UCONN Comeback, Final Four

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All right, coming up at 1240 or in about 40 minutes from right now.

A CBS sports college basketball writer Matt Norlander joins us.

He will be all over the final four, what a weekend it was.

So we'll recap that with him.

Coming up at the top of our number three, Texas Tech.

Head football coach Joy McGuire joins me once again.

NFL draft is coming up. He's got a number of key guys.

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All right, once again, 1-800-636-8686.

All right, starting with the weekend.

Let me ask you something.

Remember when the NCAA tournament was boring and lame.

Remember that.

Neither do I.

One more quick question.

Are you not entertained?

I was the one sitting in this very seat a week ago pushing back hard on the haters

and that bull-crap narrative that the tournament just isn't all that anymore.

Yeah, well, I don't think any of the genius lava pigs

are trying to make that argument today.

Not after we were just treated to one of the most insane, outrageous, incredible endings

in the history of that sport.

So was that one of the single greatest comebacks ever?

Or was that one of the most single horrific gag jobs ever?

Of course, the answer is, as always, yes.

Look, I don't want to take anything away from Yukon

because they pulled off the impossible.

They did.

But I also have to admit that the impossible was only possible because Duke did not finish again.

Now, you know I hate to use the word choke.

And I always think long and hard before I ever hit anybody with that label.

But for the second year in a row, there is no other word to describe the end of Duke season.

There is no question they choked.

Like that guy.

Like me sometimes on my almonds.

But, but, but, but, there's also no question Yukon or winners.

There's no question they've got the heart of a champion.

There is no question whether or not they are built for these moments.

Yukon clearly is made for this and right now Duke clearly is not.

Because this is not the first time they've let one slip away.

I asked X last night at Jim Rome.

Quote.

What is it?

I'm not sure who's more in shock.

Me or Duke?

Did that really just happen at Duke?

Again.

And a quote.

Well, now that I've slept on it, I realize the answer is neither.

Neither of us should be shocked because it keeps happening to Duke.

And I keep watching it happen at Duke.

It's like, I don't know, certainly Duke is Duke.

And they blow, blow more big games.

Then leave it to Piva.

We runs.

Certainly, Duke is Duke.

And they joke and gag and die.

At the tournament.

More than leave it to Piva.

We runs.

Certainly, Duke is Duke.

And they puked all over themselves and pissed down their leg.

Again, more than Piva ever would.

Certainly, Duke is Duke.

But even Piva wouldn't have tried to split that trap that he knew was coming.

Even though Brusa did.

I mean, last year was bad enough.

In fact, I would have said that it was impossible to get any worse than last year.

That 90 Houston run in the last 35 seconds in the final four felt like the most impossible collapse ever.

Until yesterday.

Until Duke blew a 19 point lead.

And a 15 point halftime lead to become the first one seed in tournament history to lose when leading by 15 or more at halftime.

The stat is insane.

Number one seeds were 134 in zero when leading by 15 or more.

At halftime before yesterday.

Not anymore, they're not.

Which is why I can't put it all on that one turnover at the end of the game.

Duke blew it as a team.

And then they spent most of the second half blowing it as a team.

And even still, it just took one more crazy turnover.

And an even crazier logo three to complete the comeback.

They still weren't in position to somehow some way back into a dub.

I can't stop watching the sequence.

And this braille and Moan's bomb over and over and over and over and over again.

Over.

It's to go.

By the cut and run through the ball.

And who better than this guy get it in the blizzard.

A matter of sharp ahead.

Boozier that ball deflected and stolen by Mullins.

Caravan two seconds.

Mullins tosses it up.

It's gone.

We're pulling three.

You got goes and throw.

I mean, incredible.

Impossible.

The purest, weddest stroke in a big spot you're ever going to see.

Coming from a freshman who missed his first four three-point attempts before that shot.

And then on the flip side, one of the worst and most costly turnovers ever from Kaden Boozier.

And one that he's unfortunately going to have to wear for the rest of his life.

That part is brutal, especially when your twin bro is on the team.

I feel for the dude.

And I respect that he sat in his locker and he owned it afterwards.

But I've got no idea what he was thinking with that pass.

I guess easy to say now.

But what was he thinking with that pass?

Especially since he didn't even have to make that pass.

He didn't even have to dribble.

He could have held it, taken a foul, gone to the line, ended the game right there.

