Jay Bilas: UC San Diego Is A Scary Game For Michigan

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Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. In the NFL, there's no margin for error. As we just saw, one mistake can change the outcome of the game and a season, and the biggest game at that. Science proves quality sleep can help boost reaction time, recovery time, and overall athletic performance. And that's why Sleep Number is the official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL, because they provide players with data and insights to optimize their sleep for the ultimate competitive edge. Imagine what it can do for you. I know, my sleep number setting is 60, my wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart, but guess what? It makes the world of difference. So why choose a Sleep Number Smart Bed?

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St. Patrick's Day is on a Monday this year. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Someone's getting a pinch today. It's a lane violation.

He made it, but where they're stepped in the lane. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Tigers win the tournament title.

If Memphis won that game, then that was going to free up the spot in the tournament, and that was going to be North Carolina. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show, UCLA guard, Kiki Rice. Coming up, ESPN college basketball analyst, Jay Billis. Singer and actor, Joey McIntyre. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

All right, everybody. Welcome to our number two of the Rich Eisen Show. Live here on the Roku Sports Channel, this Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate, 844204, Rich number to dial on Sirius XM Odyssey, and so much more. Jay Billis is going to join us in 20 minutes time. We'll talk about what's going on with the men's bracket and his two cents on it, and everything else going on. Meanwhile, Chris Brockman is monitoring the live stream coming out of West Virginia, where the governor of West Virginia right now is holding a press conference with the attorney general, threatening to sue the NCAA, which he calls the National Corruption Athletic Association. You've been played. NCAA.

Patrick Morrissey. There it is. Live stream.

Oh, the live stream is going to be on X. Oh, Elon Musk is part of it. This must be real. Well, I mean, once you heard corrupt. My goodness gracious. He should have led you to believe he had something to do.

Oh my goodness gracious. I'm mad, everyone. All right, so we'll keep an eye on that particular madness here in March. Do you think the NCAA is like, all right, let's call up North Carolina and tell them they're out. Yeah, you know what? On second thought, we had our finger on that chess piece the entire time. Dumb. Doesn't even describe it appropriately. Okay.

Um, eight four four two oh four rich number to dial here on the show. The Bengals got it done and it appears they might pull off the triple play. What do I mean by this? The Bengals had two wide receivers needed to get paid. T Higgins was last year and they franchise tagged him and he got upset because the franchise tag wasn't placed on him. It was slapped on him. You know how it works. Players don't want it. It's slapped on him.

Players don't mind it. It's placed on him. Well, it was slapped on T Higgins and he asked for a trade.

Bengals are like, yeah, no. And then he wound up saying, all right, I'll sign the tender. And then guess what happened? Franchise tag got, I don't know, placed on him. It's not like he wanted it, but it's a nice chunk of change.

And it also meant they just had more runway to sign him. So it was placed on him. And then if he had a play on it, then it would be slapped.

You understand what I'm saying? Last year it was just slapped. He knew the tag was going to be the tag. Meanwhile, Jamar Chase last year, he had a case for getting paid, meaning it was earlier than most teams would pay a wide receiver because he had one more year of contractual control on his five-year long rookie deal.

That would be this year. And the NFL, when it comes to paying wide receivers, usually doesn't pay them early, but when you're as great as Jamar Chase and you have a college teammate in Justin Jefferson, who was paid the most of any non-quarterback in the NFL a year earlier than the Vikings had to do it, then you've got a case. And last year he was like, I want to get paid. And the Bengals were like, yeah, no. And then he said, he holds in. He doesn't hold out. He holds in. He holds in and still doesn't get paid and starts the season a little bit banged up, right? We bit, unless you were, it was tough to suss out.

Was it really hurt? Was he really just holding in the entire time saying, I'm kind of hurt, but when the Bengals hold them on a snap count, was it because he was hurt or because he was holding in and you gotta be on a snap count week one, yada, yada, yada, they lost to New England. One of the more mysterious results of the 2024 regular season. And then Jamar Chase gets back in, gets his legs under him and comes up with the fifth triple crown season in the history of wide receiving.

I'm always open. I believe if I'm not mistaken, was that soundbite after the Bengals went for it on a two point conversion against the Ravens and it wasn't, he wasn't targeted. Yeah. Yeah. Well, he's got a quarterback that can handle that sort of stuff.

Cause not only he's got a thick skin, they go way back to the college days. Literally. It's not like a figure of speech when it's Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. Well, at any rate, they, the guys finally, finally, did you guys hear over the weekend, you know, I know we, we text one another whenever there's like an earthquake in the area, we always just, Hey, earthquake. There were several. Right. Did you hear when you were in Arizona at a golf tournament?

Right. I was probably in a, you know, in a performance of my son's musical over the weekend. Cause I saw three of it over the weekend. It's on best dad ever.

By the way, he and his, his school's performance of rent was like Broadway quality was amazing. Anyway. Where were you this weekend? I don't know if you heard it. I don't know, wherever you were this weekend. I was at the crib.

Okay. You were at the crib. Did you hear like, wait a minute? That sounds like a Velcro wallet ripping open.

I did kind of, yeah, like in the middle of the day, like what's happened. Mike Brown's Velcro wallet, write that down. That's not a bad fantasy team name.

