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00:00We recap the round of 64 Thursday at the 2025 men's NCAA tournament and as we
00:07said at the very start of this Friday here on the early line the beautiful
00:11thing is we get to do it once again on this Friday as well he is Donnie I am
00:18Ben. So DRS as we look at everything that we saw yesterday let's start with
00:24the big upsets the 12 over 5 McNeese knocking out Clemson and the 11 over the
00:29six in the West region that would be Drake defeating Missouri let's start
00:34with those McNeese Cowboys the pokes yesterday led by Will Wade with all the
00:39conversation around their head man more than likely taking the NC State job as
00:43soon as this magical March run for McNeese comes to a close would they be
00:49focused would they be in it last year there were the trendy 12 over 5 pick as
00:53well got blown out by Gonzaga by more than 20 how would they handle this
00:59moment on a Thursday afternoon in Providence with flying colors they win
01:0369 67 over the Clemson Tigers a team who was 18 and 2 in the ACC in elite
01:1118 a season ago McNeese wins outright as a seven and a half point underdog we'll
01:17talk about that total in just a little bit because again oh boy but McNeese
01:20first tournament victory in program history and Will Wade was ecstatic in
01:26the celebration of it you saw that you know when the brackets came out the
01:30analysts immediately went to this game watch out for McNeese same thing they
01:33did last year though but we thought this might be okay maybe the lights were too
01:37bright last year they weren't this year and also there's a way to beat a team
01:40and there's a way to embarrass a team and you might still see that 69 67 say
01:44boy Clemson came all the way back in the second half and they get a little bit of
01:47credit for that but you get no credit for 13 points in the first half and
01:51every tweet that came out from every major account was like Wow talking about
01:54bully ball in this game it wasn't Clemson bullying the lowly McNeese
01:58Cowboys it was the Cowboys bullying the Tigers yesterday and it was apparent 31
02:03to 13 like sometimes you expect that from like a a Houston to beat down a
02:07team that's like a lower mid-major not from a lower mid-major to beat down an
02:11ACC team has been pointed out at 18 and 2 on the season 54 points in the second
02:16half doesn't hold up but also understand this McNeese understands you're not
02:20gonna win this way going up against more efficient teams that have a better
02:22offense and Purdue certainly with one of those efficient offenses that can score
02:25every which way love the defense love the athletic ability a little bit scared
02:30at the end but you still get credit for that victory but winning a game again
02:33but 21% from the three-point line and 50% from the free-throw line that usually
02:39doesn't do it but it just shows you again how dug in defensively the
02:42Cowboys were to get an 18-point lead at the first half break that's enough to
02:46carry over good win for the Cowboys up by 24 early in the second half as well
02:53now let's talk that total 133 and a half as I said we've all had some bad beats
02:59in our life but Donnie I bet the under of this game expected McNeese to maybe
03:04pull off the upset if they were going to do so it would be that sensational
03:08defense orchestrated by Will Wade by the way against his alma mater he did go
03:14to Clemson 31-13 in the first half 44 combined points 13 for the 18 win ACC
03:23team only for Clemson to score 54 in a second half 92 combined frankly I can't
03:30get mad at the Pokes Christian Shoemate is one of the best leapers and dunkers
03:34in college basketball they were having their moment they are living it up in
03:38the month of March as they should they weren't necessarily icing away the shot
03:43clock on possessions either I truly could not believe my eyes under three
03:48minutes Clemson now all of a sudden could not miss from three McNeese is
03:52dunking with 23 seconds left on the shot clock and DRS I'm saying to myself as I
03:57am watching in my apartment this is gonna go over I'm going to lose this
04:01game and yeah it did go that way yeah that's out of the tough ones because
04:07when you have that type of first half most of the time you're expecting to be
04:10in the game one way or another but when you get that great start where team
04:13scores 13 points and you go like well boy even if they're three times as good
04:17in the second half they wind up somewhere in the 30s with their points
04:20and you live with that but a 13 first half and a 54 second half that's an
04:24interesting you know switch over per se because McNeese plays great defense and
04:28yes Clemson sooner or later is gonna start to make some shots but how many
