to guess. So here's so here's the deal. Okay? So the trivia question is about men how good do you guys get out? How do you guys feel about basketball?

Emily: 14:46

Oh, boy. Yeah.

Brad: 14:47

Okay. It's a great basketball question. In the spirit of March Madness k? So in 2021, UCLA was the 2nd school to make it to the final 4 after initially starting the tournament in the first four. UCLA defeated Michigan State in its first game, as we know, and then went on to lose as an 11 seed to Gonzaga in the semifinal in the Frozen 4, Who was the 1st team to who was the 1st team to to go from the from the first four to the final four?

Madi: 15:26

The like, the first four out to the final four?

Brad: 15:28

Yeah. The first four to the final four.

Emily: 15:31

Because UCLA was the second school.

Brad: 15:33

The sec yeah. UCLA was the second school.

Madi: 15:38

Can I get a hint?

Emily: 15:40

Can I call somebody?

Madi: 15:42

Can I phone a friend?

Brad: 15:44

Can I phone a friend? What would your hint be? I don't know that the hints I can think of

Emily: 15:48

What confidence

Madi: 15:49

is this

Brad: 15:50

color? Let's see.

Madi: 15:55

You're so funny. They

Brad: 16:00

are in the, this isn't gonna help you. They are in the Atlantic 10 conference. Oregon. Definitely not.

Madi: 16:12

Okay. Yeah. But Boston College.

Emily: 16:16

I almost guessed that.

Madi: 16:18

No. The Boston College. Oh, no. No. Never mind.

Madi: 16:20

I'm stupid. Never mind. I'm thinking of 100 job launches.

Emily: 16:25

Oh. Okay.

Madi: 16:29

Was it UVM? Vermont? You said Was it

Brad: 16:34

UMass? See the mom? Okay. Okay.

Emily: 16:36

I'm gonna say UMass.

Brad: 16:38

UMass. No. No. That is final answer.

Madi: 16:40

No. Was it Albany? Mm-mm. Was it Maine? Mm-mm.

Madi: 16:43

Was that New Hampshire?

Brad: 16:44

Oh my gosh.

Brad: 16:46

cut to commercial. We're cut to commercial. We will be right back with men's basketball coverage. Welcome back to the sports round table podcast with, from the state news. From the state news.

Brad: 17:00

Now we got on Luke Joseph and PJ Pfeiffer from the sports desk. PJ, obviously, the sports editor for the semester. And Luke, the resident, basketball expert. Thank you. Love to have him on, of course.

Brad: 17:19

Welcome back to the show, guys. How you guys feeling?

Luke: 17:21

Feeling good.

Brad: 17:22

Feeling good?

PJ: 17:23

Feeling good. Feeling nervous for tomorrow, but sure.

Brad: 17:25

Feeling nervous for tomorrow. I got you. I got you. So, first things first, we got, just a reminder that the trivia question will be at the end. No cheating.

Brad: 17:37

Do not look at the trivia question before or the answer to it, before, you know, we reveal. And then you guys, you know, might just earn a point or 2 or something, or I'll keep track of these. And then at the end of the year, he'll just be the winner or something. Alright. I don't know.

Brad: 17:51

Whoever gets the most trivia points wins. A new car, maybe. Oh, Oh, nice. I need

Luke: 17:56

a car.

Brad: 17:56

Please. I need a car. Perfect. There you go. So, so the men, how how by the way, I just wanna, preface this because so we know the bracket now, right?

Brad: 18:09

Michigan State and Michigan both 9 seeds. You know, somehow. I thought the women would actually be higher. I don't know much though about the women's field. I just thought that they were doing pretty good and their bar was so low that I just kinda like Yeah.

Brad: 18:24

Just thought they'd be higher.

Luke: 18:25

Yeah. I mean, I think it's I think it's just great the fact that, you know, because the bar was super low, the fact that they made it to a 9 seed is just an achievement all in itself. But I think I mean, I love the I like the matchup against UNC. I don't know if I would pick them because I think UNC is just a little bit better, but I do think it's gonna be I do think it would be a back and forth matchup.

Brad: 18:54

Gotcha. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. And so how are you guys feeling regarding the men's tournament?

Brad: 19:00

Because I wanted to start here. How were you guys feeling when they went into that final commercial break and Michigan State was still not selected on the board? Like I because I went here's the thing, I went into this tournament with no sweat, like at all, you know? Because so here's my argument, okay? Michigan State was at the at the time that the net or I'm sorry, at the time that the tournament was being selected, they were at like 24 or something in the net rankings, right?

