Winners and Losers (Hour 1)

Live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the 10th floor 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to what is a Friday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM channel 375, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube. 888-710-4ISN is the number to jump on in.

Once again, that's 888-710-4470. We have day number one of the NCAA tournament in the books and we are now progressing and moving forward to day number two of the NCAA tournament and we already have some games that are already a final with Baylor and Mississippi State. That's actually the lone final from today. Alabama is about to wrap up as they just became a final and they're going to survive up against Robert Morris.

They win 90-81. So the Crimson Tide off to round number two. Game was a whole lot closer than what people expected. It was only a four point game going into halftime.

But Alabama, the Crimson Tide, a number two seed in the NCAA tournament as we speak just advanced to the second round of the tournament. And the Baylor, Mississippi State game, it felt like Baylor was in control for most of the game. And then the score just didn't indicate that. And then it got tight at the end and it was a one point game. Baylor had what would have been an and one.

And I thought, OK, the kid will make the free throw. You go up by four and the game's over. And somehow they called it a foul on the floor, which, you know, the officials or the replay, they could really just ruin this game. That's what it felt like was happening with Baylor and Mississippi State. So good to see Baylor advance as a nine seed, upsetting Mississippi State, the eight seed, not a major upset.

Obviously, it's an 8-9 matchup. But I thought Baylor was about to get the short end of the stick with how the officiating was going, but they were able to survive and overcome that in the final few minutes. So two finals today. Once again, Alabama 90, Robert Morris 81, Baylor 75, Mississippi State 72. We have two other games that are ongoing right now at the half.

This was a back and forth game. Now Memphis has a slight lead at half in a 5-12 matchup up against Colorado State. Memphis is up 36-31 through the first 20 minutes. And this game is basically over.

They're still 855 to play. You never know in basketball, but Iowa State is looking like a three seed and how they should look up against a 14 seed in Lipscomb, as that is a 64-38 game right now in favor of the Iowa State Cyclones. About to tip off will be Duke and Mount St. Mary's.

We'll give you an update on Cooper Flagg, though, but he is expected to play. Tip off is going to be at 3.09 p.m. Eastern Time. St. Mary's and Vanderbilt a 7-10 game is going to tip off at 3.15 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll see if North Carolina can continue the magic from not supposed to be in the NCAA tournament, getting in, winning their first four game. Now you'll have UNC go up against Ole Miss later today with Chris Beard Squad at 4 or 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Some more afternoon games, Grand Canyon and Maryland in a 4-13 matchup. And then for the night games this evening at 6.50 p.m. Eastern Time, you got number one seed Florida, arguably the hottest team in the country going up against Norfolk State. You got Kentucky up against Troy in a 3-14 matchup, 7-10.

This is an exciting one at 7.25 p.m. Eastern Time. You got Marquette with Shaka Smart going up against New Mexico with Richard Patino. You have Arizona and Akron in a 4-13 matchup.

We'll see if Tommy Lloyd could advance through the first round of the NCAA tournament. Good game coming up late tonight, 9.25 p.m. Eastern. UConn and Oklahoma. You will have Illinois go up against Xavier at 9.45 p.m. Eastern Time.

A good coaching matchup there with Brad Underwood and Sean Miller. And you got two more games on the docket this evening. Michigan State as a two seed, a trendy pick to go to the Final Four. Up against Bryant, a 15 seed. And you will end out the evening with a little Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty going up against the Ducks.

Quack, quack of Oregon. Oregon being a fifth seed, Liberty being a 12 seed. But before we really get into today's games, let's get back to yesterday. You know, it was a fine opening round of the NCAA tournament. I thought there was a proper amount of upsets.

I don't think there was anything that was, oh my goodness gracious, I can't believe it. I know a lot of people thought that UC San Diego was going to upset Michigan in the first half. That looked like it was going to be the farthest thing from the truth as Michigan was up 41 to 27 going into halftime. Then that game got tight late.

It basically turned into a football contest, not a basketball contest, as there was a lot of contact and it wasn't getting called. Michigan though did survive as they were only a two and a half point favorite. And it's funny how Vegas gets this thing right on the nose as Michigan did win the game by three points. And I'm sure a lot of people, plus the points of UC San Diego or took UC San Diego outright on the money line. I had Michigan, but a lot of people were chirping and chirping and chirping about UC San Diego.

