Fox Sports Radio's Countdown Presented by BetMGM

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Fox Sports Countdown. We're setting you up for
the sports weekend and covering all the action from the
stadiums to the arenas. This is Fox Sports Countdown. Beg
the King of Sports box to The Countdown starts nine

(00:24):
line from the tiraq dot com Fox Sports Radio studios.
Here's Brian no, Rich Hornberger and Jared Smith.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Oh what's going on?

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Good morning here, Happy Saturday, as we get you all
set for hoops here. But I do think, fella, this
good morning to you guys, Rich and Jared. I do
think the number one story right now is what happened
at the United Center. Huh there was a rock concert
featuring Disturbed pyrotechnics. It ruins or significantly damages the Bulls

(00:59):
six championship banner. Oh wow, yeah, who got fired on
that one?

Speaker 4 (01:07):
You know?

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Is this just some rock show stuff and you shrug
your shoulders or is it like, oh yeah, John, check
that out. Turns out the fire reached championship banner. It's
for shrewed up for the rest of the season banned.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Some crazy stuff going on over here in the rock world.

Speaker 5 (01:23):
There's somebody somewhere who's responsible, or a couple of people,
right it's like the pyrotechnic who met with the system's operator,
you know, or the regional director to the physical plant directory,
whatever it is.

Speaker 4 (01:41):
But somebody, somebody signed.

Speaker 5 (01:44):
Off on a firework that went rogue, you know, hit
the banner and now they're gonna have to file for
replacement through the NBA. We'll see you. Now, here's the question.
Do you have another banner raising?

Speaker 4 (01:59):
Do you? Dude?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Oh yeah?

Speaker 4 (02:01):
Do you take a negative and making a positive way?
Oh yeah?

Speaker 5 (02:04):
Back that entire team for another banner raising. Also, to
be fair, the.

Speaker 6 (02:10):
Bulls have won thirteen games at home all year, probably
the hottest that's.

Speaker 4 (02:14):
Been at the United Center all season. Sorry, I had
to go there. I had to go there.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
Our guy Chris Purfetts got something for us here.

Speaker 5 (02:25):
I'm going to assume they're trying to repair these things
because they are, you know, at this point historic artifacts.

Speaker 7 (02:32):
Art.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
But like I just why do you just not take
them down?

Speaker 1 (02:35):
I mean maybe the show's like, no, we need to
have the Bulls banners up on disturb goes.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Like that's that's the.

Speaker 4 (02:42):
Very important white like he're gonna fire in here.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Shouldn't we take those? No, it's it's fine, it's fine,
like the other way on this one.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Not how how many shows around the country with you know,
basketball arenas and how many banners are up top?

Speaker 2 (02:59):
When have you heard of this happening?

Speaker 3 (03:01):
You know, this is on It was disturbed three days
Grace and seven Dust, whoever was in charge of the pyrotechnics,
this is on them. I don't put this on the
bulls and hey, can we roll these up mechanically just
in case. I don't know, maybe it spurs on something
new world, But I put this on the Rock show completely,

(03:21):
Like we have concerts all the time and you never
hear of something like this happening.

Speaker 5 (03:26):
Yeah, that's actually probably more likely. I know for a fact.
When I was a renter and you had to sign
a lease. Along with that, you sign renters insurance, you know,
just in case you did something stupid to the inside
or outside of the place that you're renting, and it
covered you. It helped the landlord feel at ease. So

(03:48):
that's what you did, you know, And it makes perfect
sense because every once in a while you want to
like really impress your guests, and so you start setting
off fireworks in your kitchen and if the ceiling gets
burn that's on you, bud, you know, so, yeah, fairly
certain that whoever does pyrotechnics for seven dust is or whoever.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Man, I'll tell you what.

Speaker 6 (04:12):
This is a lesson, right, you got to make sure
you check the pyrotechnic kids before you go out there
in the street. Right, this is like a fireworks lesson
for July fourth, Like it just you know, summer's coming,
it's coming soon.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Oh yeah, yeah, it is absolutely all right.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Before we get to all the college previews, a little
bit of reviewing here, because we've had some great, great games.
These conference tournaments in college hoops are in full swing.
And to me, what caught my attention the most was
the ACC last night. A little bit of good news
bad news. You had North Carolina getting smacked by the
Cooper flagless Duke Blue Devils until the second half rolled around,

(04:50):
the UNC is like, hey, you know what, let's make
it a game. All of a sudden, you fast forward
to the end, four point one seconds left, North Carolina
is down by one and they go to the free
throw line. They got a chance to take the lead
with four seconds left. First one klang second one lane violation, Yes,

(05:10):
the old lane violation where our guy, yeah, that's where
Jalen Withers.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
I don't know what he was doing.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
He like faked like he was going in the lane,
but actually did put his foot in the.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
Lane and then take it out. I don't know what
he was doing. That was like the hokey pokey right put.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Your right foot in what lane violation and it leads
to a Duke win, and I have no explanation. The
other one was Clemson made this huge comeback against Louisville.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
They were down by two toward the end.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Looked like a clear foul on the drive to the bucket,
no whistle whatsoever. The officiating in the ACC tournament has
been weird. I don't the Notre Dame game there was
this phantom foul on pit and then there it was
a clear foul last night against Louisville that goes uncalled.
It's just been strange wackiness in the ACC tournament.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
Yeah, you know, And to comment on the UNC comeback,
because they were down as much as twenty four into
the second half, but they were down twenty one at halftime,
so left four dead. Everybody assumed, even without you know,
a presumptive player of the year, that Duke was just
gonna mop up the tar Heels, but they stormed back.

(06:31):
It's interesting in basketball you see this a lot, especially
in that sport. You can get close to coming back
from a deficit, but you just can't quite get over
that hump. I mean, actually, you see the college troops.
You see it in the pros too. You see it
in the pros too. It almost feels like you have
to expend so much effort just to get back into

(06:54):
a game that it is so rare where you see
like a magnificent comeback and a win. Do you oftentimes
see what we saw last night and now again lame
violation or not, it could have been anything that you know,
prevented the tar Heels from winning this game. But it's
an oddity that occurs all the time in basketball. It
feels like to have the emotional investment to persevere through

(07:17):
so much it rarely happens. And in this case, the
tar Heels came up just short in the second half,
and it's unfortunate because that free through throw, if they
would have seen it throw, you know, ties the game
and then who knows what happens from there.

Speaker 6 (07:33):
Yeah, the Clemson one was a that was a bad call.
I remember the Notre Dame game you were talking about
Brian from the other day.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
Another bad call.

Speaker 6 (07:41):
I think, unfortunately those calls get magnified because of the time.

Speaker 4 (07:47):
That they happened.

Speaker 6 (07:48):
But I watched these games religious, Like I went out
last night for the first time all week. Like, I
literally left my apartment complex for two hours because I
had at a couple of rough beats in a couple
of games. I was like, A, right, I need to
clear my head because we got a big weekend ahead.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
I so ill over my head and go to Circa.

Speaker 6 (08:10):
I actually did go downtown, but I didn't do anything
at Circa gambling related.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
We just went to a show. But these calls happened
all the time during the game.

Speaker 6 (08:20):
They just get magnified because of the time and score
and when it happened.

Speaker 4 (08:24):
So these like I I know it.

Speaker 6 (08:27):
It's it's tough to swallow for Clemson, and I had
a big Clemson future.

Speaker 4 (08:30):
I'm very upset about it as well.

Speaker 6 (08:32):
But these calls, unfortunately, the way that the games are
refereed today, and I think this is going to be
a let's let's let's try to spin this.

Speaker 4 (08:41):
To a positive.

Speaker 6 (08:41):
Let's try to make this actionable for the NCAA Tournament
next week. I think the SEC is going to struggle
in the in the NCAA Tournament next week because the conference.
The freedom of movement is called very differently in the
tourney than I think it was called in the SEC
this year the SEC.

Speaker 4 (08:57):
Did you watch the Auburn game yesterday?

Speaker 6 (08:59):
That was a battle that looked like a football game
between Auburn and Ole Miss, Like that could have been
a football game, and it was not called very tight.
There were not a lot of fouls called in the game,
very low scoring game. Those fouls are gonna be called
in the NCAA Tournament next week, and I think that's
gonna change the perspective, the dynamic of the conference because
the conference has been rough, rough and pumble all year.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
They haven't been calling a lot of that stuff.

Speaker 6 (09:22):
They're gonna call it next week, and that's gonna change
the dynamic. Then it happens these calls, these teams, these
reps miss these calls all the time, and unfortunately those
were two really bad ones in the ACC. The UNC thing,
I don't even know what that kid was doing, what, Like,
what the heck was that kid doing? Like that was
actually a lane violation. I don't know what that kid
was doing, but the other two calls like it's it sucks.

(09:44):
It really does. But unfortunately this stuff happens all the
time because of how many plays, the volume of plays.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
That are like this in a college basketball game.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
It's a great point about the officiating because it reminds
me of a couple of things. If you keep it
with basketball. It reminds me of the way the NBA
game is officiated compared to FOBA basketball. Like when the
Olympics roll around, it turns into football on hardwood. You know,
you can be so much more physical in the Olympics

(10:14):
and in international hoops compared to the NBA. It looks
like a completely different game. It changes everything. And if
you look at college basketball, if you look at some
of these teams like Houston great defense, Tennessee plays great defense.
If they're not allowed to get away with the physical
play that they would one like to get away with

(10:35):
or two that they're relatively accustomed to getting away with,
that changes a lot. It reminds me of we'll go
to football here. Reminds me of the legion of boom
Oh Seattle Seahawks. They would just dare the officials to
make calls, and there were games where the officials are like, no,
it's cool, Yeah, just go ahead and like chuck them
seven yards downfield and they're like, okay, cool. And then

(10:57):
there were games that are like that was like five
and a hours half yards downfield. That's a flag, that's
a legal contact, and it changed everything.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
So that's something to watch.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Jared's right, when the NCAA tournament rolls around next week,
watch watch the whistles, like how physical the play can
be or the lack of physicality, because it's gonna affect
great defensive teams the most.

Speaker 5 (11:22):
Yeah, the NFL playoffs is the example. Brian. I'm glad
you brought up the NFL, because oftentimes we see certain
crews eliminated from officiating NFL games in the postseason because
they're too trigger happy with the whistle. So if you're
gonna throw the flag, if you're gonna blow the whistle,
you're probably gonna have a seat at home watching like

(11:44):
the rest of us, while these other crews are gonna
go out there and officiate these games. And they keep
stats on these officiating crews, and by the way, so
do the teams. You know, Bill Belichick used to do
a breakdown. I forget if it was either Thursday or
Friday before the game, and let us know what what
are the calls that we need to look out for.
So to your point, if there is a crew that

(12:07):
is going to get you for holding downfield, uh with
defensive backs on receivers, well, he's gonna let you know
about that. So you're gonna have to play it pretty
clean and make sure that if you're jamming a receiver,
you're doing it within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Hey,
same with a situation like we saw over this this

(12:27):
this weekend, or excuse me heading into this weekend with
some of these games, you know, if you're going to
have somebody drive to the paint, you better you better
get perfect body position. Uh, if you're going to want
to get the charge, you know, because maybe this officiating
crew they're they're pretty loose with it. They're going to

(12:47):
favor the the offense in that situation. You have to know, right,
But one thing you also have to know is they're
gonna let a lot of things play in the postseason.
And that's the reason why Jared you say it all
the time on this show. In college hoops, defense will
win you championships, and it's because you could play a
lot more aggressively as a result of that lack of

(13:11):
blowing the whistle in the postseason of college basketball into
the tournament.

Speaker 6 (13:16):
And that's why this time of year is so fascinating
because these teams and that's the SEC is going to
be so interesting.

Speaker 4 (13:24):
We talked about it last week.

Speaker 6 (13:25):
Remember, historically speaking, the really good, prolifically good conferences have
not done well in the NCAA tournament, and I don't
know if.

Speaker 4 (13:35):
That's going to be the vibe in the SEC.

Speaker 6 (13:37):
Like to me, Auburn looks like a team that should
be the national champion, especially with the Cooper Flag injury,
and that muddies the waters a lot for Duke. I
think Auburn is the clear cut favorite, but they were
They were a great team last year. They won the
SEC tournament. Last year they lost in the first round
in Ale. So I think this the entire tournament is
going to be interesting to see. The SEC will be

(13:58):
the case study and the SEC carryover this success. But
I do think the whistle is gonna be important. Here's
an I feel like NFL is just on the mindset.
So how about this. I'm going to the Whack Championship
tonight at the Orleans Grant Kanny's playing Utah Vllegaby.

Speaker 4 (14:14):
Fantastic game.

Speaker 6 (14:15):
My colleague Ben Wilson is on the call tonight for ESPN,
and I was watching the game the semifinal last night,
and I was like, man, that ref looks really familiar
Bill Vinovich the Whack tournament, Like how do you go
from the NFL to the Whack. But to your point,
the NFL and the carryover effect of what the officials

(14:36):
do and how they let things go a little bit
in the playoffs that the SEC I think needs that
in order to continue to have the success that they're having.
If we get some trigger happy officials next week, I.

Speaker 4 (14:50):
Think the SEC is really going to struggle. I honestly do.

Speaker 6 (14:53):
I think, especially against the spread, against the spread, I
think the SEC will struggle because they're gonna be favorites
and most of these games unless they're playing each other
down the road.

Speaker 4 (15:02):
So I think that will be a big thing to watch.

Speaker 6 (15:05):
So when you're handicapping your bracket next week and you
see SEC team against insert random mid major here, the
line is fifteen, that whistle is gonna be real important
for you late in that game.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, No, those are great points.

Speaker 5 (15:19):
All right.

Speaker 3 (15:20):
We've got Rich Ornberger, Penn State All American, Jared Smith
FSR betting analyst.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
I'm Brian no Hey.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
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(15:48):
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all sponsored by Tractor Supply for life out there. Football
always on the brain, always on the brain. And there
have been a ton of NFL stories this past week
which has just been a beautiful thing. But one of

(17:04):
the recent ones is wide receiver Cooper Cup. He agrees
to a three year deal with the Seahawks. And so
the big picture is are the Seahawks any better?

