Sweet 16 Preview! (Hour 1)

Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Thursday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS, the number to jump on in.

855-212-4227, you can always get at me on Instagram. I'm straight flexing, or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Bobby Regan gonna join us from Barstool Sports to do a little NCAA Sweet 16 breakdown coming up 20 minutes from now. We will also be joined at 7.20 PM Eastern, 4.20 PM Pacific, Anthony Lima, to do a little QB carousel with the Cleveland Browns, and then at 8 PM Eastern, 5 PM Pacific, the new coach at Iona, and one of the stars of the NCAA tournament with the job that he did with Fairleigh Dickinson, Tobin Anderson, will stop by. But first up, producing the extravaganza for the next four hours is no other than Hot Take Hickey.

He's the producer, Hot Take Hickey. Hickey, I know you eat during the show, but when you're hosting, do you ever eat like 30 minutes before the show, or something like that, or not really, just wondering? When I'm filling in for you, well actually both times I guess, whether it's my regular show or filling in for you, yes I will eat before the show, I tried to eat an hour before.

So I made a mistake. Ten minutes before the show, I had some jalapeno chips, and it's not that they're very spicy, but there's like a little, like, just kick towards the end that I'm struggling through right now, and not only that, when you're eating chips and like a small snack like that, I feel like whenever you just speak, you just get random moments where you're talking into the microphone, and then parts of the chip that you weren't able to digest that are just like sitting somewhere on the tip of your tongue just start come flying out and going all over the place of the studio. Good thing there's not one but two panes of glass between me and you, so at least we won't get, you know, no splatter here. I may turn into Scott Van Pelt, did you see last night he was doing the show, he was working sick, and then the next thing you know he couldn't speak?

That may happen if these jalapeno chips do not go through my system the right way. I'll be Stanford Steve, you tell me what highlights you I'm going to read and I'll be all over it. That's the other thing, so something like that, not to start the show with that but we're going to basically, it wasn't my plan, it's very impromptu. Why did they just tell him last night to go home? Like I appreciate you showing up to work, clearly you're not feeling well and you're not at 100%. At that point, you're Scott Van Pelt for crying out loud, like I appreciate the work ethic, I appreciate you showing up and putting the hard hat on like it's any other day. But at some point, one of the higher ups at ESPN for a marquee show just got to say Scott, you're pretty important piece of the company.

You know, you do very well, just go home. And the fact that didn't happen before they got on the air is just something I don't get. Maybe it was pride, like I guess if he's going to be off, right? I guess you're just going to do a regular sports center. But I mean, I don't watch every night, I don't think I've ever seen like the SVP styled show with a fill in.

So it's not like it's not like I get taken some vacation, but you do like just a normal regular sports center. Not his style, I would agree. So maybe it was a pride thing for him that, hey, I'm here, I'm going to be doing the show, I got Stanford Steve if I need some help.

But yes, from the jump, from the first highlight after the Lakers game was over, he was battling through and you didn't think he was going to make it. I feel like when he's out, that's when you get like Stan Verrett and John Anderson together. That's what happens. Or maybe a pal of mine from college who was just recently hired, like a year and a half, two years ago, Max McGee would get some burn. Let's go, let's get Max down, let's go.

Right, Scott? Take a sick day. Take a sick day.

Take three, take four, take five, take two weeks off if you want, Scott Van Pelt. Anyway, NCAA tournament resumes tonight, Sweet 16. It gets started at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena with Michigan State and Kansas State. I think Kansas State is one of the best stories in the country, even though it's weird to say a three seed wasn't getting enough love or was overlooked heading into the NCAA tournament. But that's the way that I feel about Kansas State, even when they had the victory against Kentucky.

You have Calipari afterwards calling Marquise Noel that little kid and I guess they've talked since then and everything is all good. You heard Jerome Tang on the show yesterday, but that was a team before the year that was picked to finish dead last, absolutely dead last in the Big 12. And now they are 40 minutes away from going to the Elite Eight and having an opportunity to punch their ticket to the Final Four. I think everyone heading into this game, and I know Houser is playing great for them.

And we saw him in his freshman year a few years ago with his brother over at Marquette, but Houser has been sensational for Michigan State. I think tonight everyone is just going to go into it and even though it's a 7-3, it's going to feel as if Michigan State is the popular pick. And right now Michigan State, you can actually see them as the favorite.

They are a one and a half point favorite on the number. I like Kansas State in the game tonight. I love the story of Keontae Johnson.

