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Hedging the Bet with Gabe Sousa and Ben Julian is your go-to sports betting podcast, dropping every Friday to prep you for the weekend’s action. Each week, Gabe and Ben break down the top matchups across the world of sports—offering sharp analysis, expert picks, and all the insight you need to place your bets with confidence. Whether you're a seasoned bettor or just looking for smart plays, Hedging the Bet is your winning edge!
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome in to the first ever Hedging the Bet episode brought to you by your host, Gabe Souza. They tell me I have a face for podcast, so that's what I'm doing here today. I am not alone. I'm joined by my good pal, benjulian, on social media. It's Ben.
Speaker 1:How are you doing today?
Speaker 2:I am doing great, Gabe. How are you?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm fantastic. However, the overall vibe of the campus is down. I will be for real with you. Obviously, the Michigan State Spartans, the hometown heroes, bounced in the Elite Eight to a great basketball team for the record in the Auburn Tigers. Disappointing to watch.
Speaker 1:I was personally at Buffalo Wild Wings in a tornado watching it with Ben Julian. Disappointing watch for sure, but we figured we were gonna get bounced. Right? I mean, that's a great basketball team. And, hey, the people around here, they're saying, our Spartans are out.
Speaker 1:We're done with March Madness. Right? All one season left. It's a boring tournament. I totally disagree.
Speaker 1:I think that we have a lot of great basketball left to be played. I think that there being four one seeds in the final four means that the seating committee did a great job. Right? And I'm sure you agree because you know a lot about college basketball. You stick with it all year.
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts on the college basketball season so far this year? Are you disappointed that there's four one seeds? Are you sad that there wasn't a lot of March madness this year, or are you excited for a lot of high level basketball to be played with all these teams having players that are gonna be drafted in the first rounds?
Speaker 2:Actually, I was about to bring up this high level basketball we're about to see. Four one seeds, first time since 02/2008? I mean, this is everything we want the NBA to be, honestly. The NBA is just shooting practice. No passion though.
Speaker 2:But in this time and era, especially for college basketball, like, we're gonna see a lot of talent, lot of close games, I'm assuming, and, it's just gonna be fun. Although there wasn't much March Madness, there it still was a great tournament. Like, there still was that Maryland, buzzer beater against Colorado State Crab five. Oh, the Crab five. Yeah.
Speaker 2:They were they were impressive. Shout out to Trey Holloman. Sure. Yeah. So that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2:I'm just excited for this final four with, with these all all one seeds, but it at first, it doesn't sound too appealing, but when you realize what you're getting, it's definitely like definitely worth to watch.
Speaker 1:Yeah. No, for sure. And we're gonna we're gonna dive right in here. Why don't we start talking about who do you Ben, who would you wanna talk about first? Who who grabs your attention?
Speaker 2:Obviously, Duke grabs my attention. I have them winning it all.
Speaker 1:Sure. Yeah. Well, we'll go into it right now. And obviously, you have to address the elephant in the room. Cooper Flagg.
Speaker 1:Right? You know, they're telling they're telling me this guy's the next LeBron James. Right? Even the old heads who say, I wanna be like Mike, they're saying I wanna be like Cooper Flagg now. Right?
Speaker 1:This guy is the dude who was at 17 years old was giving Team USA, the Avengers as they were called, a run for their money in the Team Select practice before the Olympics this past summer. Ben, tell me about Cooper Flagg. He seems like despite the all the talent on this Duke roster don't don't get me wrong. You know, there's a lot of talent on this Duke roster. They're all young as well.
Speaker 1:Right? But how important is Cooper Flag to their success in this tournament? Because he's proven in the big moments, he's shown up. Right? And that was the question.
Speaker 1:Could this young kid who was 17, 18 who is younger than us recording this episode right now, by the way? Can this kid take on the pressure of a final four? Can this kid take on the pressure of a NCAA championship? How has he been able to adapt to the March Madness tournament, and then how important is he to the success of Duke winning it all this year?
Speaker 2:Obviously, Cooper Flag is a great player. I mean, he leads the Duke team in points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, and minutes per game. He is essential to Duke winning it all. I mean, Duke doesn't Duke is not just one player in Cooper Flag because they have two others projected to go in the first round which is Khan Knopple and Kaman Malouwak. Like, you can't really get much better than this.
