It’s that to of the year!

But you know what season it really is right now? Basketball season. It's getting to be that time of the year. People are thinking about quad one, quad two, quad three, quadriceps, I don't care. It's college basketball season.

Jerry Palm, cbssports.com. My, the official bracketologist of this program, chief bracketologist. How you been, man? I'm doing all right.

My team's doing very well, so. Oh, that's right. Purdue has the, whatever their eight-footer is of the year. Where does Purdue get all of these guys who are taller than everybody else on the planet? Well, it's a big-time ag school, so, you know, we've engineered a few things and they're all out there in the field. That's true. They have the biggest drum, right?

They have the biggest drum and the biggest people. Yep. Excellent stuff. All right. Before we get to basketball, I am curious, are you looking forward, really looking forward to the day where you get to project a 16-team college football playoff? Well, however many it is, yes. You know, we're going to start with 12, but, and I'm looking forward to that. So if it gets to 16, yeah, sure. I think, you know, it's a lot more fun to project a bigger tournament than it is to project a small one. It's good for business, as they say. I guess so, yes.

You know what, Jerry, I've known you for a long time. You don't seem excited about this. No, actually, I kind of am excited about it. I think it's a better system than just having the four. I don't know that we're necessarily immediately going to see the benefits of that, but I think the more teams you put in the playoffs, the more I think you can distribute the talent a little more evenly. Because right now, everybody wants to go to one of the five or six schools that makes the playoffs every year. If we have more teams with a chance to make the playoff, then the really talented guys that want to go to the playoff will have more options.

Maybe it'll spread out some. Yeah, I don't think they're going, I don't think these guys are making their decision based on, can I play in the playoff? Well, the NIL obviously has a lot to do with it. I just think it's the NFL. Four schools are going to have money.

I think the first and the last initial, they're the most important ones, the N and the L. It's the F in the middle. That's where they want to go. So that's my opinion, but that's not really why we invited you on today to get into a debate about where college kids are going to go play football. So is the ACC going to get closer to four or closer to eight teams in this NCAA tournament coming up in a few months?

I would say closer to four. I like Virginia, Duke, Miami. I'm not real optimistic about anyone else, which doesn't mean that somebody else won't get in because you got to fill the field. But those teams are pretty reliably good. Carolina seems to be getting better. Hmm. Maybe, maybe, maybe. So I just, I don't trust anybody else.

All right. So Clemson is six and oh, they lead the league and they're 59th in the net. You didn't even mention Clemson. They have two quad four losses, right? I, you know, I'm working on a bracket today.

I'm in the forties. I haven't got them in yet. I've got to go in somewhere cause they're the AQ, but so, you know, I mean, it's just, it's a, it's a weird profile. They, they kicked it in in league play, but two quad four losses is still, you know, two quad four losses. And there's not a lot of quad four losses in the bracket total. Could they be in the 16 versus 16 play in game first floor? No. All right.

I'm just curious. They could be in the, they could fall down to 16. They could be in the first four if they don't win the league, you know? Okay. All right. Um, pitch good too. And Pitt is 65th in the net.

Yeah. Well, they're good relative to the league. Oh, they're really good. Well, relative to what they've been, you didn't listen to Jeff Capel yesterday.

Jeff came over two days ago. Jeff Capel is singing the praises of the league. I actually think the league's pretty good. Well, everybody thinks everybody thinks the praises of their league. Right.

But Jeff Capel is right. The ACC is definitely getting this year. I don't know if it's historically down like it was last year. Um, I don't know that that's that that would be accurate because last year was historically down three teams in the elite eight and two in the final four and one in the national championship game.

Yes. But they were horrible in the regular season. They were. But the tournament's a different season. It is. And then, you know, North Carolina had to get hot just to get in.

Sure. And then stayed hot. Duke was the only reliable team in the, in the ACC this year. And they got what, a team in the first four or two and, um, you know, just Miami was a 10 seed and belonged as a 10 seed, but they, they got hot. I mean, you know, the tournament is all about getting hot at the right time, but you get the seeds that they got.