I think that's already on the list. Mike Brown's Velcro wallet. It ripped open and the Bengals paid Jamar Chase and T Higgins. T Higgins gets $115 million contract, two years of it's guaranteed apparently. And then Jamar Chase gets a contract in which he is paid an average of 40.5 million a year, which is the most of any non quarterback in the NFL. Thank you, Miles Garrett. Signing 40 million a year, T Higgins, a handshake emoji on his social. And, um, there's that now then kudos. They got it done. It doesn't matter if they win championships. Doesn't cause it, it does appear, um, Trey Hendrickson might be next.

You're seeing it everywhere. Uh, Bengals, uh, players are tweeting out. 91 is coming in.

He's number 91. Um, and you know, Duke Tobin, the GM of the Bengals said at the combine, we're going to sign all three. And we're like, okay, good luck.

Looks like they might. Wow. Mike Mayock, who we listened to. Cause when he speaks, he is quite knowledgeable. Former general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders came on this program when, uh, everything was going down over the last few weeks saying the Bengals are going to sign the receivers. And if they don't sign one, it will be Hendrickson because they got to take care of Joe burrow and his years of being a prime primo quarterback makes sense. And if they get Trey Hendrickson on top of it, well then that's amazing because one would think if they can't sign Trey Hendrickson, you have to do the math and go, well, wait a minute.

Could have signed last year, CD lamb signs for 34 and a half, right? Well, took less than Justin Jefferson. Let's just say Jamar chase was willing to do that. Well, let's just say he was willing to go, I'll go what you just did for me here. Um, by beating the top annual salary of a non quarterback by half a million.

Okay. Let's say they would have gone 35 and a half. Oh, this is 40 and a half. That's 5 million more a year. Could have done it last year for cheaper and 5 million more a year. Let's just say the Delta between they and Trey right now it's 5 million a year. You know what I mean? Let's just say that's what the Delta is.

See where I'm going with this. I don't get it unless again, there's cash issues because you got to, when you're guaranteeing salary, place cash aside and escrow. And if there's any cash issues, and I don't mean to cast any aspersions, because that's what I'm left wondering. Why would a team that knows they're going to sign somebody wait, I don't get it. I mean, we always give the Cowboys crap about this and you know, deservedly, but man, dude, the price for Micah just went up a million a year because the Bengals beat the Garrett contract by 0.5. And if you got to beat this contract by 0.5, that's now a million more than Garrett.

If you beat, if you beat the Bengals to the altar on chase, that's half a million. That could have been, you know, somebody else's running back that was third on their depth chart that they're willing to give the starters job to. Honestly, that I know that sounds like I'm, I'm being sarcastic, but that is the way they're building the roster right now in Dallas. And I don't, I don't mean to congratulate the Bengals by kind of broadsiding them while giving the back of my hand to Dallas at the same time here, but it's the truth. I thought we were all crapping on the Bengals and then somehow got because every signing of this note does have a ripple in the pond. It does have a ripple in a pond and anybody who's got to pay a top-notch non quarterback in the league, just watch the price of tea go up.

You just watched it go up. Now, Trey Hendrickson apparently is going to accept 30 million a year. And I know this just sounds like ridiculous money and it's, it's generational enriching and, and. But he's an older pass rusher and that's a lot of money for a guy who's going to be 31. We don't know if he's got how many more great years left.

Does it matter though? You got to sign him if you can. Your overreaction Monday subject matter that was first up, I believe on, on the pod where everybody can check it out right now, please, wherever you get your pods and also the Rich Eisen Show YouTube channel was if they don't sign Trey Hendrickson, they're going to get right back to 2024. They're going to miss the playoffs.

Yeah, that's not going to matter. And I called that an overreaction because Myles Garrett hasn't turned me into a complete cynic just yet. Getting closer though, every day. But you know, that's the issue here was last year they had Burrow and Chase to the tune of a triple crown season. And then when Higgins was healthy, they had Burrow, Chase and Higgins. And then they have Chase Brown, who's terrific, right? They signed Gasicki again, didn't they?

Yep. So they got that side of the ball kind of handled. Doing everything that Joe Burrow has been asking, but is it going to matter? The AFC is so deep and stacked with star quarterbacks, star teams loaded. I just, I don't know what Cincinnati's got to do.

Well, take a look right there. I mean, they, but that missed the playoffs this year. That's, that's what I'm saying. They got a new defensive coordinator in Alabama. And Al Golden, they brought in and you know, he was the Notre Dame defensive coordinator.

That's formerly from Cincinnati where he coached the linebackers earlier this decade. And they're hoping that that will help the process. And if they bring Trey Hendrickson back, now you're talking, now you're talking and go draft, go draft and go, go, go find your front seven to go hunt Mahomes with all due respect to the rest of that division that just appears to be getting tougher for them to win. So getting Hendrickson would be very crucial for them.

They lost four games last year when they scored over 30 points. But note to self, note to anybody building in the, in an NFL roster, sign them early, sign them now, sign them before, name me another, like you, you take a look at any roster, right? Around the league where you know who's going to have to be signed and who's not, you just know it. You see it, you know it.

I'm trying to go in my head right now, which quarterback, I mean, CJ Stroud, you know, the Bengals or the Texans are going to sign him, right? Like the first minute you can do it, do it, do it. And by that, I mean, as soon as he, as soon as he is done with his fourth year, you're, you're, you're talking to him as soon as you can. You know, signing him after three would be really aggressive.

That was going to be my question to you. If that's the case, why don't these teams, you kind of know this guy's going to be your guy for life. Why wait till the fourth? Why show some good favor, like give him some extra money and then save yourself some money? Because look at what's going on with the 49ers right now.