04:30shots are they gonna hit that was an incredible amount in the second half I'd
04:34love to see if we had any sort of research on a point differential between
04:38two halves there where one team only scored in the teens because sometimes
04:42you have hey we scored 25 and then 60 in the second half oh that's really
04:45interesting but a team that couldn't find anything couldn't hit water from a
04:49boat at that point 13 points at the break then score 54 in the second half
04:53that's got to be an anomaly it certainly was cost me an under hey that's okay
04:58that's personally about me we'll talk about the ACC in just a little bit as we
05:03go to our first game of opening round of 64 Thursday in the South region
05:08between Creighton and Louisville but the IRS let's keep diving through the
05:12Cinderella upsets that we saw on Thursday that includes the 11 seed in
05:16the West region the Drake Bulldogs knocking off the succeed another team
05:21out of the SEC in Missouri we know that Drake is a really good team I have the
05:27Bulldogs in my sweet 16 I bet on Drake at a plus 1080 number to reach the
05:32second weekend they win round of 64 in their matchup against Mizzou by double
05:37digits 67 57 outright as a six and a half point underdog but Donnie that's
05:44what a lot of people expected one of the heaviest bets around all of the sports
05:49book was on Drake to cover as a six and a half point dog spooked me a little bit
05:54should have never doubted Bennett Sturtz and Ben McCollum they pick up the upset
05:59over Mizzou yes it's one of those teams certainly you can see them possibly
06:03winning another game even against all odds there you take a look at a very
06:06good Missouri team and a very efficient Missouri team which is why I first
06:10looked at that total which was hovering around 132 and a half to 133 and a half
06:13and say what Missouri's I mean they got to get at least 65 70 points in this
06:17game right and if it's they're the underdog Drake maybe they have to pick
06:20up their pace just a little bit never happened 67 57 final and Missouri only
06:24scored 57 points in that game so this was exactly the footprint that Drake
06:28wanted entering into this game and it played out accordingly
06:31DRS we talked about it entering this game as it was one of our favorite bets
06:36to the over at the end of the regular season they were a team that played with
06:41pace but we knew that Drake who has the slowest tempo in college basketball 364
06:46of 364 selective in their shot process grinding down the clock until the end of
06:52the shot clock and you saw the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year in
06:56Bennett starts perform on the biggest stage 21 points perfect from deep three
07:01of three from beyond the arc the first time Drake will advance to route number
07:06two in the NCAA tournament since 1971 what Ben McCollum has done in his first
07:12year in Des Moines to continue the great basketball tradition with the Bulldogs
07:16it is something to know plenty more from Thursday next the first game of round of
07:2364 Thursday of the 2025 men's NCAA tournament a slight upset as well just
07:29one spot of differential on the seed line and only a two and a half point
07:34spread but man when the Creighton Blue Jays shoot the ball as well as they did
07:38yesterday it's going to be a good tournament for see you they knock out
07:43Louisville the eighth seed out of the ACC like Clemson in 18 win conference
07:49season 89 75 Creighton wins outright DRS as a two and a half point underdog a
07:56total at 142 and a hook does sky over yeah 57% as a team from the floor for
08:03Creighton it was evident in the first half as they dropped 49 points on
08:07Louisville and this was actually a good game pretty early in there bouncing back
08:11back and forth Louisville making some runs and by the that final five to six
08:14minute stands where Creighton just took control that it was over at the break
08:17second half they just put it on cruise control 4140 winning the second half for
08:21the Louisville Cardinal but for me just watching this game it was almost like
08:24boy why did I switch it here because there's so many different ways that the
08:27Creighton Blue Jays can actually score particularly from the three-point line
08:3046% as a team they can throw flames they got a big guy they could play defense
08:34and at offense the lobster they're all game Louisville just didn't have enough
08:38even though that place was rocking in the favor of Louisville Cardinal and it
08:43didn't matter Creighton was just a better team a huge day for Jamiah Neal
08:47the Arizona State transfer for Greg McDermott and his Blue Jays 29 points
08:52Steven Ashworth who is a great sharpshooter for triples as well Creighton