They absolutely earned. I'm not even arguing that. I, I agree.

I do wonder though, if, and we're talking with Jerry Palm at JP Palm, CBS on Twitter. I do wonder if the committee goes, how many times are we going to get burned by under seeding or under, uh, don't consider that. I understand that. You know, so then they're not going to think the way you're asking that question because they don't think they got burned.

Okay. So yeah, they're not, look, you're, you're, you get a seed, you get selected and you get a seed based on what you did in the regular season. But the, but you know, that's in the past. Once the tournament starts, you can do whatever you can do with it. But here's the problem.

And I think you know me well enough to know that I am pushing your buttons here. Um, but here's the way I do think that there is a problem with the perception of things in that one, once you get into your league and you can't prove that teams have gotten better because you're only beating, quote unquote, each other, it skews everything. And I do think that there were teams that legit got better last year after early season. I mean, dumpster fires. Um, North Carolina was one of those teams.

He said there was nowhere to go but up. Well, true. I just, I, again, not it, not arguing with that logic.

Um, I personally, when it got better, they had to, but they didn't, they were never going to make the tournament. Right. Um, uh, one, uh, look, I am not a hundred percent sure they're going to make this one. Yeah, I'm not either. I still don't have them in my bracket either.

You don't have North Carolina in your bracket yet in the forties. That's correct. Yeah.

Although I feel confident, I'm going to put them in here very soon. Yeah. Carolina in a first four game in Dayton, that would be, uh, that would be lit.

Uh, what do you think about NC state? 92% of households that start the year with Peloton are still active a year later. 92% because of a bike, not just bikes. We also make treadmills and rowers. Oh, let me guess for elite athletes only, right? Nope. It doesn't matter if you're an avid exerciser or new to working out Peloton can help you achieve your fitness goals.

92% stick with it. So can you try Peloton bikes tread or row risk-free with a 30 day home trial. New members only not available in remote locations.

See additional terms at one peloton.com slash home dash trial. Not much, but not terrible. They're they're on my board and they may get, they may get in today's bracket. Um, but I just, there's not, I feel this way about the whole ACC. There just isn't much here, you know, the, uh, you know, Carolina beat Ohio state. That's their only win.

The six quad one losses, all of their losses, quad one losses, but they're one and six. That's just, you know, that's, that's, that can get you in the field, but you know, Carolina lost or NC state loss at home to pit. They beat Duke though.

So that's nice. They beat Duke four times for heavy schedule still right now, you know, and that's, so that's the problem with January brackets is you haven't played your non-conference schedule weaknesses out of the picture yet. You know, you got to go another month from now before, you know, the seven or eight quad four games you played in non-conference play are a little bit less of a factor in, you know, in your resume.

How much does conference record matter? Zero. Zero. Zero. They don't care how you did in your league.

I mean, unless you want it, then they care. Cause it kind of puts you in somewhere, but, um, how you do in your league specifically is not even a factor. You're, uh, you're evaluated evaluated on your entire schedule, which is why the non-conference is important because if your league is down, you have a chance to make up for that in non-conference play.

If you take non-conference play off and then you don't do well in your league, then you haven't really given the committee a reason to take you. I love Jerry Palm so much. You haven't people have no idea. Uh, I love having the, having these conversations with you. I can't wait till our next one already. I'm I'm CA I might, I might text you when we hang up the phone and see if you can come on again. All right. All right. You know where to find me. I do.

Absolutely. Come on. You're the best Jerry Palm, cbssports.com. Our chief bracketologist. The NCAA tournament is only three months away or something like that.

We'll talk to you later, man. All right. Thanks. 92% of households that start the year with Peloton are still active a year later. 92% because of a bike, not just spikes. We also make treadmills and roars. Oh, let me guess for elite athletes only.

Right? Nope. It doesn't matter if you're an avid exerciser or new to working out Peloton can help you achieve your fitness goals. 92% stick with it. So can you try Peloton bikes tread or row risk-free with a 30 day home trial, new members only not available in remote locations. See additional terms at one Peloton.com slash home dash trial.