Brad: 19:30

And the lowest team to get left out of the net rankings was at like 33. Now it's now it's different. And and we'll get to that in a moment how Indiana State absolutely should be in the tournament right now. But they're not. But Michigan State was 24 and I'm like there's no way because if they don't leave if they leave Michigan State out at a 24 on the net, like, there's no reason to use the net Mhmm.

Brad: 19:56

At all. Like, it just makes it irrelevant. So there's no way. I thought that maybe they'd be like a 10 seed, like, kind of like kinda like hanging on almost. But they ended up being a 9 seed, which, you know, is is interesting.

Brad: 20:10

But I guess if some people would argue that this is what this team deserves to have to face a one seed if they if they actually end up, you know, beating Mississippi State, MSU versus MSU. But how were you guys feeling? Were you guys nervous at all about Michigan State not

Luke: 20:25

making it

Brad: 20:25

a tournament? So my

Luke: 20:27

I thought they got a higher seat than I thought they would. I thought they were gonna be one of those, playing teams. Like, we would be playing tonight or yesterday, and we gotta talk sooner or later about that Virginia game. But the, I believe it was around the day I'm sorry. Saturday, the odds changed from us being a guaranteed, team in the tournament to being one of the playing teams.

Luke: 21:03

And I believe, Izzo in his, press conference right after selection Sunday, he kinda talked about talked about that. And as selection Sunday was going on, when I saw one of those, like, all the rest of the playing games, I thought we were gonna miss it. I didn't think we were gonna make it at all because I think we have definitely had a very disappointing season. I mean, we have 19 wins, and I think there's only one other team that has 19 wins that's in the tournament right now. And I believe that's Saint Peters who's a 15 seed.

Luke: 21:43

Yeah. Wow. I mean

Brad: 21:44

But at the same time, wouldn't you say that, like, Michigan State has like, even if they don't have the win total, they still have other things on their resume. Didn't they beat Baylor?

Luke: 21:54

We beat Baylor. Yeah.

Brad: 21:55

Right. So that's I mean, that's gonna count for something.

Luke: 21:57

It's gotta account for something, but at the same time, we have pretty bad losses. Obviously, we lost

Brad: 22:06

The Wisconsin loss, I think, was the big one.

Luke: 22:09

Wisconsin loss was definitely a big one. I mean, our first game we lost against James Madison. Yeah. I mean, James

Brad: 22:16

Madison is a good team.

Luke: 22:17

They're a good team but, you know, home opener we had such good expectations in the beginning, you know,

Brad: 22:25

at home. It's been It being at home has been.

PJ: 22:27

It's so

Luke: 22:28

disappointing. I'm trying to find their their quad one record, but,

Brad: 22:33

Well, I I was just gonna mention real quick that I actually think that because so I I was thinking about it and how much I kind of hate bracketology. Like, I've grown to hate it. And And I don't mean for this to be like a hot take or something. Okay. But like with bracketology, I mean, you saw like 2 months ago, people were painting Michigan State because their season was kinda not going so well.

Brad: 22:57

Mhmm. People were painting Michigan State as like a bubble team. Yeah. And but their net ranking was still pretty relatively high. Mhmm.

Brad: 23:06

And so my problem with that is that like MSU, I don't I don't think was ever a bubble team until that Wisconsin loss. I don't think that their their postseason was ever in jeopardy until they lost to Wisconsin. Because that was, like, I mean, in my opinion, that was, like, the loss. That was,

PJ: 23:27

like, the switch.

Brad: 23:28

That was right. That was when their season was, like, oh, shit. This team is actually kinda bad.

Luke: 23:34

Looking at the the quad one record, they're 3 and 9, and then in quad 2, they're 6 and 5. You know, I think and then they have that home loss against Iowa and the home loss against Ohio State. I think that

Brad: 23:49

Or maybe it was the Ohio State one that I'm

Luke: 23:51

talking about.

Brad: 23:52

Isn't Wisconsin kind of a good team?

Luke: 23:54

Wisconsin is, I believe, a 5 seed.

Brad: 23:56

Yeah, but didn't Ohio State not make the tournament?

Luke: 24:00

They did not.

Brad: 24:00

They're both they're both red. They that lost to Ohio State. Correction. That's the one that I think really was like

Luke: 24:08

On the buzzer beat.

Brad: 24:09

On the buzzer beat. Oh, yeah. That was the buzzer

Luke: 24:12

beat.

Brad: 24:13

Yeah. That was the game where I was like, oh, they they might not they might not

Luke: 24:18

make it. That was the game where you kinda needed to win, like, I mean, they just fired their head coach at home. You know, I think they had they were on a little bit of a streak before that game.

Brad: 24:30

That was also the Xavier Booker, controversy, right?