Instead, he panicked and he caused them that game.

But again, at least in the end, he did own it.

I turned the ball over.

I should have been shocked with the ball.

I caused our team our season.

But a coach tires say before and that time out, before you guys were involved in the ball there.

And we knew that they were going to trap.

Just to be sure on the ball.

And that's brutal. That's tough.

But incredibly stand up for a young guy.

But again, it wasn't that one play that caused Duke.

The only made two fuel goals in the last six and a half minutes.

They did not finish.

It's not that Ken Booser did not finish.

It's that collectively, once again, they all did not finish.

Again.

And that's not a problem for John Shire.

This is a guy who's had nothing but massive success as the Duke head coach.

Except for in the biggest moments.

But then again, that's what being Duke coach is coming through in the biggest moments.

And that's not happening.

Not only are Shire's Duke teams not coming through, they're gagging games in impossible ways.

It's undeniable at this point that this Duke program under Shire has a finishing problem.

They have a gagging problem.

And that's the only long term takeaway.

Anybody is going to have from this Duke season.

Nobody's going to remember the 35 wins.

They're only going to remember the one impossible loss.

Just like nobody remembers the 35 games they won last year either.

I mean, hell, you can't start that game one of 18 from three.

You can't lose to a team that misses 17 of their first 18 three attempts.

That can't happen.

Even Dan Hurley could not believe that stat when they told him after the game that that was the case.

And you guys started one of 18 from three point range, finished four for five.

And hit the game winner from three.

How ironic is that?

What do you feel was the, what turned for you guys down the stretch there?

What the hell did you just say one for 18?

I knew it was bad.

I kept asking the assistant coaches and no one would tell me what it was.

I knew it was bad.

Quote, what the hell did you just tell me?

I knew it was bad, but the assistant coaches wouldn't tell me.

Oh, it was bad.

It was really bad.

It was definitely bad until they turned it around.

Incredibly, it nailed four of their last five threes, including the Moans winner.

This is what I mean.

They're built for it.

They miss 17 of 18 and start the game, but knocked down four of five to end the game.

And I have to admit, watching Yukon crawl out of that hole and work through that shooting slump

in order to snatch Duke Souls right out of their bodies really was incredibly satisfying.

Now, here's why I say that.

I'm not a Dukeator.

Many of you know this is an enormous coach K house.

I've never been one to take cheap shots at that program, class program, great program.

I've never even been one to root against that program just for the sake of rooting against the program.

But I have to admit, watching Duke get late nerd was pretty awesome.

Because for all these years, we've seen it go the other way, like 36 years of watching that shot.

So watching people actually get behind Dan Hurley, a guy that I do love for once,

because he got rid of Duke is pretty hilarious to me.

It's like everybody wants to hit on Dan Hurley until he knocks out Duke and now everybody loves him.

Again, all of that nonsense aside, I cannot say enough good things about Dan Hurley.

This is exactly why I love this guy.

People can talk all they want about how insufferable he is.

But look at how tough, how gritty, how badass his team is.

They're winners for a reason.

Hurley is a fighter.

So his team fights and they stayed in that fight yesterday because Hurley would not have it any other way.

And that's just the way they've been drilled.

That's the way they train.

Those are their habits.

That's the way they practice.

That's the way they work.

That's who they are.

Even after missing 17 of 18 from beyond the arc, they don't change.

They keep coming.

And actually I take that back.

They do change.

They made all the right adjustments in the second half.

Every right adjustment.

It's Dan Hurley.

He made every critical adjustment that he needed to.

He pressed every right button at the right time, including the decision not to immediately foul.

On that defensive possession.

Dan Hurley looks as good right now as John Shire looks bad.

Because unfortunately for Shire and Duke, nobody will ever be forgetting that game and that moment ever.

The Latener comp is not in exaggeration because nobody's ever forgotten that.

They did just get late nerd.

And that is a forever moment.

Now I don't really know what Shire was supposed to say or what he was going to say after that game.

And nothing could really that he could say could make any of it any better anyway.

So honestly I'm really not surprised that he essentially had no explanation for what happened.

Could not be more disappointed and feeling for our guys.

And the same time of just trying to process what happened.

I don't have the words.

I don't have the words.

It's not that hard to process what happened.

You came from a head to choke again in catastrophic fashion just like last year.

He has so many words.

I mean, I'll forgive him that.