You know, that's going to be a fault point. Like this quarterback's wanting to give it, get paid in a year, even earlier than, than what teams are willing to do or have habitually been willing to do. And, and, but beating everyone to the punch, knowing that, hey, the price is going to go up to 60 million a year at some point.

Although there has been a market correction on the quarterback salary front. Looks like you, have you been whispering in the owner's years of ownership, you think? Yeah.

You're influential too. I've been texting. All right. We'll talk Cooper cup later on. We've got an overreaction Monday selection Sunday edition and Joey McIntyre is coming in studio to help us celebrate St. Patrick's day. We got a McIntyre coming in.

Yeah, we're saying tough. Okay. Very good. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial as well, your phone calls.

But coming up next, Jay Billis will join us to talk about what the men's selection Sunday wrought. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first, the same way, you know, you've got to make sure your lucky Jersey is clean on game day or your team might lose checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability.

Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. In the NFL, there's no margin for error. As we just saw, one mistake can change the outcome of the game and a season and the biggest game at that. Science proves quality sleep can help boost reaction time, recovery time, and overall athletic performance. And that's why Sleep Number is the official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL because they provide players with data and insights to optimize their sleep for the ultimate competitive edge. Imagine what it can do for you. I know my sleep number setting is 60.

My wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart, but guess what? It makes the world of difference. So why choose a Sleep Number smart bed? So you can choose your ideal comfort on either side. And now save 40% on the new Sleep Number Special Edition smart bed, limited time exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you.

See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Can you just clean that up please, sir? Thank you. At the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event, get deals so right, it almost feels wrong. Now is the best time to get that Hyundai car or SUV you've always wanted. Plus, every new Hyundai comes with America's best warranty and three years or 36,000 miles of limited complimentary maintenance. Don't think you can get away with all that? Think again.

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It's a great day for a new Hyundai. Guys, it was 32 years ago today in the city of Chicago during the St. Patrick's Day parade, where a particular doctor on the run just blended in. This is one of my favorite St. Patrick's Day moments.

You want to pop it up on the screen? There it is. Dr. Richard Kimball, he just shaved. He was on the run back in Chicago looking for the one-armed man and just grabbed somebody's hat and blended in the St. Patrick's Day parade 32 years ago today. Yeah, it was the real Chicago parade and they just filmed it, him navigating through the crowd. Is that really?

Yeah, it was the actual Chicago's St. Patty's Day parade. So they had to get like releases from everyone else on the screen right there? Pretty much? Pretty much. Okay. Where are those people now?

Not a good extra right there. Looking right at the camera. Which one? The girl. That's Anna. She's a real person.

I don't think she's just an actor. Well, you know what she was doing is she was celebrating St. Patrick's Day and then all of a sudden here comes Dr. Richard Kimball. Hey, what's Harrison Ford doing here? I know, right?

Isn't that amazing? So this was after, you know, this was Gerard, right? He had visited someone in the jail, in the county jail. And it wasn't him and then he tried to shoot him through the bulletproof glasses. He was exiting. Right.

I heard there was like an argument about whether Gerard would actually release his weapon inside of a building like that. Right. God, one of the greatest movies of all time.

I have not seen this movie in so long. Well, it'll be everywhere all on TV because it's a St. Patrick's Day movie. You know? Right? That's why I'm bringing it up today. That's one thing that it's not. That's why I'm bringing it up today.

Why? I don't know. It's a St. Patrick's Day movie. Oh, so the one where the man was a leprechaun and he was chasing a pot of gold?

This movie was around St. Patrick's Day, so it's a St. Patrick's Day movie. Welcome to the party, pal. I don't think that's the same thing. You don't think so? Yeah, no. Why has Brock been shaking his head? I don't understand it. Don't get it.

Just take the L, man. Back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. One of my favorites. Always makes me smarter and we always reach out to him when stuff is going on in the world, certainly of college athletics and basketball, and it's his time of year and we're thrilled to see Jay Billis back on my screen. How you doing, Jay?

Good to see you, sir. Well, first of all, Rich, extras are real people too. Thank you. That's true. That's right. I mean, you know, the distinction between, oh, that extra shouldn't be looking at the camera. No, it's a real person.

Extras are real people. I need to write that down. Apologies. I need to write that down. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, Jay Billis. Good to see you. Thank you.

Thank you. And I think The Fugitive was a Christmas movie actually. See, you know, are you a diehard as a Christmas movie guy? Is that true? Only to piss people off.

I don't really understand why anybody cares whether it's a Christmas movie or not. Oh gosh, you have no idea. You have no idea. This is deep. This is a deep, this runs deep between Chris Brockman and yours truly, Jay. It's not just you two, it's thousands of people. That's true.

That's true. All right, let's jump into it, brother. What'd you think of the brackets, Jay, writ large? I mean, overall, I didn't have a lot of quarrels with it. Every year we lose our minds over who gets in and who doesn't at the very end of the line. And maybe 10 years ago, I would have been one of those losing my mind. But every year it's the same thing.

There's one or two you're going, what? And there's a part of me, Rich, that is thinking, why do we constantly argue over who's the 45th best team in the country? I mean, you never hear football arguing over who's the 20th.

It just doesn't make any sense. Like we waste time talking about that instead of talking about the best teams. But North Carolina's inclusion was curious because we've always been told the standard is who did you play and who did you beat? And Carolina played a great schedule. They just didn't win against it. And that's not to say that because they didn't win a certain amount of games, they shouldn't be in. It's comparing them against the other teams at the end of the line. And all the bracketologists across this wide landscape, and there are hundreds of them, were saying that, okay, Texas and North Carolina aren't going to make it. And I thought Texas should have been in first among the bubble teams because of the number of quality wins they had.