Speaker 2 (17:15):
Right? No Geno Smith?

Speaker 3 (17:17):
Now they have Sam Donald, No DK Metcalf, now they
have Cooper Cup. Right they bring in Marquez Valdez Scantling,
No Tyler Lockett. They also get DeMarcus Lawrence, who is
just talking smack about like cowboys, and Micah Parsons on
his way out. So the question is are they any better?

(17:38):
I say they're spinning their wheels. I don't see much
difference between Sam Darnold with this supporting cast compared to
what he's leaving in Minnesota. I don't see Sam Donald
outperforming Geno Smith by leaps and bounds. I certainly don't
see Cooper Cupp outperforming DK Metcalf, even though he's coming
off a down year. I think the Seahawks are spinning

(17:58):
their wheels. I don't see them as a better team
at this point. What do you guys think?

Speaker 5 (18:02):
I think maybe apples to apples. I agree with you
in terms of, hey, they replaced a second tier quarterback
for a second tier quarterback. They replaced a high level
talent at receiver who could be a game changer for
another one. So I agree with the thought process that

(18:24):
they haven't gotten any worse, but they also maybe haven't
gotten any better. However, I will say this, if you
have bread on your countertop, you have a loaf of bread,
and that bread you suspect is starting to stale. Wouldn't
you like a fresh loaf of bread? I mean, technically
they're both loaves of bread, but you would prefer one

(18:46):
over the other. Why. Well, the answer is because one
is more palatable. One is going to make your sandwich better,
you know, the other one, you know, you have kind
of an expiration date, and it's looming in the near distance,
and you're not quite sure if it's gonna be, you know,
the perfect compliment to your BLT. So you move on

(19:07):
from that bread and you bring in new bread. Now
it's the same bread. In fact, you bought the same
brand of sour though that you always buy, but it's
just fresher bread. I think that's what the Seahawks did here,
is they freshened up the cabinet without losing anything. They
did a purge, but then they quickly recovered what they lost.

Speaker 4 (19:28):
I agree.

Speaker 6 (19:29):
And again Gino is thirty five, Sam Darnold's twenty eight,
So you got a little younger at the position, you
got a little fresher, as Rich just alluded to. And
then obviously the difference in the contract with DK Metcalf
and Cooper Cup is astronomical. It allows you to do
so much more and maybe the production won't be as
big of a drop off. So I think unfortunately in

(19:51):
the NFL, as Rich knows, it's a business and these
were business decisions that were made. Maybe the production is
on par, but the flexibility and the salary cat management
significantly more flexible for Seattle now with these contracts instead
of paying DK four years, what was it one fifty?

(20:11):
Like now you give Cooper cup three ors forty five
and that and that to me is enough if the
production is on par to make the deal at least
palatable for the Seattle fan base.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
You know, it's I'm just looking at the numbers here
because the first thing I think of is is Sam
Donald fresh bread? That's the first thing I like the
comparison there.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
But that's the question. Is Sam Darnald fresh bread?

Speaker 3 (20:35):
Aside from the fact that he's younger, which both of
you guys pointed out, is he better like that? That's
what it comes down to, because think about this, consider this.
So Sam Darnald last season, all things considered, it had
a really good year thirty five touchdown passes, twelve interceptions.
He fell apart when it mattered most of final two games,
including a playoff game. But when you look at thirty

(20:58):
five and twelve, well you take that all day from Donald.
You go back to the twenty twenty two season for
Geno Smith. Comparable numbers, thirty touchdowns, eleven interceptions.

Speaker 2 (21:10):
That's a good year.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
Like comparable passing yards, the completion percentage when it was
actually better for Gino almost seventy percent that year, and
then the next two years a lot of EH twenty
and nine last season twenty one and fifteen. There are
many numbers to look at, but that just gives you
a rough estimate. The point is Gino Smith was playing

(21:33):
at this higher level in twenty two, and then the
next two seasons he came back significantly.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
And so I think we're looking at Sam.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
Donald like he's just the thirty five touchdown pass guy
per season.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
I don't think that at all.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
He had a career year, much like Gino did in
the twenty two season. I just don't see Sam Darnald
maintaining this level. With this he went from penthouse support
cast to you want to talk about fresh bread stale bread.
He went for fresh bread supporting cast, the stale bread
supporting cast. I don't see him maintaining thirty five touchdown passes,

(22:10):
So I just I don't think that aside from age,
this is a big shot in the arm for the Seahawks.
They are absolutely It's like wintertime and they're trying to
get out of a snow bank and it's just like
and the tires are getting no traction. That's what I
see from them in a pretty tough division.

Speaker 5 (22:29):
Gino is definitely more experienced. I think the I think
we know where the ceiling is now, though, and I
would assume, like most teams do, when you get cheaper,
you don't just get cheaper for the sake of getting cheaper.
You get cheaper, and the risk of getting cheaper is
you are paying a premium four potential. So Sam Darnold

(22:54):
is expensive considering he's only had one really eye popping
season in the NFL so far. However, you're not paying
for the season he just played. You're paying for the
potential that he's going to have many good seasons to follow. Well,
potential is expensive, and you know in the NFL draft,

(23:14):
that's the reason why these top picks are getting you know,
tens of millions of dollars in signing bonus, again, cheaper
than it is to pay a starting quarterback at the
level of a Josh Allen fifty mil per year or
a Dak Prescott who's been a second tier quarterback who's
dabbled with being in that first tier on a couple

(23:35):
of occasions forty.

Speaker 4 (23:36):
Million a year.

Speaker 5 (23:37):
You know, you have to pay a premium at a
certain point. So while Sam Darnold is still somewhat expensive,
it's only because you're paying for potential. Now Gino Smith,
he's kind of topped out. So if you're going to
roll with Gino Smith, you're going to have to make
accommodations around him. And guess what defensive coordinators know that,

(24:00):
And when you play in the same division for a
bunch of years, those coordinators get used to your style
of play. So you bring in a Donald I'm not
saying he has limitless potential, but he has different potential
and potentially a high higher ceiling than Gino Smith. You
add a new face at receiver. As Jared pointed out,

(24:20):
that felt more like a salary cap move than anything else.
Can we replace the talent with less money? And the
answer is, who knows. We'll see. Can can Cooper Cup
stay healthy? That's the big question, And if those things
fall to place where you have accurately appraised Sam Donald's potential,
and Cooper cup does stay healthy, and maybe they add

(24:43):
a player or two in the draft who can seed
this offense with more future help. All of a sudden,
the Seahawks a pretty dangerous team in an NFC West.
That's a little wonky right now.

Speaker 6 (24:54):
I'll throw another wrench into it. The Seahawks got a
third round pick for Gino Smith. Here are some of
the third round picks in recent memory that have done
really well. How about Travis Kelce, how about Tyler Lockett,
who was drafted by this GM John Schneider in twenty fifteen.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
How about Joe Thurney.

Speaker 6 (25:13):
How about Cooper Cupp who's now on the seat. So
I think that's also part of this transaction. Not only
did the Seahawks replace a quarterback with let's just agree
that it's relatively the same production. You want to argue
maybe highs and lows might be different ages, but I
think overall it's still a as Rich said at the top

(25:33):
of the segment, second tier quarterback for a second tier quarterback,
I think the DK Metcalf move. Yeah, you lose some
explosiveness with Cooper Cup, but you gain I think a
little more veteran Moxie route running all of those things
that certainly matter. And then you also add a third
round pick, the ninety second overall pick, which you could
add another player. I mean, there's some really good players
and drafting the third round of the last few years,

(25:55):
Sara McLaurin, Mark Andrews, Devin Dubernet. Probably not a great example,
Quinn Muner's offensive guard for the Broncos. So I think
there's definitely some upside here with what Seattle's done. And also,
now you are giving Mike McDonald the keys. He had
great years first year, he's the Coach of the Year candidate.
Now you're really this is now his team. This is
now they're building the roster that they wanted to build

(26:17):
under this scheme with Kubiak as the offensive coordinator, and
it's going to be I'm excited. I honestly I think
Seattle I don't think they're going to be a Super
Bowl contender this year, but I do think that they
have a chance to get to the playoffs with this
roster because I do think they're at least building something
that has a chance to compete, not excited at all.

Speaker 3 (26:39):
I think they have a better chance to come in
the to finish in the basement than be a playoff team.
I honestly believe that because the Niners were so banged
up last year, the Rams, the Rams almost beat Philly
in Philly in a snowstorm right the final drive, Alms
took down the Super Bowl champs and Arizona. Arizona's getting better.

(26:59):
They could impeted last year, made a couple of nice pickups.
I just I'm not wowed by the Seahawks at all.

Speaker 6 (27:05):
What about their defense though, second year Mike McDonald, great
head coach, really good defensive schemer.

Speaker 4 (27:09):
Like, what if their defense is better than it was
last year?

Speaker 3 (27:12):
Hey, it could be, And that's the thing you never
know in the NFL. And I do like Mike McDonald.
He's done a good job there. We all know what
he did with the Ravens defensively, so yeah, his credentials
speak for themselves. It's just personnel wise, I'm not wowed
by this team. They're one of those weird teams where
they're gonna be nine and eight ish. Their window is
somewhere between, like I would say seven to nine wins.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
They were ten and seven last year.

Speaker 3 (27:39):
Maybe that's the ceiling I think is ten wins, but
the floor, I would not be shocked. I wouldn't be
stunned if this is a third or fourth place team.
And like what Rich said, this division a little bit wonky,
but it does have enough there where. If the Niners
have better health, all of a sudden, the Arizona Cardinals
take a step forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we
look at Seattle were like, oh man, look at the

(28:01):
Seattle Seahawks squad in the cellar. We'll see, but I'm
interested to find out. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown
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Speaker 2 (28:21):
And that's not all.

Speaker 3 (28:21):
Sign up with betmgm today and you'll have access to
countless basketball betting options, including new look, same game parlays, teasers,
live bets, and so much more. Okay, basketball story caught
my attention here the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
They are under investigation.

Speaker 3 (28:38):
Huh the NBA is looking into them resting all of
their starters in a game about a week ago against
the Blazers. This was March seventh, and Oka, see rested
all their starters. We're talking Shay Gil, Just Alexander, Jalen Williams,
chet Holmgren, Lou Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
They rested everybody.

Speaker 3 (28:58):
They're rested Cason Wallace for good measure also, right, And
so the NBA is like, hey, we've got this league
player participation policy, we need to monitor whether these teams
are actually resting guys legally if you will. This is
a joke to me. How can you as a league like,

(29:19):
see a team rest all five starters and they're just
under investigation, Like, how long does this investigation tank take?
They clearly violated the rules, Like swing the hammer here.
If you don't want teams resting dudes that are healthy
left and right, then do something about it instead of

(29:39):
like waiting and waiting, and we're investigating this. The Jazz
did this earlier in the week. They rested Lowry marking it.
They got a one hundred thousand dollars fine because he
was he was resting for multiple games. And they're like Oh, yeah,
we should do something about that. You think that's gonna
deter the Jazz from resting healthy play trying to sort

(30:01):
of compete and tank at the same time, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
Or the Sixers.

Speaker 3 (30:07):
The Sixers are resting their healthy dudes trying to tank
and get better odds for a better draft pick. The
NBA is such a joke, man. I love the NBA,
watch it every day, but this reminds me of the NFL.
So a few years ago, there were teams that were
thinking about resting healthy players, non playoff teams at the
end of the regular season, and Goaddell came out and said,

(30:28):
if we find out that you're resting healthy players, we're
gonna find you. We're gonna take away draft pick. He's threats, threats, threats,
And you don't see that in the NFL. In the NBA,
you can rest all your starters and you're just under
investigation and then you might get fined, which is a
drop in the bucket. It's a complete joke, and it's
no wonder this stuff keeps happening.

Speaker 4 (30:49):
Yeah, I'm gonna say.

Speaker 5 (30:51):
Two things, and they're in direct opposition with each other.
One this is brilliant. So if OKC can go out
and mop up the Portland Trailblazers without their starting six,
then go ahead and do that, because that means your
starters get the night off, your bench, depth players who

(31:13):
may come in handy later in a playoff run, and
it could be and should be a deep playoff run
for ok C. Well, then yeah, do that because from
a strategory standpoint, I mean, you gotta go for it,
channeling a little George she I, you know, you gotta,
you gotta do it. You get you gotta look at

(31:33):
the chessboard and say like where can we win? Where
can we rest? And and that makes sense. Here's where
it is so offensive and disagreeable when you do that. Yeah,
your fans are gonna be pumped at your playoff team. Yeah,
your fans are gonna be thrilled with you because you
beat Portland. But you know who's not thrilled the people
who turned on the television expecting to see a presumptive

(31:55):
MVP on the court or a rising star like Holmgren.
You know those guys are on the bench and why
because they're tired. Well guess what, so is that guy
who was on his feet for ten hours working in
a factory or taking out trash, you know what I mean.
So is the person who is literally cleaning up an
office because it's busy season at the tax firm and

(32:17):
they threw papers everywhere, you know what I mean, like
or even that tax accountant you know, white collar. You know,
you wear dress shoes all day long. You pretend you're
someone you're not because of corporate culture. Come home, you
open up the refrigerator, you crack open a nice cold pop.
You sit down and you want to see shake Gildris
Alexander and he's not on the court. Now, Yeah, they

(32:38):
get to win over Portland, but you're screwing your fans.

Speaker 4 (32:41):
And that's just talking about the people viewing it at home.

Speaker 5 (32:44):
How about the folks who went to the game, took
their kids, saved up some of those pretty pennies over
the course of weeks and months so that they could
scrape together the funds to take their kids to a
professional basketball game, which those ticket prices and concession prices
are skyrock A plus, you got to talk about the
cost of parking if you want to be anywhere close

(33:06):
to arena, which I don't know if you guys been
to a basketball arena. Not a lot of them in
a great part of town. So you want to part
close to the place, you know. So this is the
part of it that's so disagreeable. Is it strategically the
right thing to do? Yeah, of course it is. It
makes perfect sense. That's why teams do it. Is it acceptable?
Absolutely not. You should lay the hammer down on these

(33:29):
teams for doing it.