Unfortunately, we saw him collapse in the game a few years ago back in 2020 when he was with Florida and he's having a great year for them. And Marquis Noel, a New York guy, has the ability to take over Madison Square Garden and that's going to be someone that if he plays well tonight, and if he plays like the way that he did in the round of 32, he could captivate an entire arena with his small stature but then his big play on the court. So I'm looking forward to Michigan State, Kansas State. I think it's kind of one of those underrated kind of sneaky games in the Sweet 16 that's just not getting a lot of love.

I believe a lot of people from afar will say, oh, it's March, Izzo, Izzo, Izzo, Izzo. I'm going to go with the team that got no respect before the year started in Kansas State. And still, even when they were playing really well, it seemed like no one was talking about them. I'm going to roll with Tang, I'm going to roll with Johnson, and also Noel to get the job done tonight in somewhat of an upset, not by the seating, but where the number is at in Kansas State going to the Elite Eight. Now, Hickey, Arkansas and UConn, this is a matchup where it happens in college sports where since guys rotate in and out and at most you only have guys there for four years.

Well, with the extra year of COVID and other waivers and things, it could be five or six. But usually, I feel like in college athletics, the coaches are the story. When you look at all these matchups, I don't think there is a bigger coaching matchup and coaching story that I'm more excited for in the Sweet 16. And maybe you could argue it's Kelvin Sampson and Lara Nega, but I do think the personalities and just the intensity and the craziness of Eric Musselman and then also Danny Hurley at UConn, when you look at Arkansas and UConn going up against one another, that to me is like a huge storyline going into this.

And in a weird way, you know all these alternative channels that you have now when you go watch a game and all these alternative broadcasts like the Manning broadcast or the McAfee broadcast from the college football playoff or sometimes you get all the coaches gathered around. I would just rather watch this game where in one corner you have Musselman, another corner you have Hurley, and then underneath it is the game. Because these two coaches, Hickey, I do think they put on a show tonight and whoever wins, that's going to be a must-see interview with the TV reporter after the game. Look, there are coaches that are better than Danny Hurley and Eric Musselman without a doubt.

But when these two coaches are matching up tonight, there's nothing that any other coach in the country is going to be better at than these two. That's energy. They're going to be yelling the entire time. They're going to be up and down. They will not sit down for more than maybe two seconds combined. And then in the two hours this game is going to be played from start to finish, maybe even at halftime. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the team that's losing maybe a little whiteboard broken like Purdue last week.

You talk about energy. We will not see two energetic coaches match each other better than what we'll see later tonight. I will also say, I once saw, it was Danny Hurley when he was at URI, and his brother Bobby Hurley was on the staff. So there was a game in college that I went to where it was URI against Temple.

And it was one of those winter break games, Hickey, where there's no students on campus, so there's basically no one in the stadium. And I just heard the Hurley brothers yell for the entire game. And on the other side, it's like Fran Dumphy, who's like the most calm person in America. I heard things that I can't repeat on this show because if I repeated them, we would have to dump them.

I'm not like you who just curses on the air. So I can't wait for the Hurley side of this tonight. That is going to be intense. FAU and Tennessee.

Here's what I'm looking for. Tennessee was really impressive after an performance in the first round. They were really impressive up against Duke, who everyone had going to the Final Four, it felt like. I want to see how FAU, who I have a lot of respect for Dusty May, who joined us early in the week.

And they've been a great team throughout the year. I want to see how they handle the first 10 minutes of this game because Tennessee, I don't have a great feel about them. And you wonder how they go throughout the entire game.

And sometimes they're dominant, other times it's like they leave you desiring a lot more. I think the first 10 minutes is going to set the tone for this game. Where it would not surprise me if Tennessee blows them out or if FAU makes a big statement early.

Those first 10 minutes, I think, are enormous coming up tonight. That's fair because, again, with FAU and their seeding, even though they're a nine seed and they do have, you know, win total-wise, one of the highest in the country, it's like one of those situations where it's a lower seed. If you're a neutral fan or a fan of a team, Michigan State or... Michigan State or... Please tell me who's in the first game. I'm blanking. Michigan State, Kansas State. Oh, sorry.

I had no clue what you were trying to say. I totally spaced out there. It's one of those things where if you are a neutral fan, or basically any fan but Tennessee, you're going to be rooting for FAU tonight. So I'm with you with that first 10 minutes.

The Garden's going to be electric. And again, if you're Tennessee, you can kind of put any thought of a Cinderella story continuing away. It takes a crowd out of it and makes it more of a normal basketball game where the longer FAU is into it, it's kind of almost like a first round game in a way just because where FAU is, it's going to be an Owls crowd, even though they will have by far the least amount of fans there.