They made it, but Carolina was a surprise. But other than that, other than that, there's not a ton to quarrel with, maybe a seed line here too. That's about it. Well, in terms of people losing their minds, if you want, we're 23 minutes into the press conference of the governor of West Virginia, along with the attorney general. Jay, we can keep you up to speed on, I don't know if you heard this on your travel day, but they're threatening to sue the NCAA, or as he referred to it, the National Corruption Athletic Association. Jay, can you keep you up to speed on that?

Well, I mean, they can certainly do that. I think the depositions would be fabulous television. I would love to participate. Who would you depose first, Jay?

You know what I mean? Who would be your first person to sit down for this sort of thing? Oh, I'd go to the top leadership, but they don't know anything about the selection process. They're totally separate from it. But you know this, Rich, all the selection committee members, and I think by and large, they do a really good job, but they're commissioners, athletic directors. The truth is, they're not able to watch games like we do.

They've got other jobs, and so it becomes very formulaic. They have so many bracketing principles. That's why all these bracket people get 67 out of 68 every year. They give themselves the automatic qualifiers, but the rest of it's pretty easy. And we argue over a couple of teams at the end of the line, and nobody's out there trying to screw anybody.

That I know. And I always think of this, I don't know who did the interview, it might have been you, with David Stern when they were asking him about the lottery process. You remember the old story about when Patrick Ewing was coming out in 85, that they did the lottery with envelopes back then. And somebody said, well, the New York, New York Knicks envelope had been in a freezer, and it was colder, and that's how they did it.

And, and I remember Stern, like very calmly saying, No, that didn't happen. That's rather silly. And he goes, and you realize if we did something like that, it would be a federal crime. And, and that's the same kind of thing here. If they were trying to manipulate this in some conspiratorial fashion, you could argue it'd be a federal crime. And I just don't think that that kind of thing really happens.

Well, speaking as a Knicks fan, Jay, the real federal crime is that Ewing couldn't escape Michael Jordan's entire life, to be honest with you, but that's for another day and another conversation. But in terms of putting the bracket together, you know, it does feel like the Big Ten tournament result didn't matter. That, that the, the bracket was already handled.

It was one of the last tournament games that was played on Sunday. Michigan won. And I understand that Michigan had three straight losses to finish its regular season.

And it does appear that that's what the, the selection committee worked off of. Was the final regular season and that the tournament didn't matter. And that the three teams that Michigan beat in the tournament wound up having higher seeds and the Wolverines get a five seed. Is that a fair assumption that they just, that that was it and they weren't going to change any of the seedings regardless of the results of the Big Ten tournament? Well, I can't speak to what would happen with their win on Saturday, but it does make sense that everything's locked in on Sunday at three o'clock.

You know, they're playing while the bracket's being finished. And unless there was a, uh, like a, a bid stealer, like an NC state situation last year, where if they win, they're in, if they, if they lose, they're out type of deal for the automatic qualifier. Um, I can see that, but they gotta have, they gotta have that stuff set by about then. So, you know, they can't just, uh, sit around for another hour and a half after that and delay the process that much.

So I get that. And they're going to be, you know, there are going to be some things up or down a seed line based upon these bracketing principles that they have, you know, like, uh, BYU can't play on a Sunday. Um, there's all kinds of stuff about, uh, conferences and, uh, you know, you don't want to play anybody in your conference before a certain time in the tournament. And the SEC screwed that up this year with 14 bids. So they're going to have to play each other way earlier than they would have otherwise, or if you'd played a team three times or whatever, they do all that stuff instead of just let let's list them one to 68, put them in the bracket and then, uh, and then play from there. Um, that's the way I prefer to do it, but I understand why they do. They get a lot of complaints from their membership.

Well, I mean, what, what, what happens to these complaints? It's just like, sorry, this is just, you gotta break some eggs to make an omelet. Let's go.

There's 60, uh, 64 teams come Thursday and let's roll. Right. I mean, it's kind of like that. It's kind of like, what would you do if you were us? Like give us a better way when we have a selection show starting at six o'clock, what are we supposed to do? Um, I do think that's a fair point. And you've seen some, uh, some conferences switch there, uh, in the past decade or so, maybe longer, you've seen them switch their championship game from Sunday to Saturday. Um, so that one that, you know, maybe better TV and windows or all that stuff.

I don't know what it, but the big 10 does it for television too. You know, so there, there's a lot of things that play here and it's not the easiest process. I get it. That's why I try to cut them a little bit of slack, but selection is a big deal. So you, you leave one team out, put another team in, those are important decisions. Seeding, we can argue about, but, uh, the old AD at Duke, uh, uh, Tom Butters, when I was in school, there was, uh, was chairman of the selection committee and he used to say, you can play your, you can play your way out of a bad seed, but you can't play your way into the tournament after the selections have been made.

So select, he felt selection was more important than, than seeding. Jay Bellis here, nine times sports Emmy nominee, our friend from ESPN right here on the Rich Eisen show. So do you agree with 14 SEC teams? Is it, was it that deep of a conference to you, Jay?

Yeah, yeah, I do. Um, you could argue about Texas maybe a little bit or maybe say, well, Arkansas had a couple injuries or all that, but they played the most quality games and one of the most quality games. And at the end of it, like you kind of ask yourself, all right, some of these other teams that are complaining or if they are complaining, you know, would you want to play that schedule?