08:57wins out right is that two and a half point underdog 89 75 DRS one of the more
09:02key games of our Thursday in the round of 64 bill self in a Kansas Jayhawks on
09:08the seven line in the West region against John Calipari and the 10 seed in
09:13the West region in Arkansas it was your favorite bet of the round of 64 the
09:18Razorbacks with boogie flan back in the rotation just playing better basketball
09:23in the final month and a half of their SE sleep SEC sleep at least keeping the
09:28game close in covering as a five and a half point underdog not just a cover for
09:34Cal and his hogs an outright victory 79 72 Arkansas wins outright advancing to
09:40the round of 32 it's funny too because I started the season with Kansas messing
09:44around here at the fan little sports book with a player prop parlay and Zeke
09:47May was a big part of that as well as Hunter Dickinson's rebounds so it's
09:50fitting they ended the season but also helping me out with my best bet of the
09:54day with the Arkansas Razorbacks 79 to 72 victory it wasn't so much of a great
09:59handicap I'm like you know what Arkansas can do some things to Kansas and should
10:02be able to expose him we know Kansas plays pretty good defense and the
10:05pedigree is there with a lot of really good players and a really good head
10:08coach but something was just a miss all season long so when you started the
10:11graded out the end of the season Arkansas a better team at the end of the
10:15season they were at the beginning of the season and boogie and coming back they
10:18said without if you're handicapped was boogie flan coming back that makes all
10:21the difference well he did play 24 minutes he is a veteran player there
10:25didn't play all that well which now you say maybe he gets his legs under him for
10:28the round of 32 but taking the five and a half points was the key for me as you
10:32saw yesterday with the fans and sportsbook bouncing between four and a
10:35half and five and a half points was I do think Arkansas can win I just don't
10:39trust Kansas as a double-digit winner in this game because I haven't played that
10:42way all year long taking the Arkansas Razorbacks put them in my pool worked
10:45out move them forward but also even better the five and a half points was a
10:48steal in this one they were fantastic all the way through Arkansas over 147
10:54and a half Arkansas led by double digits KU did battle its way back but for the
11:00Jayhawks history you do not want to have preseason number one for the second
11:04consecutive year ousted by the opening weekend in the big dance for a second
11:09consecutive year the first time that the Jayhawks have lost in a round of 64 game
11:14since 2006 nearly two decades ago DRS throughout this season we highlighted
11:21KU's struggle a perennial powerhouse in the big 12 dropping at least eight
11:26conference games in two straight years the first time that KU had done that
11:30since the late 80s which was the last time that Kansas even missed the NCAA
11:36tournament this was the first time in a while in the big dance the Jayhawks were
11:39not on a four-line or better a lot to figure out for Bill Self this offseason
11:45in Lawrence including roster construction because when you have
11:49Hunter Dickinson and AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo and other guys you have recruited
11:53to be in that program and it doesn't work out I think you're left with a lot
11:58of questions and looking for those answers yep and those answers are gonna
12:02come from a brown paper bag with hundreds of thousands if not millions in
12:06NIL money to try to rebuild that roster that didn't work out and this wasn't one
12:10of those teams like hey the little engine that code one of those years we
12:12expected to be down Kansas was expected to compete for a national championship
12:16and as you said first time in a long time getting bounced in round number one
12:20and deservingly so they should have got bounced that's how they played this year
12:23and they played exactly the same way in the tournament then so Kansas out in the
12:28opening round to ACC teams that won 18 conference games bounced from the big
12:34dance as well plenty more recaps setting the stage for everything you will see in
12:39the tournament the 12 over the 5 always in upset people look at in the round of
12:4664 at an NCAA tournament McNeese plucks off Clemson that happening in the
12:52Midwest region how about one DRS that many people felt was likely in the South
12:58region as well the champions of the Big Ten tournament in Michigan playing
13:03their best basketball now in tournament play in March taking on a 30-win team in
13:09the champions out of the Big West conference that would be UC San Diego in
13:14their fifth year as a d1 program their first year eligible for the NCAA