Speaker 4 (33:31):
And that's the key.

Speaker 6 (33:32):
We're in an era where we have a weaker commissioner,
where Adam Silver's not David Stern.

Speaker 4 (33:40):
No, David Stern. This is handled very differently.

Speaker 6 (33:43):
And you guys know me. I've been doing this for
years now with you guys. I can't stand the NBA.
I can't stand it. I can't stand watching it. I
used to love it when I was growing up and
the Knicks were great in the nineties. I was a
Knicks fan growing up, that's all. I remember those Knicks
Heat series, Nick Pacers late nineties, early two thousands, And

(34:03):
I don't want to be like the nostalgia guy, old
man yelling at the clouds. That was like you didn't
realize what was the line from the office, Like I
wish we could go back and.

Speaker 4 (34:13):
Remember we were in the golden era. When we were
in the.

Speaker 6 (34:14):
Golden era, like that was the golden era of the NBA.
I don't know how we get back to that. The
stars have so much power the bench players, the bench
players that start that were starting that game for okay,
see they're making more money than everybody else, the bench players.

Speaker 4 (34:29):
It's crazy.

Speaker 6 (34:30):
You go look at the contracts in the NHL, and
I know we talked about this with the four Nations,
Like the NBA All Star Game compared to the NHL
All Star Game, Like those NHL guys are making ten
percent of the salaries and they're giving one hundred and
million more percent max effort, Like it's wild. I don't
know how we fix it because the players have a
ton of power within the unions and the commissioners not

(34:51):
a very stern I'll use that word, you know, pun
intended commissioner, and that that's an issue in the NBA
right now.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
It's a huge issue.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
I'll say real fast, Like that's one of the things
is get a commissioner that has a spine. That would
be the first thing here is listen, this would be
like Rich's point, Okay, see if they rest all their
starters and maybe they get.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
A little fine.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
Okay, it was worth it, you know, Like that's on
the NBA for allowing it. It'd be like if you
could go on the closest highway to wherever you live
and just drive one hundred and ten miles per hour
with no ticket in sight, like go for it. That's
on law enforcement to crack down, right, Like it's on

(35:34):
the NBA. If the NBA doesn't crack down. And Okayse says, hey,
we can drive one hundred and ten miles per hour
no ticket inside, baby, Like yeah, you're gonna go ahead
and do that. So it's an NBA issue and team
you're gonna keep.

Speaker 6 (35:49):
Pushing the envelope until yes, someone cracks down.

Speaker 5 (35:52):
I gotta I got a sixty dollars parking ticket because
I I didn't pay the meter walking into a far
market the other day here in California, you know. And
here's the deal, though, I I'm gonna pay it next time, right,
you know. That's that's the thing you have to do.
You have to hit. You have to hit a team
hard enough that they seriously weigh that, oh man, we're

(36:16):
about to lose a quarter million to half a minute
or half a bit, you know, half a million dollars.
If we do this, our owner's gonna be pissed at us.
We can't sacrifice that.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
No doubt, No doubt.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
That's rich Orenberger, Penn State All American, Jared Smith FSR
betting analyst with us, I'm Brian No. Every Sunday through
the rest of the NBA regular season, bet MGM will
be running the NBA Sunday Splash Jackpot.

Speaker 2 (36:39):
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Speaker 3 (36:41):
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Speaker 2 (36:46):
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All right, right around the corner of the parlay platter,
Jared has been hard at work. He cleared his head

(37:09):
right before the platter, right, so I'm ready to hit man.

Speaker 2 (37:12):
He's ready.

Speaker 3 (37:12):
Here it is Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented by BETMGM.
It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented by BETMGM on Fridays, BETMGM,
authorized gaming operator of the NBA. It's making first field
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(37:33):
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Speaker 2 (37:45):
All right, let's do this.

Speaker 5 (37:47):
Check this out.

Speaker 7 (37:48):
Parlay letter.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
All right, Jared Smith, you have been hard at work
in the lab.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
You have cooked up a parlay platter for us. What
do you have for us?

Speaker 7 (37:58):
Sir?

Speaker 4 (37:58):
I love it. And these three games are going to
be absolutely I think they're going.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
To be rock fights, but we'll see. Hopefully we get
some entertainment out of it. And if we win, who
cares if it's a low scoring game because we win money.
Let's start with Auburn on the money line against Tennessee.
They're about a five point favorite against the Balls. This
is the SEC semifinal. Auburn won a rock fight back
in January. In Knoxville fifty three to fifty one.

Speaker 4 (38:21):
We like the fade.

Speaker 6 (38:22):
So if you ever see the WWE, Jericho had this list,
the list that's right. There are teams, there are coaches
that in March are.

Speaker 4 (38:34):
On the list. Rick Barnes is one of those coaches.

Speaker 6 (38:37):
We love to fade Rick Barnes in March, even though
they had a nice run last year but couldn't make
it over the hump of Dalton connect much less talented
balls team. This year, I think Auburn makes it to
the SEC Final. I don't know what's going to happen
in that game tomorrow, but I do think Auburn will
be playing in it. So let's put the Tigers on
the money line. Maryland on the money line against Michigan.
Michigan is on the list why they have no backcourt play.

(38:58):
When you face teams in March that can lock you
down defensively like Maryland can, and you don't have guards
to help you get out of those tough spots. Kind
of like these two teams played ten days ago when Maryland.

Speaker 4 (39:10):
Forced sixteen turnovers.

Speaker 6 (39:12):
Went into ann Auburn one. I think they win again.
They're another small favorite, about a five point favorite. Against
Michigan today. I think the Turps will be punching a
ticket to the Big Ten Championship game tomorrow. Finally the
Big East Final tonight at the Godden.

Speaker 4 (39:25):
How can we not back Rick Patino.

Speaker 6 (39:27):
We're gonna put Saint John's on the money line against Crayton.
This Saint John's team, guys, looks really good edge of
four Lewis, They are stacked up front. I think Crayton
is a good, not great team, and I think the
Johnny's with the home cooking at the garden, get it
done tonight and.

Speaker 4 (39:43):
Win the Big East Championship.

Speaker 6 (39:45):
So Auburn, Maryland Saint John's on the money line plus one.

Speaker 4 (39:49):
Eighty six over at bet MGM. How do we feel?
All right?

Speaker 5 (39:54):
So some love for the Player the Year candidate, Janni Broom. Yeah,
he looks good, Tiger. You know, they're really well balanced.
I like Bruce Pearl's team this year. I like that
Auburn pick especially.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
You know, I'm just wondering if it's gonna be a
group effort platter when the tournament rolls around.

Speaker 4 (40:12):
It better be you guys ready to roll next week?

Speaker 5 (40:14):
You all right, let's do it all right next.

Speaker 6 (40:16):
Week We're getting back into it group effort next time.

Speaker 4 (40:20):
Yeah, I've caught the fever. Some would argue I've caught
the madness.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
Let's show.

Speaker 5 (40:27):
This week.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
I could wait about the tunny time and it went away,
you know, coming up back?

Speaker 2 (40:32):
Said the pack caught up to the favorites. Oh what
is going on?

Speaker 3 (40:36):
Happy Saturday to you, so we get you all set
for hoops today. A lot of college basketball. Man, it's
a really good slate. These conference tournaments from winding down
here and one of the marquee matchups, we've got number
eight Tennessee at number three Auburn. I shouldn't say at
because these are obviously neutral courts, but.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
Uh, how about this one.

Speaker 3 (40:59):
You saw Auburn in an absolute rock fight, Jared, you
were talking about this the last time out.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
They survived and advanced.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
But it's one of these things to watch in the
SEC tournament. How physical the play will be in this
Tennessee Auburn game. The total is very low, and I'm
not sure they're going over it here. Like Tennessee is
a weird squad, are they not? This year where their
defense is really good and then out of nowhere, they'll
play a game where their offense is just clicking, or

(41:29):
their defense isn't great and they're giving up a decent
amount of points.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
It's just weird.

Speaker 3 (41:33):
There are a lot of variants with Tennessee in terms
of just the points scored game to game.

Speaker 2 (41:39):
It's really strange.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
But this one I want to see if Auburn still
has enough gas left in the tank, how much they
compete because they're gonna be one of the top seeds,
if not the top seed, and they don't have to
win this tournament. But they are led by a guy
in Bruce Pearl who doesn't exactly use It's okay, fellas,
we still have a one seed locked up. This dude

(42:02):
is compete, compete, compete, and I love that about him.
So I would expect Auburn to absolutely bring it today
and not Coast. They're not led by a guy who's
of the Coast variety.

Speaker 5 (42:13):
No, No, there are certain coaches who I do think
will tactically take their foot off the accelerator at times
and explain to the players exactly what they're doing. You
need to have a lot of maturity in a locker room.
You don't typically see that at the collegiate level, especially
come this time. March is a special month. We all

(42:35):
know why. And if you take your foot off the
gas at all, man, you could miss some serious opportunities
to learn some hard lessons and while playing hard, or conversely,
do some more winning. And Auburn's done that all season long. Obviously,
the record speaks for itself. Locking up the number one
seed speaks for itself. This game, specifically against Tennessee. The

(42:59):
reason why we're all talking about how low the scoring
could be is because you have the top defense in
the SEC with Tennessee taking on a well balanced team
in Auburn. Well, when you say well balanced, what do
you mean. Well, they score well and they stop the
scoring well. Across the entire season, they've held opponents to
seventy points or less many many different times, and they've

(43:23):
averaged under seventy on the year in terms of scoring
defense scoring against Auburn. So this is gonna be another
one of those games where it does feel like it's
gonna be a slugfest. We're in conference a turny times,
so you know how those games are played. It's a
little more physical brand of basketball like we were talking
about come the March tournament. But this is going to

(43:46):
be a good preview to that. We're going to see
a lot get allowed in the paint, and I'm excited.
I like that type of basketball. I miss it in
a lot of ways when it used to be a
part of the NBA game. Do you feel that there's
more strategy involved where you know, you you can't, you know,
draw a foul every time you touch the basketball, like

(44:07):
you actually have to work to earn a foul. It's
a very different type of game. And I think this
is going to be a good throwback for those those
fans of nineties basketball in the NBA. If you want
to get a little taste of what it used to
look like, here you go. Because a lot of a
lot of points are going to get scored in the
paint too.

Speaker 6 (44:27):
Would it surprise you that the Overs actually taking significant
money in this game? Oh interest from one thirty six
all the way up to one forty now. So these
two teams played back on January twenty fifth. As I
mentioned in the parlay platter segment, it was a rock
fight fifty three to fifty one final Auburn one at
by a nose at home. They didn't cover the spread,

(44:47):
game stayed well under the total of about one forty one.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
So that's something I look for in these games.

Speaker 6 (44:54):
You obviously can't do this next week, but when you
had these conference tournament games, you have prior data points
to go off of. And we'll talk about it a
little bit with Bama Florida, Like Bama Florida played ten
days ago, So why is if there's like a big
adjustment on a number from a game that happened ten
days ago, like what's changed in ten days unless there's
an injury of some sort to account for. But with

(45:15):
Tennessee and Florida, or Tennessee and Auburn, excuse me. It
was about as tight of a game as you can
ask for. It was tight, tighter than Grandma's cookie jar
like it just it was seven for forty two from three,
Like nobody could make a shot in that game. More
assists or almost as many, actually no more turnovers than
assists in the game. Twenty three turnovers, twenty one assists

(45:37):
in that game. Like it was an ugly game. I'm
assuming the adjustments will be made. I think Jani Broom
really and I know Cooper Flagg has had an unbelievable year,
is gonna be the number one picking in the NBA draft,
Like that's not even a doubt at this point.

Speaker 4 (45:51):
But what Jeni Broom has.

Speaker 6 (45:52):
Done in the SEC, I think is more impactful in
terms of night in, night out consists and see and
that's why he's, in my opinion, the would Aenn Award winner.
And I think the Cooper flag injury this week really
tip the scales in Broom's favor. But like, you can
run an entire offense through him, and he's not a
gifted shooter like a Matt Like think about that for

(46:14):
a second.

Speaker 4 (46:15):
Not a good three point shooter, not a good outside shooter.

Speaker 6 (46:18):
In today's game, to be able to still run an
offense through a big man is like ancient time.

Speaker 4 (46:22):
That's like shack kind of stuff.

Speaker 6 (46:24):
Like it's very rare to see that in today's college
basketball game, where it's so much three point shot, step
back three, like you know, more polished than brass these days.

Speaker 4 (46:33):
So I think with Jane I.

Speaker 6 (46:34):
Broom, you get a lot more of that muscle. And listen,
we're fading Rick Barnes people like, come on, I just
and if they figure out a way to pull out
this game, you tip your cap. Ziegler is a fantastic
point guard. May Shack and Lanier are really good wing men.
But I think Auburn. I think this is Auburn's year,
and I think they're gonna win the SEC Championship.

Speaker 4 (46:53):
And I would not be shocked if they cut down
the nets. Where is the Final four this year? I
don't even know where it is.

Speaker 6 (46:57):
Wherever it is, that's where Auburn's gonna be cutting down
the nets in a few weeks.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
Hmmm, let's find out. I should know this.

Speaker 5 (47:03):
I don't know.

Speaker 6 (47:03):
Yeah, I should know this too. It didn't come to
my head when I was talking, just that.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
We're supposed to.

Speaker 4 (47:10):
Be the experts.

Speaker 5 (47:11):
Yeah, I haven't put my tickets yet.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
Yeah, it was. I can't even remember last season.

Speaker 4 (47:17):
I don't even know where it is. I know it's
in Vegas. In a couple of years. You guys got
to come, can come to Vegas. That's gonna be a
final for you guys want to be at.

Speaker 3 (47:24):
It's funny the ones that you do remember. You know,
it's like, oh, I'm in Vegas, I could go to that.
You're definitely gonna remember that. Yeah, it looks like it's
going to be San Antonio this year and that's why
we don't remember.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
Yeah, exactly remember the Alamo shot us. I've played there
in the Almo Bowl.