How do you think you would have done against it? Um, because I don't think, uh, some of these teams would have done a better, um, it's, it's ridiculous how good that league was. And it's the best league relative to the field top to bottom I've ever seen like South Carolina and LSU didn't make, uh, the field. Uh, they had 14 out of 16 teams make it. South Carolina may be the best last place team I've ever seen in basketball. They're, they're, they're good. They beat Clemson earlier this year. They're 10 and three going into conference play and they have one of the best players in the country and Colin Murray boils, and they found it really difficult to win a game in that league.

Um, it's really, it's really stacked. So you described the sec is the best in North South Carolina, South Carolina is the, is the best, I guess. Um, would you refer to him last place team coming in? The best last place team I've ever seen.

Okay. So then how would you term Yukon the two time defending champs as a properly seeded eighth seed or the most dangerous eighth seed you've seen? They, they, well, I don't know that I call them the most dangerous eight seed I've seen.

Um, Yukon's good. I mean, they're good. They're really good offensively. They just struggle to defend. And that's the difference in, in their team from one year to the next is they can score, but they have a hard time stopping people. And last year they had Donovan clinging at the rim and they had Stefan Castle that they could put on any, uh, wing player.

He could shut them down. And Tristan Newton at the point had length and athleticism. I mean, they, they were locked in defensively. They, they were, they could re they were top five defensively and top five offensively. And, you know, last two years they did things that nobody's ever done. They won all their tournament games by double digits.

No, they were legit. I don't think anybody would argue that Yukon is in the same ballpark as they were last year. And that's not a negative on this year's team.

It's just how good last year in the year before work. But, uh, but I've seen better eight seeds than Yukon, but they're, they're, they're very good. And I think they can, uh, you know, they can make it difficult on a one seed, um, and having that championship pedigree for some of those players, uh, or for some of the teams they face, um, is, uh, is going to be concerning, but they got to, they got a tough first game with Oklahoma.

That's not a, that's not a layout. Yeah. And then Florida would be the next Florida would be the one seed that Yukon would face. So more likely than not, we don't see another Yukon run that nobody saw coming is what you're saying, Jay. I think Florida is the best team. Um, you know, I've watched them all year long. They've gotten nothing but getting, uh, gotten better. And they are, they have size and they've got like five big guys that they can rotate. They've got five guards. They can rotate.

It's absurd. Uh, how, how big and talented and skilled they are. And, uh, the, their biggest change is last year, they didn't defend at this level. They were in the nineties and the metrics defensively and the defensive efficiency this year, their top 10. And, uh, I mean, look, look at the teams they've been, they've been beating.

Um, it's, uh, they're, they're legit. Now I'm not saying that Duke is not right with them or Auburn is not right with them or Houston's not right with them. I think the four number one seeds are, are really, really strong. Doesn't mean one of them is not going to get picked off or all that, but, uh, but Florida, I think is the strongest of the one seeds right now.

So, uh, which seed and team, if I had told you they would be seated as such in the tournament. And if I told you that back in say October, would you be most surprised by Jay St. John's and Michigan state would be the two, like, I thought both, uh, I thought both were going to be good. I did not think St. John's would be this good. And, uh, and I would have put them in a final four spot if they weren't in the same bracket as floor.

Like I just think Florida's cut above. That doesn't mean that, that, uh, St. John's can't make the game chaotic and force a lot of turnovers because they've got their three most important positions point guard. They've got Kaderi Richmond. Who's a, a big athletic, you know, change of pace, change of direction guard, then get to the rim. They got RJ Lewis on the wing, uh, who can really score. He's our leading scorer. And then their big guy, Zuby Ejiofor just had like 33 points the other day. Uh, he transferred in from Kansas and he didn't play a very big role at Kansas playing a big role at St. John's and then Michigan state.

I did not think I saw him at the champions classic early. And honestly, I just didn't think they were going to be that good. I thought they'd be solid, but I didn't think they'd be like this. Um, they don't shoot it well. And they're, I do think they have good shooters, but they haven't shot it well. And they're shooting around 30, 31% from three, but as a result of not shooting a well, they're getting the foul line, like nobody's business. Uh, and, and that's not been the trade of a Tom Izzo team over the last decade or so. And, uh, and they're very deep, you know, they play about 10 guys. Uh, they still rebound, get out and transition. Um, but they're, they're way better than, than I thought.

And, uh, I would not have believed in December that either one of these two teams would be two seeds that, uh, that, you know, threatened to be one seed. Yeah. That's subregional with St. John's J, you know, the C Patino as the coach of St. John's in Providence, which is where they're playing wild. Right. And then, and then if he gets past Omaha, um, then Patino St. John's team faces the winner of bill selves, Kansas, or, you know, Arkansas coached now by Calipari that that's good stuff. Like that's the sort of red meat that I think fans can dig into, you know?

Yeah. I mean, it'll be fun. It'll be fun because St. John's is, uh, is back, you know, there it's been a long time since they've won the big East and been, uh, ranked this high as a top 10 team and the gardens alive and all that stuff. And then Kansas and Arkansas had rough years. I mean, they're tournament teams. Uh, you don't want to take away from, from a good year, but it's not a Kansas or a John Calipari type year. Uh, both have, uh, have struggled to, to find footing among the very best teams. And, uh, and I, I don't think either one of them are going to get past St. John's.

Okay. Um, so, uh, in the few minutes I have left with you, Jay Billis, which first round match-ups are you circling for interest? And then I'm going to ask you for upset.