Speaker 2:Cooper Flag is, like, the deciding factor, I believe, in this NCAA tournament. I don't think anyone or any team or any coach can find a way to stop this guy. He's, obviously the best, I mean, other than maybe Janai Broom, but Janai Broom has been on a little tumble at the end of the regular season and the start of the Smosh Madness, he's picked it up. He could be hurt too. Yes, he could.
Speaker 2:He had a he had a fall, like hurt his ankle against MSU. Sure. And obviously, I think I don't know. I just think this Duke team is unstoppable. I don't know if I honestly don't know if they'll have a close game coming up with Houston.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, certainly helps that Cooper Flagg has has almost 80 points in four games, which is ridiculous. Just a streak of greatness in this March Madness tournament so far. In the last 25 games, Duke has won 24 of them with their one loss against Clemson, which is I think is funny because that was really the biggest upset in March Madness so far this year to McNeese, right, with it being such a chalk bracket. And in their last 25 games, they've only lost one, and they've covered the spread in 19 of them. And we'll go over the spread and the props we like a little bit later, but they are favored five and a half against Houston.
Speaker 1:And this Houston team is full of dogs. Right? And we'll jump into Houston now because I'm so excited to talk about them. You wanna talk about separate teams. Right?
Speaker 1:So Duke, you have this guy Cooper Flagg who's leading in every category, which makes sense. He's the projected first overall pick. Future Washington Wizard or somehow the San Antonio Spurs are gonna, you know, get get lucky twice, win the lottery twice, literally win the lottery twice. But, this Houston team is a little bit different because I was looking in the stats, all those major stats, you know, the assists, the points, the rebounds, the steals, the blocks, a different player leads each category for the Houston squad. It's not one player who leads them all like Duke.
Speaker 1:It's a separate player. And their team has a strong bond. You see the videos on social media. These guys have every single player on the roster runs a sub six minute mile. Even that guy who's like six nine, two hundred sixty pounds is running a six sub six minute mile.
Speaker 1:I mean, these guys are these guys are athletic, they're scrappy, and no one's really given them a chance about against Duke. Right? And to be fair, last week against number two seed Tennessee, they gave him a good old fashioned asswoman. Right? And on national television, they made Tennessee, who has beaten good teams this year like Florida.
Speaker 1:Right? They held him to 50 points, and that's not easy to do because a lot of people had Tennessee maybe in the final four, maybe even in the championship game. Right? And we've seen Houston in the past with good teams, really good teams, struggle to get far. They'll lose earlier than they should.
Speaker 1:However, this one feels different. You have L. J. Cryer who leads in points per game. He had 15 points in the first round.
Speaker 1:He had 30 against Gonzaga. Then you move into the sweet 16 in Purdue where he only had four points. That was a little bit concerning. However, he bounced back against Tennessee scoring 17. So, Ben, my question is this to you.
Speaker 1:How much faith do you have in Houston to take down the Goliath that is Duke this year that everyone has winning now?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Houston, obviously, really good program. Great coach Kelvin Sampson
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Has done a great job with this program. Houston, I believe, has been ranked for the, like, most consecutive weeks out of any college. They have the longest active streak. Saying that, I don't think they win against Duke. But I do think they have the best chance against Duke.
Speaker 2:I feel like their defense, I think it's first and Kempom, I feel like they have the best defense. I think they're the team to stop this Duke team. Obviously, I don't think they can stop Cooper Flagg, but they can stop the others. They can they can lessen the bleed, let's say, against, Duke's offense. So Houston, yeah, like you said, a bunch of dogs, bunch of athletic guys, a bunch of guys that I mean, they're honestly almost taking Michigan State's, headlines, strength in numbers.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They got they got everyone doing everything right now. Mhmm. They got one guy specializing in points, one guy specializing in rebounds, one guy specializing in steals, whatever you wanna say. And they are hot.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They are the hottest team. They're twenty six and one in their last 27. Mhmm. But saying that, I I still don't think that they really I mean, they do have a chance, the best chance against Duke, but obviously, like, it's it's difficult to go against them when Duke really seems like they got the best players, a great coach, a great program, great school history, and that's that.
