JR SportBrief Hour 1

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It is the JR Sport Brief show on CBS Sports Radio. Happy Friday night to you. I hope you're all set for the weekend.

Things continue to be mad in March Madness. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. A big shout out to everybody listening all over North America. Thank you so much to super producer and host Dave Shepherd. He's coming to you live from New York City. I told you about March, man.

It's continuing to be mad. We don't have a number one seed left here in the NCAA tournament. San Diego State. Oh, they beat Alabama. They beat them. They blocked their shots.

They made them force or they forced them into some ugly shots. San Diego State is moving on. Congratulations to them. They're trying to go to their first Final Four ever.

Good for them. Creighton and Princeton, one of these two teams, will be their next opponent. And right now, Creighton and Princeton are tied 31 all about halfway through.

We're not halfway through. Six minutes left in the first half. And so by the end of this game, they will certainly know their opponent as they move on. That's not the only I don't want to call it a shock or a surprise, but Miami, the Hurricanes, they beat Houston 89 to 75. Houston Cougars will not be playing in Houston at home in the Final Four.

They're going to have to watch from home just like everybody else. For the first time in three years, no elite eight for the Houston Cougars. They had a crap game shooting as well. Only 37% from the field.

Pretty bad. Xavier and Texas, they just got underway. Texas off to a quick start. About a minute left in the game or minute into the game, I should say.

Texas leads six to nothing. Hope you're having a great Friday. If you want to talk to us, it's simple. The phone number all night is 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS.

You can always lock in on the free Odyssey app. Thank you to people listening on our many CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM Channel 158, and everybody locked in on a smart speaker. The madness continues.

No number one seeds. Alabama goes home and oh my God, they got smashed. I told you for the past two weeks, we have been inundated with Aztec fans. We've been inundated.

You got to go further up into California. We've been inundated by Sacramento King fans. Well, it looks like the Aztecs are, they've already done their part. They're going far here. They've only been to the elite eight. Oh no, that's Alabama. Alabama's only been to the elite eight once. They lost. San Diego State is trying to go to their first final four.

They've only been to the tournament 15 times. And so far, I mean, heading into this game against Alabama, they had an easy route. Beating Charleston, beating Furman. In this game, even in this game, even in this game, they were losing to Alabama 48 to 39, about halfway through the second half. And then the Aztecs went on a 12 to nothing run. Courtesy of Westwood One.

I want you to hear some of these, these shots. Adam Seiko knocking down a three in the second half. 51 to 48, San Diego State. It was a turning point. Here's Trammell leading the break, goes to Parrish, skips it to Seiko for three.

Yes! San Diego State takes the lead. 51-48, 839 to play.

And they continued on. I told you it was a 12 to nothing run. How about Jaden LeDee sending home a jam late in the second half.

Listen to this one. LeDee between his legs with his dribble, spins to the basket, one handed jam. He bumped Cloudy right to the floor. Nothing was called. And it's now 60 to 53 largest lead for the Aztecs. The Aztecs got busy.

They abused them. Eight blocked shots. They forced 14 turnovers. Alabama only shot 32% from the field.

And listen to this. There comes a point in time where you just go, how can you miss that many shots? Alabama was three for 27 from downtown. You would think Nate Oates would just say, hey, yo, please, just go to the basket. Just try to be foul. Step inside the line. Three from 27?

That's unimaginable. And I told you about all the blocked shots that San Diego State had. Nathan Mensah had five of them, including a big one at the end of the game.

That was nothing more than a punctuation mark. San Diego State moving on, waiting. Waiting for Creighton or Princeton. This is the final call, courtesy of Westwood. Three seconds to play. Lets it fly.

No good. Rebound taken down by Parsons. That'll do it for the first time in NCAA history. Not only are the San Diego State Aztecs going to the Elite 8, but the Mountain West will be represented in the Elite 8.

They knock off the number one overall seed. The Alabama Crimson tied 71-64. San Diego State moving on.

This program has been around for 54 years. They're trying for their first final four. And right now Princeton and Creighton are still playing it pretty close. Princeton leads 37 to 35.

