Matt, how are you? Fantastic, JR. How you doing, man?
Very well. Good to have you back on. I mean, we're down to the final two now. Before we get into what we'll see in about an hour from now, what are your thoughts on those two games on Saturday? The highest rated final four in about a decade, almost.
Yeah, you know, I had an interesting weekend. I was in San Francisco and my former team, the 88 Wildcats, from Tucson, we had a reunion of our final four back in 88, our first Arizona final four of all time. Our point guard from that team, Steve Kerr, hosted us in San Francisco, obviously now the coach for the Warriors, and we all watched it together and had a great time.
It was fun reminiscing. Saturday, as we all know, and I got to get a shout out to Kelvin Sampson, man. He just I played against him when I was at Arizona. He was at Washington State. He's a phenomenal coach. He's a phenomenal human being.
I love the culture he's created in Houston, and I think the difference between them and we saw it on Saturday. You know, they never give up. They never give up. We know they're a great defense of the number one hidden palm defense in the entire country right now as we sit here. But I think the difference between this Houston team and what we've seen in the past has been the three point shooting.
And, you know, crazy enough, people don't get it. They're number one in the nation, three point shooting. And they showed out on Saturday. They hit, I think, like 10 of 10 of 21 or something like that. And that was one of the keys aside from their relentlessness, their ability not to give up.
And it's such an incredible quality. I just really, really sat there Saturday watching that Jr was just super got a big smile on my face. You said that people don't necessarily associate Houston with shooting. The first thing that comes to mind is defense. Meanwhile, we see Walter Clayton Jr. He's out there just lighting it up. Here's a 30 point game. Here's a 30 point game. We're going to see one of these offenses, great offense versus great defense. How do you think this evens out tonight?
Well, it's interesting. You know, Houston has a has a really a pretty slow tempo. And as Florida's much quicker, Florida's a top 60 tempo team.
Houston's like 360 in the country. They want to play slower. They want to grind it out. They want to make it half court.
I think to some degree, Jr. You know, who wins that battle? Who can kind of dictate their will from a tempo standpoint has a lot to do with it. If Florida can really get up and run, if they can get some steals, if they can get, you know, easy buckets and transition, I think it's going to favor them.
With that said, I've always felt that it's easier to dictate tempo on defense. So, you know, Houston's going to dictate. They're going to fight like heck for every possession on that defense. And look, Florida can too. Florida's number nine in defense in the country. It's not like they can't play D, but their offense is number two, you know, right behind Duke. And I think it's going to be a pick them.
I think it's going to come down in the last couple minutes. You mentioned Clayton. He's been the MVP of the tournament so far.
He's been spectacular. And, you know, but that defense is not going to be as easy. If you watch them tonight, what Houston does, they blitz a lot of screen and rolls. So they jump out, they'll blitz them, and they'll try to get the passer to get rid of the ball or the dribbler to get rid of the ball. And then they recover so well. It's amazing how they recover. And it's going to be interesting to see how does Florida attack that blitzing ball screen defense?
Matt Muehlbach is here with us, the JR Sport Reshow on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, you used to knock down those threes. A lot of people are looking at Walter Clayton Jr. You don't hear as much about L.J. Cryer on the other side, who's actually won a championship with Baylor. What can we expect from the Houston squad with him leading the charge? Well, again, you know, I look at that shooting percentage, right? And you just think about how much better they are shooting the ball. You know, he really shot it well in that game the other night. You know, he was really the key from a shooting standpoint. I think he was six for nine from three-point range. And actually their best shooter, in my opinion, is Emmanuel Sharp. He was only one for six.
The other kid that I thought had such a great year, JR, is that Milos Yuzan. And, you know, what Kelvin Sampson does a lot is he finds matchups that he likes, almost like a pro coach. And he'll exploit those matchups. And actually to the point, I don't see a lot of college coaches where they just go one-four and they just tell, hey, look, I got my guy. I'm going to beat you one-on-one.
I don't even need a screen. I'm just going to do it one-on-one. And they'll go at you, especially late in games, and Yuzan is the guy that typically is that. Breyer became that guy the other night. Like, he obviously had the big game with the 26 points and was their leader on that end. So I think that's going to be interesting, you know, how they go at Florida. I think the other thing we just talked about, you know, just out of the Florida guards, you know, how does Houston guard them? What do they do with Clayton? He's had such a good tournament. You know, I think, like I said, I think they'll blitz him on any screen and rolls.
Maybe Florida does the same thing. Houston does a little bit of their own medicine and puts Clayton in just one-on-one matchups and says, go to work, fella. Matt, when you talk about the strategy of both sides, we discussed the age discrepancy when it comes down to both coaches. You have Golden who's 39 years old.
You have Sampson who's 69 years old. Could we see Kelvin Sampson? He's done everything except for win this big one. Could we see him, you know, kind of walk away tonight if he comes out on top? He might.
That would actually be a big, pretty storybook, wouldn't it? I would love it if he did. If he didn't, you know, these coaches, though, as you know, JR Mann, they love to coach. They're, you know, some of the guy like Sampson, I could see him almost doing it forever. He just loves to coach.
He loves, you know, being, affecting these young men and the culture he puts together. I would, I mean, if I were an employer, I would hire guys that went to Houston because of Coach Sampson. That's how much I respect him. And, but if he did, man, if he walked away, that would be, I'd be right there to watch the 30 for 30 afterward. Matt, we discussed this a little bit the last time you were here. Kelvin Sampson, he would really be last of a dying breed when it comes to coaches and programs.