So that was one upset that did not occur. You had Drake, Missouri. Now, Missouri was god awful shooting the basketball. They were 33 percent from the field and you had the upset by Drake in an 11-6 matchup. And then clearly the biggest upset of the day, I think the most fun moment in the NCAA tournament from day number one and how you're going to remember it, is McNeese with Will Wade just absolutely destroying in the first half Clemson. Clemson only had 13 points at halftime.

Think about that. A team that people were saying could be a dark horse team, could get to an Elite Eight, had some experience obviously with their run last year. You know, maybe they could find a way as a fifth seed to get to the Final Four. And they were MIA in the first half. It was like offensive how little offense there was from Clemson in the first half of that game. And in the second half, you had Clemson wake up. They scored 54 points in the second half.

But when you dig yourself into that deep of a margin where McNeese was up 31 to 13 at halftime, it was too little, too late for the Tigers of Clemson in the second half. And I thought the euphoria from Will Wade afterwards with McNeese and their first ever NCAA tournament victory was really damn cool to see. I thought that was awesome. I thought that was the memory.

You had the manager also with the aura, walking out with the boombox and all that stuff. McNeese is a fun team. And I'm happy that they're advancing to the round of 32. Now, I think I have a different perspective than most on this. A lot of people when they look at Will Wade, and I even had this initial thought, too.

And Luke Hancock kind of changed my opinion on it. But when you look at Will Wade, it was almost, oh, it's kind of rotten that this NC State stuff got out. And usually, right, what we hate from coach is when they sit there and they lie and they tell you they're not talking to a school when we know they're talking to a school. Or they say, oh, I'm going to be the head coach of McNeese forever. And then the minute they get eliminated from the NCAA tournament, not only are they introduced as the next basketball coach, but you find out that this thing was agreed upon a few days ago. Now, Will Wade didn't say the contract is sealed, signed, and delivered with NC State.

But he said everyone knows what's up. He's like, I told my players what's up. So in this changing landscape of college basketball with the transfer portal, it's like, all right, a lot of these players are going to go on good runs here, right? McNeese, a lot of these players are going to transfer. Some will go with Will Wade to NC State and others could go elsewhere. So it was cool to see the best of both worlds because usually when a coach at a smaller school leaves to go to a bigger school and go on for greater pastures, and obviously Will Wade is deserving of that and he should be coaching at a bigger program than McNeese, but to his own fault with everything that happened at LSU and the ending there, he had to go take a lesser job like McNeese. But usually when you have a smaller school losing a coach that is a bigger coach or an up-and-coming coach, however you want to classify Will Wade these days, and a little mixture of both, usually the smaller school doesn't get this story.

Where it's like, oh, this comes out before the NCAA tournament, there's speculation, and then you think the kids get caught up in the distractions and then it impacts their play on the court knowing coach is one foot in, one foot out. If you would have just saw the ending of the game yesterday and how Will Wade is running around like he's Valvano after winning a championship, right? You would have not ever thought that Will Wade is right on like the goal line on the one-yard line of leaving McNeese. So it was cool to see the mixture of both worlds where he was as transparent as you could be.

He's not lying through his teeth. We all know what he's doing the minute this run ends with McNeese, but to see him get that moment yesterday and how awesome it was and how genuine it was and how everyone in that building, unless if you were a Clemson fan, was fired up for Will Wade and McNeese and to just see the celebration and him celebrating with the fans and running up to family and friends afterwards, that was cool. Because usually when a coach, it gets out that he's leaving before an NCAA tournament or he's leaving before a bowl game, you know, if you want to go to football, the players usually check out. That was not the case with McNeese yesterday.

And they sent that message early from the jump. So I think the biggest winner from day one of the NCAA tournament was McNeese because this is the last chapter. Who knows what the future of the program is going to be?

Who knows who's going to be coaching it? But you pull off a 12-5 upset and it was really cool how that did play out. I'll get to my biggest loser in a second, but Stu, give me your biggest winner from day one of the NCAA tournament because I'm rocking and rolling with McNeese, pulling off that 12-5 upset. I am going to go with Gonzaga. And Gonzaga is a team that through the past 10, 15 years has been, I'm not going to say one of the Blue Bloods, they aren't a team that's rich in national championships, but they're always there. They're always a one or two seeded teams. And this year as an eight seed, they had a dominating win over Georgia and they've now advanced to at least the second round for the 16th straight tournament.