We don't need words because your face told the entire story.

The image of your facial expression as that shot went down was worth a million words.

I mean, would you look at this guy?

If you're watching on the stream, have you ever seen an expression like that before?

I mean, easy Jim Carrey.

When did Carrey become the coach of Duke?

I mean, what would you even call that face?

Bewildered, befuddled, devastated, Christian Ronaldo?

That was the funniest post I saw in X.

The one comparing Shire's face to that hideous and infamous Ronaldo statue.

Two of the weirdest and most off-putting facial expressions that they have ever seen.

At least Shire had an excuse.

I have no idea what Ronaldo's sculptor was doing or thinking with that bust.

But Shire was living through a nightmare in real time.

He was watching the impossible play out right in front of him and the entire world in real time.

And it's a disaster that nobody's ever going to forget.

That's going to stick to him and the rest of that team forever.

Just like Moans and the Huskies will never be forgotten for coming back on Duke

and stabbing them in the heart the way that they did.

All in all, another horrible weekend for the man.

The NCAA tournament really sucks now, crowd.

No, it doesn't.

But that take really does.

Man, NIO, the portal, the changing landscape, it wrecked a perfect event.

No, it didn't.

No, it didn't.

1-800-636-8686.

We're getting lost in all of this.

It's how awesome Arizona looked.

It's how awesome Michigan looked.

Getting lost in all of this because of that.

But I'll get to that a little bit later on.

So I do want to talk about Michigan and Arizona.

I want to talk about Tiger Woods and what's transpired since Friday after he flipped his rig again.

And what happened over the weekend?

They're guys deserving love, they're not getting it.

But that's what I'm here for to give people credit where credit is due.

So I want to get into all of that.

What about you?

You want to take advantage of this.

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Here are the digits.

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Let me quickly check some reaction before I go to break.

Why would Kaden Boozer ever ponder passing regards Paul Allen?

Why do you even ponder passing?

Unwar, Dan Hurley's pompous act.

I'm over it.

I mean, I could say in response.

Unwar your wooden act.

I'm over it.

But I won't.

Hey, look, some people were never going to like this guy.

I get it.

He's not for everybody.

Great coach.

Absolutely unbelievable coach.

Hey, Jim, this is why we Illinois fans would rather have played Duke than Yukon.

The Huskies are really good and Duke plays March Madness games like Tiger Woods drives.

Sign the Align Eye.

Yeah, no doubt.

I mean, it seemed like before the end of that game.

And especially when they were up early, up early.

All right, that's what you'd expect.

They look like, finally, they're getting healthy.

They look like the number one seed overall, which they were.

And that's going to make for a sexier, more competitive final four.

You could have made that argument until you saw Duke take a big dump in his pants yet again.

And then if you're Illinois, you're right.

You don't want to play Yukon because they're the epitome of not dead can't quit.

Not dead can't quit.

And they're in their third final four in four years.

This is not a coincidence.

And Duke went out again in the worst fashion imaginable.

Look, great program, really good team.

But you can't lose that game.

You cannot lose that game.

Not after you lost last year to Houston, the way you lost to Houston in the final four.

See, this is now a pattern.

And by the way, they also didn't look like a picture of complete composure against St. John's

either when St. John's turned up the heat and started pressure them.

They started to lose it there too.

Or last quote, Jim, not every coach can be a coach K sign coach K.

See, this is the thing though.

Shire had been doing an amazing job.

Who the hell wants to be the guy to follow the guy?

Especially that guy.

And at that place, yet he was.

That's the thing, even going into this game.

All the talk was like, wow, man, Shire is something so special.

Shire has done the impossible.

Look at North Carolina.

Look at what's happening in North Carolina.

Here were Davis comes in and it goes right to hell.

Not Duke.

Duke hasn't skipped a beat with Shire.

That literally was the conversation.

That was the narrative coming into this weekend.

And then they pressed down their leg again.

Again, I can't stress that stat enough.

No number one seed with a 15 point or more lead at halftime had ever lost.

134 and 0.

And they were the number one overall seed.

134 and 1.

See got that going for you, Duke, which isn't so nice.

And you kind of just keeps coming and made all the right adjustments

and fearless down the stretch and knocking down threes.

Let's not sleep on caribans three, two.

That guy couldn't make a shot either.

And then when they had to have it, that vet stepped up and knocked one down.