Speaker 5 (47:45):
Uh yeah, Texas A and m as A, Penn State.

Speaker 4 (47:48):
NAGA, you remember that game.

Speaker 5 (47:49):
I also broadcasted the first ever uh what was it?
Oh gosh, it was a now defunked league of Spring
pro football that Charlie Ebersaw was ahead of. Oh, the AAF,
the Alliance of American Football, and it had this enormous

(48:10):
launch in San Antonio. The San Diego team, the Fleet,
who I was on the call for, went down to
San Antonio to play against the team there. I forget
the name of it, and I remember there was so
much pomp and circumstance. You know, it might have been
a Fox game, It could have been on a different network,
and you know they had some of the network big
wigs out there like it was supposed to be the thing.

(48:31):
It lasted exactly eight games, but yeah, the the al
Mobile al Moldome, I should say, it's one of those
venues where, man, it's crazy that you can fill a
place that big for basketball, you know what I mean,
Like you can put a court on the field, but
the final four it's special, man, and if you ever

(48:54):
get an opportunity.

Speaker 3 (48:55):
To go go yeah agreed, Yeah, yeah, no, no, it does.
It takes those shooters little while. Yeah, yeah, it's the
backdrop is so different. You know, I have a question,
and I know where Jared is leaning, but I think
it's a question that needs to be thrown out there
because this whole season it's been Auburn and Duke. They've
been the class of the college basketball season. But the

(49:18):
question that comes to mind is has the pack caught
up a little bit, not to the point where let's
say the Daytona five hundred. It's restrictor plate racing, you know,
so the front two cars are ahead, then it looks like, man,
they're about to lap the field. And then you wait
a little bit and you're like, oh no, they're about
to get passed over here. Like That's what I'm wondering

(49:40):
with Auburn and Duke. Of course, the Cooper flag injury,
that's something keep in mind with the tournament right around
the corner and then Auburn, where I don't want to
overreact to it, but two straight losses. You know, you
lose on the road at Texas A and M, then
you lose at home to Alabama. And you could chalk
that up to, hey, it's the final regular season game.

(50:03):
They didn't bring their a game. Alabama's a talented team.
You could try to like talk yourself into just dismissing it.
But I mean they are a marked team. And the
other part of this is the physicality in the tournament.
If there are gonna be more whistles that that can
hurt a physical team like Auburn. And so it's just

(50:23):
a question to throw out there, not to the point
where you're picking I don't know one of these teams
from the second tier to win it all, Like I'm
going all in on the Johnnies or whatever, right, Like,
you might not be picking someone other than Auburn or Duke.
But has the field, has that second tier caught up
to them a little bit more where they're in better
range to surpass them.

Speaker 4 (50:45):
I think it has good question. I think it's possible.

Speaker 5 (50:48):
And also I would say this, all of these late
season efforts especially, you better put some bulletproof film out there,
because these are good coaches. Now when you get to
the tournament, these are coaches who can pick you apart.
So if you have a couple of whoopsies, moments where
you tip your hand a little bit, you don't play

(51:09):
your best, or you showcase a weakness during a half
or part of a half of basketball. There's gonna be
some coach, some team that you run into during March
that's gonna find you out. And so that's another reason
why you don't want to get into coastmode. If you're
Auburn against Tennessee, you want to put the best possible
film you can in the can because you will get

(51:31):
picked apart by some of these expert eyes who are
going to be pouring over the film and doing their
hard work and due diligence before they face you. You know, look,
a team like Florida comes to mind. You know, the
Gators have quietly, very quietly had a very nice season
this season. And Seamus actually has talked about this a
lot when we have our betting expert joined the show.

(51:55):
It's one of those it's one of those teams that
you could seely making a run. Bama. They always seem
well rounded enough to make a deep run. I mean,
there Auburn and Duke are the class of this crop.
But there's there's no doubt in my mind that there's
there's room for a second tier team to upset.

Speaker 4 (52:18):
Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 6 (52:19):
I think Auburn is tougher mentally than everyone in the field.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
I honestly do believe that. I think Saint John's really dangerous, guys,
I really do. I don't know what like.

Speaker 6 (52:30):
Have you guys watched Rick Patino's interviews over the last
few weeks, and I haven't paid that close attention to
Saint John's until very recently because there's just so many
teams that were doing football, and then, you know, as
I've kind of made this transition to basketball over the
last six weeks, I've gotten up this. It's like drinking
from a fire hose. It's very difficult. I'm doing it
for all of you people because I love you all.
But Saint John's is really starting to catch my attention.

(52:54):
And I think it's more because here's the thing about
March Madness.

Speaker 4 (52:58):
We can talk.

Speaker 6 (52:58):
Numbers, stats and all this analytical stuff that I love
to bring to the table. I think you throw all
that nonsense. It's it's it's all wu wu stuff.

Speaker 4 (53:06):
Once we get to the tournament. Here's what separates that.
Here's what separates the good from the great in the tournament.

Speaker 6 (53:11):
Do you have the stones to overcome the survive and
advance mentality?

Speaker 4 (53:17):
Are you mentally tough enough to.

Speaker 6 (53:20):
Overcome a bad stretch and not let it turn into
a bad forty minutes Because everyone goes on runs in
these games. But the teams that are the most mentally
tough can overcome and they can win in different ways.
Auburn is that kind of team. I've seen Auburn win
a game in the nineties. I've seen him win a
game in the sixties. So im win a game in
the fifties against Tennessee.

Speaker 5 (53:39):
Right.

Speaker 6 (53:40):
Saint John's has that vibe too. Saint John's isn't a
gifted three point shooting team, but they have that moxie
to them where they can make a big shot in
the big moment. Go watch the highlights of the all
of the Marquette game last Saturday against you know, in
overtime when they made that steal late and they were
a dog in that game. Like that's it's like intestinal fortitude.

(54:02):
And I think Rick Patino looks like he's turned back
to clock ten years. Is he like sleeping with a vampire.
I don't know what's going on with him, but he
looks like he has more vibrant energy. So I think
there are a couple teams out there that have that
IT factor to them. I think Saint John's is absolutely
one of them. Here's the problem with teams like Florida
and Alabama actually more Alabama than anyone else. They're so

(54:23):
heavily relying on the three. If they go cold, they're done.
I think Florida is a very dangerous team.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
I do.

Speaker 6 (54:28):
I think Florida has the bigs, and I think they've
got the backcourt to make a run. I love Elijah Martin,
we saw him with that FAU team a couple of
years ago. Walter Clayton is an All American and they've
got two big Condon is an absolute rock star. I
think Florida is a very dangerous tam. I think Florida
and Saint John's are the two teams that I put
in that category. And Houston's very dangerous too. They just
haven't quite gotten over the hump yet. But this is

(54:50):
a very good offensive team for Houston that might be
able to make some shots.

Speaker 5 (54:54):
You know what.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
I'll close with this and it's gonna lead to a
full blown discussion, which kind of stinks. But we could
pick it up later, right, But those two teams that
you mentioned, Jared, Saint John's and Florida, if those somehow
they played each other, like what type of game is it?
And even if they don't play in each other, just
keep this in mind because we talked about the whistle.

(55:15):
Come tournament time, a very physical, tough team like Saint
John's and I love their toughness, what if it's a
whistle that's you know, happening often whereas that's a little
too physical on that box out, that's a foul, you
know what I mean? Like if they're not allowed to
get away with the physical style that they're used to,

(55:35):
that's a big problem. Because that's the big question about
Saint John's. Can they make enough shots? That's it, Like
can they make enough shots? So if they're matched up
against Florida and they're not able to play the same
type of physical brand of basketball, and it's a game
where Florida is hitting shots or a team like Florida
is hitting shots and Saint John's can't be as physical

(55:57):
as they're used to and.

Speaker 2 (55:58):
They've got to hit those.

Speaker 3 (56:00):
It's all of a sudden going from like a febag
game where it's very physical to an NBA game where
it's not as physical, it's a lot more free flowing.
So if it's a free flowing type game, that's where
I questioned, Saint John's really good. I love them, don't
get me wrong, Rick Patino, I love what you said
about him. But if it's a different style of game

(56:21):
and there's a little bit more movement, we're hitting shots
from outside, Like, I don't know if Saint John's has
enough in that type of scenario. And the thing is
that scenario might play out a couple of times depending
on how far they advance. It's like, how long can
they stay in the tournament playing those type of games?
And we might get our answer. We could pick that

(56:43):
back up. We definitely should.

Speaker 6 (56:44):
I think we should pick it up next Saturday when
they're playing in the round of thirty two.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
Yeah, a perfect time to pick it up.

Speaker 3 (56:51):
Beautiful all right, We've got rich Oronberger, Penn State All American,
Jared Smith FSR betting analyst. I'm Brian No use code
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(57:11):
and the best daily promotions in the business. Again, use
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back in bonus bets if you don't win your first bet.
All right, coming up next, our main man, Seamus McGee,
team lead of Sports Trading at BETMGM, gets you all
set for these conference tournaments and beyond. He might have
a pick well outside the basketball world.

Speaker 2 (57:33):
Who knows.

Speaker 3 (57:33):
For the shame of special we'll find out. It is
Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented by BETMGM. It is Fox
Sports Radios Countdown presented by BETMGM. Like basketball tractor supply knows,
a winning season takes practice, teamwork, and a can do attitude.
It's Bracket Challenge season.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
Be sure to compete and complete your back.

Speaker 3 (57:55):
You want to compete by completing that's it your bracket
at Fox Sports Radio dot com Beginning tomorrow night. Visit
Fox Sports Radio dot com to register and get rules.
The winning bracket in the Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge
will win a twenty five hundred dollars gift card to
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(58:19):
You can pre register now and then be sure to
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It's all sponsored by Tractor Supply for Life out there.

Speaker 2 (58:32):

Speaker 3 (58:36):
Oh okay, we'll get Seamus in a bit. Seamus is
dotting the i's crossing the t's jams in Vegas is special.

Speaker 4 (58:43):
He told me.

Speaker 5 (58:43):
He really was.

Speaker 4 (58:44):
Yeah, he's you texted me this week. He was at
some of the games this week.

Speaker 6 (58:47):
So it's it ain't it's not exactly breakfast time yet
for a lot of people in Vegas.

Speaker 4 (58:55):
That's usually around eleven inch.

Speaker 3 (58:56):
They kind of get up for brunch, right, Yeah, I
just remember I remember you and Biloxi rich where I'm
ze what it what?

Speaker 6 (59:08):
It was a classic Fox Sports Radio moment, right That was.

Speaker 4 (59:10):
One of my visits was more like one PM.

Speaker 5 (59:12):
My fondest memories of all time was sitting in my
hotel room at Gosh where we were staying. It was
it was like this night the Baux Ravage. We're headed
so we have a bet MGM. They have their sports
book downstairs. I'm eating a delicious breakfast. I'm literally peppering

(59:32):
my eggs as the phone as the phone.

Speaker 4 (59:34):
Rings, and I'm just like, hey, what's up, bo?

Speaker 5 (59:37):
Yeah, no, we're good, having a little breakfast. He was like, Oh,
come again, what's that. Oh we're on the air right now.
Well that's a shame because this just room service just
dropped this off.

Speaker 6 (59:50):
That was one of my favorite That was I think
I was our first year doing the show together. It
was it was it was the championship weekend for the
it was conference championship weekend.

Speaker 5 (01:00:00):
Yeah, well no, it cracked me up. And then as
I'm walking up, I have my to go package with
my exit.

Speaker 3 (01:00:11):
And I'll never forget Rich's first line, Well, you ruined
a perfectly good breakfast time zone.

Speaker 4 (01:00:17):
I'll get you man, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
Our main man is with us. Now let's dive into this.
Follow the money, real good money, all right.

Speaker 3 (01:00:26):
Seamus McGee is with us here, team lead of sports
Trading at bet MGM. Good morning to you, Seamus. You're
in Vegas. Huh My inside source Jared Smith let me
know this. So you're in Vegas right now? How are
things going?

Speaker 7 (01:00:42):
Hey, guys, get be back. Yeah, boots on the ground
here for weekend. It's been a good week so far.
Happy to be.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Here, very nice.

Speaker 3 (01:00:52):
Well betting wise, betting wise, what college game do you
have circled the most here today?

Speaker 7 (01:00:59):
It's Yeah, it's a weird slate today. A lot of
really good games, especially just like yesterday. But I am
probably gonna go penniless myself dating Michigan State this year. No,
I am probably gonna be back on shaving them again today.

Speaker 5 (01:01:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:01:20):
I don't know what to make in Michigan State.

Speaker 6 (01:01:22):
Like everyone wants to jump on the Zoe train, which
I get, but man, they just can't make shots. But
they were making them yesterday for sure. Let's let's talk
about the SEC. I think that's the pearl of Conference
Championship week these games. First of all, the games have
been off the fricking charts. Overtime, double overtime in A
and M and Texas the other day. But we get
this Tennessee Auburn matchup early it looks like Auburn is

(01:01:43):
taking some money. Is that a spot where you think
it's maybe moved a little bit too much. I was
actually shocked. The overtook a lot of money too in
this Auburn Tennessee game.

Speaker 7 (01:01:53):
This Auburn team sometimes I don't know if we can
if there's numbers that shorten up for him. We take
Auburn money every game they play. It's gonna be interesting
to others. Fault. We're gonna need Tennessee, which is kind
of weird because we usually take a lot of Tennessee
money as well. So we'll see how it shakes out.
I think we're gonna end up needing Tennessee plus five
and a half here.

Speaker 5 (01:02:14):
What about this? This this Florida Alabama game. I mean,
I love the Gators. I think you do two seamous.
You've alluded to that in the past. Both have an
opportunity or or, I should say, are in the mix for
a number one seed heading in Who do you think
who do you think you're leaning towards in this one?
I last I looked, it was was Bama. No, it was, yeah,

(01:02:38):
it was Florida was favored in this one right three
and a half?