Luke: 24:35

I think that was his first start?

Brad: 24:37

That was like his first start and and and he started him and played him 17 minutes and

Luke: 24:41

didn't play him again. At all in the second half.

PJ: 24:45

Yeah.

Brad: 24:45

I think Even though they're they were going through some offensive struggle and you were like, why don't you just put them in? Why don't

Luke: 24:50

you just put them in?

Brad: 24:51

Like it was an objectively odd call.

Luke: 24:53

Yeah. I think,

Brad: 24:55

yeah. And we discussed that at length.

Luke: 24:58

That that's that's what I I think it's just the fact that they're 3 and 9 in quad one wins. I mean, they lost to Duke, Arizona, Nebraska, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, and then both times Purdue, and then their only wins in the quad one are Baylor, Indiana State, and Illinois. So I just think that all that, it just it adds up and those selection committee regardless of net, they do take that. I think they do take that into consideration.

Brad: 25:32

The Indiana State thing is crazy. Like, the fact that Indiana State wins their regular season.

Luke: 25:38

Mhmm.

Brad: 25:39

And then and they I think they've only lost 3 games, but then they didn't win the tournament, the conference tournament, and they lose. They're just out. Goodbye. Yeah.

Luke: 25:47

It's crazy.

Brad: 25:48

That's a pretty good season. Right? So we lost 3 games.

Luke: 25:51

I don't think anybody expected Indiana State to be as good as they were this year. Not not to my knowledge.

Brad: 25:56

And and and like we were saying, so before the I think it was in 2019, a team ranked 33 in the net got left out of the tournament. And this season, that number is now increased or well technically decreased. The threshold. Because, now it's 29. Indiana State was 29 in the net and they get left out of the tournament which does suck because it's kinda like when a team transitions to Division 1 and then they can't just play in the post season for like 4 seasons.

Brad: 26:27

Yeah. You know, it's like even though you had a good season, it's still like we don't care. Obviously, this is much different form of robbery. You know, because you still feel like, you know, Indiana State can, you know, should is more deserving over a lot of high majors who like, you know, I mean, I don't know. I'm just thinking like Virginia, for example.

Brad: 26:48

Right? Like we're just talking about this.

Luke: 26:50

Right? I mean, I would have had in I would have had Indiana State over Virginia. I would have had Saint John's over Virginia, you

Brad: 26:57

know, with

Luke: 26:58

Rick Pitino. I would have had, Providence over Virginia. I mean, Virginia was ranked almost 200th in the country in offensive ranking. Mhmm. They are awful.

Luke: 27:13

Like, they're bad at on offense.

Brad: 27:18

I mean, they have they have a

Luke: 27:19

guy in Ryan Dunn who is gonna be a 1st round pick in the NBA, you know, that's awesome for him, but it's not definitely not because of his offense. It's because of his his defense and his, you know, his defensive versatility.

PJ: 27:32

Mhmm.

Luke: 27:34

And, I mean, they went almost 15 minutes from the 10 minute mark all the way to the 16 minute mark without a single point. From 10 minutes left in the first half, they had 14 points going into halftime. They didn't score again until 16 minutes in

Brad: 27:57

That's horrible. That sounds horrible.

Luke: 27:59

It's awful. It was it was awful. It I wish I could get my time back from watching. Like, it was that bad.

PJ: 28:08

I have a I have a funny story from Selection Sunday real quick. Mhmm. So I, it was like what? I fell asleep on my couch accidentally at, like, 4 PM or something. Maybe, like, 4:30.

PJ: 28:21

We'll give me yeah. We'll we'll say 4:30. Accidentally fell asleep and then, woke up at, like, 6:30, 6:45, or whatever.

Brad: 28:30

Mhmm.

PJ: 28:31

And I woke up. And for some reason, whenever I wake up from a nap, like, my heart is just racing. So I'm my heart's already racing, and then I'm like, oh my god. I forgot, like, selection Sunday. Like, I slept through it or whatever.

PJ: 28:43

So then I'm, like, trying to track Twitter and everything while I'm turning on the TV, and I'm not seeing anything about Michigan State. And I'm, like, I'm, like I texted, Thomas and Bella, and I'm, like, if MSU, like, did MSU make it? If not, I send them a whole paragraph. Like, if they didn't make it, you have to interview students, you have to try to go to press or everything like this. Like, this will be a huge story, everything like that.

PJ: 29:04

Right? Still, finding nothing on Twitter or anything in Google, everything like that. And then I, like, turn on CBS whatever, and it just, like, wasn't our region yet. And I was like, thank God. And then I saw where 9th scene, and I was like, I mean, it's, like, deserving.