13:19tournament the Tritons into the big dance for the first time ever so much
13:24love for UC San Diego in the market moving a four and a half point spread it
13:28open down to just a two and a half point spread yesterday as we got the tip late
13:33night in Denver Colorado and yet it was Michigan prevailing in a close game
13:40which has been the story for the Maize & Blue all year long 68 65 even a cover
13:48for the Wolverines as they knock out UC San Diego but the final score decided by
13:53a hook when it comes to that spread and three points in the outright number
13:58really DRS does not tell the story Michigan blitzed UC San Diego right out
14:03the gates they were up 10 nothing like that they led by double digits at the
14:07break the Maize & Blue led by as many as 15 points early in the second half before
14:11the Tritons started to find their footing three ball going down turning
14:16Michigan over constantly leading to good looks UC San Diego came all the way
14:21back to take their first lead in the game with about two and a half minutes
14:25remaining only for Trey Donaldson and the Wolverines to answer and for
14:30Michigan to come out with a 68 65 win that's the MO for Michigan all season
14:35long winning and winning close here so you could say they were very comfortable
14:39with the way that game finished here even though they lost the lead they had
14:41the entire game in the final few moments but also understand when you're picking
14:45your brackets out right sometimes you get caught up in you got to pick a
14:48couple 12 seeds you got to pick a couple 11 seeds here and looking at the game
14:53saying well I really see the upsets but I have to pick a couple don't we always
14:56end up going like well this is the game I got to pick and wait a second you know
14:58to 12 seeds one I picked the opposite 12 seeds that lost and the other ones that
15:03I had wins from an O and four and those bracket rounds you always have to be
15:06make sure you're careful which ones you're picking out but for me it was
15:09yesterday sticking with the right thing bigger conference good team in Michigan
15:14playing great basketball at the end of the season don't outsmart myself and I
15:17thought it was a genius pick at 41 to 27 at the break only to wake up to see how
15:21close it was but again the prevailing line was two and a half you pick
15:25Michigan to move on in your bracket both of those things still happen and that's
15:28a quality victory most people once you see San Diego took Michigan all the end
15:32of the wire that was a good team like the handicapped yesterday just with the
15:35line was you better be taking San Diego that's respect here why is it only two
15:39and a half it's there for a reason they have a legitimate chance to win and they
15:42did at the end of the game but credit Michigan for getting the victory when so
15:46many people saw that bracket come out like you know what that's a spot for an
15:50upset right there move San Diego to the next round and it was Michigan prevailing
15:54at the end dusty May in Michigan that was the 17th game this season for the
15:59maize and blue decided by four points or fewer they are 13 and 4 outright in
16:05those games including 11 consecutive wins in games decided by at least or at
16:11maximum I should say a four-point margin so Michigan advances on to the
16:17round of 32 who will the Wolverines see that's the fourth seed in the South
16:21region Texas A&M my best bet yesterday Yale to keep it close and maybe strike
16:27the upset the 13th seed over the four as the Bulldogs the champions of the Ivy
16:32League did a year ago A&M had other ideas the Aggies prevail 80 to 71 Texas
16:40A&M does cover in that game as well the Aggies DRS were really good
16:45offensively yesterday shooting the three ball a little bit better than I
16:49anticipated decided by single digits but Yale was hardly really ever within that
16:54striking margin even beating around the seven and a half point spread that we
16:58saw pretty good yeah and I think a lot of people like
17:02Yale rightfully so because one of those teams where you just think Ivy League
17:05like back with Princeton it's like run that offense backdoor cutting screens
17:08really frustrating 55 52 final but it's like you know what this is the new wave
17:12of the Ivy League they can get up and down the court they can shoot the
17:15three-point shot they can be really efficient at times but sometimes you
17:19just take a look at the Ivy League and match it up against the SEC and Texas
17:22A&M really didn't do themselves any favors like they were efficient from a
17:25scoring percentage of 51.7 percent before only 24 percent from three-point
17:30range in 57 percent from the free-throw line the upset was there to be had so
17:34credit the Texas A&M Aggies here we're taking on a strong Yale team and getting