Speaker 7 (01:02:42):
Yeah, Florida Myers three and a half, and I'll stick
with Florida and Todd Golden. I just think this team
is really legit this year. And I had the over
in Dama Kentucky last night. I couldn't believe I didn't
got one hundred any points on the teams for ninety
nine points. Yeah, so I think maybe, I know, it's
like Alabama. They hit a lot of shots last night.

(01:03:03):
We'll see if they can keep it up today.

Speaker 1 (01:03:05):
But I still like, Flora, does that?

Speaker 3 (01:03:10):
Does that affect your next handicap Shamus right where you're
on the over one night and you're like, they scored
ninety nine and the over didn't get home? What do
you think about one seventy five and a half in
the Bama Florida game.

Speaker 7 (01:03:24):
Bam is tricky because they can score ninety you know
most days, the way they play, the pace at which
they play. They got a lot of guys who can
make shots. So it's not like this is, you know,
Michigan State shooting forty one percent from three, which they
haven't done all year, and they did yesterday. So I still,

(01:03:47):
you know, I can see the overhitting in this game
for sure.

Speaker 6 (01:03:51):
Yeah, I think I'm on the over in Alabama Florida.
This is I think is a really important game. I
think the winner of that game is going to get
the one seed. So I think that game is going
to have a lot of a lot of umph to it,
and I think both teams are going to be pushing
Arizona and Houston's fascinating. I think it was a tight
game in Tucson a few weeks ago. I think it
was back in early February. Houston to me like the

(01:04:13):
angle for me for Houston, shame is they haven't won
the Big Twelve tournament yet in their two year stint
in the conference. I think that gets them over the
hump today. But the number is pretty heavy and if
Arizona shows up, Caleb Love shows up, they can absolutely
win this game. What's your take on Arizona Houston? Looks
like the numbers having around seven right now.

Speaker 7 (01:04:33):
I can't trust Caleb Love as far as I can
throw them. He had a great game yesterday, but you
never know what you're gonna get with this guy. It's
either gonna be two of twenty from the field or
he hit six threes. So and one things for sure,
you're gonna get a rock solid Houston every time you
bet them, So I'm fine with the number here on Houston.

Speaker 5 (01:04:53):
I really like Duke. I know that that sounds like
nauseating to a huge, huge segment of our list population,
but I think this is a team that, even without
the help of one of their stars, is still a
really complete team. Their favored six and a half over,
I believe, was the last I looked over Louisville in

(01:05:14):
the ACC tournament today. I like, I like Duke's side
in this. Talk me off the ledge if you're willing to.

Speaker 7 (01:05:22):
It's funny. You know, people are saying UNC shouldn't get
into the tournament because they couldn't beat Duke without Cooper Flag.
This is still a roster woaded with five star kids.
It's not like they're just nobody's here on this team.
Conking Up is going to be a top fifteen pick.
Walk is going to be a top as a first rounder.
So I with that said, I really do like Pat

(01:05:43):
Kelsey and Louisville. This year. They did the Stanford game,
they were down and out for it looked like the
whole game, and then in a minute they just flip
a switch and go on a crazy run. So I
don't hate a little Louisville money here.

Speaker 3 (01:05:58):
Okay, okay, right, Like it its highly opinionated. I love
this shamous Okay, well, perfect segue to the Shamus Special.
What's the best best bet you have on the card
here today?

Speaker 7 (01:06:11):
I gotta stick with my fate of Mission State today.
Wisconsin as a team I have liked all months. They've
played like one of the best teams in the country
for the better part of two months. They shot very
well yesterday. They make their shots, they hit free froze.
They're a good dog to bet on. So I'm going
to take the Wisconsin moneyline.

Speaker 6 (01:06:33):
Michigan State Wow plus money Shamous special.

Speaker 4 (01:06:37):
Is that a first?

Speaker 6 (01:06:38):
I think that might be a first for this shame
That plus money Shamous special.

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
It's nice, very nice, right there? Scared money don't make money?

Speaker 4 (01:06:45):
Oh right?

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
But did you coin that phrase? Am I correct about that?
Came from you?

Speaker 5 (01:06:51):
Oh?

Speaker 7 (01:06:52):
Yeah, that was all me. I'm definitely the first guy
to say that.

Speaker 1 (01:06:55):
That was me.

Speaker 2 (01:06:56):
That's what I thought, That's what I had written in
my notes.

Speaker 3 (01:07:00):
All right, Seamous man, good stuff is always have fun
in Vegas and we'll catch you very soon.

Speaker 7 (01:07:06):
Thanks to you guys.

Speaker 5 (01:07:07):
There.

Speaker 3 (01:07:08):
He is Seamus McGee, team lead of sports trading at BETMGM.
Hey come see what's new for basketball season at betmgm.
Score bigger when you win with boost tokens, odds, boost
tokens and more. Even if your bet doesn't hit, we've
got you covered with no sweat tokens. And that's not all.
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countless basketball betting options, including new look same game parlays, teasers,

(01:07:31):
live bets, and so much more. Okay, so we'll get
back to the hoops here momentarily. But this Micah Parsons
DeMarcus Lawrence beef is fantastic, So the cliffs notes version.
DeMarcus Lawrence was with the Dallas Cowboys. He signed with
the Seattle Seahawks, and in the meantime while leaving Dallas,

(01:07:55):
he dropped like the people's elbow on the Dallas Cowboys
organization as a whole, and a little bit of shade.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
Being thrown at Micah Parsons.

Speaker 3 (01:08:04):
This was one of the comments that DeMarcus Lawrence made about, uh,
the Super.

Speaker 2 (01:08:09):
Bowl being not exactly within sight there in Dallas. Check
this out change.

Speaker 5 (01:08:15):
The scenery is always good, you know. But Dallas is
my home made my home there, you know, my family
lives there, if I ever going to be there, but
I know for sure I'm not gonna win a super
Bowl there.

Speaker 3 (01:08:29):
Giddy, I was that was in Seattle, whereas odds are
what way better?

Speaker 4 (01:08:34):
Way?

Speaker 2 (01:08:34):
Terans come on, man.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
And then he went after Micah Parsons and basically said, hey,
if you spent less time tweeting and more time, yeah,
yes you went there as well. It's like, dude, were
you not on the same team. I just I don't
understand what's yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:08:54):
And Micah basically came back and said, Hey, this.

Speaker 3 (01:08:56):
Is what jealousy and envy look like, or reject and
envy look like. And so it's just been it's been
a war of words right here. But I don't know, man,
I it's like it's a little bit like dating. He
went from a C to a C and he's like

(01:09:17):
talking to his ex like.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
See you later, look at me now, baby, And it's like,
you really didn't upgrade at all, demark because what are
you talking about?

Speaker 4 (01:09:25):
You know.

Speaker 5 (01:09:26):
It's it's amazing when you're in the locker room to
see how people motivate themselves. It really is. And it's
a variety of different ways. Some people are motivated by
hard coaching, and it's up to a coach many times
to figure out which players need a good swift kick
in the butt to get the motor revd up. Sometimes

(01:09:47):
players are self motivated, where whatever it is that royals
inside of them to be better, that fires burning hot,
and some guys they need to manufacture and this feels
like it falls under that category. Sometimes you've got to
have a villain to chase down in order to feel

(01:10:11):
like it's worth it, like it's worth your time, it's
worth your while, So that that might have been there.

Speaker 4 (01:10:17):
There may be more to this beef from.

Speaker 5 (01:10:19):
A psychological standpoint than than we're really privy to. And
it might even be happening subconsciously, Like you know, Lawrence
might have said the quiet part's out loud. You know,
these are the things he thinks, but it's it's not
necessarily what he always shares, and so as a result,
it's created a beef and as a result, the motivation
is going to be there, and it always would have been.

(01:10:41):
But but yeah, it's it's interesting to see how people
are motivated, because sometimes you you need to have that
that that person, that opposition at all times, the reason
that you're waking up and doing all the hard work
every day so that you can prove them all wrong
kind of thing.

Speaker 6 (01:11:00):
I could not agree with you more. And I can't
speak from the NFL perspective. But for example, in my
little niche corner of the sports betting industry, there's a
lot of these beefs. It's very competitive, and one person
says something publicly that's a little bit eh, and then
that other person comes back, and then all of a
sudden it becomes this thing. And I can relate to

(01:11:24):
that corner of it. Here's the part that I can't relate.
If I haven't won anything, I don't feel comfortable, Like
if de Marcus Lawrence the Cowboys that they have not
won a playoff game and the Marcus Lawrence's stay with
the team. I think Seattle's actually won well, not only
playoff game, but I think they won a super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (01:11:42):
They want to.

Speaker 3 (01:11:43):
I think they won a couple. I think they won three. Yeah,
but it was all wild card stuff. They never got
past the divisional round.

Speaker 6 (01:11:49):
But they also want they won a super Bowl, like
ten years ago, Like it wasn't very long ago they
won a super Bowl. I wouldn't say it in the
in the context that he said it because he's going
from a user to a team.

Speaker 4 (01:12:00):
That hasn't really won much recently, so it's it's a weird.
It's weird. But I agree with Rich.

Speaker 6 (01:12:05):
I think the the dynamics of the locker room stuff
is probably more at play here. And I bet if
these guys ever actually met face to face, Like that's
the thing about social media and all these beefs on.

Speaker 4 (01:12:16):
Twitter, x whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 6 (01:12:18):
If you meet someone face to face, usually you're not
saying these things. It's you're you're hiding behind kind of
this keyboard warrior mentality. And then you actually get in
person with that human and you look them in the eyes,
and usually it's not as heated. And that would be
I'll be fast, And I don't think Dallas plays Seattle
this year, but that would be I hope they do.

Speaker 4 (01:12:37):
That'd be really fun.

Speaker 3 (01:12:39):
I could tell you real fast, because I don't have
that memorized off the top of my head.

Speaker 2 (01:12:42):
But let me see here. How about them Cowboys.

Speaker 3 (01:12:45):
They've got they've got the NFC North and then there
are other games. Nope, No, Unfortunately, Dallas, if they met
the Cardinals.

Speaker 6 (01:12:57):
That would require Dallas and Seattle to make the playoff,
and I think you know, my my parlay platters in
in the fall with all of our underdogs probably had
a better chance of hitting than that.

Speaker 3 (01:13:07):
That would require both our trusted producer Bo Benson had
something on this here.

Speaker 8 (01:13:11):
Isn't this the second time now that Michaeh. Parsons has
feuded with a teammate, Because didn't you have an issue
with Malik Hooker a year or so ago?

Speaker 5 (01:13:19):
Bo, remind us, because you're good at those Twitter beefs
a Malie.

Speaker 8 (01:13:23):
Hooker was like, hey, can you practice harder and not
podcast so much?

Speaker 4 (01:13:28):
Maybe this is just a.

Speaker 8 (01:13:31):
Well, was just an issue with Michael Parsons.

Speaker 5 (01:13:34):
The culture and and Bo you know this. We all
know this because we read it, we see it, we
live it. With Jerry Jones being the ringleader in Dallas.
He takes care of his stars. That's the reason why
free agents want to go to Dallas. That's the reason
why players are retained by the Jones family and they

(01:13:55):
stay in Dallas many times it's.

Speaker 4 (01:13:58):
Because he takes care of his stars.

Speaker 5 (01:13:59):
And you know Zeke, you know, got that huge contract
that he sort of faded on and Dak he got
re upped, and the big question was, well, you know,
Jerry boy, he's playing hardball, and well he eventually caved,
and Micah Parsons is one of the favorite Suns right now,
and it's warm under that wing. You know, even if

(01:14:20):
ownership many times is oppositional to players in the NFL.
You know these union league fights that carry out, especially
during CBA years. Jerry Jones, he favors his stars, and
so I bet you there's a little jealousy on that roster.
How many things come Micah Parsons way versus many of
the other players way.

Speaker 3 (01:14:41):
You know, it does remind me of Russell Wilson in
Seattle a little bit, right, Yeah, because remember there was
a lot of stuff coming out there, and Russ was
in these commercials early on, and there were a lot
of defensive players that would speak out against Russ and
I'm like, what are you guys doing?

Speaker 4 (01:14:59):
Why would you.

Speaker 2 (01:14:59):
Speak out against this guy?

Speaker 3 (01:15:01):
And then years went by and you're like, oh, that's
why you're.

Speaker 2 (01:15:04):
Speaking out against I get it a little bit now.
So I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:15:08):
Maybe there's something similar with the Markt with Michaeh Parsons.
I don't know, but I do know this with DeMarcus
Lawrence tweeting, maybe if you spent less time tweeting and
more time winning, I wouldn't have left.

Speaker 2 (01:15:20):
That is such a clown comment.

Speaker 3 (01:15:22):
You're on the same team, dude, Do you really think
tweeting was the reason you weren't winning? Or was it
that I don't know, Dak got hurt last season right
like it was?

Speaker 2 (01:15:33):
Really it was more so.

Speaker 3 (01:15:34):
Micah tweeted, come on, dude, what are we doing here?
Like some of those comments just make no sense. Or
we've got rich Orenberger Penn State All American that makes sense.
You've Gotjart Smith FSR betting analyst that makes sense as well.
I'm Brian, though I don't know if I makes sense,
but I yes.

Speaker 5 (01:15:50):
You do.

Speaker 4 (01:15:50):
Well, We're not gonna do it, DeMarcus Lawrence.

Speaker 6 (01:15:52):
Michael Parsons tweet beet here, we love it.

Speaker 2 (01:15:56):
Thank you, it's very nice.

Speaker 4 (01:15:57):
Hey.

Speaker 3 (01:15:57):
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(01:16:19):
scores second instead of first. That's on Fridays in the NBA.
All right, coming up next, prop it Up? Oh, yes,
the prop betting market. We will compare extensive notes. That
is on the way. It's Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented
by BETMGM. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented by
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(01:16:41):
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Speaker 2 (01:16:55):
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Speaker 2 (01:17:11):

Speaker 1 (01:17:13):
Prop it up.

Speaker 3 (01:17:15):
Player plays prop bet market.

Speaker 2 (01:17:20):
It's like.