Speaker 1:Quick reminder for those of guys who don't know, Houston started off this regular season with a four and three record. Since they've played that seventh game, they went in a twenty six and one run to end off the regular season. This team was hot going into the tournament. They figured something out. But in the tournament this year, they are three and one against the spread, which is important to point out because most of the games that Houston played, they were favored by a decent margin.
Speaker 1:Right? And it's only five and a half this week against Duke. So you figure if the spread's five and a half and they're covering it in 75 of the games, would they be able to pull off the upset? It seems like a recipe that's working out and, you know, only time will tell. But this year or sorry.
Speaker 1:In the past 25 games, they've only covered the spread 14 times as compared to Duke's nineteen. Now we understand that Duke hasn't played they didn't play a whole lot in the regular season. Tough competition. They did not have as many quad one wins as a lot of people a lot of other great programs across the country did. Now do does the regular season and who beats who matter in the most in the final four and in the championship game?
Speaker 1:No. It doesn't. Right? And does it matter when, you know it's like and a team's hot, it's hot. And when it's cold, it's cold.
Speaker 1:We'll see. I'm excited for this matchup though. Do you have anything else to add to this Duke Houston? Oh, wait. We'll go over Sorry.
Speaker 1:We'll go over your picks for the spread and the over under. Sure. I almost forgot we're a betting podcast here. I'm so excited to to watch this game. You did touch I'm assuming you're taking the Duke minus five and a half.
Speaker 2:Right? I will be taking the Duke minus five and a half. I think I think Houston keeps it under 10 though. I I don't know. I think at the end of the game, it'll be close.
Speaker 2:Houston starts fouling, Duke gets their free throws. It'll be Duke will win by six or more.
Speaker 1:Good. Good. Love that. And then the over under is set at one thirty five point five, which I will admit is it's it's not a high total. It's not a high total.
Speaker 1:Is that speaking to the defensive capabilities that Houston and Duke have shown this year?
Speaker 2:Yes. For sure. Definitely the both defensive capabilities. Houston obviously held Tennessee to, like, 50 points. I'd honestly take the under.
Speaker 2:I like I like Houston's defense, and I like Duke's defense enough to choose the under and feel confident about it. But I can definitely also see it hitting the over, but I'd like to give the under just a little bit of the edge.
Speaker 1:Sure. Sure. Well, we're gonna move on to the next matchup here, which is arguably just as good. And well, I'll be honest, folks. When I was writing the script and kinda getting the stats and data down, I thought that Auburn would be favored going into this game.
Speaker 1:That is not the case. Florida is favored by two and a half points against Auburn in their final four matchup, which, Ben, came as a surprise to me because Auburn looked great against Michigan, which is not a bad basketball program this year. They got well, the the regular season wasn't great, but they got hot and then won the Big Ten championship, obviously. And then Michigan State, even though, you know, I think I could shoot better from three than than than the Spartans did, Michigan State isn't a bad basketball program, and they did not make the Spartans look good. So are you surprised at this line?
Speaker 1:Do you think Florida should be favored? What are your thoughts on this?
Speaker 2:I do think Florida should be favored. I think the big part of that Auburn game was Michigan State shooting o for 10 at one point and letting a 17 o run for Auburn, and that's what really kept the game separated. It just after that, like, there was just really no hope for the Spartans. And then Florida, obviously, they had a really close game with Texas Tech. They were down by almost 10 at one point with like four minutes left and then Walter Clayton decided to show up.
Speaker 2:Yeah. When Florida is hot, there is no team in the country that can stop them. Florida, with Walter Clayton and Alex Condone and, I mean, they got a lot of guys that really just that really click together and can really make things happen. When they're all on, it's almost impossible to stop. And I can see that happening.
Speaker 2:It's just Florida minus two and a half, like, it's pretty much picking who you think will win.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And, you said someone great there at the end, like, when this team is cooking, no one can stop them. It feels like you can say that for all four of these teams
Speaker 2:Yes. Here. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's just how good they've been, and, you know, they were one c for a reason. You could say that about them for the entire season. Right? They kinda just stomp everyone in their path, you know. I think I I don't know for sure.