17:38the cover the seven and a half's out there just missing out we understand
17:41that but a good win by the Aggies overall because they were right for the
17:45upset the way they shot from the free-throw line in the three-point line
17:47yesterday. Donnie one of the big keys for that matchup how would Yale defend the
17:52glass would they keep Texas A&M the best offensive rebounding team in the nation
17:56off the offensive boards they did a decent job only 10 for A&M but a huge
18:02day for Pharrell Payne the Minnesota transfer in the big off the bench for
18:06Buzz Williams 25 points 10 of 12 from the floor and 10 boards I expected more
18:12out of Yale John Pulikides was okay 4 of 10 from deep 23 points but another
18:19all-ivy league performer in Bez Embang 0 for 0 of 5 from the floor you can't have
18:25your best players not show up on the biggest stage of the year if you are
18:29going to strike the upset or even cover as an underdog so round of 32 in Denver
18:35it'll be Michigan and Texas A&M on Saturday top of the South region that
18:41would be the Auburn Tigers our number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament
18:46and Donnie we all were debating how would Auburn come out and respond after
18:52dropping three of their final four games before the big dance well the answer
18:56early against Alabama State the champions of the black was not a
19:01resounding okay Auburn has fixed its issues they let by ten at the break 41
19:0731 but this game had a one-point lead for the Tigers in the opening half late
19:13in the opening half before Auburn does rally in the second half winning that
19:17one by 10 83 63 Alabama State easily covers and a 32 and a half point
19:24underdog sure Auburn wins by 20 but it wasn't the easiest opening round win you
19:30will ever see for a one seed versus a 16 seed yeah you got to make your free
19:34throws they only shot 56% but also having said that it was sort of that
19:38like a wait a second what is going on in this first half where you knew they
19:41weren't gonna lose the game but then you start to question how far you have
19:45Auburn going heading down the back end of the season not playing as good a
19:49basketball even though you're playing really good competition on night-to-night
19:51basis and the thought process behind Auburn round number one was boy let's
19:55get in there and beat this team by 50 to get those good vibes going I didn't
19:58necessarily subscribe to that theory but didn't think they couldn't cover
20:01that large number but this was a two or three possession game late in the first
20:06half before Auburn stretched it up to ten points and then sort of took
20:09control right away in the second half as expected for a team of Auburn's ilk but
20:13I don't leave this game feeling worse for the where going oh now really one
20:17they only won by 20 at this point sometimes you just have to find your
20:21footing again even when you're not playing your best basketball still a 20
20:24point win they'll take it they'll move on and I expect a much better clean
20:28effort on offense in the round of 32 the R.S. less than four minutes remaining in
20:32the opening half the Hornets cut this to a three-point margin I jumped in on
20:36Auburn live as an 18 and a half point favorite down from a 32 and a half point
20:41favorite pregame did hit the live bet but of course it wasn't the easiest live
20:46bet we will ever see Auburn and Creighton won nine matchup in the South
20:51Region on Saturday and then of course we have Michigan in Texas A&M that is the
20:57top portion of the South Region let's keep it moving elsewhere around the
21:02bracket an 11-6 we saw Drake not off Missouri an 11-6 where Donnie both you
21:08and I thought VCU probably had a better performance in them than what we saw on
21:12display on Thursday in Denver yeah that didn't really come to fruition
21:17BYU continues to play good basketball they've won 10 of their last 11 and
21:23frankly they handle the Rams the champions of the 810 yesterday 80 to 71
21:29the Cougars cover as a two and a half point favorite I mean even you're looking
21:33at the game itself we say for VCU Ben 15 of 38 from three-point range 40% you say
21:37if you would have told me that before the game they beat the BYU Cougars they
21:40just couldn't stop the BYU Cougars on offense and overall you only get total
21:44free throw attempts for VCU that's not good enough when the other team shot 28
21:48times from the floor you weren't looking at that game saying well the refs were
21:51in Pete no BYU was crashing the glass and forcing the issue here they were the
21:55better team yesterday no excuse live right here on the early line on sports
22:04grid we continue to recap everything we saw in the round of 64 Thursday at the