I would agree. And then you have the big one tonight, Gonzaga UCLA. Either Gonzaga UCLA or Houston Miami is the best matchup in the Sweet 16. We know the history with these teams, especially in the NCAA tournament. A few years ago in that COVID year, there's barely any fans in the stands. The cardboard cutouts, Jalen Suggs hit the shot to put them in the national championship game to continue perfection before Baylor did take care of business.

But you have Suggs standing on the table with basically no actual fans in the building. And the big concern for UCLA is their health or lack of it. Clark out before the NCAA tournament. Now Bona and Singleton dealing with injuries both expected to play. But we know UCLA has winners in Hockes and also Tiger Campbell. And then Timmy's been at Gonzaga forever.

And he still has more eligibility. This is just going to be a heavyweight showdown tonight between Mark Few and Mick Cronin. I lean UCLA right now just because I felt like I went into this tournament doubting UCLA, even though I like that team but I doubt them because of the Clark injury. I'm not going to keep on doubting them. But the health of Bona and also Singleton going to be really, really important in this one. And maybe they'll just eventually run out of gas if those two guys are not as healthy as what they're saying right now. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio.

We will take a timeout when we come on back. Bobby Regan is going to join us. Reegs from Barstool Sports has a great job covering college basketball. Talk to Reegs next in five minutes. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show.

Rock and rollin' it is the Zach Gelb Show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Sweet 16 does start tonight so let's head out to the guest line right now and welcome in a man that does a great job covering college hoops for Barstool Sports and that's Bobby Regan. Reegs, I know it's been a while. How you been? Good, man. How you doing?

Well, I've been fantastic. We'll get to the games in just a bit but I want to take care of some of the coaches first. Ed Cooley leaving Providence for Georgetown. Whenever a coach justifies that decision by talking about himself in the third person and saying this isn't a move for coach, this is a move for Ed, it just always rubs me the wrong way. But what do you think the real reason is why Ed Cooley after over a decade said, okay, I'm leaving Providence and going to Georgetown? I mean, listen, Georgetown's a better job but you're the king of Providence and you're the first Big East coach to go directly to another Big East school.

It didn't make any sense. Yes, it's easier to make a Final Four at Georgetown but if you're leaving Providence, which I don't blame him for wanting to leave Providence, you've got to go somewhere else. You've got to handle it better. I mean, every step he has handled it so poorly it seems, whether it's the house being listed for sale, the rumors that he's recruiting for Georgetown while still at Providence, the quote he had at his introductory press conference saying it's divine providence.

Bad luck. It's just like, I mean, I wish I could say my real thoughts but you'd be kicked off radio. It's just like, what are you doing?

Ed Cooley and 95% of head coaches are this way are calculated. They know their planners. It's not like they get caught off guard by things, especially when you're doing an introductory press conference where you're basically reading whatever you had written down for you. Just what are you doing?

Well, you know what it is? On Monday, we were having this conversation. I'm like, he's one of the coolest coaches and likable coaches in the sport. And then a day later, it's almost as if he heard that and said, I'm just going to go heal and he gave a middle finger to everybody. Yeah, and it's just, again, I don't blame him for leaving Providence and I get that Georgetown, it's easier to make a Final Four at Georgetown than it is at Providence. He also could have got a better job somewhere else. Yeah, it wasn't a drastic change in money.

It wasn't like he went from $3 million to $10 million or something like that. I know his daughter goes to Georgetown, but he doesn't have ties to Georgetown. It's not like Chris Beard leaving Texas Tech for Texas. He had ties to Texas.

I understood that. Texas is a much better job than Texas Tech. The only other two I can think of is Tubby Smith left from Georgia to Kentucky, which, no brainer, and Mike White recently left from Florida to Georgia and he was getting fired at Florida anyway.

So it's like, to be one of the few people to jump from conference to conference, you better have a you-know-what reason to do so. Bobby Regan here with DUS. So Pitino takes over St. John's. I think it's a perfect fit. And then Tobin Anderson replaces him at Iona. How about those two moves?

So it makes sense. Tobin Anderson was a finalist at Iona when Pitino got the job. Again, you can hire Pitino over Tobin Anderson 100 times. No disrespect to Tobin Anderson, but I think Pitino is one of the five greatest coaches of all time in the sport. And he still is arguably the best in-game coach in the entire sport of basketball. So he didn't go to St. John's, no brainer.

He gets a little bit winged foot, which we know means the world to him. He's back in the Big East. He's in New York.

He's at a place he's familiar with. He can recruit. Yes, it's an uphill battle because it's still St. John's, but it's a no brainer. And Iona hiring Tobin Anderson, again, no brainer, especially because he was a finalist the last time around. It's not like sometimes where a guy from a mid-major wins a game or goes on a little run in the tournament, and then everyone's like, oh, you've got to coach in a major conference. Well, no, Tobin Anderson was a finalist at Iona before, so it makes sense.