What do you think, Jay? I mean, those are kind of the most interesting ones are the ones that you think will be kind of upsets. Um, I think UC San Diego and Michigan is a scary game for Michigan, um, because UC San Diego has won 15 games in a row. Uh, this is their first year of eligibility for the tournament. And, uh, and I'm going to really enjoy watching Charles Barkley, try to say, uh, Neewa Neewa, uh, Tate Jones, uh, who's their best player. And then they've got another guy named Hayden gray. Uh, he's going to go and I want to, and I want to, I'm pretty sure, but, uh, but, uh, Neewa Neewa Tate Jones is their best player. And then, uh, well maybe Hayden gray is their best player because he's their most versatile, but they can, uh, they can really defend. They forced a lot of turnovers and, uh, Hayden gray's, uh, leaves the nation and steals. And then Yale and Texas A&M is another good one.

Uh, because Yale is, uh, they're legit. They can beat somebody. Um, John Pulikidis is their best player, left-handed shooter.

Uh, they've got a wing named, uh, Bez and bang. Uh, they, they, you know, they, Danny Wolf played with them last year when they beat Auburn and then transferred to, uh, to Michigan and Michigan's got two, seven footers that play pick and roll together, Vlad golden and Danny Wolf. But, uh, but Yale can beat Texas A&M. It's going to be a chaotic game for them, but if they take care of the ball, uh, I think they've got a legitimate shock as pulikidis at 28 last year against Auburn. He had 23 against Purdue this year.

Uh, they could, they could certainly win that game. So those are your two about my gosh, there's in the same part of the bracket. Those are your two.

Yeah. They're in the same region. I mean, there are other ones like Drake, uh, I think can beat Missouri. I think Colorado state can beat Memphis, but you know, it's funny, Rich, like the, the stuff that we tend to talk about, like, uh, UC San Diego is going to be a media darling for upset picks and Michigan's going to hear that. And some of these other teams that aren't being talked about are the more likely upset, uh, you know, ones that to pull an upset, the ones you're talking about, usually the other team has gone, all right, we'll show you.

And, uh, and, and oftentimes the upset doesn't come to fruition. And I think that's, those two things are related. Well, I'm sure Dusty Mays already pulling the card of, Hey, we won the tournament and we're a five seed, you know, we're a five seed and everybody else that we beat is seeded better than us.

And so, uh, I guess just throw that on the fire. If everybody's going to be picking UC San Diego to beat Michigan, you know, just yeah. And that stuff, that stuff helps. I don't think it helps a team once the game starts, you know, this, Hey, we're disrespected and all that. I do think it helps sharpen your focus in your preparation. So if they're, if they're, uh, focused in preparation because, you know, everybody's saying they're going to be an upset victim.

I do think that helps once the game starts, it doesn't help at all. So, um, okay. And what's the name of the kid on UC San Diego that is polysyllabic, but what could be turned into a full four letter word for me Thursday night?

Aniwa Aniwa Aniwa Tate Jones. Okay. Uh, very good.

Good to know that. Um, I'll, I'll keep, uh, I'll keep that in, uh, in mind. Um, and so your, your pick to win it all, have you made one yet?

Jay, you got one for me. Yeah, I got Florida. I think, uh, you know, my final four is a little bit chalky. The last time all four number one seeds, it's the only time since they started seeding, made it to the final four. Each one of them made it was 2008 and the final four was in San Antonio. And, uh, this year, um, even though, uh, I liked St. John's and I do like Michigan state's draw, uh, I actually have all four number one seeds advancing. Cause I think they're, I like, I like the draw. Each one of them has, I think Duke's got the best draw, but a number of teams that I really liked, like Iowa state, Alabama, um, they've got some injuries and, uh, and those are going to affect, they may not affect them early, but, uh, but overall, I don't think, uh, I don't think that bodes well for, for a championship run.

All right. And then looking over the steering wheel before I let you go and front loading the conversation of the next few months is where do you, where do you place Cooper flag in terms of greats that Duke is sending to the next level? Jay. He's the, he's, I think he's the best and most complete freshmen Duke's ever had. And he'll be the number one pick. Um, he's special and he's got, uh, an aptitude for the game that you don't see very often. He's at a competitive level. Uh, his competitive character is a lot like, uh, like Christian Leitner's Franklin. Um, just, uh, he, he processes the game on a different level than most players. And he's super skilled, uh, super athletic long. He's got all the measurables, but it's the, it's the head and heart that, uh, that set him apart. Um, but you know, Duke's had like, I think grand Hills, the best player Duke's ever had. Uh, and I, that's saying something it's hard sometimes to measure because some of these one and done guys, they don't stay very long. Um, but, but as a freshmen Duke's not had anybody this good. Hmm.

That's saying a lot, man, no doubt about it. So we're not going to hear about speaking of poly syllabics, somebody from Europe, that's going to be a first overall pick or somebody is going to play their way into it. This is Cooper flag first.

It's the flag lottery. Well, there are two guys, there are two guys from Rutgers that are really good. Rutgers didn't make the tournament surprisingly with having that kind of talent, ACE Bailey and Dylan Harper. Right. And they'll probably go two and three, honestly.

Um, and there, there are some other really, there's a really good draft of young players, but it's not one where you're going to have, like, uh, if Victor Wambunyama is in this draft, he goes number one, but, uh, uh, but maybe not, maybe it'd be a tough call for somebody because, uh, uh, Cooper flag is going to be kind of a queen on a chess board in the NBA. Jay you're the best man. Thanks for taking the time. I look forward to chatting with you over the next several weeks, if you don't mind. And, um, greatly appreciate you always, always, always looking forward to it. Thank you. You're the best Jay Billis.