Speaker 1:I believe that the most losses is five for these teams this year. No team has lost more than five games, obviously, in the regular season throughout the tournament because they'd be eliminated. So these teams are hot. These teams are red hot right now. It's gonna be fun basketball to watch.
Speaker 1:We're gonna talk about this Auburn squad real quick, and I have to tell you folks at home who cannot see us right now, which is everyone, Ben, Julian, I are now both standing because we just have a love for college basketball, and we're that passionate about it. We're gonna talk about how this is an old team. The average age of their starting five is older than NBA teams, such as the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards. And that old veteran presence that the players have and the, you know, the hardships that they went through, they've battled through the regular season. Obviously, we know the SEC has been great in a gauntlet all year, and they've played a lot of years of college basketball.
Speaker 1:Obviously, with the whole COVID thing and all that, that's thankfully, that's over. Right? Because you don't have, you know, 32 year old guys who are supposed to be accountants by now applying on LinkedIn, playing in March Madness. This team is old, and that is a reason why I think that they could upset Florida because they have they might be built for big moments better, you know? They have more experience playing the game.
Speaker 1:Someone who has a lot of experience playing good basketball is Janae Broom. Ben, tell me about Janae Broom. He's averaged 23 and a half points against Michigan schools and against U of M in the Sweet 16 and then Michigan State in the elite eight. Tell me about this guy, Janai Broom. Tell me about why he's going to be a top 10 pick in the NBA draft.
Speaker 1:And tell me how him playing great against Florida, how they could potentially pull off the upset.
Speaker 2:Janai Broom is obviously a great talent. He, I'd say he's the second best starting player in all of the the rest of the the teams left. Like you said, he is averaging 23 and a half points a game the past two games, but I don't know if that was just because of his hate for Michigan. Yeah. He might just hate the state.
Speaker 2:The transfer from Morehead State, he has obviously been on a, lower level than he has at the beginning of the season until those two games. But that being said, I think he's picked it up. I think he's realized that now is the time to to win. If not, it's their season. And this Auburn team, they they are old, but only the seventh oldest in the SEC Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which is crazy to think about. I did not know that until today.
Speaker 1:Nice. Yeah. I was talking to my good pal and dodge MSU dodgeball captain, Jack Krudzewski. And he was he pointed out how Auburn seemed like they they were trolling a little bit. You know, against Michigan, they get down by nine.
Speaker 1:Right? And they're even in plus odds on the sportsbook. They're doing behind the back passes, through the leg passes. They're going for alley oops. When they lock in, they're unstoppable.
Speaker 1:Michigan didn't stand a chance. Michigan State didn't stand a chance. In the postgame interviews, they're throwing towels and caps on their players. They think they're the Oklahoma City Thunder. They might be, for all I know.
Speaker 1:They're playing such good basketball. Tell me about Jahan Pettiford and how his chemistry with Joe Jahan Broome has grown throughout the year and why you like that duo so much. I know sorry. I know you already talked about Jahan Broome, so more talk about Pettaford now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Pettaford only six one, surprisingly. Yeah. He's he's on the smaller scale, but he is I don't know. He he makes up for it.
Speaker 2:He's a great passer, obviously, great at point scoring. He had his worst game against Michigan State.
Speaker 1:I think
Speaker 2:he only scored 10. Right?
Speaker 1:Still double digits. Still double digits.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And that's his worst. Yeah. Against a good defense too. Yes.
Speaker 2:Great defense. He I mean, he was a big part of holding these MSU guards for for the for the, Tigers. Yeah. Like, these MSU guards, I see them making all these contested layups. I see them making, like, great, jump shots, let alone from three.
Speaker 2:They don't do great from there. Yeah. But he really put in a lot of work against these MSU guards And Absolutely. Ultimately, when they did go on their 17 and overrun, he was a big factor in that. He I mean, maybe let alone from his defense or let alone from his offense, his defense really picked it up that game
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And really still kept him real like, important factor in that game.
Speaker 1:He's playing unbelievable basketball right now. Right? And they we talked about how the SEC was a great conference this year. They averaged 83 points during the regular season. And I'm told that the SEC means more.