Speaker 3 (01:17:22):
Slip it into your favorite pair of pjs. You know
what I'm saying, It's just lovely.

Speaker 2 (01:17:27):
All right, we start with you, Jared, what do you license?

Speaker 4 (01:17:29):
Smooth? I love it.

Speaker 6 (01:17:30):
We're gonna go Alex Condon over twelve and a half points.
I'm actually surprised the numbers this low for two reasons. One,
the total in this Bama Florida game is off the
freaking charts one seventy five and a half, so we
think it's gonna be ice scoring game that obviously means
more points. Two, these teams just played ten days ago
and Condon played one of his best games of the
year twenty seven points. And Bamas defense is soft, very soft,

(01:17:54):
about as soft as those silk fijs that Brian was
just referring to. They're allowing fifty three percent of shots
from inside the arc to be made. That is two
hundred and forty fourth in the country. They are Charman
ultrasoft in paint. Smells like a twenty ten kind of
game for Condon. The rebound prop for Alex is eight
and a half plus money of the over.

Speaker 4 (01:18:15):
I'd be fine with that as well.

Speaker 6 (01:18:16):
But we're gonna go points points points over twelve and
a half for Alex Condon, big man for the Gators.

Speaker 5 (01:18:21):
All right, my prop it up goes to pro basketball.
Sean Moran is having his moment.

Speaker 4 (01:18:28):
He does this.

Speaker 5 (01:18:29):
Once or twice a regular season. He is on fuego
right now. Over the last five games, he's scored over
the point total he's looking at for tonight's game against
the Heat.

Speaker 4 (01:18:40):
All five games, he's.

Speaker 5 (01:18:41):
Averaged thirty two point eight points per game. Over the
last five games, he is only scheduled total points to
score twenty four. I'm taking the over. He's coming off
an absolute ripper last night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He
scored forty four. I'm expecting big things tonight from Shah.
I think he drops more than twenty four. So I'm

(01:19:02):
taking over the twenty four points there.

Speaker 2 (01:19:04):
WHI John Ran Love you working in the NBA.

Speaker 5 (01:19:07):
I you know what I I do well with props
in them yet. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:19:12):
So everyone's got a niche do you? Being rich? Money's money.
I don't care how you make it.

Speaker 2 (01:19:16):
I'll stay right, that's right, unless it's the drug trade.

Speaker 4 (01:19:22):
Nothing illegal people, the legalities.

Speaker 3 (01:19:27):
I'm gonna go with Caleb Love So he's off a
great game, shot the lights out let's fade them. You know,
it's fadom today against Houston. I'm gonna go under fourteen
and a half points. It's such a low total for him.
It's again it's the risk Lati varians. Caleb Love could
he could still stay on fire and shoot the lights

(01:19:47):
out and make me look like an idiot. But I'm
betting that doesn't happen against the Houston team. That makes
life miserable.

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
And man, that's the thing with Caleb Love.

Speaker 3 (01:19:57):
Once he's on a heater, like the bad shooting and
the bad game is right around the corner. I think
it's gonna be today against Houston.

Speaker 4 (01:20:04):
I'll take the under fourteen and a half for Kaylin.
Well By, you scored ninety six the.

Speaker 6 (01:20:09):
Other day and then they scored fifty four yesterday against Houston,
so BYU can't score.

Speaker 3 (01:20:14):
It's like, oh boy, wow, that's that's telling right there.

Speaker 2 (01:20:18):
I come it up next. It's the matchup of the day.
Oh what is going on?

Speaker 5 (01:20:23):
Everybody?

Speaker 3 (01:20:24):
Hope your Saturday is off to a fantastic start.

Speaker 2 (01:20:28):
I think it's the matchup of the day. Well, you
might have pushback. It's either Tennessee Auburn or it's Alabama. Florida.

Speaker 3 (01:20:35):
So maybe Bama Florida isn't the headliner, but it's a
strong like warm up band, it's nothing else, right Like,
if it's not the headliner, this is a solid It's
like the UFC where there are co headliners. Maybe that's
the way to go with it. Alabama and Florida co headliner.
But I'm really looking forward to this game. Florida favored

(01:20:57):
by three and a half totally is one seventy five
and a half, which is a lot in college basketball.
But I think there's a better chance we see defense
optional in this game and a bit more of a
track meet. That is a tough beat. If you were
on the over in the Florida Kentucky game, I'm sorry.

(01:21:18):
In the Alabama Kentucky game, Alabama scores ninety nine and
you don't hit the over.

Speaker 2 (01:21:23):
That that's rough right there.

Speaker 3 (01:21:25):
But Alabama a lot of firepower and not a whole
lot of defense.

Speaker 2 (01:21:29):
So I see a track meet in this one, you rich.

Speaker 4 (01:21:32):
Yeah, I could see that.

Speaker 5 (01:21:33):
Although the Gators are more well balanced than Bama, Bama
does like to push the tempo, and I think the
Gators will oblige them because they've got this Clinton Junior,
who is just a sharpshooter from deep, so even in transition,
he'll pull up and shoot a jumper from you know, shoot,
I mean well beyond the three point line, and he

(01:21:55):
is lethal. The Gators just to concentrate on them, because
I really do think they're one of the more special
teams in the field this year. I think they have
a real chance at vuying for a national championship this year.
They're the most complete team in basketball outside very few.
They have a great balance offense and defense, front court

(01:22:19):
versus backcourt. I think they have a roster that's really
well suited for what they like to be and what
they like to do, which is sort of be a
little amoebic, meaning that they can change to their environment
and they can you know, stretch you out and hit
perimeter shots and also attack the rim. So I'm expecting
good things for the Gators in the tournament, but for

(01:22:41):
this game in particular, I like their side on this one.
You might hear that again in just a little bit.

Speaker 4 (01:22:47):
I think you misspoke, Brian.

Speaker 6 (01:22:48):
I think the game of the day is main Brian
in the America East Championship.

Speaker 4 (01:22:51):
I mean I'm watching it right now.

Speaker 3 (01:22:54):
Hey, Hey, I bet if you're bet to get the
most heavily, that's the game of the day.

Speaker 6 (01:23:01):
By the way, so this is an annual tradition, the
Saturday of conference championship weekend. The IVY League always plays early. Right,
it's eleven am out in the East Coast. I'm watching
Princeton and Yale. Right, Yale's up four nothing in the
first two minutes. And the America East Championship is always
eleven am Eastern every Saturday.

Speaker 4 (01:23:17):
This confident it's final Saturday of I guess.

Speaker 6 (01:23:19):
I guess we'll call it technically the regular season because
really the tournament starts next week, although this is kind
of like the half postseason. But yeah, Maine and Bryant
Khan the game of the day, guys, come on. No,
Florida obviously has the credentials to win the national championship.
So does Alabama. Here's the problem. I don't know which
Alabama team's gonna show up every night. I think I

(01:23:42):
know which Florida team's going to show up every night.
Fantastic grim protecting team. You mentioned Clayton. I had a
terrible beat on Walter Clayton yesterday over eighteen and a
half points. He had seventeen in the first half. Then
he left in the second half with a hamstring tightness,
came back, got fouled late, went one of two from
the line at eighteen.

Speaker 4 (01:24:01):
Rough beat. That was a roughiet, Brian.

Speaker 6 (01:24:03):
I know you've had a lot of those in the
prop market over the years.

Speaker 2 (01:24:06):
This show, I feel like that's where Jack Pott.

Speaker 3 (01:24:09):
Jackpot just puts the pause over his guys, just like, oh, no, here,
it is here.

Speaker 2 (01:24:14):
It's gonna happen right here.

Speaker 7 (01:24:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:24:16):
That was one of the reasons why I needed a
break from the screens last night was that Walter Clayton over.
I was also on the Bama Kentucky first half over
eighty five and a half, which landed eighty five. So
I had two hollacious beats with Alabama and Florida yesterday,
both in different games. So but we get right back
on the pommel horse. We're going right back to this over,

(01:24:37):
and I think that's the way to play this game.
So this over has gotten bet up considerably. I had
a friend that's out east said he saw this thing
open one seventy, like right at the jump. Like I
wasn't around last night when the number opened at right
around one seventy and a half, and we've seen it
bet up considerably now one seventy five and a half.
I think we're approaching the ceiling right now at one
seventy five and a half. But I still think there's

(01:24:59):
just it's a little bit of wiggle room to the
upside with these two teams, because again, if Bama makes threes,
you can't name a number high enough. For example, these
teams played ten days ago, the total was one seventy
eight and a half. The final score was ninety nine
to ninety four. Like I've seen NBA games this year
that haven't gotten to that total. So I think, again,

(01:25:19):
if Bama makes their threes and if they limit turnovers,
they were nine of twenty five from three in that game.
They only had six turnovers, Like if you have more,
if Bama has more threes than turnovers tonight.

Speaker 4 (01:25:31):
This game's going over. I think that's like the simple
equation for me. We're Florida. I know they're gonna be consistent.

Speaker 6 (01:25:37):
Condon, we think he's gonna have a good game. Remember
he had twenty seven and ten in the last game.
We went over on points. I think over on rebounds
is fine more shots, more rebounds, even though for a
rebound a halfpen you have to miss the shots. And
if we want the over, we want points. But I
think getting to the line is huge. He was seven
of nine at the line. Florida shot twenty nine free
throws in that game. Ten days ago Bama shot twenty five.

Speaker 4 (01:25:56):
Again.

Speaker 6 (01:25:57):
If you get over twenty free throw attempts for each
in a game, probably going over. And I just think
the pace of this game, You're gonna see a lot
of early offense. You're not gonna see a lot of
late shot clock kind of you know, stagnant. It's gonna
be get it across half court, get the shot up
for Clayton and Condon. I think the pick and roll
is gonna be huge. Bama's and tieror defense is terrible.
This is gonna be a fantastic watch. Auburn Tennessee might

(01:26:19):
not be a good watch. I think this game is
gonna be a really fun game to watch.

Speaker 3 (01:26:23):
I think that's my question is who's the next team?
Meaning if you put Auburn and Duke as the top tier,
who's the next team that you like the most?

Speaker 2 (01:26:36):
And for me, it's Florida.

Speaker 3 (01:26:37):
Agree, If you start looking at some of the other
teams in this second tier, Houston, Bama, Saint John's, maybe Spardy,
whoever you want to go with in that second tier,
I would just compare Florida. Think of it like this,
A simple way to think of it. If you look
at Houston, just look at records. Houston and Saint John's
are both twenty nine and four. Florida is twenty eight

(01:27:00):
and four in a premiere Conference, right and I look
at the ways these teams have to beat you, and Florida.

Speaker 2 (01:27:09):
Has different ways. They have more ways to beat you.

Speaker 3 (01:27:13):
Houston defense, you know Saint John's physicality, But what if
it's an offensive game, what if there are a lot
more whistles? What if you know this is a perimeter
shooting type game. Is Houston gonna be able to make
enough shots? The Saint John's gonna be able to make
enough shots. Florida can play enough defense, and they can
certainly make enough shots. I really like what this Florida

(01:27:33):
team brings to the table. They would be my favorite
of the second tier teams. I think Florida can make
a deep run. I wouldnt be surprised they win the
whole thing, wouldn't shock me.

Speaker 4 (01:27:42):
At all.

Speaker 5 (01:27:43):
Yeah, yeah, I mean when you think about where BAM
is at mentally heading into this matchup, losing in buzzer
beater fashion to Tennessee last outing, you want to get
that taste out of your mouth quick, especially if you're
looking to make a run this postseason. But Florida, I

(01:28:03):
feel like, let's talk about what Alabama would need to
do to Florida in order to win. And what I
frankly think that the best teams are capable of doing
is dragging a team into deep water and forcing them
to tread water with you. And how do you do that? Well,
you focus on what you're great at. Well, what's Alabama
great at? Transition and tempo defense or offense, So getting

(01:28:27):
those defensive rebounds, hitting an outlet, stressing the transition defense
of the Gators, and scoring in transition. That's the other
part of this. That's the reason why it feels easier
to back Florida in this game because they're more consistent
performers and they don't rely as much on seeing shots

(01:28:48):
fall in transition, which can be you know, like teams
who are great perimeter shooters, it can be a little
bit touch and go at times. But if Alabama is
stressing the Florida Gators full court defense in transition, Well,
then you're forcing the Gators to tread with you as
opposed to setting up what they want to do. And

(01:29:08):
when you have a team backpedaling, you got a great
chance to win. And this is a close spread. You know,
we're not talking about, you know, something approaching double digits.
This is what Gators are dogged or Bama is Bama
favorite in this one. The Gators Bama's right three and
a half Florida Florida's so they're only dogged by three

(01:29:30):
and a half points here. We're not talking about an
overwhelming task here because they're they're pretty well matched, pretty
well suited for each other. So I could see this
going either way. It just feels easier to back Florida
with how consistent and well balanced they've been this season
so far.

Speaker 6 (01:29:47):
Yeah, I'll go back to Brian's original point two about Houston.
I do think this Houston team is better offensively than
they were in prior years. Like, this was a Houston
team that last year was basically middle of the road
average in shooting, and now they're above average, like like
they're almost forty percent from three like that's that's top
five in the country. Their two point percentages are a

(01:30:09):
little bit lower. The question is Juan Roberts, their big man,
got hurt in the Big twelve Conference tournament. Didn't play yesterday,
probably isn't gonna play tonight. I actually haven't heard about Roberts.
That would be a good nugget to get to before
I give out my pick on that game in about
thirty minutes.

Speaker 4 (01:30:25):
But gotta do a little nigging.

Speaker 6 (01:30:29):
But I do think Houston is better suited to make
a run to the Final four than prior years. Let's
do the tiers right now, Duke and Auburn. But also
there's an asterisk next to Duke. What's Cooper Flag's injury status.
Obviously they're a very different team with him than without him.
Let's just operate in a vacuum and say he plays
next week, he's healthy, and it's all all systems go.

(01:30:49):
Duke and Auburn are obviously in that's in that top tier.
They're in first class. I think business class. Houston, Florida.
I would maybe throw Saint John's in business class. I'm
not gonna lie. I think it's more coaching and toughness
that I like about Saint John's not necessarily skilled.