22:092025 men's NCAA tournament bright and early here on this Friday morning DRS
22:15we're looking at the West region BYU VCU the Cougars good yesterday 80 to 71 a
22:22victory for Kevin Young who gets BYU a victory in the big dance for the first
22:27time in a long time they have won 10 of their last 11 the only loss in the big
22:3212 tournament semifinals to Houston and they have covered in all 10 of those
22:37victories as well a really good BYU team setting up a great round of 32 matchup
22:44in Denver on Saturday against Wisconsin the Badgers handle business against
22:50Montana the Grizz the champions of the Big Sky was a little bit tight early in
22:54the second half but we saw a lot of points once again not your father's
22:59Wisconsin offense 85 points for the Badgers 18th time this season that great
23:04guard and company have scored at least 80 points that's the most in a single
23:08season for Wisconsin in program history yeah about Tanja yesterday 9 of 9 from
23:13the free-throw line wasn't efficient to say the least in the last game we saw
23:16them in the Big Ten Conference Championship game but picks up 15 points
23:19didn't need them all that much got some pretty good bench efforts but
23:22understand this Wisconsin loves the three-point shot you know what I like
23:24even more when the three-point shot isn't necessarily going down in waves
23:28you still have other ways to win 16 of 20 from the free-throw line which is 80
23:32percent as a team but 55 percent overall as a team from the floor that's enough
23:37to get it done it's a fun brand of basketball and these are the couple
23:40games that we picked out in this East region where you say to yourself all
23:42right you got some teams that are real fluid on offense real fun some true shot
23:47makers and you are going to get that in round number two has been pointed out
23:51looking forward to that game maybe more than any other game because it's
23:54aesthetically pleasing for you boy DRS to watch open offenses and drop
23:58three-point shots and have some fun out there
24:01DRS the odds makers expected to be a great tilt tomorrow in Denver a minus
24:06one and a half point spread in favor of Wisconsin 16 cents of difference on the
24:11money line total at 154 and a half that's the only game or the only round
24:15of 32 matchup we have seen decided in the East region a lot of action today
24:20including the top team in that portion of the bracket Duke we didn't get word
24:25yesterday of course the Cooper flag is good to go the Blue Devils take on Mount
24:29St. Mary's as a 32 and a half point favorite let's head up to the Midwest
24:35region where the team on the top line in that portion of the bracket the
24:39Houston Cougars DRS I do not want to be a 16 seed take it on Kelvin Sampson and
24:45the Cougs if there is something to prove for Houston as they're often is Houston
24:50a big victory over SIU Edwardsville 78 48 we ran the fade the public poll
24:57yesterday which big favorite do we expect to win comfortably cruise to a
25:02cover both you and I voted for Houston you see why 78 40 Houston easily covers
25:09as a 28 and a half point favorite last year in the round of 64 when they're
25:13opening round game by 40 this year 38 and yet SIUE scored 24 points in the
25:21opening half their team total for the Cougars the champions of the Ohio Valley
25:25entering the game was already minimal at 48 and a half you thought they were on
25:29great pace to hit that 16 points in those final 20 minutes that Houston
25:34defense elite once more yeah pour some out there for the total backers as well
25:39who saw a 52 to 24 game by going Houston's probably gonna get at least 85
25:44to 90 points in this game and over the final six minutes they won't care and
25:48the defense will be lax that didn't happen it was like what happened to the
25:51offense in the second half 26 to 16 here in a game where you saw Houston easily
25:56win but you're right about it Houston's one of the few teams here that there are
25:59some key teams out here Ben right good basketball programs whose marquee
26:03footprint is like you know we play good defense but Houston really just takes it
26:07up a level where you see that team total 48 and a half and your brain immediately
26:11thinks it's got to be better than that or they'll still be around that number
26:15and you get 24th to break in a blowout which is perfect because you would have
26:19been nervous if it was 29 24th to break Houston all right enough yeah enough's
26:23enough we're gonna play great defense and really get out of here but the fact
26:26that they were blowing them out only gave up 16 points in the second half is
26:31incredible Houston's one-of-a-kind they can bring this type of grind the effort
26:34I was talking about like st. John's can do the same things but Houston is st.