Brad: 29:21

Like, I

PJ: 29:21

know we it was just a, yeah, it was just a not great season for us, and it makes sense why we're playing the why we're 9th seed. And then I was just thinking, I was like, well, if we just say we win, you know, just say we beat Mississippi State, then we're playing UNC.

Brad: 29:37

So that's so that's the thing. I filled out my bracket this year, and I I I based a lot of my decisions on statistics. Mhmm. So just to give you a couple examples, for example, I think, like, 10 seeds are really, really, really smart to bet on a lot of the time. Like, if you kind of feel it, like, 10 seeds

Luke: 29:56

I think they're the betting favorite. They've been the betting favorite the past couple years.

Brad: 30:01

Right. Ex exactly. Like, so there's so there's a couple 10 seeds that, and I'm not gonna like, I've I've obviously not gonna like break down my entire bracket

Luke: 30:11

right now.

Brad: 30:13

But, I think I have no. I don't have any 10 seeds winning, actually. Oh. This we no. The only one I have is Colorado State, which is ironic because they just played Virginia.

Brad: 30:26

And, like, I was wondering one of those teams would beat Texas, you know? But here's the thing. So with that said, I'm pretty sure that at least 1 10 seed or not not 10 seeds, sorry. 1st 4 team. 1st 4 team has gone on to the 2nd weekend, like the last 3 seasons in a row or something like that.

Brad: 30:47

Like it's ridiculous. So I based my bracket on that. Like those statistics and and those continuing trends. Same thing with like 8 or 9 seeds. They're not very don't bet on

PJ: 30:58

them. Right.

Brad: 30:58

Like, if they if if a 9 seed wins, they're, even if a 9 seed wins their 1st game, 9% of the time they win their 2nd game. You know, like, because they gotta play number 1. Mhmm. You know, so why would you Yeah. Why would you bother with that?

Brad: 31:13

And then also, 15 seeds are crazy. Because I I can't remember the exact statistic, but 15 seeds have like, if for some like 115 seed has won for the last like 3 or 4 years or something stupid. Mhmm. Like, so I have Saint Peter's beating Tennessee. So, you know what I mean?

Brad: 31:37

Just like I've I've only but but I use these these stats and these trends to do my bracket. Yeah. And so that's what I have here is I have Michigan State beating Mississippi State, then I have them losing in North Carolina in the second round. Who? There's like a lot

PJ: 31:53

of people, I feel like. A lot of Michigan State fans, I feel like, have that.

Brad: 31:57

Who? Who?

Luke: 31:58

Who's in your final 4?

Brad: 31:59

So, yeah. You guys, if we want, we can go down the Yeah. Go down the line. Yeah. And I also wanna know while you're before you'd say your final 4, I wanna know what you have also or if you agree if Michigan State even has a chance against North Carolina because that's something I wanna talk about too.

Brad: 32:17

But, or even like for Mississippi State, like what's the odds? I mean, we don't have to get into that too much because that will be, like, this this goes up on a Friday. Mhmm. You know, and they'll have already played.

Luke: 32:30

Yeah.

Brad: 32:31

But my final four is number 1, Yukon.

PJ: 32:34

K.

Brad: 32:34

Classic. Number 2, Marquette. K? Number 3, Creighton. And number 4, Alabama.

Brad: 32:43

I didn't mean to do that. I just that's how that's how it worked out.

Luke: 32:48

Okay. Wow.

Brad: 32:49

That's how it worked out. Yeah. I got Creighton beating Kansas.

Luke: 32:54

I wait.

PJ: 32:56

I almost wanna see

Brad: 32:57

it. I don't wanna see it. 3 versus 4.

PJ: 32:59

I wanna see that happen.

Brad: 33:00

And then Alabama, I have against Arizona doing that. Okay. And Alabama beating Arizona? Alabama beating Arizona. Okay.

Brad: 33:10

And then Yukon obviously will. Okay. But, you know, what's funny is I have James Madison in the elite 8.

PJ: 33:17

I have James Madison in my final 4. Do you

Brad: 33:20

no way.

PJ: 33:21

Yeah. Seriously.

Brad: 33:22

No way. Okay. Yeah. I have James Madison losing to Marquette in the, in the elite 8.

Luke: 33:29

Okay.

Brad: 33:30

And then I have Yukon beating Creighton in the final.

Luke: 33:33

So Okay. I mean, for for mine, I have Yukon, beating Illinois, out of the east.

Brad: 33:42

Okay.

Luke: 33:43

I have North Carolina beating Arizona out of the west to go to the final 4. Mhmm. I have Houston, beating Colorado

Brad: 33:54

Okay.