It's a wild game. Brian Dutcher, head coach here for the Aztecs, was with the Fab Five at Michigan as an assistant. He was hanging out here with the Aztecs with Steve Fisher. He spoke after the game, and he says, oh hell yeah. I like what my guys did.

It's courtesy of TBS. Just with gutted defense and rebounding. They got their way to start the second half, but we took a timeout. Darion Trammell came out, hit two big baskets out of the timeout, and kind of stopped the momentum. And then we just played Aztec basketball.

We played together, we played the right way, and we came out with a win. He talked about Trammell, 21 points. 21 points.

But San Diego State won this with defense. And probably the most talented guy on the floor, he laid an egg tonight. It's Brandon Miller. Nine points. I told you about that ugly ass shooting, three of 27 from downtown. Brandon Miller, three of 19. Six turnovers. I told you, San Diego State forced 14. He had six of them.

And Shep, we talked about this a couple of days ago. Just taking a look at Brandon. It would have been absolutely ridiculous if he would have continued on here in the tournament. It would have been a little bit of a big embarrassment for Alabama. JR, I mean he had one game of this tournament where he actually looked like an NBA player, but two of the three, I mean he looked like he belonged in college for another year, or at least two. Yeah, you start to think about whether or not the, I don't want to say the pressure, but all the attention got a hold of him. And you take a look at what happened and he'll still get drafted into the NBA.

But there are going to be a lot of people who look at how he performed tonight and go, oh man, was he, is he ready for the big time? And so we'll see how things continue to roll on. That's not the only game that took place tonight. I told you about Miami, led by head coach Jim Larranaga, boogie down Bronx's own. Miami beat Houston 89 to 75. Miami heads to the elite eight for the second straight year. Nigel Pack, 26 points.

He was the opposite of Alabama. He actually knocked down plenty of shots here. Seven threes. Isaiah Wong contributed 20 points.

North Chad O'Mear, we spoke to North Chad last week. He had another big double-double game. 12 points and 13 rebounds and the Hurricanes move on. They wait for the winner between Texas and Xavier.

I want you to listen to this. This is the Hurricanes final call from Westwood One. O'Mear dribbling, spinning, smiling. The Hurricanes celebrating as this one comes to a close and then there were none.

All the ones are done. Miami's going to the elite eight for the second time in school history. Shocking the number one seeded Houston Cougars 89-75.

89 to 75. Everybody loves North Chad O'Mear. We spoke to him last week even early in the game. He was going up strong and finishing.

I want you to listen to this as North Chad went up strong. Gotta lay up in a foul to make the game 44 to 36. Here's O'Mear to the rim. Lays it in and he's fouled. He faked the handoff then drove from the left wing for two.

Picks up the foul in Miami with its largest lead of the game at eight. Hey, you gotta congratulate the Hurricanes right now. The men are moving forward.

The ladies have moved forward here. I could not believe it. Head coach Jim Larranaga, he was a great player. Head coach Jim Larranaga, he was getting a little bit of a dance and a shuffle on there as well in the locker room after. Shep, did you see coach dancing after the game? I didn't unfortunately.

What'd I miss? He looked like he was doing the electric slide. Okay, well you might have to ask him about that. He might be coming on a show at some point.

He might. Well, sure. We spoke to coach Larranaga last year and if we get a hold of him that's going to be one of my first questions. I'm going to ask coach Larranaga about the styling and the profiling and the dancing and his players. But don't play any electric slide music as an intro, right? No, do not. Don't do that.

Okay, got it. Do not play. We do not need to hear electric slide here.

We do not. And another great performance by coach Larranaga, whether it's working with a transfer who comes in like Nigel Pack. We saw the work that he was able to do years ago with George Mason and now he's just, he's trying to continue and move forward here. He's in the Elite Eight.

He's trying to move further ahead. Last year the Miami Hurricanes were knocked out by the ultimate champions in Kansas and they try to move on. This is great for the Hurricanes.

And I always got to show love to my guys from the Bronx, New York. And coach Larranaga, we talked a few weeks ago about a lot of his contemporaries who have stepped away from the game. Whether you want to look at a Coach K, whether you want to look at a Jay Wright, a little bit younger.