So they're kind of a team that a lot of people are kind of sleeping on. And rightfully so because they're an eight seed, but a good start to the tournament for them. Yeah, because we kind of got to the point with Gonzaga with how close they've been and not being able to get the job done. And even that one season they were undefeated and lost in the championship game. It's almost championship or bust.

And Mark Few talked about this after the game. But this is still a good team. And maybe they were under seeded a little bit. Like we talked about Louisville being under seeded. That didn't reflect on the basketball court up against Creighton. You could argue maybe Creighton was under seeded as well as a nine seed. But Gonzaga, Georgia, I thought that game was a 50-50 game.

And I remember saying before that game, I'm actually leaning towards Georgia. And I looked at it and I said, if Gonzaga wins, though, and now, right, Gonzaga, not just winning, but a dominant victory, 89 to 68, like Stu pointed out, it creates an interesting matchup in the round to 32 on Saturday with Houston. Because I look at it as Duke and Houston have the two easiest roads to get to the final four. And after what we did see yesterday, like we're talking about how Auburn's going to play Creighton and that game's going to be good.

You know, we'll see what happens, you know, with the other number one seeds as well. But if Florida has to play UConn, that like heightens your attention span, your interest a little bit. But now I'm going to be fascinated by that Houston-Gonzaga matchup because Houston's a team to me that should go to the final four. But there's that feeling when you have Gonzaga, even if you think that the Gonzaga product has diminished a little bit this year.

And they're not as highly perceived as they've been in previous years. They're still going to be a tough out because of what that program has been, how consistently good that program has been and who their coach is as well. And I'm not saying it's going to happen that Gonzaga goes on this long run. But how many years do we expect Gonzaga to win it all? And they didn't. Kind of now the pressure's off of them with not a lot of expectations going into this tournament.

And we saw them play very freely yesterday and with a little chip on their shoulder yesterday. And they just dominated the Bulldogs of Georgia. Santa, who's your winner from day one of the NCAA tournament?

I got the Big Ten. They go 4-0. They won by an average margin of 15 points. A 25-point win, a 12-point win, a 19-point win. And Michigan snuck one by three points. But the Big Ten looked really good.

They got four more teams all expected to win today. Maryland, number four. They've got number six, Illinois. Number two, Michigan State.

Number five, Oregon. I mean, they could go 8-0 to start this thing off. So the Big Ten looks really good.

Yeah, and we'll see if they end up doing that. But let's get to now the biggest losers. I'm going to go Kansas. So Kansas was the preseason number one team in the country. Number one team in the country.

Preseason number one. And I also, I love the pig suey chant. Ooh pig suey. It's awesome. I'm not going to do the whole thing because the whole ooh can really just make some ears bleed.

But I love, they don't make my ears bleed. I love the pig suey chant. But Calipari, right, the game was tight when the kid on Kansas unfortunately blew out his Achilles. That's what it looked like. That momentum just completely shifted. But for Kansas to be the number one team in the country and to be a seventh seed is something, right? And you look how consistent and how awesome that program has been in the Big 12. Well, two years ago, they got Hunter Dickinson. And he had a big career coming over from Michigan.

And in his last college basketball game, he had zero points in the second half. So usually we praise Bill Self. Usually we praise Kansas. This year, though, preseason number one to going out in the first round of the NCAA tournament as a seventh seed. And now Hunter Dickinson's career ends and it ends on a major dud with an offer in the second half of the NCAA tournament. And now that will set up the Italian matchup with John Calipari and Rick Pitino coming up on Saturday in Providence with Arkansas and St. John. So my biggest loser from day one of the NCAA tournament is Kansas.

Stu? I, like Samter, am going to go with a conference. And for me, it's the ACC. Now, we knew going in it was a weak year for the ACC, a conference that's usually one of the best in college basketball. But they only get four teams in. Of course, they have Duke, who is Duke, obviously.

Carolina will see. But they get two losses. They get Louisville and they get Clemson losing to a 12 seed. I just think it's just been a disastrous year for the ACC. Some of these teams feel like they don't belong in the tournament. So just not good for that conference. Yeah. And Duke's up 13 to 2 right now. I'm teasing. Dukes, though, like the team that I expect to win the championship.