Luke: 33:55

In the South. I think Colorado is really good. You know, I think they're gonna be that 10 that play in team to make it to the 2nd round.

Brad: 34:05

That's actually yeah. That's interesting. Because I I I was like it was between them for me. It was between them. It was between Florida and Texas.

Brad: 34:14

I wasn't looking at this as, like, which team I think will win. I think it's a which team will lose, like, that's how I was trying to go on. Interesting. You know? So I was like, which which team is more likely to lose to the play in team?

Luke: 34:26

Yeah. Okay.

Brad: 34:26

You know?

Luke: 34:27

And then Anyway. For the Midwest, I have, where where is it? Sorry. It's I have Purdue losing to Tennessee.

Brad: 34:38

There you go.

Luke: 34:38

So Okay. It's Yukon, North Carolina, Houston, and Tennessee. It's pretty I mean, it's 3 number ones and a 2, but I don't I see a lot of if there were to be upsets, they'd probably be in the 1st weekend. I don't see any kinda in the second weekend or any Cinderella type Right. Other than Colorado.

Brad: 35:02

Yeah. I I Saint Peter's obviously always, always a good good look on them. Yeah. Did you fill have you filled out your bracket yet, PJ?

PJ: 35:11

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Brad: 35:12

Okay. So who you

Luke: 35:13

who you have in your

PJ: 35:14

So in my east section, I have Yukon sorry. In my east section, I have Yukon beating Illinois. Okay? And then, okay. So I okay.

PJ: 35:27

Just stick with me here.

Luke: 35:28

Okay.

Brad: 35:29

I feel like I'm about to judge you. Yeah. You are. You are. You are.

Luke: 35:32

See it.

Brad: 35:33

Yeah. Oh, no.

PJ: 35:34

I have Baylor beating Michigan State in the west region. Okay.

Brad: 35:38

Okay. Okay. So you're saying Michigan State's gonna beat North Carolina.

PJ: 35:42

Mhmm.

Brad: 35:43

Then who do they beat in this in the sweet 16?

PJ: 35:46

Saint Mary's, which is easy.

Brad: 35:48

Saint Mary's, you have beating Grand Canyon, and then having them beat who? Alabama? Yeah. Okay. And then they beat and then okay.

Brad: 35:57

So some issues you say beats Alabama. Yeah. I mean, not Alabama. Sorry. St.

Brad: 36:01

Mary's. Beat St. Mary's. Okay. And then and then in the lead eight, who did they beat?

Brad: 36:05

Well, Baylor Beat beats. They beat. Oh, Baylor beats Michigan State.

PJ: 36:09

Okay.

Brad: 36:09

Yeah. That makes sense. Got it.

PJ: 36:11

So then, in my, north oop.

Luke: 36:13

What what South Region?

PJ: 36:14

Here we go. South Region. I have, James Madison beating Marquette. Okay. Okay.

Brad: 36:21

Man, this is like my my b bracket that you're, like, listen off. Like, that's what I

Luke: 36:26

If you wanted upsets, just look at PJ's draft. Right.

PJ: 36:29

And then and then in my, Midwest region, I have Tennessee beating Kansas.

Brad: 36:36

Got it.

PJ: 36:36

Okay. So then my final four, it's UConn playing Baylor

Brad: 36:40

Got it.

PJ: 36:41

And James Madison playing Tennessee. And I was gonna pick Baylor in the finals, but instead, I picked UConn beating Baylor in the semifinals. Whatever. So, I have Baylor beating Tennessee in the finals.

Luke: 36:55

Wow. Okay. The

PJ: 36:56

bold. Yeah. Bold. Bold. I love Baylor basketball.

Brad: 37:00

I wanna know also, like, where your one seeds fall off. Like, so, like because I obviously went with only one seed making the final. Mhmm. And most of the teams that generally make the final 4 are 1 seeds.

PJ: 37:14

Mhmm.

Luke: 37:14

You know,

Brad: 37:15

that's just how it goes. Mhmm. But so I have Yukon making it into the final 4, but Houston loses to James Madison in the lead 8 on mine. Or not the elite 8. The, the sweet 16 on mine.

PJ: 37:28

Same.

Brad: 37:30

And then, I have North Carolina losing to Alabama, the in the, suite 16 as well. And then I have Purdue also losing in the suite 16. I feel like that's a, like, that's too perfect. You know, all my number one seeds that don't make it, lose in the sweet 16, Purdue would lose to Kansas.

PJ: 37:53

I I have Purdue losing to Kansas also in the sweet 16. And then I've, I'm I was the same as you. And then I have North Carolina losing to MSU.