There's enough dudes. We just saw Jim Boeheim step away. And coach Jim Larranaga is showing outside that you can adjust to the players. We got a lot of coaches who will not adjust to the people in front of them. They want to stick to how they perform.

They want to make you fit in. Not in this case. And so the Hurricanes move on. They beat Houston. And from Houston's perspective, no Elite Eight. 37% from the field.

And they will not have an opportunity to perform at home. And Houston, as an overall, smothered. Jaris Walker, supposed to be the big man down low. Two of six from the field. From downtown, I should say. Four of 16 overall.

Sasser, we know he's been dealing with his own injuries. A poor shooting game. 14 points.

Four of 12. And to approach this tournament right now and what's left, we got more basketball over the weekend. By the time we move ahead, it's going to move on. Hey Shep, what do we have going on? You have the great Coach Larranaga on with us, JR, as we speak. Hey Coach Larranaga, congratulations.

Thanks, JR. No doubt about it, the Miami Hurricanes beat Houston 89 to 75. Hey Coach, I gotta ask you. We saw those dance moves in the locker room. What was that? Electric slide?

I don't know what it's called. Just my players enjoy it. It's a lot of fun. I got those guys cheering for me and then dancing with me. And that's what March Madness is all about. It's a big dance.

It's a big dance and we certainly saw you guys dance all over Houston. You guys held them to only 37% from the field. These are big time offensive players.

What was your strategy going into Smothering? Well, the two things that Houston does at such a high level that we needed to address in our game plan was they're really good at forcing turnovers and scoring in the open court. The second is they're a tremendous rebounding team at both ends. So we just told our players we needed to pack it in the paint.

They'd make some threes. They were 7 for 17 in the first half, but they ended up 9 for 31, only 29%. But our two-point shooting defense had to be excellent. They scored 22 points in the paint. We scored 32. Head Coach Jim Larranaga is here with us. Miami Hurricanes just beat Houston 89-75 on the offensive side of the ball. You guys were on fire. Nigel Pack put up 26 and had seven threes. Isaiah went out there and had 20 points himself.

Talk to us about your guards and how busy they got. You know, what you saw tonight is what we envisioned before the season ever started. And even at one of the timeouts, I just told Coach Courtney, my associate head coach, hey, we just got to keep scoring. Their defense is good, but if we can keep scoring, it's hard for them to catch us because we had a little bit of a lead. And then when they did cut the lead to two, I called a timeout and told them that, hey, Houston picked up the tempo.

We need to do the same thing. And then I think we went on like a 17 to 2 or 3 run. So our guys responded to the challenge. They knew Houston would be a terrific opponent. But we've got a lot of good players too. We had five guys in double figures, North Shadow, Meir, Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, Nigel Pack, and Wooga Pop, all in double figures. So we only had six turnovers for the night. And that's exactly what it was going to take to win the game. Head Coach Jim Laraneghi here with us.

Last question. We know that you guys have Texas Xavier coming up next, whoever wins that game, which is taking place right now. How do you get your guys prepared between now and then? Is this a little bit of a rest night?

Is everybody watching? You're relaxed tomorrow? How do you prepare between now and Sunday? Yeah, we have our routines that we follow for every game. And what I like about this is tomorrow is not a game day. When we played in the ACC tournament, you play a game, you win, you move on, but it's for that very next day. In this case, our preparation is so important for success.

Our players listen attentively, and they understand the ideas we have as to how to defend and how to attack. And so tomorrow will be kind of a walkthrough, or whoever we play, and then a meeting tomorrow night, a shootaround on Sunday to get ready for our opponents. From one Bronx guy to another, congratulations, Head Coach Jim Laraneghi, and good luck this upcoming Sunday, making it to the Elite Eight for the second straight year.

Good luck, Coach. Hey, thanks. JR, where in the Bronx are you from? Oh, all the way uptown. Oh, all the way uptown.

Everything from Gun Hill Road to Mount Vernon and North. Northeast. Oh, wow. Do you know where I'm from? Yeah, aren't you? Well, no.