Speaker 1:Maybe this team is good. Maybe the SEC doesn't mean more. I don't know what it is. But if you're averaging I believe that that's fifth in the nation. I could be wrong, and I had to fact check that.
Speaker 1:But 83 points any college basketball team in any conference is impressive for sure, let alone one of the best teams in the nation. Right? Some things to point out, though. Auburn ranks three hundred second in the nation for defensive foul ratings, which is I don't know how many college basketball programs there are, but three hundred's a big number.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Think there's around 360 or so.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I can barely count to 20. So I know that these guys these guys are fouling when they shouldn't, and that's that's not good. We know how important free throw percentage and fouls are in deep tournament runs. And when you look at a stat like that, you know, it's hard to overlook.
Speaker 1:Right? Now you've talked about we're gonna talk about their losses this year. They lost to some pretty valid teams. Texas A and M, who lost in the round of 32 to Michigan. Right?
Speaker 1:It was a good basketball program. Right? They lost to Ole Miss, who surprisingly was a great six seed. They played they were Ole Miss in this tournament played like a a three seed. Would you agree with that?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Four seed?
Speaker 2:I'd agree with the three seed. They played higher. They beat the three seed and then gave
Speaker 1:the two
Speaker 2:seed a big challenge.
Speaker 1:Exactly. So and then Tennessee. According to Sportsbook, the better team prevailing in this one is the Florida Gators. So if you don't mind, we're gonna jump into them real quick. I just like to start off with the seven nine dude, Oliver Rue or Rio.
Speaker 1:I don't I'm not exactly sure how to say his last name. Believe it's French. I've seen more coverage on him social media than I have this actual basketball program. And that's on me. Right hand up accountability.
Speaker 1:You know, gotta do my own research on the squad. But this dude, it seems like Florida's set for next year. You know? Should they win it all this year? Pull off the upset against Duke?
Speaker 1:Well, they gotta get it pass Auburn first. But assuming they do pull off the upset against Duke or against Houston, seems like they're set up for next year.
Speaker 2:I I think they still really should get more credit than what people are giving them right now. Well I mean, starting five with Will Richard, Alex Condone, Walter Klan Junior.
Speaker 1:Let's let's get into that real quick. Ben, how important is confidence in players and them showing up in the most important moments to winning basketball games?
Speaker 2:It's very important. As we've seen in this tournament, it is huge. We saw Janai Broom, Torch, Michigan State. Yep. We saw Walter Clayton take over the Okay.
Speaker 1:That's what I wanted to talk about. I mean, have you have college basketball. This is some NBA behavior, and I don't throw that around lightly. You have college basketball players passing up layups, running back to a three point line, and just chucking up a three. Right?
Speaker 1:And is that arrogance? Maybe. Is it confidence in your ability to lead your team to win? And being a team captain? I argue it's more of that.
Speaker 1:Now the social media warriors, they're debating. They're saying, is this guy a selfish player? They won the basketball game. Right? And that's all that matters.
Speaker 1:This guy, his over under is at 21 and a half points for this matchup. And I'm gonna be honest, I wouldn't be afraid of taking the over.
Speaker 2:I I would be afraid. I mean, we were just talking about Tahad Pettyford, like stopping the MSU guards and those MSU guards aren't like like Jace Richardson, he's a top 20 draft pick projected top 20 draft pick right now and he was I don't I don't know how much points he was held to but he didn't have like an amazing game.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Either did Jaden Akins until he hit those two threes at the end. Meaningless. Yeah. Trey Holloman went o for 10 from the I mean, I'm I mean, Tahaad Pettyford wasn't guarding all of them obviously, but he did help with it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he he most likely, I mean, it's a freshman still. Taha is still a freshman. He most likely will be guarding Walter Clayton junior and we've seen him like, we've seen him do it well. We've I I do believe Walter Clayton junior is a great talent. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he will be an NBA star one day. I truly believe that. Yeah. But I don't know if 21 and a half taking that over is really worth worth it.