26:38John's on steroids the way they can bring it and they have the mo of the
26:41past couple years of being a really good basketball team maybe it's a year for
26:45Kelvin Sampson at Houston five consecutive trips at least to this week
26:50final four bid in elite eight run in there as well Houston has a very
26:55difficult round of 32 matchup though for a one seat in the Midwest region
27:01because Gonzaga as we found out very quickly yesterday DRS has no business
27:06being on the eight line 89 68 the Zags absolutely route Georgia easily covering
27:13as a six and a half point favorite Gonzaga started the game on a 13-0
27:18spurt they let 23 to 3 less than 8 minutes in to that game and led by 21 at
27:25the half winning by 21 mark fused Gonzaga Bulldogs have not dropped a
27:31round of 64 game since Stephen Curry was at Davidson that's the last time
27:37Gonzaga lost in their opening game in the big dance the Zags will have an
27:42opportunity to continue their sweet six to continue their sweet 16 streak they
27:46do take on Houston however tomorrow in the round of 32 streaks on the line and
27:52made like is without seeing the way the game's finished today in the matchups I
27:55can't imagine a better round two matchup with eyes on a focus for Houston is
28:00sensation and you go well mark few is gonna have those answers with a you know
28:04major team right here that's ready to play and playing their best basketball
28:08at the end of the season which included knocking off st. Mary's in an ugly
28:11performance in the WCC conference and now dropping 89 on an SEC team and
28:16easily dispatching them where some people are saying my computer screen is
28:20wrong what does this score actually say to open this game 48 points in the first
28:24half cruise to victory all the way out I cannot wait to see that matchup between
28:27Houston and Gonzaga in round number two looking for their 10th consecutive sweet
28:3416 appearance we just talked about how Houston is hoping for sweet 16 bid
28:39number six in a row that game Saturday 840 p.m. Eastern Time a four and a half
28:46point spread in favor of the Cougs Oh at 139 and a half DRS will fill out the
28:52rest of the Midwest region all the action around out Thursday in the round
28:57of 64 on the other side of the break but what a game we have in the round of 32
29:03between Houston and Gonzaga I don't understand the committee sometimes the
29:07Zags ranked eighth in the net rankings the metric the committee uses first and
29:12foremost and yet were the eighth seed in the Midwest portion of the bracket
29:17plenty more from around the big dance on this Friday on TTL live right here on
29:22this Friday on the early line on sports grid let's continue to tell the tale of
29:26Thursday at the round of 64 the men's big dance and what we saw in the Midwest
29:31region DRS a lot in the Midwest has already been figured out for the round
29:34of 32 a matchup we really didn't dive into much yesterday UCLA and Utah State
29:41we got to it quickly the Aggies and the Bruins Utah State out of the Mountain
29:45West UCLA UCLA of course in its first year in the Big Ten Donny's you and I
29:49were looking at the game we both kind of lean with UCLA as I was examining it
29:54further wasn't in love by a Utah State team that still won 26 games this year
29:59felt it would be an easy win for UCLA and it was the Bruins cover as a five
30:04and a half point favorite absolutely absolutely routing Utah State who has a
30:09good offense 72 47 25 point win for Mick Cronin and his Bruins in round number
30:16one yeah shout out the you know Mountain West Conference at this point for really
30:20putting on a show at San Diego State and Utah State so far you shoot four from 31
30:24from three-point range that'll do me every single time shoot 30% we know the
30:28calling card for UCLA's they're gonna play good defense I actually thought
30:31this was a very good chance for an upset spot here for Utah State being the
30:3510th ranked here assuming the 10th seed versus the 17 UCLA Bruins it wasn't the
30:38case and it was a wrap early on in this game they just strangled them from the
30:42three-point line play greed defense they're moving on another case of maybe
30:45outsmart yourself a little bit bigger conference there in the Big Ten taking