Well, no. Where exactly? I'm from Parkchester. Oh, 6th Street. You ever been to Parkchester? Yeah, 6th Street.

Of course. Yeah, I know Parkchester. Yeah, I know the whole...

Unfortunately, I think I know every part of the Bronx. I think that's a bad thing, though. All right. All right, JR, I'll let you go. All right. Good luck. Congratulations, Coach.

Thanks. No doubt about it. Head Coach Jim Laraneghi coming through. I was trying to... He told me the area. I was like, wait, where in the boogie down? The Bronx is huge.

Like a million point five people smashed up in one area. But hey, you got a Bronx guy on the radio here on CBS, and you got a Bronx guy coaching the Miami Hurricanes. Must be nice. Congratulations to Miami. Getting ready to take on Texas or Xavier. And right now, Texas leading 14 to 8. March Madness is mad. Miami beat Houston. You just heard from Head Coach Jim Laraneghi.

And in Alabama, they go down to San Diego State, 71 to 64. We're just getting started here on CBS Sports Radio. We're going to keep you up to date on all the matchups, all the games.

We got two of them left to close out for the slate for this upcoming weekend. It's the JR Sport Brief show here on CBS Sports Radio. Don't move. You are listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. JR wants to hear from you. Call him now at 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4227. It is the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Thank you once again, the Head Coach Jim Laraneghi joining us on the other side of the break as his Miami Hurricanes beat Houston 89 to 75. There will be no storybook for the Cougars. They won't be in the Final Four at home in Houston. They got to watch like everybody else. And Miami, they move forward. Second Elite Eight appearance. They're going to take on Texas and Xavier right now. Longhorns are winning 14 to 10. Good for them. Let's see what happens in that game.

Congratulations to the other. Okay, I guess. Shep, will I get in trouble if I already called them the other? Is that bad?

No, I don't see why that's bad. The other. The other is open to interpretation.

Other? Well, congratulations to the Lady Canes. They beat Villanova this afternoon. Actually had a chance to watch that game as well. They won 70 to 65 and everybody is always so up in arms, up in arms, I guess about the the Cavender Twins. Good for them.

They're like Instagram stars that play basketball. Anyway, 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. Let's go ahead and hit the line. So let's go to Louisiana and talk to Matthew. Matthew, you're on CBS Sports Radio.

What's going on? How you doing, JR? Big fan of your late night sports show. Been watching, listening for years. Been a Gonzaga fan since middle school, back when they were a little small, mid-major. Now they turn themselves the powerhouse team. How about that three point to win the game last night to knock UCLA out two out of the last three years? Well, that was a Steph Curry-esque three pointer by Strother.

He just just straight pulled up and nailed it. And then you can't ignore Drew Timmy as well, who went out and had 36 points. And so the Zags are looking strong. I think, I believe if I were going to go ahead and take a bet there, I would take them over UConn tomorrow night, but we'll find out late tomorrow night.

We'll see. All I have left is them in my bracket to win the championship, to win the pot. If they don't win, I don't win the pot, they win. I win the pot. Okay.

Well, good luck to you. If you win some of that money, send some over to me, okay? Yeah.

I'm hoping they win. I need Mark Few to win that first championship. Yeah.

Well, I mean, yeah. Mark Few been waiting for a long time. It's like every time they try to go, they get smacked around and smacked out. It's a hard knock life for the Zags, man. Let's see if they get it done. Yeah, man, they deserve it.

They've been pushing for it the past few years. And why are you a Zags fans? You and Louisiana, why do you care about them? I became a fan because they were a mid-major and they would always get in a 13, 12, 10 seed. They knock out these big schools and that's how I became a fan of them back before they were a powerhouse. Okay. I like a little bit of the story that they were and they became a powerhouse now. Okay.

You like a little bit of the underdog. Hey, good luck to you, man. I hope you win that money, okay? Thank you, JR. You have a good night, man. You as well. Thank you, Matthew, for calling from Louisiana. We got to see what the Zags can do against UConn. That takes place tomorrow.