So I understand your point. Clemson was got like 13 points in the first half is ridiculous. And I was so excited for Creighton and Louisville. And Louisville, remarkable season. Dusty May made the conference championship game. They were an eight seed. Everyone's saying, oh, they're under seeded. And Creighton just smacked them. Now, Jamiah Neal was unconscious.

Kalk burner is phenomenal. And Ashworth is a really good guard. But for that game to be that lopsided. Yeah, that was that was disappointing for Louisville and also Clemson just not even having a pulse in the first half. Sam, who's your biggest loser from day one of the NCAA tournament?

All right. Don't hate me, but I think the fans in general, Cinderella, we watched the tournament to watch big Cinderella stories. McNeese was nice, but it's a 12 5.

That happens all the time. 13, 14, 15 and 16 seeds were 0 and 8 yesterday. And they got smacked. 15 points Tennessee over Wofford. 20 points Auburn over Alabama State. 38 points Houston over SIU. 30 points St. John's over Omaha. Nothing was close.

We always look for that 14 or that 15 or even a 14 or 13 seed to have a win. Nothing was really close. The closest one really was like Purdue high point. But then Purdue, you know, pulled away late in the game. So those games I was a little bit disappointed with. I'm going to start calling you spoiled, Samter, because I think the last few years we've had this many crazy upsets.

Like, think about it. Recently we've had two 16 seeds beat one seeds. We saw Princeton, right, as a 15 seed beat a two seed Arizona. We have got so accustomed, especially like the last five, six years of 16 and 15 and 14 seeds win. We're not even through the first round of the NCAA tournament yet. And look how spoiled we are where it's like, oh, yeah, we only had a 12 seed win. You know, it's just crazy when you say that, but it also shows you how wild the tournament has been the last six, seven years.

You're not wrong, but I'm not even looking at the 16s or even the 15s. When was the last time you could remember not having at least a 13 or a 14 seed have a big upset in the first round? At least one. Oh, it's only day one. Well, and so far, Lipscomb is down by 90 to Iowa State, so there you go.

0 and 9 for Cinderella. I think you added an extra syllable in there, but that's fine. Lipscomb? Lipscomb?

Lipscombupa? You got it. Alrighty, this is Zach Galgeau, the Infinity Sports Network. Who's your biggest winner and loser from day one of the NCAA tournament? 8-8-8, 7-10 for ISN, 8-8-8, 7-1-0, 44-76. A good seed, a two seed that didn't go down yesterday was Tennessee.

They beat Wofford by a score of 77 to 62. At some point today, we'll be joined by Cade Phillips, a sophomore forward for the Tennessee Volunteers. He'll join us at some point today on the show. We'll take a time out, off and running, busy Friday show, Zach Gelb Show, Infinity Sports Network.

Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb Show on the Infinity Sports Network. Cade Phillips from the Tennessee basketball team should be joining us coming up at some point in this hour. When we look at the NCAA tournament today, you know, everyone knows that Duke is going to be Mount St. Mary's. I know we've seen two 16-seeds beat ones throughout the years, like the last few years, but you look at this Duke team. The question's just going to be with Cooper Flagg, how efficient is he going to be? And he did start today, this is early, 13-11 left in the first half. It's 18-6, now 20-6, so I think that you just monitor this in a smart, meticulous way when you take a glance and you do look at the Duke Blue Devils, but so far, Cooper Flagg did start. He has three points in the contest right now and an assist, and I just think you don't want to push it too far with him, but it is encouraging with the ankle injury and how gruesome that did look in the ACC tournament that not only is he able to play today, but he's able to start and Duke getting out to this 20-6 jump, now 22-6 as Cooper Flagg just hit another shot and now has five points. I think this big cushion is the best thing for Duke because eventually Duke will get tested. This is a game where they do not need to get tested, so it's one of those let Cooper kind of get his legs back here, let him get acclimated to the entire situation, and as the tournament does go on, you really see how he's looking. But right now, he looks like he's moving pretty well, and it doesn't look like the ankle is hindering him, so maybe this turns into one of those things where, hey, if he looks pretty damn good and it's early into the game, then, okay, Duke, you could wipe the sweat off your forehead and you realize that you were able to survive what was an ugly injury last week.