Speaker 1:Well, hear Tahad is face guarding Walter Clayton as soon as he wakes up from his hotel room the morning of the game. He'll be outside, hand in face, hand already up, you know, in defensive position. I hear that's the defensive game plan. That's just the word on the street right now. I'd have to talk to my sources to confirm.
Speaker 1:But tell me about some of these other guys on the Florida squad. I mean, it's not just the seven nine kid who hasn't played yet. It's not just Walter Clayton who is just just chucking up threes and hitting them all. Tell me about some of the other studs on the squad.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Obviously, there's Elijah Martin, Will Richard, Alex Condone. They got a great a great starting five. Probably the most well rounded. Actually, I'd say Houston is the most well rounded.
Speaker 2:I'd say this is the second most well rounded team. Sure. I mean, including their bench. I I mean, Florida, they got a lot of dogs. I mean, I'm probably the least knowledgeable on this team out of the rest of the four.
Speaker 2:Sure. And I I don't know. I just I I don't know if they'll win, but I do think it's gonna be a really close game. I think both of these I mean, they're both SEC, so they've played each other once or twice, and it has I mean, they will deliver. It'll it'll be a fun game to watch.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I keep going back to the iron sharpens iron. Right? Like, when you play these teams that are good, somewhere in town, Michigan State plays in the Maui Invitational every year, you wanna play good teams. Right?
Speaker 1:And that sets you up for these important games in the final four in the NCAA national championship. One thing I wanna talk about with the Alex Condon is that he averages one steal and one block a game. If you can have a player that creates two more possessions for your team per game on average, that's huge in March Madness. We know that every single possession, obviously, in the National Basketball Association, when they're scoring each team is scoring, let's say, you know, a hundred points a game, possessions aren't as important. In college basketball, when you're scoring anywhere as these over unders suggest, your team is scoring anywhere from 55 to, let's say, 70 or 75 points, every possession matters.
Speaker 1:And if you can have a great defensive player like Alex who creates two more possessions for your team per game, that's a huge difference, and that's a huge playmaker. Right? They're free throw trouble. They've had they've struggled from the char Charity Stripe all year. The rate at which they get to the free throw line ranks two hundred thirty second in the nation, And their actual free throw shooting percentage is two hundred eighteenth in the nation.
Speaker 1:That's not good, Ben Julien. That's really not good because we know how important free throws are in March Madness games. Because at the end of the games, when it comes down to the foul scenario where two minutes turns into twenty five, you need to hit your free throws. Right? Michigan State hit six straight against Ole Miss and sealed the game.
Speaker 1:Right? And that was really clutch. And honestly, most Spartan fans didn't see that coming, but that was important to their victory against Ole Miss, which was a great team as we've talked about. Is this concerning to you at all? Do you think that Florida's great offense, like I said, averaging over 85 points playing in the SEC, Is free throw struggles Do you see that being an impact on this game against Auburn?
Speaker 2:I think both these free throw struggles are big to point out. Like Auburn, you said they're like three hundred second in the nation in defense.
Speaker 1:No. That was for fouls. That was for fouls.
Speaker 2:I mean, still, but Yeah. That means Florida gets to the line
Speaker 1:of last Maybe they cancel each other out.
Speaker 2:I I think so. I I think both of these these stats, I feel like they really cancel each other out.
Speaker 1:Here's something to think about. If floor or sorry, if Auburn commits stupid fouls, they're not gonna get punished because Florida can't hit their free throws.
Speaker 2:But there there's still foul trouble in every game. If it's a close game, there will be foul trouble for Auburn, and I mean, they might not be able to play Janai Broom or Tahad Pitifull That's true. Denver Jones. That's true. Depends That's on what time
Speaker 1:it is. Only time will tell. Right? We'll move into your picks here then. Alright.
Speaker 1:The spread was two and a half. I'm assuming you're gonna Florida here because you love them so much. Oh, I see a little face over there.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I I really don't know. I mean I mean time time's come, right? I'm supposed to choose but like I have no idea. I'd probably I will probably go with Florida.
Speaker 2:I don't know about the spread though. I think it's gonna be very very close game. I'm not sure if they'll they'll take it with the with two and a half. But I'd I'd probably take that over. I like a high scoring game.