It was an enormous shot.

Not Moan's enormous, but enormous.

If not for that shot, then we don't have Moan shot.

But that dude, that dude was funny.

He said after the game after he made the steal.

I was just trying to get the ball to somebody who had made one.

And then the ball came back out to me and then I looked at the clock

and I thought, oh, five seconds better let it fly.

But what an amazing moment and shot.

Let's talk about a brass set.

And we'll get into Tiger 2, Derek Lippincard quote,

Tiger's act is starting to wear pretty thin.

Signed Tiger's lettuce.

And that is the least of his concerns right about now.

His lettuce.

I mean, bro.

I know there's something in that lettuce.

Not in his lettuce, there's not other than shoe polish or spray paint

or whatever he's trying to cover it with.

But that is the least of his concerns.

That lettuce.

Bro, stop driving.

Stop pilling allegedly and driving.

Man, wake up.

I thought the reaction to it was incredible too.

Those around him were not reactive.

But the reaction around him from his girlfriend and even his friends

according to reports really was something and really telling.

Like they've all had enough.

They're all fed up like wake up, dude.

Wake up again.

This happened again.

All right.

When we come back still ahead, Matt Norlander coming up at 40 past.

Join McGuire in the third hour.

Got an ATP coming up in hour number four.

I should say hour three hour four.

The big head and I chopping it up for the after hour.

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Maybe you put down that monster energy.

Welcome back.

All right, short segment here.

Matt Norlander is coming up in 10 minutes,

but this guy brings up something I was going to get to,

but I'll get to it right now,

since JJ Sportmo hit it.

Quote, how Duke of Duke played by play to cry

for a tactical foul as players couches?

Players couches jumped off the bench onto the court.

Hello, Duke Reps.

Have you ever seen Layton or Shot

from 10 different views or E60?

Every player, coach and fan, court stormed on that.

All right, what he's talking about is the radio call

of that final sequence from Duke.

It actually is hilarious.

Listen.

They did it and they do for Booser,

followed it back for Sarn,

easy get rid of it, does for Caden.

Seven seconds.

Try to throw it ahead, deflected, stolen by Connecticut.

Two seconds.

It's Mullins up top for the win.

Oh, he hit it.

With three-tits of a second to go.

Valekis Smith ran off the bench.

That should be a technical.

Three-tits of a second to go.

Connecticut has a lead, 73 to 72.

As Connecticut got the three from Mullins

after the turnover from Caden Booser.

Man, that is so hilarious.

That's one of the most Duke things ever,

exactly.

Well, you're begging for a T in a moment like that.

I hate to say it again.

I might hear it to hate on Duke.

I'm not a Dukeator.

But that is hilarious.

You're Duke.

Suddenly Duke is Duke.

You're the number one seed overall.

You have a 19-point lead.

You blow that 19-point lead.

You still have a chance to win that game in the very end.

You turn the ball over with a terrible decision

and then Bro hits a three-point bomb

with 0.3 seconds left on the clock

and you're looking for a bailout from the refs.

That is like the most Duke thing ever.

This, frankly, I don't want to speak for the world,

but this is what the world has against Duke.

Things like that.

Tip your hat, man.

Play into the stereotype much.

That's your call.

That's what you have to say.

Look, I understand being a homer.

I understand being really disappointed and devastated.

But come on.

Come on with the, oh, he came off the bench.

He came off the bench.

Where's our tech?

Where's our tech?

Where's our tech?

Where's your 19-point lead?

What do you mean, where's our tech?

You're looking for a bailout after blowing a 19-point lead.

A 15-point halftime lead.

And even then, all you have to do is imbound the ball.

Essentially, all you have to do is anything but that.

All you have to do is anything but that and you're fine.

Where's our tech?

It was incredible.

So, obviously, that radio call got a whole lot of run, too.

How about you tip your hat to Mullins, Mr. Indiana,

the freshman who had not made a three-all day long.

Getting the ball looking at the clock and saying,

damn, I guess I'm the guy.

I guess I'll take that shot.

Caravan passed it to me.

The two-time NCAA champ passed it to me.

The freshman.

Guess I'll take that shot.

Shot.

No problem.

Tech, tech.

If there was going to be a tech,

it was not going to be for anybody coming off the bench.

If there was going to be a tech,

it would have been for Dan Hurley head-butting the ref.