Go back with him like a car seat, everybody back here on the rich eyes and show love that guy. Just absolutely love him. Makes me smarter to love everything that I say.

I love the guy you mentioned that. Okay. Uh, let's take a break. We've got a, uh, a, uh, an overreaction Monday selection Sunday version to play, um, and Cooper cup to talk about. It's time for basketball and Uber eats is dropping deals on game day favorites to keep you locked in on the action. Like when you're craving a buzzer beater, but also Buffalo wings or when an upset makes you want to ugly cry into a pizza. And right now Uber eats has game day deals from McDonald's Popeye's pizza hut, Wendy's and hundreds more local favorites. So you can keep your eyes on the ball and your hands on a hamburger order now only on Uber eats product availability varies by region.

See after details. You don't wake up dreaming of McDonald's fries. You wake up dreaming of McDonald's hash browns.

McDonald's breakfast comes first. We have four fictional characters, basketball characters that we're wondering who would make the best NBA draft prospect. First up is the point guard from the Venice beach locals, uh, Sidney Dean. Great handle, um, uh, somewhat of a trash talker, a little bit of a gym rat and, uh, but really hustles, uh, out on the floor. Uh, as a blacktop, really, he never, he's not yet played an indoor game.

It's all been outdoors. So, uh, you know, his jump shot may be pushed by the wind to go in or, or to go out. We'll see, you know, how he does an indoor game. Uh, he is undersized and tends to over dribble a little bit. And, uh, and he also tends to hustle in a, in a negative fashion, but he has played against quality competition, including Freeman Williams, Nigel Miguel, who played at UCLA, Marcus Johnson was in that movie. And then Gary Moller who played at UC Santa Barbara, his dad pitched for the Dodgers, Joe Moller. Next up is from a Hickory high school, uh, shooting guard, Jimmy Chitwood, Jimmy Chitwood, spot up shooter, uh, tends to demand the ball, especially in huddles. He'll make his teammates better, although not particularly supportive of Ali. Uh, when he took that free throw, those free throws at the end of the game, the underhands against the underhanded free throws against Cedar Knob was the opponent.

And who doesn't enjoy saying Cedar Knob on national radio? Uh, the problem he's, he's not always motivated and, uh, Jimmy Chitwood tends to get a little chummy with the alumni. And I think a little questionable relationship with his teacher, Barbara, I liken him to clay Thompson with, uh, without the defense. Okay. Uh, next up another high schooler from Carver high, uh, center Warren Coolidge, physically imposing a rebound to the high level was coached by, uh, an NBA player, Ken Reeves, who had a wonderful fictional career with the Chicago bulls before getting injured.

Yeah. That was a fantastic locker room singing voice. Uh, and, uh, reminds you a lot of Ben Wallace with, uh, with sort of a Barry white voice. The problem is, you know, it tends to be a little unmotivated and wasn't necessarily the best player, uh, on that show. Uh, Wolf Perry was on that show, uh, who played at Stanford. And then, uh, you may not know this, but, uh, Jay Billis was once on that show. All right.

Last one for you. Uh, this is, uh, he, he plays tons of position guard forward and center from beacon Hills high school, uh, Teen Wolf. Jay, what do you think about his, uh, abilities whose name, uh, in the film was Scott Howard when he wasn't, uh, wasn't a Wolf, um, great vertical leap plays above the rim. Uh, I think you could refer to him literally and figuratively as a beast, uh, only five, three, but plays much bigger. Uh, the problem is he comes from a small town in Nebraska, so he'd have to cut family ties and then he's, uh, occasionally violent, although his hair is perfect. The great Jay Billis and all of his appearances, including the one he just concluded can be checked out on our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash rich eyes and show.

So there's all of that. Were you checking out Rory yesterday? Chris, your guy was, yeah, that was great. He pulled it out. It looked like it wasn't going to work, but, uh, three shot.

We quickly became one and then a playoff that concluded this morning and spawn went in the water on 17. So that was a wrap on the playoff. And, uh, yeah, nice to see him. That's his second big win this year.

One at pebble earlier. Your guy. He's my guy. He's got, uh, basically even odds with chef would win the masters right now. And today's St. Patrick's day. Second time he's won the players on St. Patrick's day.

How about that? And he's from Northern Ireland. I'm aware of where he's from. That's why I pointed it out. I don't mean to be this way.

And neither of us are wearing green. Okay. There you go.

But Jason Feller is, and apparently Joey McIntyre is too. Uber Eats is delivering game day deals all tournament long because you can't watch eight hours of basketball a day on an empty stomach from burgers to wings, pizza to chicken sandwiches, whatever you're craving. Uber Eats has deals on all your game day favorites.

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Remember get game day deals on all your favorites only on Uber Eats. Order now. All right, Chris Brockman, are you ready to give me a special overreaction Monday edition based on selection Sunday? Yes. All right. It's the overreaction Monday selection Sunday edition presented by TurboTax.

Hit it. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? It's the end of the world. Overreaction Monday's Monday.

Presented by Intuit TurboTax. Take it away, Christopher. What do you got for me?

Rich, here's the deal. I only have one rule when it comes to March Madness and it's when a team has won back-to-back titles and done so covering all 12 games. Okay.

I have to take them again the next year. UConn is going to be back in the final four. Okay. UConn's back in the final four.