Brad: 38:02

Got it.

Luke: 38:02

I mean, all I'm gonna say is you guys might have to change your brackets really quick because Kansas is without arguably their best player for the rest of

Brad: 38:12

the Well, that sucks. And Hunter Dickenson I'm

Luke: 38:14

not changing it. And then Hunter Dickenson hurt his, I believe his shoulder Real quick, I'll change

PJ: 38:20

it because

Brad: 38:20

I have McNeese. And against against I have them winning against Gonzaga.

Luke: 38:27

I think there could be a possibility where it's Sanford versus McNeese in the 2nd round.

Brad: 38:33

You think you think Sanford is gonna beat Kansas?

Luke: 38:36

I think that's a real possibility. Okay. I do think that's a real possibility.

Brad: 38:40

Yeah. Because, because the

Luke: 38:43

Kansas is injured is injured to hell.

Brad: 38:46

So how who who do they have McEuler? McEuler? Whatever.

Luke: 38:50

He's out for the year.

Brad: 38:51

McEuler and Dickinson are their top players

Luke: 38:54

and they're out they're out. Dickinson,

Brad: 38:56

there's there's

Luke: 38:57

possibility he could come back. But, I mean, coming back with an injury, you know, and plus it says, I believe it's his left shoulder that he hurt and I believe he is left handed. Damn. Left If I if

Brad: 39:13

I lose this, I'm gonna sue you. Just so you know.

PJ: 39:16

You know what? I'm gonna change mine actually right now. Yeah.

Madi: 39:18

I'm not

PJ: 39:18

gonna do it.

Luke: 39:18

So I'm not saying to change it. I'm just saying

Brad: 39:21

no. Samford. Now who should be now this, like, screws up my whole bracket. Now who who wins against McNeese and Samford? I don't know.

PJ: 39:29

I don't know. McNeese. McNeese, 100%.

Luke: 39:31

McNeese probably has a funnier name, so I'll pick McNeese.

Brad: 39:34

And then I that changes actually my entire thing because now I have Purdue going to the final 4.

PJ: 39:41

Oh, no. I still I I put McNeese lose beating Purdue in the

Brad: 39:45

You think you think McNeese will beat Purdue? Yeah.

Luke: 39:48

I don't know if I would go that far.

Brad: 39:49

I don't know that I would go that far either.

PJ: 39:52

Well

Luke: 39:53

That that's pretty bold. I I kinda

Brad: 39:54

I respect it. Madness.

Luke: 39:55

Yeah. I like it. But Yes. I do.

Brad: 39:58

Well, now I have Purdue in the final four and losing to Yukon in the championship game.

Luke: 40:04

I mean

Brad: 40:04

You've just adjusted my whole bracket for me. I mean because I'm not gonna, maybe I should redo this because one team, one selection can change so much.

Luke: 40:14

I mean, you could just make another one.

Brad: 40:15

I could, that's true, that's the beauty of the internet. Yeah. So, so Mississippi State. Michigan State plays miss Mississippi State. Right?

Brad: 40:25

So do we think that Michigan State has a chance? Like run down like Mississippi State, the they're, you know, everything. The viewers aren't going to care because the game's already over.

Luke: 40:37

Yeah. Exact I think so Mississippi State's leading scorer is a freshman, Josh Hubbard. He's scoring 17 points per game. And then, Toulouse Smith, who's a senior, senior forward, is averaging 15 points a game. But he's missed he's missed time.

Luke: 40:55

He's only played 22 games this year. You know, I think those 2 are obviously the key key players for Mississippi State. And then also you can overlook, Karen Matthews. He's averaging almost 10 points, 7 rebounds, and he's leading Mississippi State in assists with 3. I know that's not very much, but still leading in assists and he's shooting 62% from the field.

Luke: 41:23

So, but the the one thing if you're Michigan State, Mississippi State is horrendous at shooting the 3. They're shooting 32.5% from 3 And they're not a very good free throw shooting team, only shooting 67% from the free throw line. So if if you're Michigan State defensively, just I just let them shoot all day. Make them prove to you that you have to step out and defend the 3, and you just gotta be able to protect the paint. And even if, you know, you get calls foul, it's not the end of the world because only shooting 67% from free throw line.

Luke: 42:06

So, you know, I think if you're Izzo, you can you can take advantage of that. You can find a way to take advantage of that.

Brad: 42:13

Got it. So just keep in mind though too, and and I guess this would bode well for Michigan State, that's only 65% of the time in the last 5 tournaments, number 9 seeds or I'm sorry, not only. Sorry. Just put it this way, 13 out of the last 20 games between, number 9 seeds and 8 seeds have been won by 9 seeds in the last 5 years. So in the last 5 tournaments.