No, tomorrow. No, he called up from Louisiana and going back to the women's side. And this is, this is radio. I can't, I can't describe just visually what I saw on the LSU sidelines. LSU beat Utah 66 to 63.

This is on the women's side. Head coach, Kim Mulkey. She was a massive distraction and not because she was flinging any of her players around, not because she was cursing any of them out. She came out and I'll say it, I don't care. She came out in one of the ugliest sweat, not a sweater. She wore one of the ugliest jackets I've ever seen in my life. This was like a floral print, everything colored jacket. And then she had like pink big bird feathers all the way from the shoulders to the arms. I'm trying to watch a basketball game and it looked like somebody threw up on a court.

That's the Hall of Famer, JR. I don't care. I don't care. Did you see what she was wearing? No.

Oh my God. It's nothing against, it's nothing against, it's nothing against the women's game, which is a beautiful thing to watch and they're great. I just don't, I just, I'm not going to lie to you. If it's not UConn or Tennessee or South Carolina, I can't remember the last time I watched a women's college basketball game. Not even LSU? Not even LSU. I mean, Baylor when Brittany Griner was doing things, when Kim Mulkey was the head coach. But yeah, you watch, I mean, I just don't get a chance to watch that much women's college basketball.

I'll watch, I'll watch LSU. They got the young lady on there, Angel Reese, and, and she has, she got a little bit of an attitude to her. I guess she picks it up from, from Mulkey. When you get a chance. And I tweeted, I tweeted it out. It's on my Twitter at JR sport brief.

I believe I, I shared the photo and it has nothing to do with her being a woman. I mean, we talk about what, what male basketball players wear all the time. Kim Mulkey looks like, like one of these WWE, like, like Ric Flair, she's wearing like a Ric Flair reject jacket.

It's terrible. Anyway, congratulations to LSU. And the next time that we see Kim Mulkey out there, hopefully she's not wearing a Ric Flair reject jacket. Congratulations to her. It's the JR sport brief show here with you on CBS sports radio 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS.

That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. Let's go to someone thrilled, happy. Let's go to San Diego and talk to Zach. You're on the JR sport brief show. What's up Zach?

Mr. JR, thank you for, for taking my call here. We're ecstatic here in San Diego, lifelong Aztec basketball fan here. My grandfather graduated from San Diego state college in 1956.

I graduated myself in 2020. This is my team. I got pictures with Steve Fisher from like 2003, man. This is my team. And I just want to let you know the people out here in San Diego are pumped about this win and we knew we could do it. You know, Bama don't mean nothing to us, man. Defense, defense, defense is our, is our, is our style.

And these Aztecs are something else, man. And you know, tell me why we can't win in this, in this tournament. Well, I mean, if y'all are blocking eight shots a game and putting press defense on folks and making them shoot two of nine and three of 19 from downtown and yeah, y'all, y'all going to win your share of games. Congratulations, man.

Let's see what happens next against either Creighton or Princeton. Thank you, JR. You know, I just, just, I got to say, go Aztecs. Uh, thanks for taking my call and, and we're pumped in this city.

No doubt about it. Thank you, Zach. It's the JR sport reef show here with you on CBS sports radio, 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS sports radio. It is the JR sport reef show here with you on CBS sports radio.

Yeah. The mark, the madness continues on San Diego state knocking off Alabama, 71 to 64. I want you to hear that final call one more time, courtesy of Westwood one. Three seconds to play. Let's apply.

No good rebound taken down by Parsons. That'll do it for the first time in NCAA history. Not only are the San Diego state Aztecs going to the elite eight, but the mountain West will be represented in the elite eight. They knock off the number one overall seed, the Alabama Crimson tied 71 64.

Alabama goes home, no number one seeds. And we just had a caller from San Diego who was thrilled about what's taken place here with San Diego state. And they did it. I don't want to say old school, but they did it with defense. It doesn't matter what sport it is. It could be football, baseball, basketball, defense wins, championships, defense wins, championships. Well, San Diego state was able to get it done with defense and offense tonight at one point going on a 12 to nothing run to pretty much make Alabama half the play catch up. And they couldn't catch up because their defense was stifling. Nathan Mensah in the middle had five block shots. They forced 14 turnovers.