30:49on a smaller conference in the Mountain West but the Mountain West got a lot of
30:51hype this year there's some good basketball teams but boy they're not
30:54showing that on the national stage they're worthy right now which gets me a
30:58little nervous for Colorado State yesterday was a UCLA day man yes it
31:03certainly was the RS first time this year for Utah State scoring south of 60
31:08points the 20th most efficient offense in the country only put up 47 against
31:13UCLA speaking of the Mount West in the last six NCAA tournaments dating back to
31:18the 2019 Big Dance San Diego State seven and five including of course that magical
31:23run two years ago the national championship runner-ups coming up just
31:27short against UConn the only team San Diego State last year out of six from
31:32the Mountain West to see the second weekend the other six schools from the
31:36Mountain West conference that have reached the Big Dance in this six-year
31:39window outside of San Diego State 2 and 15 keep an eye on Colorado State today
31:4418 that has a 12 seed is booked as a favorite against a 5 seed in Memphis
31:51Tennessee the 2 seed in the Midwest portion of the bracket tested by
31:55Wofford the good shooting champions of the SoCon but ultimately Tennessee does
32:01prevail winning by 15 however the Terriers do cover as that 18 and a half
32:05point dog yeah again key ingredient here nobody really thought the Wofford
32:09Terriers were gonna come in and be SEC you know Tennessee volunteers here and
32:13they didn't but also if you do want a team that has a chance to strike the
32:16upset not saying that Wofford did down close to double digits at the break lost
32:20the second half as well you need a team that with the ability to shoot the
32:23three-point shot 11 of 26 for 42% as long as you have that in your arsenal
32:27you can keep some of these games close so even when you're matching up with
32:30teams that you don't technically match up with sometimes you just can't do
32:33anything with defending the three-point line with a good offense Wofford knocks
32:37some of those shots down which is why they end up covering that spread 17 and
32:40a half 18 and a half were out there yesterday Wofford got the job done
32:43didn't win a game but probably back the people that backed them pretty happy
32:46with their out yeah yeah no doubt about it DRS top of the Midwest region we'll
32:50just quickly to seven matchup round of 32 tomorrow between the Vols and the
32:55Bruins expected to be a defensive grind fan one thirty two and a half is the
33:00total Tennessee around a four and a half point favorite all right DRS that's the
33:05Midwest region you also see the 12 seed in McNeese can they continue to run they
33:09will take on Purdue many people thought the Boilermakers might be right for an
33:14upset yesterday against high point the Big South champion held to their season
33:19low just 63 points against the Boilermakers much more defense frankly
33:24on both sides than I anticipated Purdue does win by 12 those 75 63 Matt Painter's
33:30crew covering as a seven and a half point favorite they'll take that because
33:34if you figure an ugly effort of 33% from the three-point line and 63% from the
33:40free-throw line only 45% shooting oh no Purdue went home early again Ben wasn't
33:45the case I like wins like that don't bring your a game still win by double
33:49digits when that a game does kick in you'll be better for and Purdue very
33:53good and very efficient on offense gonna get a tussle here from a really good and
33:58athletic defensive team at McNeese I think Purdue's got a good matchup though
34:01with that I don't think they'll turn the basketball over hit their open shots I
34:04think they'll be not worse for the wear where you saw Clemson like we don't have
34:08any answers until the second half Purdue can't afford that and they won't the
34:12rest of the round of 64 scores from our 16 games yesterday Texas Tech and UNC
34:18Wilmington in the final game of the day the Red Raiders got tested a single
34:22possession game for a good portion of the second half Texas Tech wins by 10 82
34:2872 UNC dubbed the champions of the CAA do cover as an 18 and a half point dog
34:33we talked about st. John's they win by 30 but only up by 5 at the break let's be
34:39more when our 2 comes away next