Speaker 4 (01:31:05):
They're a very skilled.

Speaker 6 (01:31:05):
Team, but they're I think the I think with I
think Saint John's and Auburn are in the mental acuity category,
like off the charts good, and I think that's what
put Saint John's maybe in that category. And he got
a lot of teams in coach that are maybe like
economy plus, like I put Bama. Bama makes their three,
like Bama is always on the upgrade list, Like Bama
could be in first class in a minute if they

(01:31:27):
make their threes, but there's just they're not quite silver
medallion status just yet, like they're kind.

Speaker 4 (01:31:32):
Of waiting to get that upgrade.

Speaker 6 (01:31:35):
I put Tennessee on the list of fades obviously because
of Rick Barnes. I'll be honest, I think Gonzaga might
have a sneaky little run in them. I'm I'm a
little bit I'm a little bit intrigued by this Gonzaga
team because no one's talking about them, and we're in Prioris.
They've always been in the top seed category. They're they're
a top ten team in Ken Palm.

Speaker 1 (01:31:54):
This year.

Speaker 6 (01:31:54):
They just won the West Coast Conference. They finally got
the Saint Mary's monkey off their back. They're probably gonna
be a seventh seed, which means gonna get a two
seed in the second round. Man, if they play Tennessee
in the second round, give me Gonzaga in that game.
I don't care what the number is.

Speaker 3 (01:32:08):
Well, hey, man, that's the thing that's the beauty and
the not the madness, but the annoyance of the tournament,
right is you can you can handicap these games and
have all of this data to point at where you're like,
this pick makes all the sense in the world. And
then it's like, hey, these are young kids, and it's

(01:32:28):
a forty minute game and there's a three point line
and you know, and it's like who's hot and who
is ice cold? In any particular game, it's like good luck. Right,
So I'm not disagreeing with anything you said, Jared. It's
like you could you could look at a team like
Houston and all the things that you said about Houston
are correct, but it's that one game where their offense

(01:32:51):
isn't firing very well and the whistles come early and often,
and their defense isn't as physical, and you're like, okay,
by Houston. It's like, whoa, So that's the thing, man,
That's the beauty and the annoyance of the tournament from
a betting perspective is when you're like, this makes all
the sense in the world because we've seen it all
season long, and then you get the exact opposite. You're like,

(01:33:12):
why do I even do this? Why why do I
even research anything? That's why they call it madness.

Speaker 4 (01:33:19):
No, truly, it truly is.

Speaker 5 (01:33:20):
And I like that comparison, or I guess analog that
you're using taking teams and putting them in coach or
first class or economy or economy plus or when they're
boarding the plane even like what boarding group are they? Yes,
like all those things, because it really does feel like,

(01:33:41):
as you know, these bracketologists are breaking it down and
these statisticians, like the tor Wis of the world. You know,
they're breaking it down and then us, you know, whether
it be from just a sports opinionist standpoint or a
betting expert standpoint, you look at all these teams and
that's what you you try to group them into tiers

(01:34:02):
almost like buckets or boarding classes, where you say, all, right,
where exactly do they belong or are they even supposed
to be in the fuselage. Maybe one of these teams
is supposed to be left to the terminal, you know.
So it's it's gonna be really interesting to see the
opening two rounds of this year's tournament. I think it

(01:34:23):
always is. I've said it before, and I hope I'm wrong.
I feel like it's gonna be very chalky, just because
of the time in the era we're in where teams
get to spend money. But we'll see that's again that's
the reason why they call it madness.

Speaker 4 (01:34:37):
I love it. Yeah, you definitely have to throw away
some of them.

Speaker 6 (01:34:42):
I'm like, you're not gonna hear me next week when
we're talking about like we'll be in the round of
thirty two, we'll already have a data point under our
belt of the sixt you know, round of sixty four games.
When we do our show next Saturday and we kind
of get you set for who's gonna go to the
sweet sixteen, it's gonna sound very different compared to what
you hear during a college football regular season, where there's
just so much information that I feel like is relevant

(01:35:03):
to the games, and to Brian's point, it's not as
relevant in these games because of the one and done
nature of this sport and because of the back and forth.
Like you watch these games, these teams sometimes play right
on script and then it just disappears like it's like gone.
It's it's like you see these runs back and forth.

(01:35:23):
And I had a friend that asked me, So, I
had a friend who's not really into gambling, loves college basketball,
not into gambling, and he asked me, He's like, what
is the appeal of.

Speaker 4 (01:35:32):
Betting this sport?

Speaker 6 (01:35:33):
Because it's so helter skelter anyways, that like, usually the
reason you get into gambling is because you want a
little more action, right, You want a little more excitement
you don't really need And I'm not obviously we love
betting on these games. You don't really need it. For
march Man, It's like just the sport and the nature
of the sport itself gives you that excitement. And that's
what makes this tournament so great. But I still think

(01:35:56):
it all comes down to will more than skill. I
really think your ability to block out that negativity that
creeps into your mind when you're having one of those
bad stretches, I think is what separates good teams from
great teams in this tournament. And that's why I think
Auburn and Saint John's. I would love to see those
two teams play each other. I think that would be

(01:36:17):
And maybe it's a final four game.

Speaker 4 (01:36:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 6 (01:36:18):
Maybe it's a one verse two matchup in a regional final.
Auburn's the one, Saint John's is the two. We'll see
what the bracket look looks like. I think those if
I had to pick the two mentally toughest teams in
college basketball, those are the teams that I think could
go down twenty all on a run and still feel
like they can come back and win the game because
they just don't have that quit to them. And that's

(01:36:39):
what makes those two teams fascinating from a handicapping standpoint
in this tournament.

Speaker 3 (01:36:43):
I do love the airplane thing. You could keep going
and going with that. Oh, it's like we're not big
on Tennessee. Like the Rick Barnes track record. It's like
Tennessee said bomb and they got thrown in.

Speaker 4 (01:36:55):
Rick Barnes is like sitting in the back. You know
the sea can't decline. He's got in middle seat.

Speaker 5 (01:37:02):
You're seeing it with folded arms and folded legs like
going up the conveyor belt into the luggage.

Speaker 3 (01:37:08):
Under the poor Rick Barnes, Well, hey, man, he's until
he wins big. That's the way he's gonna be talked about.
Oh when he's earned that. He's earned that, there's no
doubt about that. All Right, We've got Rich Hornberger, Penn
State All American, Jared Smith FSR, betting analyst.

Speaker 2 (01:37:24):
I'm Brian No.

Speaker 3 (01:37:25):
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(01:37:45):
don't win your first bet. All right, coming up, this
team is a little further down in the rankings, but man,
they've got some firepower. It's Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented
by bet MGM. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented
by BETMGM. Like basketball tractor supply knows that a winning
season takes practice, teamwork, and a can do attitude. It's

(01:38:08):
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Speaker 2 (01:38:28):
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You can preregister now and then go fill out your
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It's at Fox Sports Radio dot com and it's all
sponsored by Tractor Supply for life out there. How about
a team a little bit further down in the rankings,
but they've got some firepower. How about those Wisconsin Badgers

(01:38:51):
huh taken on Sparti today in the Big Ten tournament.
And look, this is one of these squads where it's
funny going into the tournament. We're gonna talk Auburn duke
and then that next tier right there, Jared, you're doing
the whole airplane. You know, business class is this, you know,
the last row in the middle section right where the

(01:39:14):
toilets are, you know. So we're gonna have all these
teams in different sections, and I feel like we're gonna
spend a lot of time talking about the top tier
and the second tier. But a team like Wisconsin is
not Like the second tier can't be twenty teams, you know,
it's gotta be limited to a certain amount of teams.

Speaker 2 (01:39:33):
So Wisconsin would.

Speaker 3 (01:39:34):
Be a third you know, a typed Yeah, like they're
a third tier something like that. But man, with John
Tanjay and you saw what that offense did the last
game out, I'm curious what happens. Is this an Illinois
type situation? Illinois scored over one hundred points and the
next night they couldn't score. And it's like you saw Wisconsin.

(01:39:56):
They put up a lot of points offensive firepower. Now
against can they maintain that They've done a really good
job consistently giving you offense throughout the season. But another
test today against Michigan State?

Speaker 7 (01:40:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (01:40:09):
Yeah, you know, And wasn't Seamus said he's fading Michigan
State today?

Speaker 4 (01:40:13):
Yeah he's on Wisconsin. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:40:15):
So I look, here's the thing. Who you are late
in this season is who you are?

Speaker 4 (01:40:21):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 5 (01:40:22):
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on you know what side the
coins landing on more often down the stretch. So I
tend to agree with Seamus. I feel like Wisco has
has shown us who they are. But again, like any
other team who's relying on offense and scoring, if you
have a cold night, you know from perimeter or even

(01:40:44):
at mid range, where you you score the the most
of your baskets. I mean, that's all it takes. And
so basketball, especially college basketball, especially as we get whittled
down to the end of the regular season into conference
tournament time into tournament, I'm it's it really comes down
to two things. Can you handle the stress of the

(01:41:04):
moment down the stretch of the season or into the
conference tournament. And also what are the refs going to do?
You know, are they gonna let defense play a little
bit harder? Are you gonna be able to hang if
you're a team that is a more reliant on scoring,
It's gonna be an interesting matchup today. And I think
I agree with Shamus. I'm on the Badgers.

Speaker 6 (01:41:25):
Yeah, I just took some Wisconsin plus three and a half. Also,
I just think it's a shooting game like this, This
feels like an offensive game. I was actually surprised the
total was relatively low, in the one forties. You know this,
this game feels like someone's touching eighty. It's kind of
like my golf score wouldn't be shocked if it's in
the high nineties. I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 1 (01:41:46):
Man.

Speaker 6 (01:41:46):
Mean, Wisconsin dropped the bucks sixteen on Iowa back in January,
like u uh, Like Wisconsin yesterday was unconscious against Ucla.
Like it was an unconscious performance. Here's some of the
Wisconsin score lines from Big Ten play against high octane offenses.
They dropped ninety four at Purdue, they dropped ninety five
against Illinois home eighty six yesterday against I would say

(01:42:07):
a really good UCLA defense usually lays defense in the
top twenty nationally, and they're a very slow tempo. For
Wisconsin to do that against UCLA, it's like whoa.

Speaker 5 (01:42:15):
Now.

Speaker 6 (01:42:15):
The game at East Lansing a month ago, or actually
was like two and a half weeks ago, was relatively
low scoring. Wisconsin did not shoot it well in that game,
five for thirty two from three, but they took thirty
two fricking threes. If they take thirty two threes tonight, yeah,
I think eighty is a is a a low total
for them. You know, they're probably gonna.

Speaker 4 (01:42:36):
Get into the eighties.

Speaker 6 (01:42:37):
Michigan State's weird man, Like I I think the Izo thing,
And don't get me wrong, he's a legendary coach, first
ballot Hall of Famber type of coach.

Speaker 4 (01:42:47):
They haven't made it past the sweet sixteen in six years, so.

Speaker 6 (01:42:52):
I understand that there's a lot of buzz around this
team because they're playing really good basketball right now. But
I think the whole Izo credibility thing, like we just
need to tone it down just a little bit because
they haven't made a really good run in a while,
and it's not like they have been talented. They've been
very talented all of those years. So I think, like
the march Iso thing, like it just we just need

(01:43:12):
to temper it a little bit. I think Wisconsin, if
they defend, like they might be better on paper because
of just Tanjay and and kind of the bigs that
they can bring you, Like, I think they're very multiple.
Blackwell's a stud to like kraw And and Winter, Like,
these are bigs that can step out and shoot, like
Stephen Crow's a seven foot are shooting forty percent from three,
Nolan Winter six to eleven, shooting thirty seven percent from three, Like,

(01:43:35):
how do you defend that?

Speaker 4 (01:43:36):
If Wisconsin's on their game, I think they win this
one out right.

Speaker 2 (01:43:40):
Yeah, the Iszo thing.

Speaker 3 (01:43:42):
I don't want to just detract anything, so I want
to get to the Louisville duke thing. But just a
quick thought is to me Izzo, his resume is very
similar to John Calipari, and he gets like maybe five
percent of the backlash that coach Cal has got.

Speaker 2 (01:44:00):
And over the years, you know what I mean, Like, listen,
I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:44:03):
Cal has had a who's who of NBA talent and
he won a title at UK. Listen, tom Izzo has
had a lot of talent at Michigan State. Granted not
the same talent, but he has one title and a
bunch of Final Four appearances, and he gets like a
fraction of mill Like, he gets inches of backlash compared

(01:44:25):
to coach cal who, Like, I think we might have
talked about this on the show. I can't remember if
it was Saturday or Sunday, but like cal went back
to Lexington coaching Arkansas and got booed in what world
would tom Izzo be coaching another team go back to
East Lansing and they boo him. There's no chance that

(01:44:46):
would happen. So but to your point, Jaredy's got to
have more success in the tournament, and he's got a
top ten team this season. You got to see him
get at least to the sweet sixteen and beyond at
the very least.

Speaker 2 (01:44:57):
Right there, how about Louisville and Duke.

Speaker 3 (01:45:00):
I'm curious what you think about this game, because Duke,
they almost completely collapsed last time out against North Carolina
last night. Weird lane violation at the end. They easily
could have lost that game and blown a big lead
without Cooper flag. Does this How big of a game
is this that you subscribe to? This is like these
are like waffles here these college basketball teams where it's

(01:45:23):
very okay you lost to Louisville today. Let's say about
who cares tournament rolls around Thursday or Friday whenever Duke plays,
No big deal or do you look at it and say,
hey man, you almost collapsed against North Carolina. Kind of
important that you show up minus your star against Louisville today.

Speaker 2 (01:45:38):
Let's see something from Conka.

Speaker 3 (01:45:40):
Nipple and the rest of the Duchies over there, Like
I listen, I don't chalk these games up to ah
who you know, rest everybody, rest, all the starters just
mount up on Thursday or Friday. I think these games
are connected to a degree, and I think that's the
case for Duke here today.