I watched this game with no sound. And every time the ball was in bounded by Alabama, San Diego state was basically on their heels. And I like to talk about the cliche of defense winning championships.

It win you a championship when you can go out there and get those stops, but you got to put up the points as well. And so as of right now, San Diego state is awaiting the winner between Princeton and Creighton. Creighton currently leads 52 to 45.

They're underway here in the second half. In San Diego state, they're going to have to wait to see who they will take on this upcoming Sunday. 52 to 45. Creighton leading Princeton and also at this minute, Texas. They got a hold on Xavier right now. 32 to 18.

A little less than four minutes left in the first half. Kind of, I don't want to say shocking, but when you think about where the tournament is currently at, and we've talked about this, just the wide range of talent. You have players who are moving around in a transfer portal. But when you think about a lot of the talent, it's spread out. Whether it's in the college ranks, overtime elite. You have other prospects for the NBA who are participating in ball in Europe.

And so you have a chance where guys aren't necessarily one and done. You have a system where dudes are playing in college longer. They know how to play ball. You have John Calipari talking about Kansas State players.

Noel, like he's a little kid. Well, he knows how to play. He's not some guy that he's just pulled up off the street and he's trying to show off and go into the league. He's used to playing in a college basketball system in a team setting. And so it's no shock and surprise as we've kind of moved on over the past few years.

And we've had some of the older coaches go out and we've had the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal. Things are even and out. Those dynasty days are completely over. I don't think we'll get back to a point in time where we have Duke running the show forever. I think them days are over.

North Carolina. We're going to see teams pop up in different stretches. But those days are long gone. We might look at the Zags and what they're doing with few and go, oh man, look how competitive they've been for this long. Years ago, San Diego State, it wasn't until recently that they've been able to be competitive. They went on a stretch 20 years ago where they weren't, they weren't anything.

And now here they are. Coach Brian Dutcher and the squad moving along. We can look at the Canes. We just spoke to head coach Jim Larranaga a couple of breaks ago.

And he finally quote unquote has his break and is going on a stretch. The second consecutive elite eight for the Miami Hurricanes. I asked head coach Jim Larranaga, speaking of defense, his team got busy as well and beaten Houston 89 as well. I asked coach Larranaga, what the hell is your defensive plan? How did you go out there and stop all those weapons on the Cougars?

This is what he said. Well, they're really good at forcing turnovers and scoring in the open court. The second is they're a tremendous rebounding team at both ends. So we just told our players we needed to pack it in the paint. They'd make some threes. They were seven for 17 in the first half, but they ended up nine for 31, only 29%. But our two point shooting defense had to be excellent. And it was. And it was.

They're waiting on and it looks like in store early. Texas has a hold on Xavier 34 to 18. Coach Larranaga also said, look, don't be shocked or surprised at our players and what we do going into Sunday.

Listen to this. You know, what you saw tonight is what we envisioned before the season ever started. And even at one of the timeouts, I just told Coach Courtney, my associate head coach, hey, we just got to keep scoring. Their defense is good, but if we can keep scoring, it's hard for them to catch us because we had a little bit of a lead. And then when they did cut the lead to two, I call a time out and told them that Houston picked up the tempo.

We need to do the same thing. Defense, defense, defense. Who knows if it's going to win a championship?

That's the thing. There's only going to be one team that walks away with a title. There's only going to be one team that they play that ridiculous song that I hate so much.

One shining moment on Monday night. Shep, when the championship game is actually going on, when they award, I'll be on the air, right? We'll be here, right?

We will be, yes. Good. I hate that song. I hate it. Why do you hate that song?

You don't get nostalgic? No, it's corny to me, man. They play one shining moment and I'm just like, oh, here we go again. I've heard that played in person a few times. I think the last time the Final Four was in Houston 2011, I was standing there for the, I was standing there for everything and they started playing that song and I was, I guess I was the only miserable person in the entire stadium.