Now, this is wild.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

If you're watching on this stream, that's a wild moment.

I mean, just a wild moment.

Like, the ref has something to say to him and Dan's like,

write it and like, nose to nose, actually.

Like, their nose is probably did touch.

I guess the most.

I don't know.

Maybe he's checking his temperature.

Forehead to forehead.

What better way to take a guy's temp than to go forehead to forehead?

You know when you're a little kid and your parents are like,

oh, let me feel.

You seem a little warm.

You have a temperature.

Maybe Dan thought that the ref looks sickly.

And want to take his temperature.

And the shortest way to do that is to take his forehead

and put it on the other guy's forehead.

Anyway, my point is if there was going to be a tech,

there was going to be a tech for that.

And not at that point.

Point is there was not going to be a tech.

And crying for one after having that transpire the way it did

is one of the most duke things ever.

Blowing big leads in big games is becoming a duke thing.

No, that's not fair.

It is a duke thing.

When it happens two years in a row on that biggest stage,

it's a thing.

When we come back, Matt and Norlander will be joining us.

We have lots of thoughts on the Elite 8,

the final four and more.

And I'm looking for yours too.

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Now that we've established that, she's jump right back into it.

If you're on hold, stay there.

If not, hit me up.

You have your phone number.

We're joined right now by CBS Sports College Passable Writer.

Also a CBS Sports HQ, College Passable Analyst,

and co-host of the Ion College Passable Podcast.

My dude, Matt Norlander joins me, Matt.

You had to know I'd come looking for you with the final four now set.

How you doing, dude?

How was your weekend?

It was incredible.

I was in NorCal.

I was in San Jose at the West Regional.

I'd never been down there, took it in, loved it, had a great time,

and then hopped on an early, early bird out of SFO,

got back into CBS Sports HQ Studios on Sunday to watch that incredible,

incredible Duke Yukon ending.

One of the best elite eight endings ever.

I'm going to give you a nugget right off the top here.

That was the only, only, only elite eight game to feature a double-digit comeback

and a game-winning shot in the final second.

And it came against the number one C, Duke's the only one C,

to ever blow a 15 plus point lead.

So I didn't know if you hit that off the top in the A block,

but I am thrilled to be with you.

We will not have enough time to touch on everything.

Take it where you want, Jim.

All right, I appreciate that.

I hit on about half of that in the A block,

but I appreciate you giving me the other half.

Matt Norlander joining us.

Matt that shot.

So is it hyperbole to call that one of the greatest shots in the history of this tournament?

It is one of the greatest shots in the history of the tournament.

And since it was not technically a buzzer beater,

it is arguably the greatest non-buzzer beater in tournament history.

Duke did technically have a chance, but it didn't get it done.

This is all time stuff.

The Cain Booser decided to take the pass.

By the way, camp passes when he could have held it, could have gotten the foul.

Dom Maisard could have held it, tried to draw the foul.

They both pass and then Caden sees his two teammates up there.

Instead, you have Mullins, Silas Demory closing in.

And there are truly Jim.

There are like 74 different angles on this.

But I think the most under-discussed one is Silas Demory came on as a transfer of the season.

And he was chosen in part because Yukon did not have a big enough strong enough athletic enough back court of season ago

when they only lost in the second round to the eventual national champions.

It just, it shows that if you can play the portal right,

you know he want to bring in like Demory having more weight, more size, more ability.

Like that mattered in that moment.

He was the one that got the steel that got the deflection.

And then Alex Carabin in that moment, that poise, that maturity.

Most guys are taking that shot.

He did not panic.

He saw his teammate coming up behind in his peripheral vision.

And Braylon Mullins hits hits the three.

The shot that will change his life forever.

I don't know if Braylon Mullins will go on to be a Hall of Fame player or not.

I don't know, but I do know that he is always going to have that.

And with that, he has etched himself into the history of the tournament.

This game, this outcome, the way that it unfolded, the comeback for Connecticut,

the Duke collapse, all of it.

It is just, it is the latest, greatest reminder that there is nothing.

Nothing, nothing that will ever beat the stage of this NCAA tournament.

It is the greatest event in sports.

It is phenomenal.

It delivers.

No matter what, Jim, we've had more 20 point margins in this tournament than any previous tournament.

Okay, don't care.

We saw what Iowa did.

We saw that Vandy Nebraska classic.