They still won the ACC championship anyway, but you can find a way to make this one in a year where there's expectations to get to the championship game. You kind of look and you'll get a better idea of where Cooper Flagg is out, and he had a dunk and sticking out the tongue too, so he's fine. You know what? I've already seen enough. I'm like, all right, I just said it three seconds ago. Like, yeah, you don't want to play him too much. You don't need to play him that much today. And I wonder how he's going to be feeling tomorrow, but there is a confidence early from Cooper Flagg, and you saw the hard way that he cut to the basket and he dunked the basketball, he sticks out the tongue. You know, I know it's a little adrenaline early on in the NCAA tournament, but this is one of those things where I look at Cooper Flagg and early on, if you're a Duke fan, this is the best thing possible right now. So that's the latest with Duke, and that was something that all eyes were on Cooper Flagg to just see what he was going to look like when he was going to get in the game he starts.

So early on, passing with pretty good remarks here for Cooper Flagg. Colorado State, Memphis, also something to watch right now, 1459 left in the game. It's 48-48. So we got a tie game there. If you're looking for maybe another 12-5 upset, you could be getting one here between Colorado State and Memphis.

So those are the only two games in action right now. Memphis and Colorado State all tied up at 48. Duke, Mount St. Mary's is a 24-9 game, and the finals from earlier today, you have three of them. Iowa State beating Lipscomb, 82-55, and then also Alabama beating Robert Morris, 90-81. Baylor, 75-72 did find a way to get the job done today Baylor. So you look there with those three games that were going on, good stuff today so far in the NCAA tournament. Early Alabama, Robert Morris gave you a little bit of a scare, and Baylor, Mississippi State was a good 8-9 game. And then Iowa State, Lipscomb looked like the way that it was supposed to be, 82-55. So two games going on right now. Duke and Mount St. Mary's is how 116 should look. And you have Memphis, Colorado State, that's getting a tie game here with 14 minutes to go. So we'll keep eyes on that.

So it'll tip off momentarily. It will be Vanderbilt, St. Mary's. And then coming up later on in the 4 p.m. Eastern Time Hour, you've got two games to tip off. UNC, Ole Miss.

And then also Grand Canyon and Maryland. So we will keep you up to date there. The other big news today is that Aaron Rodgers is meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So I look at Aaron Rodgers with the Pittsburgh Steelers. My question is, is a deal going to get done by the end of today? And like I walked in today and Samter goes, you got to get a deal done.

And I said, yeah, I understand what you're saying. Like if I'm the Steelers, here's the offer. Take it or leave it or we'll just go re-sign Russell Wilson. And if you're Aaron Rodgers, you're going into their building today. You're meeting with them.

So this is the first visit you've made. Minnesota is now out. And I don't think the Vikings are going to really get back in unless if Rodgers begs. So it's do you want to go to Pittsburgh or do you want to go to the Giants? And I have a hard time believing unless if Pittsburgh rejects Aaron Rodgers, that Aaron Rodgers on his own accord is going to choose the New York Giants. So with all that being said, I would agree with Samter that I want to say, hey, get this over with. Tomlin, Rodgers, sit down in the cave, sit down in the Steelers facility, get the Iowa Scout, like whatever you do and get this over with.

But I'm also a realist here. And I look at Aaron Rodgers and I know or I think I know that this is going to get dragged out. And Aaron Rodgers is not just going to make a decision today because we want Aaron Rodgers to make a decision. Am I dead wrong on this? Because you look like you're chomping at the bit here. I am chomping at the bit because you are prophetic.

According to Diana Russini, Aaron Rodgers has left the Steelers facility. The two sides have yet to come to an agreement at this time. Is that breaking right now? That is three minutes ago. As you were talking, I was trying to get your attention. Yeah. But I figured, you know what, since you're saying the correct thing and I know that what you're saying is right.

Well, I'm not going to lie. You keep going. I'm going to get a dark, lonely place there for a second because I'm saying something that I think is so obvious. And Sam's looking at me with just like a bleep eating grin on his face. And I go, I'm either going to be dead right on this or something just happened that I missed. And Santa's going to be like the nana nana nana.

You got it wrong. And those are some funny moments when you're saying one thing's going to happen. And as you're saying it, there's breaking news and the opposite stuff happens. But with Aaron Rodgers, as my gut told me, and I got a big gut here that I did not think that Aaron Rodgers is going to leave this deal today with the facility, because Aaron Rodgers is all in the business of Aaron Rodgers and he wants to be in the news. He wants to be an attention whore. And this is what Aaron Rodgers does.