You know exactly what you're going to get. There's much more stability even in a wild world of college basketball where things have kind of been upended. Yeah, he's done such a great job, you know, continuity wise and keeping players. He's certainly gotten players in the portal like everybody does. But he, I don't know, I mean, I would, the first question I'd ask him is how do you create such a great culture? And I know one of his answers, and he said this before that, he goes, I don't recruit guys that don't fit our culture, that won't be accountable, that don't play the way we want them to play.
He does such a great job. And I was, I mentioned that reunion our team had in 88, and our coach was Luke Olson. And everyone used to say what a great developer of talent he was, and he was. But I think what he did was he recruited winners, and he recruited good people and really high character guys. And because of that, you know, there's an old saying that, in fact, Luke used to say this all the time that, you know, if you got good kids, they're going to figure out a way to get it done.
If you got, if you don't, sometimes they figure out a way not to get it done. And, and we know too, at the highest level, all these teams have good kids and, and so forth, you wouldn't be at this level, you know, final fours and championships if you didn't have them. And, and look, I still say, like I said, I, you know, you started all over tomorrow, I still would put Duke as the best team. It's just is why we love the tournament because the best team doesn't win every year.
He's certainly correct on that one. College basketball analyst and former Arizona Wildcat Matt Muehlbach is here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show. You talk about Duke, I expected them to be right here playing tonight against Florida.
That's not the case. What do you think is that this program is going to look like? It's been a while since Duke has been national champs. And now Shire is here, had a good chance and opportunity. Duke is always going to have a chance to be competitive, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, they're gonna, they've got three lottery picks that are freshmen, so I expect they're gonna lose them, but it's gonna, they'll just keep rebuilding.
They'll reload. They're Duke. And I, I, I really enjoyed watching Shire. I think what his third year, I believe.
Correct. And, you know, you just, you were always wondering who was going to replace Coach K and such a legend. And we've seen how difficult it is to replace legends at different programs, especially the elite programs. You know, UCLA had trouble replacing John Wooden in his legendary status, and we've seen it happen in other places. I think they picked the perfect guy.
I mean, his demeanor, his X's and O's, how he treats people, you know, how he's already shown he can recruit. They're gonna, they're just going to keep reloading every year. And I don't, I don't expect to see him go too long without another Final Four and possibly a championship. Oh, we know the immediate future for Cooper Flag.
It doesn't matter how that game ended on Saturday. This man is going to be the number one overall selection. How do you think his game will translate over to the NBA side?
100%. He's going to, he'll be fantastic. I saw him, JR, I happened to be in Vegas when the United States Olympic team gathered, and I saw him scrimmage.
You know, I think it was the second day there. And I'll never forget, like, I didn't realize, I didn't know who it was. And then someone told me who it was, and he plays with a pace that's all his. He's aggressive. He has every skill, but the way he, you know, just his IQ, his competitive fire. Like, he's kind of a, he's sort of, I played with a guy, Sean Elliott, and he's sort of like a little bit, reminded me of Sean in a way, but just taller, bigger, and even more advanced than Sean.
And Sean was, you know, the Wooden Player of the Year of, you know, All-Star three or four times. And so, I just, he's, and I think of today's modern guy, he's a little bit like KD. He's not as long as KD.
Probably doesn't, you know, KD shot at such an elite level, but the type of handles is playmaking at that size and ability to finish, block shots, play defense. Just, he can do it all. And, and by the way, if I'm not mistaken, I think he could be, was originally supposed to be a senior in high school this year.
So, I mean, it's pretty silly. I mean, what he's done and where he can go with it. And just, he looks the part too. Like I just, I like his demeanor. He shows, he shows emotion, but you know, but a big part of the time he's pretty stoked too. He just plays hard, does his job. And it's going to be just, it's going to be a blast to watch him absolutely succeed in the NBA. Let's see what sad sack of a NBA franchise he ends up on.
And if he could go out there and turn them around. That's right. We got to wait on that one. Matt Muehlbach here with us.
Well, now I got, I got to put you on the spot. We know tonight's game is a pick them. I'm giving the edge to Houston, a slight edge.
Are you giving them that slight edge as well? I am. I am. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm riding with, I'm riding with Kelvin. I'm riding with Houston. You know, they, they just their will right now and their experience Kelvin's experience.
I'm riding with them. You know, I think they, I do think Florida played in a better conference. I think the SEC was slightly, you know, it was better than the big 12 this year.
Big 12 has been the best conference the last five, six, seven years, but I think the big 12 also their, their depth and playing those close games. Houston reminds me a little bit. I was originally from Kansas city and they were lying to me a little bit of the chiefs in that they just kind of find a way to win. They don't always do it, you know, in a way that's, that's like, you know, the prettiest game and beat everybody by 25 and do it with, you know, flash, but they just find ways to win at the end.
And that reminded me of that chief's team this year until of course they got smacked in the Super Bowl. But yeah, I just, it feels like the, the, the, and the fate maybe because of what happened Saturday, maybe that fate for them carries over. Yeah, we'll, we'll see. Certainly looking forward to this one. Hopefully it's going to be a close game. I think that's exactly what we have in store. Matt, thank you so much again for your time, your expertise, whether it's from playing on the courts or your analysis. Now, where can people follow you and keep up with you and your work?
Yeah, Matt Muehlbach at Twitter and Matt Muehlbach at Instagram. So, and then I'll be back doing games in the fall. Can't wait. That'll be fun.
Hey, basketball season never stops. I know you don't either, Matt. Thank you for the time. Thanks, JR. Have a great one. It's going to be a fun one tonight.