Speaker 2:In this one, SEC teams usually you see, like, you see high scoring games.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And the for for the record, the the over under is set at 60 points right now. That's a high scoring game. And going back to your pick with Florida, picking the favorite has proved to proven to be successful. So you have Florida coming out of their matchup, then you have the Duke Blue Devils coming out of their matchup for what should be a great national championship game.
Speaker 1:I asked my good friend, Chat, the short for Chat, GPT, to predict the outcome no matter what who you chose, even though I figured you're gonna choose Florida and Duke. I asked it to predict what the spread would be and what the overall would be, and I want you to pick based off of this hypothetical scenario without watching these teams play. Alright? So let's say your picks are correct and Florida and Duke both win their matchups. Let me find it here.
Speaker 1:In the hypothetical situation, we believe that Duke would be favored over Florida by four and a half points. We believe the over under would be 150 and a half. Do you think that well, first of all, don't worry about the spread for now. Who do you think would win this basketball game?
Speaker 2:I think I think Duke wins.
Speaker 1:Okay. Good. Because then I was gonna ask you, do you think that they're gonna cover the spread? I do. Wow.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:I mean, we've seen we've seen it before with
Speaker 1:No, absolutely.
Speaker 2:UConn and Purdue. Obviously, UConn really pulled away, wasn't that close of the game. I feel like one team prevails and I think it's Duke. Like I said, Houston has the best odds or the best chance in my opinion against this Duke Blue Devils team. Florida, on the other hand, I do think they get past Auburn.
Speaker 2:They squeak by. They squeaked by against Texas Tech. They'll squeak by against Auburn. I don't think they come close against Duke. I think maybe they get it within 10 like I said with Houston.
Speaker 2:I don't think they cover the spread though.
Speaker 1:Okay. And then for the over under at 150, I You seem like
Speaker 2:an under guy right now. I am feeling Yeah.
Speaker 1:Tell
Speaker 2:us I feel like Duke will stop Florida from scoring as much and I don't think they'll score over 80 points. So I think my final prediction is probably like seventy two sixty four. I think Duke wins by eight.
Speaker 1:Here's a fun fact for you, Ben. Here at Impact, I'm in a bracket group with about 45 people forty, forty five people. If Florida beats Duke, I'm gonna win it all. And I don't know what the prize is, but I'm getting pretty excited. Do I think do I want Florida to win?
Speaker 1:Yes. Do I think they're gonna win? No. Just because this Duke team lost three games all year, I believe, and you can't overlook that. Well, we're gonna wrap it up here.
Speaker 1:And you know what? I appreciate you and your time and your passion and your love for the game of college basketball that we all appreciate, and we had some technical difficulties before recording this episode. Yes, we did. And we've overstayed our welcome by thirty six minutes. I appreciate you sacrificing your time because I know you're such a busy guy.
Speaker 2:I actually really appreciate you having me. Feel like this is this is a great opportunity. I I do love college basketball. I've been I mean, I've been following the MSU Spartans all year. I've been following the SEC, the Big Ten
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The Big Twelve. Sure. Yeah. I I mean, this is this is what I like to do, and I'd love to share it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. And I appreciate, you know, you coming on once again, and it's it's it's just a blessing with all of us that have working years to hear you spew your basketball knowledge because of your commitment to the game. So with that being said, we have officially concluded our first ever Well, let me back up a little bit. Ben and I have recorded an episode in the past, and I've recorded with some other guests as well, and they've never been published before.
Speaker 1:This one is gonna be the first official one published on Spotify. You know what? Let's get, you know look at us. Oh, yeah. Apple Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, we're gonna be there.
Speaker 1:And I'm, I'm really excited because I've been working on this for a long time. Hedging the bet has been a project of mine since October, November. I can't remember exactly, but it's been a long time. It's been a long time. And nobody else I'd like to share this with than Ben Julian.
Speaker 1:So I appreciate you once again. That being said, this has concluded our first episode of the Hedging the Bet podcast. We appreciate you listening. And, of course, we appreciate pay we appreciate Impact Studios here at, WDBM eighty eight point nine FM. That being said, I hope you guys have a great week.
Speaker 1:Stay sharp. Keep heading your best.