It's simple. He's still holding out hope that maybe Minnesota will come crawling back to him. I don't anticipate Minnesota come crawling back to him. You know, unless if he wants to play him like the cheapest deal possible, Minnesota's not going to do this. So it's either you want to go play with the Giants or the Steelers. Make the damn decision. And I don't see why he would pick the Giants. So the question now becomes, how long did the Steelers continue to entertain this before they just go push Russell Wilson?

All right. We'll take a break here on the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. When we come on back, Cade Phillips is going to join us for a few minutes with the Tennessee basketball team. They're off to the round of 32.

They go up against UCLA after their round one victory as a two seed. Let's get an update in though first. Here's the act man, Rich Ackerman.

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While your car care needs get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts, Tennessee. Got an opening round victory yesterday. The NCAA tournament. Now they're off to tomorrow evening.

Well, they'll go up against UCLA. Now joining us from the Tennessee basketball team is a sophomore forward, N. Cade Phillips. Cade, appreciate the time. Congratulations.

Thanks so much for doing this. And how you been? Yes, sir.

Good. You know, the quick turnaround. You'd be in the tournament. You know, going from winning yesterday to locking back in right on the scout for UCLA tomorrow. It was unbelievable yesterday what Chaz Lanier was able to do.

29 points, had six three pointers in the contest in that opening round victory. Just how do you describe his performance? Man, it's unreal. When he heats up, he heats up.

And, you know, when he's got it going, we want him to shoot it every time he crosses half court, basically. But, you know, it's just a testament to how hard he's worked and the work that he's put in. You know, you talk about the hard work. Him coming over from North Florida right after spending four years there.

That's a sport now with the transfer portal. You go into the best basketball conference in America this year in the SEC. When did you realize that he was going to be a special player for this program? And how did he assimilate himself in so seamlessly to what the volunteers do? You know, I think once again, it's a testament to who he is and how hard he's worked.

You know, even during the summer, during those long days when you don't really know what's going on and what you're getting out of guys. He was in there working, working to grow his game, understanding that it is a different level. Especially in the SEC with the year the SEC had and the way that this conference is built. You know, it just is a testament to how hard he's worked and how he grew, you know, even after being in college four years. You know, talking about growth, last year this was Dalton Connect's team.

Now it's Zaki Ziegler's team. How have you seen him grow with the program just from last year to this year? Man, his leadership has gone shot through the roof. He's become an outstanding leader, you know, not just on the court as y'all see with, you know, the way he managed the game but off the court as well. You know, he's become somebody that really keeps everybody in check and makes sure holds people accountable.

And so his growth has been something that's been awesome to see, you know, even more off the court than on the court. Cade Phillips here with us for a few minutes. Tennessee advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament. They'll play tomorrow up against UCLA. Going back to last year's run and this team going to the Elite Eight. We knew you guys were going to be a good team this year. You guys were a good team last year.

Some changes from last year, obviously, to this year. For the guys that stayed, what do you think this team learned from the run last year that maybe you could implement in this year's run for the NCAA tournament? We understood the attention to detail that it took to get there last year. And, you know, being able to learn, we have to see it done for the guys that returned and then got to play in those games. We got to see it happen and understand that it is possible.

And so, you know, being able to do that and kind of replicate what happened last year and learn from the mistakes even we made last year to extend the run past that part. Yeah, and I know you guys want to extend that run. Things move so quickly here in the NCAA tournament. I know that you guys win yesterday, then you got to get all prepped for UCLA. Some recovery today, too.

Just what did these last, you know, half day since the victory of yesterday kind of been like for you guys? Yeah, you know, we honestly love it. We're a really next up team mentality when it comes to, you know, going from one thing to the next. But, you know, it ends with the game last night. You know, UCLA and Utah State played after us. So watching a little bit of that game when we got back to the hotel. And then as soon as that game ended, we got the result of that game. You know, get a good night's rest and wake up this morning and just lock in with scouting, lock in with film, and then go and get a good practice in. We know Mick Cronin is a very good coach.

He's been at this for a long time. What are the early impressions of UCLA? This is a team that prides themselves on toughness. Like you said, Coach Cronin and all his teams pride themselves on that. To go into an environment where two teams pride themselves on being tough, being physical.