Speaker 5 (01:45:58):
Yeah, I mean, and I'm glad you brought up Continent
Baal because he is their second leading scorer. He is
he is a great player as well. And I think
again hearkening back to the conversation we had with Jamis
McGee earlier today, you know, he mentioned the fact that
without Cooper Flag, this is still one of the preeminent
teams in the country because of outloaded their rosters, you know,

(01:46:21):
just piled with five star players. And that's that's what
teams like Duke will typically be able to do. And
you know, teams with more national attention and an intrigue
and interest and specifically money backing them, like Duke basketball
has in this NIL era. But yeah, I do think

(01:46:45):
to the point you were making, Brian, you need to
have a little bit of a statement here. It's not
obscenely important. I think they're still going to rip through
the tournament. The early rounds of the tournament, with relative ease.
But if you could get tripped up by un C,
you could get tripped up in the round of thirty
two and you could survive a close one that because

(01:47:07):
that's where I think I would slate the tar Heels
as maxing out or tapping out if they were to
make it.

Speaker 7 (01:47:15):
So I.

Speaker 5 (01:47:17):
Think this is a real game. I think for those
duke players, if I'm their coach, the message I'm sending
to the locker room is that's not acceptable. We all
know it's not acceptable. We got to go out there
and play acceptable basketball. And so with that message, you're
gonna go out there and you're gonna be buttoned up,
you're gonna do everything right. And unfortunately for Lolville, it's

(01:47:41):
kind of like being the next piece of lumber on
your way to the sawmill. It's a little bit of
staring down your faith, hearing the noises from inside the
shed and knowing it's the unavoidable. There's nothing you could
do about it.

Speaker 4 (01:47:54):
Louisvil has gotten very fortunate. At the last two games.

Speaker 6 (01:47:56):
I should have lost to Stanford, they were down big,
should have been tied that Clemson game, right, we talked
about at the top of the show, that controversial call
late Clemson. You know, to be fair, Chase, I think
Chase Hunter has to make both free throws to tie
the game. But still like that that game, Like Louisville
had one game where they were down big came back
to win up big almost blew it.

Speaker 4 (01:48:19):
And now what do we see with Duke. Here's my
take on Duke. This is a maybe it's a hot take.

Speaker 6 (01:48:25):
We love hot takes here on the show, and this
has nothing to do with Cooper Flag and how I
feel about him as a person or as a player.
But I think the best thing that could have happened
to Duke this week is.

Speaker 4 (01:48:36):
To win this tournament without him.

Speaker 6 (01:48:38):
Best possible case scenario is for the other players on
Duke's roster, especially Ca Nipple, who if you watch this
kid play kan k Nipple is like he checks every box,
he does it all. He is a fantastic shooter defender,
He does the little things. He's gritty, he's a freshman,
he's a diaper andy baby. But I think Duke winning

(01:49:00):
this tournament without Cooper Flag and he'll come you wrong.
The acc is not you know, the behemoths. It's not
like Godzilla against MOFMA but it is still really good
basketball teams. It's still you know, top notch players, even
though they're not having as good of a year as
they've typically had in that conference.

Speaker 4 (01:49:15):
But if Duke wants to reach the heights that they.

Speaker 6 (01:49:19):
Want to reach Final four National Championship, you're gonna have
to win a game over the six games you have
to win to get to the title. When Cooper Flag
has an off night, it's gonna happen at some point.
And I know he's been great the whole year, but
it will happen at some point in that stretch. He's
gonna have a bad game. Teams are gonna key in
on him. Good defenses will make another guy beat them.
That's where this confidence level for Duke, where they can

(01:49:41):
win a tournament three straight nights, back to back to
back without their best player. I think that's the best
case scenario for the Blue Devils.

Speaker 3 (01:49:48):
Next week and beyond it is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown
presented by bet MGM. You can stream this show and
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Just search Fox Sports Radio in the app to stream
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(01:50:08):
one of your presets, just like the presets on a
radio dial. So be sure to preset Fox Sports Radio
in the iHeartRadio app and it'll always pop up at
the top of your screen. Okay, let me throw some
ball at you here. You know, football always on the brain.
And I thought of you, guys because I read something
from Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk this morning and

(01:50:29):
I'm like, I've been yelling this for years, and especially
with this particular team. So he posted a story about
Cooper cup signing with the Seahawks, right, and his thought was,
there are plenty of other big name receivers on the
wrong side of thirty that are waiting to find a home.
There's Amari Cooper's Tofon Diggs, keenan Al and Brandon Cooks.

(01:50:51):
There's Tyler Lockett, the former Seahawk, and then he names
some other names that are under thirty years old as well,
and they're still waiting for homes. And this line caught
my attention. Mike Florio wrote the fact that so many
receivers are available at this point is a sign that
the position is becoming in some respects like running back

(01:51:13):
every year, Young, cheap, healthy and productive options are available
in the draft class, and I immediately thought of the
Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 2 (01:51:23):
It's like they're going.

Speaker 3 (01:51:25):
The opposite way and they're trying to pay a premium
and they're reportedly close to closing deals with Jamar Chase
and T Higgins.

Speaker 2 (01:51:35):
I don't understand it.

Speaker 3 (01:51:36):
I understand why you would keep Jamar Chase, but to
sign both guys at a premium while you're probably losing Hendrickson,
it just doesn't make sense to me. But that thought
of wide receiver resembling running back in the way in
the case that there are a lot of good wide
receivers in these draft classes, why are you paying a

(01:51:58):
premium for T Higgins if you also have Jamar Chase
and you're the Bengals. I think it's a bad approach,
But it looks like they're a step closer to making
that a reality here.

Speaker 5 (01:52:08):
Yeah, I agree. I do think it's a bad approach.
I think I think teams should be more focused on
cobbling together a more fortified front seven on defense and
an offensive line that can withstand the tasks of surviving
a full season and playing great football because time and

(01:52:29):
time again, what we're proving is it is a passing league.
You know, we see it every year. The gaudy numbers
that offenses are putting up, the passing yardage that quarterbacks
are putting up now dwarfs that of the passers of
just ten years ago. But it's a line of scrimmage game.
You have to own and dominate at the line of scrimmage.

(01:52:49):
And the teams who typically go the furthest As a
matter of fact, a great example.

Speaker 4 (01:52:53):
The Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaker 5 (01:52:54):
You could have arguably ranked them as the best offensive
line the entire season. That defensive front is fierce. They
stop the run well, they rushed the passer well, they
create havoc. And so when I see team spending big, numbered,
big dollars, those those numbers on receivers, even on running backs.

Speaker 4 (01:53:13):
You know, not not always, but but sometimes.

Speaker 5 (01:53:16):
I'll say to myself, why why get yourself an offensive line,
get yourself a pass rusher or an edge setter in
the run game. On defense, like you got, you gotta
four to five the front otherwise you're not gonna have
a chance. And like you said, great receivers, good receivers
are kind of disposable in this league because you can

(01:53:37):
find them falling out of bed. It's just what it is.

Speaker 4 (01:53:40):
Now.

Speaker 6 (01:53:40):
I'll just close with us really quickly. Our boy Ben
Johnson goes to Chicago and what does he do. He
signs Jonah Jackson, They trade for Joe. They traded for
Jonah Jackson, traded for Joe Tony and then signed Drew
Dollmond the center. And Ben Johnson said, I think yesterday
that Drew Dalmond's gonna be the quarterback of the old line.
Just do exactly what you did with the Lions, and
I think Chicago is going to be right back in

(01:54:00):
it next year. So yeah, O line First, it all
starts in the trenches, right ranch, It always does, does
you know.

Speaker 3 (01:54:08):
I'll say this real fast. Where we talked about this
last week and I compared it to the Chiefs. It's
actually a step further. Imagine if the Chiefs got rid
of Chris Jones and they signed Tyreek Hill to a
premium deal and then they signed another receiver to like
like your number two receiver to a top of the

(01:54:29):
market deal. Yeah, it just doesn't make sense, right, Like,
you don't have to do it exactly like the Chiefs.
But where would the Chiefs be if they committed to
Tyreek Hill and didn't have Chris Jones. I don't know
that they would have won two super Bowls in a row.
I really don't like Mahomes is special. Joe Burrow is special.
I think you can skimp around those quarterbacks wide receiver

(01:54:52):
wise and put some money into the defense. But the
Bengals don't look like they're doing that. Hey, shortly after
the show, our podcast would be going up. Anything on
today's show, be sure to check it out. Just search
Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts, and be
sure to follow, rate and review it again. Just search
Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll
see this show posted right after we get off the air.

(01:55:12):
All right, Rich Orenberger, Jared Smith, Brian No with you
rapid fire. Right around the corner, A colleague, Arnie Spanier
sent me a nugget so strong it might make its
way into rapid file.

Speaker 4 (01:55:26):
Oh shout out Arnie to you.

Speaker 3 (01:55:31):
Sounded like he was on the show for a second
right there. It was zeemless, very well done. Yes, we'll
each have three picks for you against the spread or
the total or the props or three picks come in
your way from each of us, so make sure you
stay tuned for that. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown
presented by BETMGM. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented

(01:55:54):
by BETMGM. Be sure to check out Fox Sports Radio
YouTube channel. Search Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and you'll
see a whole bunch of video highlights from our shows.
Be sure to subscribe so you always have instant access
to our Fox Sports Radio videos on YouTube. Hey, props
to the crew. Our trusted producer Bo Benson. Back from

(01:56:16):
a bachelor party in Arizona. It's back with us here
at the Dodger Zone podcast talking about Otani hitting moonshots
in Japan. Technical producer Extraordinariy Chris Purfett, Pride of Detroit podcast,
might dip into the Bulls Championship banner.

Speaker 2 (01:56:33):
Get it checked up by a Disturbed show. Yeah no, man,
it's Piston season.

Speaker 3 (01:56:40):
Hey Detroit Basketboss, you know that's right. You're in on digital.
Our main man Saga doing a great shot posting our clips.

Speaker 2 (01:56:49):
We love the guy.

Speaker 3 (01:56:50):
Top of the Hour up on Game LaVar Arrington, TJ
Hushman's Out of Plexico Burist. They have got you covered
in less than ten minutes. Keep it locked right here
on Fox Sports. All right, we got some picks to make.

Speaker 2 (01:57:01):
Let's do it.

Speaker 1 (01:57:05):
Rapid fire.

Speaker 2 (01:57:07):
All right, Jared, we start with you.

Speaker 4 (01:57:09):
What do you like? Let's go to DC where we
are fading VCU.

Speaker 6 (01:57:13):
We're taking Loyola Chicago plus nine and a half eight
ten semi final. First matchup was very tight for thirty minutes,
and that VCU pressure eventually got to the Ramblers. The
Rams are very tough on short prep, but I think
the Ramblers actually have the depth to overcome it this time.
They had fourteen turnovers in the first matchup. Let's keep
it under that number today, gentlemen. I'll take Loyola plus
nine and a half Houston Arizona under one thirty five

(01:57:35):
and a half.

Speaker 4 (01:57:36):
He loves me.

Speaker 6 (01:57:37):
He loves me not Caleb love five for eight from
three yesterday. He loves me one for eight from three
in the first matchup between these two teams back in February.
He loves me not BYU ninety six points against Iowa
State two days ago. He loves me fifty four yesterday
against his Houston defense.

Speaker 4 (01:57:53):
He loves me not.

Speaker 6 (01:57:54):
Cougar's are eleade on defense, slow tempo under one thirty
five and a half Florida Bama. You know we're betting
the over in this game.

Speaker 1 (01:57:59):
Guys.

Speaker 6 (01:58:00):
Played ten days ago in Tuscaloosa, the total was one
seventy eight and a half. It's one seventy five and
a half today, three point shot early offense over one
seventy five and a half Florida and Fama.

Speaker 4 (01:58:10):
I think it's going to be a shootout in the SEC.
I agree with you.

Speaker 5 (01:58:13):
I could see it being a tract meet between Bama
and Florida, but I still have Florida minus three and
a half in this one. I think they're the better
balanced team, and that's gonna be a theme here balanced favorites.

Speaker 4 (01:58:26):
As I work my way through rapid fire. Louisville is
facing Duke.

Speaker 5 (01:58:30):
Duke favored by six and a half, even without Cooper Flagg.
This is a very well balanced Duke team. They need
a win, especially after getting a near defeat to you
and see. They were able to topple the tar Heels
late only by two points. I think they're going to
lay one on Louisville today. So I got Duke six
and a half. Okay, Tennessee Auburn again. Auburn just the

(01:58:53):
better balanced team. Look, shoot or shoot and you can
anything can happen in these situations. But I like Auburn
that they have the standing player of the year in
my opinion. In Jenni Broom, give me the Tigers minus
five and a half in this one against the Balls.

Speaker 2 (01:59:09):
Okay, shout out.

Speaker 3 (01:59:11):
Arnie Spanier sent me a nugget here about Bryce Drew,
the Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, since he took
over twenty two and five against the spread in the
month of March.

Speaker 2 (01:59:24):
I double checked it's the month of March.

Speaker 3 (01:59:26):
Yeah, I'm taking Grand Canyon minus four and a half
against Utah Valley.

Speaker 4 (01:59:31):
I'll be there tonight.

Speaker 7 (01:59:32):
We go.

Speaker 2 (01:59:32):
There's the first one. Now I'm on my own for
my other picks.

Speaker 5 (01:59:36):
Goodness, good luck.

Speaker 2 (01:59:38):
Give me Akron.

Speaker 3 (01:59:39):
You know I'm gonna kick myself if I don't take this.

Speaker 2 (01:59:42):
It's picked up by one point.

Speaker 3 (01:59:43):
But I'm gonna take their team total over eighty two
and a half against Miami Miami of Ohio today, I'm
on that.

Speaker 2 (01:59:51):
And then give me early fireworks.

Speaker 3 (01:59:53):
Give me Alabama Florida over eighty three and a half
in the first half.

Speaker 4 (01:59:57):
Nice.

Speaker 3 (01:59:57):
I think we see a track meete in this one.
I wanted to take the Squack final, couldn't fit it
in there.

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