Brad: 42:45

Mhmm. So, I guess Michigan State is the upper hand, the 65%. You know, 3 more than half, I guess. Yeah. Yeah.

Brad: 42:53

So statistically speaking, they do have a a solid, advantage. And then, then North Carolina. Do you think I mean, it's in North Carolina. What are we thinking?

PJ: 43:06

Yeah. So, I mean, according to my bracket

Brad: 43:09

Your yeah. But

Emily: 43:10

that's so that's what

Brad: 43:11

our brackets. No. We're still thinking.

PJ: 43:14

It'll be really hard. It'll be really hard for MSU to beat North Carolina, especially when UNC has homecourt advantage. I just think they're better offensively.

Luke: 43:25

I mean, what what can we say that probably already hasn't been said, like, around campus? I mean, North Carolina has the best player in the ACC in RJ Davis who I believe scored, I think, over 20 points per game this year. And then they also have the best big man in the ACC with Armando Bacot who's been there. I believe this is his 5th year. And I think UNC is out for some type of vengeance or revenge for how last year went.

Luke: 44:00

You know, they were really disappointing. You know, they didn't make the tournament last year. And I think they're gonna be coming with a purpose. I think they're gonna be the most driven team, I think, more than Purdue. Because I know Purdue, they lost to the 16 seed last year.

Luke: 44:20

But North Carolina, they were the they were the number one seed going into last year. Mhmm.

PJ: 44:25

You

Luke: 44:25

know? They had that returning team of RJ Davis, Bacot, and then they had Caleb Love, who's over at Arizona right now. But, you know, they didn't even make tournament and now they're 1 seed this year. So I think they're gonna be driven. I think Hubert Davis, their head coach has got something to prove.

Luke: 44:45

I think I think UNC I have UNC winning the entire thing.

Brad: 44:50

Got it. So, so now we're gonna switch gears a little bit to women's basketball.

PJ: 44:56

Mhmm.

Brad: 44:57

So not too far away, you know, their plan They're not they're not playing too far away, is Michigan State. They're playing North Carolina though. Number number 9 also versus number 8, North Carolina. I don't know too much about, women's basketball, but if, I do know this, if Michigan State does win against North Carolina, it doesn't look too good because then likely they have to play South Carolina pending a total collapse.

Luke: 45:32

Right.

Brad: 45:33

So, that doesn't look too good.

Luke: 45:36

No. No.

Brad: 45:38

So, we're looking at probably what? Like an early exit? Mhmm. Not to say that the issue's bad, but just because they have

PJ: 45:46

South Carolina is unstoppable. Yeah.

Brad: 45:48

They have a brutal, match up coming up because it's if they win.

PJ: 45:54

Yeah. Because it's in South Carolina.

Brad: 45:57

Yes. Like,

PJ: 45:57

it's an undefeated team.

Brad: 46:00

Right. So here's the thing. So North Carolina, do we what are we vibing? Like, what are we thinking that MSU stands a chance? What's the deal?

Luke: 46:11

I think we can I think we can, I think we can come away with the win on that? Mhmm. Mhmm. You know, I think, obviously, Julia and Didi, I think they're probably gonna be the the players to watch for MSU. Didi shooting great from 3.

Luke: 46:30

She's gonna have to keep doing that, to beat North Carolina, obviously. I mean, she's shooting 41% from the 3 point line, and then Julia is our leading scorer with 15. I'm trying to pull up North Carolina's stats. They only have 3 players in double figures, in terms of points, whereas MSU has 4. And then also, Torrey is averaging almost 10 points per game.

Luke: 46:58

So I'm gonna count that as 5, because it's it's 9.8, but I'm counting it as 10. So obviously, like, we have more we have more who can go out and get a bucket. Mhmm. You know, whereas North Carolina, they don't have as much.

Brad: 47:15

Got it.

Luke: 47:15

So I think I think we can win that. I think we can win that game.

Brad: 47:19

And, yeah, wow, that seems like good news. But do you think it'd be a problem for MSU to, like I mean, it it both first of all, we know that that home court advantage is going to, you know, go towards North Carolina in the men's the men's side. But even though Michigan State I mean, wouldn't you think that if you're a North Carolina fan and you think that MS, your team has a chance against MSU. Right? And then if they win, they're likely playing South Carolina.

Brad: 47:51

You would think that the fan base would wanna show up. Right? So do you think that that maybe the North Carolina, fan base is gonna travel and that have an impact on this game? Probably.