It's something that we're looking forward to getting into. On the way out with Cade Phillips, talk to me about your coach, Rick Barnes. We know he's been around this game for a long time at multiple stops.

But you now be in your second year in the program. Just what does Rick Barnes mean to you? Man, it means a lot. You know, his level of consistency is why he's been good for as long as he's dead.

You know, everybody's got their days where they don't feel like bringing it. And you know, he doesn't. And so, you know, no matter what day it is, you're going to get the same coach every day.

And that's something that you look forward to. And he's going to get the most out because of that. Because he expects that same level of consistency and effort that he gives to be portrayed by his players. Honestly, like every program we know wants to win a national championship.

You guys have a chance to do that this year. But is there a little extra motivation? Because that's the one thing that's missing on coach's legendary resume.

Do you feel that little extra motivation or not so much? You know, I think with him, I feel like in his coaching, he feels like he has nothing to prove. He just loves this game. He loves what he does so much. That's why he brings that intensity. But for his players, to get him that and to be a part of that for him is something that fuels us a little bit. It's to be a part of that team that's finally pushed over the edge for him.

It does bring a little extra fire of being that first team in Tennessee history and first team for coach to do that. I know you've got to get to the cold tub, so I appreciate you jumping on board with us here for a few moments. Do you listen to any music when you're in that cold tub or do you just jump right in? When it's the whole team, we don't really listen to music. We just kind of goof off together. We're enjoying trying to get some recovery, trying to enjoy as much of that cold tub as we can. I'm not a big fan of it being from the South.

I don't handle cold too well. No music, just teammates hanging out. You got it. Well, hey, Cade, congratulations. Good luck coming up tomorrow evening. Appreciate you doing this. Yes, sir.

Thank you. There is Cade Phillips with the Tennessee basketball team. Got a few minutes with him right here on the Zach Gelb Show on the Infinity Sports Network. You know, I always love this time of the year at the NCAA tournament because the schools, they really try to get you as many coaches and players on.

They love this time of the year jumping on shows. And we get a note from the S.A.D. Alex, who was great. When he was at Miami, he used to get me Larry Nagel all the time and Isaiah Wong like when Miami was going on their runs. And now he's with Tennessee. And last year he got his connect, but he goes, hey, I'll get you someone today. But our timing schedule is just how the NCAA moves things so quickly this time of the year. You know, he's got five to six minutes and then they have a team cold tub.

So that's never really happened before. We talked to a guy five to six minutes and he has to hard out because the whole team is going to the cold tub. So I guess that's the magic of March Madness right here on the Zach Gelb Show on the Infinity Sports Network. Let's squeeze this in right now. I think we have enough time here. Let's do our NCAA tournament draft to win it all. Round one.

You know, you had half the games yesterday, the other half today. But I'll start off. All right. I'll take Duke. I'll take Duke to win it all. And we'll continue to muscle through this.

Next up, you want to go Samter. What do you got? Team to win it all. I'm going to go with Auburn, number two, the overall number one seed, even though they've struggled. I'm still going to go Auburn because they are the number one seed for a reason.

Okay. They've lost three out of their last four up until yesterday. They win yesterday.

Now they're going up against Creighton, which becomes a game that I'm very excited for tomorrow in that 9-1 matchup. Stu, you get two picks. What do you got cooking here? All right. I will make it pretty easy here. I will go with the two remaining number one seeds. I will go Houston, who I actually have winning it all. And then I will go with Florida, the remaining number one seed. Yeah.

You know what? I think Stu got a pretty good draw here. It's actually favorable when you get to get the two teams right there. I thought Duke and Florida are going to be the first two teams picked.

But that's not the way the cookie crumbles. Back to Samter. I'm going to go with the hometown team. Let's go St. John's and Rick Pitino. I don't know if they're necessarily the best number two team that's still remaining, but I would kick myself if I didn't pick St. John's. And also, their defense is suffocating.

Yeah. If you've seen them last week in the Big East tournament, they like to go down early and then they just go on these thunderous runs where the game just changes in a snap of a finger. So Duke, Auburn, St. John's, Houston, Florida off the board. I'm going to go with Michigan State because I'm not really believing in Auburn that much. So I'll take Michigan State and then for the next pick to win it all.