We saw what you conducted here.

There's plenty of other examples across this great tournament.

I cannot get enough of it.

It delivered yet again.

Same page, my brother.

I mean, I was pushing back on this narrative last week when the man, the NCAA tournament

is not what it used to be.

Crowd started to rush up on the stage.

I'm like, come on, man, stop, stop, stop.

It's actually still awesome.

It's always going to be awesome.

No matter.

Don't blame it on NIL.

Don't blame it on a portal.

Don't blame it on the changing landscape.

It is still an awesome, awesome event.

And, in fact, the best events that you and I are on the same page, Matt Norlander joins

us.

So Matt taking nothing away from Yukon at all, who showed the heart of a champion.

But what happened to Duke?

It wasn't just that final sequence.

As incredible as that was, but they did have a 19 point lead.

And to your point, nobody has ever blown a 15 plus point lead at halftime.

Is it one seed?

What happened to Duke?

Yukon or something else?

Yukon, for sure.

I mean, I'm going to, obviously, Duke is Duke.

And I'm obviously going to channel Jim Rome.

Did Duke blow it?

Or did Yukon come back?

Yes.

Obviously.

Yes.

They, I tell you, it's not on Kambuzer.

Kambuzer playing with that shiner.

Playing with that, that bloated eye was, was really something else.

He was the best player in the sport this season.

They didn't get enough out of Isaiah Evans.

I think that was the biggest thing.

Seven points only.

And he was the guy that really needed to score from him in a significant way.

Only made six three shots.

Six to 15 from the field.

I thought that was significant.

And they couldn't contain terrorist rate.

Another element to the game is that Kambuzer was the best player in the sport.

But I think for the only time this season, Kambuzer went up against someone who outplayed him.

Terrorist Reed Jr.

Who was the mop in the East Regional finishing with 26 points.

If four blocks in this game.

And ironically enough, was not a part of the action on the on the game.

Clinching sequence for Connecticut.

Read being able to match Buzer blow for blow was that was a significant significant part of this.

Well, but I don't know how to square this on Duke's end.

I know when Duke loses in high profile fashion in the tournament.

Like that's actually a good thing for college basketball because it gets people more engaged in the sport.

People just like to see Duke lose.

But it is wild to just realize that.

John Shires had the best player in the sport and back to back years.

He's the only coach in the history of the sport to have the national player of the year as a freshman in two consecutive seasons.

He had five NBA draft picks on the roster a year ago.

The team was the number one overall seed and did not even reach the national title game to me.

That says as much about Duke as it really does about the tournament.

You are guaranteed nothing.

The bracket gods will promise you not a single dang thing.

It is so hard not to win the tournament.

We already know that it is hard to win in the tournament.

Every single game is scaling a mountain top.

And so Duke gets booted here.

Now NC State double digit seed in league two years ago in the elite HM.

That they couldn't get to the final four.

They make it last year.

I actually think last year against Houston.

The season up where they just couldn't score for the final 10 minutes was worse than this one.

But obviously the iconic shot from Mullins Mullins moment of March.

Whatever you want to call it.

Berlin near the buzzer.

This one, you know, it pierces even harder right now.

But I still think the Houston one in the final four was worse.

And they are backed back and like you point out NC State year before that.

So Matt, you as you also pointed out were in Northern California.

You were in San Jose for Saturday's game between Arizona and Purdue.

What stood out to you about the way the Wildcats were able to turn things around on the second half

and punched their ticket to the final four.

And they're going to be an Indianapolis where they won the 90 and 97.

What were your biggest takeaways there?

Well, I'd seen Arizona in person earlier this season because they won at Yukon.

I'm talking to you here from my home state of Connecticut.

So I drove up to Gample and I saw Arizona get that done and get one of the more impressive road wins of the nonconceases.

But I got it, but getting to see them in person yet again.

I saw them win at BYU.

I've seen this team kind of at three different points and iterations of the season.

They are physical tall can get out and run extremely unselfish.

Their best player, my opinion is Jaden Bradley, but the ironic thing about Arizona is despite being this team

that set a school record for most wins in the season, they've defeated 14 ranked teams.

Jim, that's the most wins over ranked competition in single season in the history of the sport.

So while Michigan is just utterly destroying plenty of competition, Arizona is right there.

And that's going to set up an incredible final four matchup.