That is an overreaction. Six, eight seeds in history have made the final four. As we know, one eight seed has gone on to win the champion. The first one, 1985 Villanova.

I think UConn is going to be two and done. And I know what that sounds like based on what they've done over the last two years when they first went on their first magical run. Nobody saw that one coming last year. Everybody thought it would be a bit of a stretch despite their standing. And then they went ahead and did it anyway. I think they're going to lose to Florida in the round of 32. And I think this is an overreaction. At least that's the way I'm going to fill out my bracket.

What's next, Chris? Rich, so much about college basketball's history is the Blue Bloods. It's Dynasties. It's UCLA. It's Duke. It's Kentucky. It's all these teams that we've grown accustomed to seen winning and seen cutting down the nets.

Someone who's never won a championship is going to cut down the nets this year in April. I'm looking at Auburn. I'm looking at Houston. I'm looking at St. John's has never won a championship. Tennessee.

One of these high seas. Alabama. Wisconsin. One of these types of teams is going to win this year.

I don't think that's an overreaction at all. You know, you're taking quite the field here, right? Florida of the top seed of the big one. Of the top seeds, Florida and Duke are out, right? Of the two seeds, Michigan State is out. Tennessee. Alabama. No.

Okay. Michigan State is out. Of the three seed here, Iowa State is in. Texas Tech is in. Wisconsin is in.

And Kentucky's out. I just named him a large number of top seeds that have never done it before, so I'll buy this one. What else, Chris? Oh, I like that. All right, Rich. Last one. Last one.

Okay. As we know, it's fun to pick the upsets. It's fun to see the upsets.

I'm going to say multiple. 14, 15, 16 seeds are going to win this weekend. So you're talking UNCW. We have to include the 16s now, because it's happened twice. Okay. Omaha, Wofford. I'll just call this an overreaction. I'm going to say it's going to be more top-heavy than you think, and I appreciate you not including the 12 seed in UC San Diego, which Jay Billis just said is the biggest upset over Michigan.

That's the hot one. All right, everybody, keep you talking. Keep yapping. Keep yapping. So we're going to go to the 16th. Keep yapping.

So 14, 15, and 16. Alabama State, Saint Francis. Come on, dude.

So let's talk. Again, every single year, it's like, come on, dude. There's a no-name State U, and they do it. It's been a while since UMBC pulled it off. That's true.

Seven years. Omaha, Wofford, Robert Morris. You know what I'm saying? I mean, Bob's got more bark than bite sometimes.

Maybe Bob's got bite. I just said that about Robert Morris, because I'm familiar. I mean, I know you're rooting for Bryant. You know what I'm saying?

Kobe? Playing Michigan State. Okay. Oh, no. You know I'm a Michigan State guy. Deep down.

For basketball. Football they can go eat a hat. That's overreaction Monday, selection Sunday edition presented by Turbo Tax. It's officially tax season. Hand off your taxes to a Turbo Tax full service expert today. They do your taxes. You enjoy the tournament.

Now this is taxes. Oh, you know I love Izzo. I know, but I'm just saying I don't have a problem with them going on. I do not. I absolutely do not.

Hour three, Joey McIntyre in studio coming up. Although I would have a problem. Let's see. Hold on a minute. Michigan would play Michigan State in the South region final. There you go. Now that would be something.

Right in SEC country, right there in Atlanta to show them how real basketball looks. I guarantee you that's what Cooper picks to have happen. You think so Michigan versus Michigan State?

Guaranteed. We're doing the brackets later. Well, I don't know. Taylor's got an all-star game tonight that she's in tipping off at eight o'clock. Local.

Like locally? Oh my gosh. She's not playing on Eastern Time Zone. I know.

I might put a crimp in our bracketology in-house tonight. Montana. I know you're rooting for Montana.

Because Montana is taking on Wisconsin. Yeah. Oh yeah. I root for all Montanas. Joe.

The state. You know. Joe. Oh yeah. Taking on Wisconsin.

It's funny. Yesterday, Cooper, we were watching the first half of that game when everyone was hoisting up threes and missing. And it was ugly. The first half of that game was pretty particularly ugly.

And he goes, dad, this is tough to watch. And I'm like, bro, no offense here. This is Wisconsin basketball. Wisconsin is the Iowa football of basketball. Oh.

More often than not. You know. Putrid offense? Not putrid offense. I will just say that. Slow, deliberate. Slow, deliberate. Yeah. But physical. And you better be on your game.

You better be on your execution because they will just turn you over and they will beat you up with it. And your shots, you don't have second shots. It's your one shot now. And you know, Wisconsin took the lead and Michigan won and it didn't matter. So Michigan's now taking on a 30 win team that's on what, a 15 game win streak? Is that what you're going to say?

And it's their first time in the tournament and they're feeling it. I have no idea. I can't sit here and say, I'd rather take on Montana.

I have no idea. Montana may have a beast of its own. By the way, Montana, you see, you look at that sub-regional. BYU and Montana are playing in Denver. That's not, that's not too far. I mean, that's in the realm. It's not like they have to go to Wichita or Cleveland to see their teams or Lexington, you know?

So, and Michigan's in Denver and we're everywhere. Lipscomb is a 14 seed. Is that right?

Where's Lipscomb? Do we know? No, I have no idea. Actually don't do, we might do a segment later on. No, no.

Where are they from? I just saw it. Okay.

Well, you're going to be the one that would be MC in anywhere. Nobody look. Nobody look where Lipscomb is. Nobody look where Lipscomb is. And that includes everybody watching. That includes you at home. How dare you?