You know what? I'm going to go with the team from a guess that we just had on. I will take Tennessee as a two seed and they got to an SEC championship game and they lost. We know how good the SEC is this year.

Back to Samter. Well, if I'm going with Auburn, I might as well go with Alabama as well, the last remaining number two seed. Alabama. Okay, Stu, you got two picks here. Okay, my first one actually had Lipscomb beating Iowa State. Obviously, that did not come to fruition, so I think Iowa State, I like them. They have a pretty good road and they're a three seed, so I will go with them as my first pick.

For my second pick, I'll go a little off the board here. It might be a little early for this team, but I really like this team and they have a big matchup against Auburn tomorrow. But I think Creighton's really good. I know it's early to pick an eight seed, but I feel pretty good about this team making a run. I actually have them in my elite eight, so I'll go with Creighton. You picked Creighton, nine seed Creighton to get to the elite eight before the tournament started?

I did, yeah. That's a good pick there. We'll see tomorrow if it's a good pick. Well, no, it's a ballsy pick. I respect it.

Alrighty, Samter, what do we got cooking? Well, I've already spoken the praises of the Big Ten. I'm going to go not with the three seed, I'm going to go with the four seed Purdue. With Braden Smith, they have 12 McNeese up next.

And then after that, they win that. I like Houston, but I think Houston's the weakest number one seed. So if Purdue beats McNeese, which is certainly doable, then they'll have either Houston or Gonzaga, both winnable games. And then again, on the bottom side, I also think Tennessee is one of the weaker of the two seeds. So I think Purdue has a really good shot to go all the way here. Alrighty, so Duke, Michigan State, Tennessee off the board. Auburn, St. John's, Alabama, Purdue. Houston, Florida, Iowa State, and Creighton off the board.

Oh man, I think I'm going to get a little funky here. And they could lose tonight. But their coach to me, and I said this going into the tournament, even though I picked Michigan State to go to the Final Four, that part of the bracket I think is when you could get a little crazy. And we saw Chris Beard get Texas Tech to a Final Four. So I will go Chris Beard here with Ole Miss as a little dark horse to potentially win the NCAA championship. Now, my last pick here, you know, doing five here is tough.

And this is just to win it all. I'm going to go with the Illini. And Casper is supposed to be a top ten pick.

Underwood is a damn good coach. I will take Illinois as a pick here. So Duke, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Illinois are my five. Sam does Auburn, St. John's, Alabama, Purdue. And you have one more pick, Mike. Man, so I'm wondering if I should go here with my brain or go here with my heart. So I'm thinking maybe Kentucky, they're a three seed.

I do love Mark Pope. You know, maybe go with Drake because of all the Drake Lamar, Kendrick Lamar jokes that have been out there. Hot take. I don't think Drake is going to win the national championship.

Yeah, I don't think so either. Hot take. I'm going to go because I love to see greatness. And I want to see greatness. And I want to see a three-peat. So I'm going to go with Dan Hurley and number eight, UConn to beat Oklahoma, upset Florida, make a run and hold up that trophy and cut down those nets for a third consecutive year. Alrighty, Stewart. You got one final pick here. Oh, right. Samter kind of teased it with one of the teams that he was considering. But I will go Kentucky.

Mark Pope's first year. They have a lot of talent. They were a top 10 team for a bit a part of the season.

So I think the town is there. Maybe they go on a crazy run in a three seed. Kentucky wins it all. I'll tell you, it shows you how difficult this is. We're after like the second picks that we all made.

It was humming, humming, humming, humming. Like my first two picks were Duke, Michigan State. Feel good about that. Samters are Auburn, St. John's. Stu was Houston, Florida. Then after that, I had Tennessee, Ole Miss, Illinois. Samter had Alabama, which a good one, Purdue and UConn.

And Stu had Iowa State crated in Kentucky. You know, three through five outside of Bama and Tennessee. I really don't feel like the other schools belong in order to win a championship. So that question now becomes what one or two seeds fall early? Because I really do believe this final four, it's going to be dominated by one and two seeds this year.

Because you look at the way that this is shaping up. I would not be surprised if all one seeds get to the final four. I ended up picking Michigan State, which is a two. Florida, Duke, Houston and the rest of them are number ones. All right. We'll take a break. This is the show, Infinity Sports Network.