I am just more and more and more impressed by what Tommy Lloyd can do with this roster, how he recruited it.

I wrote about this for CBS Sports dot com.

At a time when Steph Curry's influence is more prevalent than ever before.

And modern analytics has warped the way basketball teams at the highest levels and at the lower levels at the high school levels.

Just approach how to utilize the three pointer.

How to get players open to take more three pointers.

Tommy Lloyd has not bucked to convention.

This team, this Arizona team, Jim is making the final four despite shooting the third least amount of three pointers in the country.

The last time a team was basically this three point of verse and made the final four was Carolina in oh wait with Tyler Hansbro the national player of the year.

That might as well be an e on a go in terms of basketball tactics and philosophy.

It was a different time entirely at the college level.

Tommy Lloyd has wanted dudes that can run play physical, get near the paint, play off at two feet, just be all over you defensively.

I could not be more impressed with Arizona than I was coming out of that coming out of that regional.

They vaporized Arkansas and the sweet 16.

There we go.

You can drop in and Alvi if you need to.

I'm well aware of it.

And then in the final Purdue gave him a game.

Alvi, you said you are.

There you go.

Thank you.

There we go.

That's what I'm talking about.

He set you up for that, Alvi.

You're paying attention.

There we go.

They did.

By the way, Alvi, anytime now.

There we go.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

In the regional final.

And there we go.

That's what I'm talking about.

And the regional final Purdue is up at the table.

Incredible.

And then Arizona said, hey, we're done with this.

Let's get on to the.

Let's get on to Indianapolis.

So extremely impressed by them.

And that game against Michigan, I think, is one of the best national semi-finals we've seen in the past two decades.

Brothers, as long as you are producing the program, if you want to host it too, you can.

You can ask yourself questions, answer the questions, then look at Alvi and drop it too.

That was extremely well played.

Extremely well played.

So Matt, what do you early thoughts about Saturday's matchups?

And then who do you like to win it all?

Let's go to the left side of the bracket first.

Yukon versus Illinois.

They played earlier this season.

They played the day after Thanksgiving at the garden.

Yukon won.

Famously, these seems to play two seasons ago.

Same coaches.

Not a lot of the same players, although, obviously, Alex Keroban was involved in that game.

Was involved in this one.

Yukon went out of 30 to nothing.

Run in the elite against Illinois.

Two seasons ago.

But Illinois is the tallest team in the sport.

It has the most efficient offense in the sport.

And so because Connecticut beat the Alini earlier this season,

it brings a little more intrigue to the game in that Illinois has just gotten to the four here by winning

all four games by double digits.

In fact, right now we are, we have a rarity in which Arizona, Michigan and Illinois have all made it to the final four

and all won their margins by double digits all four games.

We had never seen that before.

But heart of a champion, Dan Hurley, Keroban, they got the talent.

I think it's really, really, really.

It's really, really.

It's really, really.

It's really, really.

It's the thing that Dan Hurley is here again.

I'm not surprised.

Keep in mind this team.

I think started 17 and won the season.

And like St. John swept the biggest.

I get it.

But in the here and the now, you'd rather be Yukon.

You're in the final four.

St. John said an awesome season.

St. John's almost took out Duke.

There's so much that happened before Sunday's matchups.

It's just tournament one thing after another gym.

But I, I, I will take Yukon in that game ever so slightly

because of the experience on the right side.

If Michigan and Arizona play to their strengths, you know, 60 seconds.

Man, I'm sorry about that.

60.

I know we're coming up against the clock.

I got you.

If they play to their strengths and they bring out the best in each other,

that has the potential to be one of the best games we have seen in college basketball

in the past five, six, seven years.

They're incredible.

They're incredible teams.

They're in Arizona over Yukon in the national title game.

And for Tommy Lloyd to get it done in Indianapolis,

the way that Lou Dawson did 29 years ago.

The ham nailed it right on the post.

Matt Norlander joining us.

Matt, you're the absolute best man.

Thanks for jumping up.

Get it done.

Always good to have you on the program.

You know, it looked for you.

I appreciate you saying yes, man.

Good job.

Yeah, I appreciate you always, Jim.

Thank you.

Matt Norlander joining us.

Well done.

Extremely well done.

Him calling for drops mid sentence.

He's incredible.

All right.

There's our number one.

Stay tuned.

Our number two straight ahead.

Your thoughts on what he had to say when we come back.

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