Luke: 48:03

I mean, I think so. Yeah. I mean, Michigan State fans, we we obviously know. I think they travel pretty well. You know, I think Michigan State fans are probably gonna show up, in a large amount, to support, the women's basketball team.

Brad: 48:19

And then Especially, I guess, if you will, because it's in the same vicinity too. So that might help MSU fans. Mhmm. Because they can kinda catch both. I mean, I know if you're a reporter, these games are only an hour and a half away from each other.

PJ: 48:31

Yeah. The SSR is, yeah. They're going to both.

Brad: 48:34

So that's the thing. Like, you can you're obviously able to cover both. Right? You know?

Luke: 48:39

Yeah. I mean, it it's definitely gonna be a challenge. Obviously, we're playing in, where is it? South Carolina?

Brad: 48:47

Yeah. So the second yeah. The, the women's team is playing in South Carolina.

Luke: 48:51

Okay. Yeah. I mean, it's obviously North Carolina and then we would play against South Carolina. I think that's it's definitely gonna be a challenge, but, you know, I think I think it's gonna be it's gonna be a hard fought match. I'll just put it at

PJ: 49:07

that regarding I think it's gonna be back and forth for most of the game, if not the entire game.

Brad: 49:14

Mhmm. Gotcha. So, so that's the end of this episode. But first, we're gonna leave off with trivia. Trivia time.

Brad: 49:23

So, I asked this to Maddie and Emily at the beginning in the middle, and they had no idea. But they are hockey hockey gals, so, you know, you guys might have a little bit better of a time with this. Okay? So, I don't know how I'm gonna award points to this if you get

PJ: 49:44

it right, but if you get

Luke: 49:45

it right, maybe. That might

Brad: 49:46

be cool. So I

Luke: 49:47

might keep track. Hoping for a new car. Right.

Brad: 49:51

So here's the question, as we're gonna remind viewers, in 2021, UCLA was the 2nd school to make it into the final four after starting the NCAA tournament in the first four. UCLA, as you might remember, defeated Michigan State in its first game in the first four and went on to lose to Gonzaga in the semifinal. Mhmm. Who was the first team to go from first four to final four?

PJ: 50:21

Could I get a

Brad: 50:22

To play the Jeopardy season.

PJ: 50:23

Can can I

Luke: 50:24

get a year, like like What year?

PJ: 50:27

Like, not not not even year, just like 10 year decade maybe. Decade.

Brad: 50:33

So that's hard because because the first four only began, in 2011. Yeah.

PJ: 50:41

Okay. I'm

Brad: 50:42

I can tell you that it was in 2,011.

Luke: 50:47

Is it VCU?

PJ: 50:53

I'm gonna say I'm on the Baylor train today, so I'm gonna say Baylor.

Brad: 50:59

Okay. Got it. Those are your final answers? Yeah.

Luke: 51:03

It was VCU. It was?

Brad: 51:05

It was VCU.

Luke: 51:06

I knew it. I knew there was, like, some type of I knew VCU had a Cinderella story, like, in the early 2000, 2010s. Yeah. I'm Yeah.

Brad: 51:21

That's awesome. Yeah. It was yes. The answer was VCU. Who did they beat?

Brad: 51:28

I'm just pulling it up. So they beat USC 5946 in as an 11 seed in the, first four held in Dayton, Ohio, and then VCU, got placed into the, Southwest Regional in Texas and ended up, well, actually, technically, I think it was in Denver, the one that they were in. Mhmm. So they played so they beat Georgetown number 8 or number 6. Sorry.

Brad: 51:58

I'm my vision's off. So they beat Georgetown, number 6. They beat number 3, Purdue, and then, in the second round. And then in the, in the and then the next round, they beat number 10 Florida State, then they went on to beat number 1 Kansas. And then they went to the final 4.

Brad: 52:20

Mhmm. And I think they lost, they lost to Butler.

Luke: 52:26

That's where I remember.

Brad: 52:27

And so they lost to Butler and To Butler. Who who in turn lost to Yukon. Yep. And Yukon won the national championship.

PJ: 52:34

I remember that. Yeah.

Brad: 52:36

So yeah. So it was it was VCU, and it was crazy because it was in the very first year that the first four was in existence.

Luke: 52:43

Yep. Wow.

Brad: 52:44

So the more you know Yeah. The more you know.

Luke: 52:47

Where's my car?

Brad: 52:49

Exactly. Once you get enough points, I'll give you a car.

Luke: 52:52

Okay.

Brad: 52:53

I'll give you a car. Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, thank you guys for joining the sports roundtable from the state news.

Brad: 53:00

As always, my name is Brad. This has been Luke and PJ. We will see you guys in the next one.

Luke: 53:06

See you.