I hated it. But if you're out there playing ball, you absolutely love it because that means you are a champion. And this time we're going to get a champion that, damn it, who expected? There's no Alabama. There's no Houston. I know a lot of brackets that were busted from even early last week, thinking about Fairleigh Dickinson and now they're out of here.

FAU is in the building. JR, speaking of busted brackets, you have a star on the line with you right now. Who's on the line who's been busting brackets? Dariana Trammell, who is outstanding tonight. Mr. 21 points.

Darian Trammell from San Diego State. How are you, man? Congratulations.

Thank you. I appreciate it. How you doing? I'm terrific.

I'm terrific. We saw, we know about your offense. I saw you stealing the ball and running down the court and splitting defenses. Y'all were bananas tonight on defense. Okay. Eight blocked shots.

We know Nathan got busy. You held them to 32% shooting overall. How do you maintain that defensive intensity, especially when you guys went on that run? I mean, yeah, that's just our identity. We hang our hats on defense.

That's just the culture we have. And I mean, we know we have to, we have to bring that every night. If we want to win games, we want to win championships.

Dariana Trammell is here with us. San Diego State knocking off Alabama, moving forward here. When Coach Brian Dutcher speaks to you, what is that one main point of emphasis any time every day?

Definitely defensive rebounding. I mean, that's, that's something that, like I said, when I got, even when I got recruited here, that's something that I had to do, defend at a high level and that's something that he hangs his hat on. And I mean, that just trickles on down to entire roster for our entire coaching staff. So, I mean, that's the biggest thing for us right now is just letting our defense carry us to win. Well, Dariana, your program, San Diego State, is now trying to get to its first Final Four in the program's history. A lot of people in the country are watching you guys for the first time just over the past week.

Anyone watching you, what do they need to know about your squad that they can't see or might be unaware of? I think it's our own selfishness. We have a team full of guys that want to see their brother win. And I mean, our, our coaching staff and they've done a phenomenal job giving us game plans to stop these great players and these great teams. But yeah, like we, we were just, we always feel like we're the underdog. That's just the mentality all of our guys have. So, I mean, that's something that you see, or sometimes you really can't see, this chip on our shoulder that we have that makes this player play so hard and just the grit and just the grit and just, I mean, our, our will to win as a team. Dariana, we have tons of callers who listen all across the country here on CBS Sports Radio, especially in San Diego.

What message do you want to share with them directly as they are locked in? Oh man, this has been a long road for San Diego State and we appreciate all of you through the ups and downs. And I mean, right now, I, you guys stay with us and keep supporting us and, and we'll keep playing hard for you and make sure we keep winning games one by one at a time. So we definitely appreciate you all. No doubt about it. Dariana, good luck this upcoming Sunday as you guys get ready to take on Creighton and Princeton. Good luck to you, my man. Thank you. I appreciate you having me.

No doubt about it. That was Dariana Trammell, San Diego State Aztecs. He scored 21 points tonight. Helped lead the way offensively as the Aztecs knocked off Alabama 71 to 64. They're trying to make their first Final Four appearance in program history. That is 54 years of the San Diego State Aztecs. Their first season, 1969. They've been to the tournament only 15 times and they're trying to and they're trying to, trying to strike it big. They're trying to go to Houston, Texas. And I told you about Creighton and Princeton. That would be the next team up on the docket. They're active right now, this minute, this second, as I take a look at the score.

Man, there's so many stupid things. You try to look at a score as it's 56 to 45 Creighton over Princeton. Hey Shep, I try to look at the score.

They serve me advertisements everywhere. It's ridiculous. You can just save you the time and say Cinderella has, you know, Midnight has struck if that makes it any easier for you. We can get the, I was going to call Princeton nerds, but that's not nice. No. They're going to get out of here. Yeah, yeah, it's past due. Yeah, there's about 15 minutes left in this game. Creighton has a hold on it.

So if you were going to ask me, I'm with Shep. I think San Diego State, their next opponent, it'll probably be Creighton. Go ahead and bet on that if it's not too late. Hey, thank you again to Darion Trammell from San Diego State. It's the JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio 855-212-4CBS. I'm going to get to your calls on the other side. I want to update you on some NBA scores and then we're going to talk NIL.

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