Micah Shrewsbury, I don't think anyone's surprised by this, leaving Penn State and taking the Notre Dame job. Yeah, again, I'm from Pennsylvania originally. I know Penn State basketball. It's hard to win at Penn State.

It just is. You don't have a great recruiting base. You can have some ties like Roman Catholic like Penn State does, but Pennsylvania gets picked over by every, you know, the top town in Philly goes to the Blue Bloods.

You have Nova to deal with. You have even the likes of Maryland and Georgetown can go in there. So it's not like Penn State owns the state of Pennsylvania like they can do in football. At Notre Dame you can recruit anywhere. It's still Notre Dame. Yes, it's a tougher academic school and tougher to get in, but you can recruit anywhere when you're in Notre Dame. And again, he's a Midwest guy.

It made all the sense in the world. I just don't ever think of Penn State as like a final stepping coach job. It's just what it is. And I jokingly say it, but I truly believe it, Penn State needs better jerseys. You can't wear the logo on the chest and look like a practice jersey and expect to be taken serious.

How about that? Riggs here with us from Barstool Sports. So I got to ask you this because we've seen Porter Moser go to Oklahoma, leave Loyola, Chicago. Paul Mills finally left Oral Roberts and takes Wichita State.

Shaheed Holloway didn't have to wait long. He goes back to Seton Hall. Who is the next coach that is young, kind of up and coming, doesn't have the big job yet? Like I look at Pat Kelsey as the next name that I go, okay, he's bound to get a big job. Yeah, and even Graydon Caslin just left North Texas for Texas Tech. So there is kind of, I mean, it's cyclical, right? Like every year somebody like Kelsey, not that Kelsey came out of nowhere, but they have this big year, you look at Dusty May at Florida Atlantic.

I mean, that's a prime example. Dusty May is going to be linked to major jobs from here on out. I agree with you on Kelsey. I still can't believe John Becker is at Vermont. I have a personal, somewhat personal relationship with Becker.

I've known him for 25 years now or something like that, 20 years. That guy can coach. Well, we had him on actually right before the tourney, and I asked him about that. I go, why are you still at Vermont? And he was like, well, I can't force someone to hire me pretty much.

Like that's what he said. And I know like he loves Vermont and he is a very loyal guy, but it's crazy that he's not like in the 810 or something like that. So, you know, I think I think a job will eventually pry Becker away. I think, you know, in your neck of the woods, I think Ergo is going to be a name that pops up more and more, especially if he if he keeps winning 20 games. It's not like, you know, you don't have to make the tournament all of a sudden become a hot name.

It's a great personality, too. Yeah, if you're consistently pointing wins and in the top five in the 810, which, yeah, like I don't love 810 basketball. I don't think it's great, but it's Fordham. I'm trying to be nice here. It's Fordham. Bobby Regan here with us. So you're a big Kentucky guy. How warm is the seat for your guy, Coach Cal? So it's weird.

I was having this discussion with someone else the other day, and some of it's blown up, right? Everyone's like, oh, he hasn't done anything since 15. And it's like, well, he was a buzzer beater away in 17 for making a Final Four. Probably would be in the favor to win the championship with Fox and Monk and Bam. And then in 19, they choked away in overtime in the lead eight game against Auburn where there's another Final Four, right?

So there's that. And then, yes, but 2020, they won the SEC by a few games. Obviously COVID happens.

Who knows what happens with that run? But you're talking about a team with the number one free-throw shooting team in the country, and you have quickly Maxey and Hagans. We know guards win in March, and that would have been a popular team to make a run. 21, COVID year was bad, obviously.

I'm willing to put an asterisk on COVID year because it is such a weird year. Last year, the regular season, they were a top-six team in the country, and then you get smoked by St. Peter's. That's really what is putting the bad taste in everyone's mouth, and it's like, okay, he's done what Kentucky fans scream of. Get upperclassmen.

Stop the one and done. Well, guess what? We had a team full of upperclassmen this year.

He hit the transfer portal. His roster construction wasn't great, and that's my problem with him. But it's also like, are you sure you don't just want the best players?

Because that worked out pretty well for what you're screaming to go back to. And that's what he has coming in next year. Next year is an important year. There is a massive buyout, which people keep talking about, or forgetting to talk about, I should say, when putting them on the hot seat.

There is a massive buyout, and it is now a Kentucky Civil War. I spent all day Sunday arguing with Kentucky fans, where it was like, the season is Calipari's fault. That game against Kansas State was the players' fault. Two of your best players go two for 22 from the field. John Calipari can't make shots. He can't go on the floor and shoot for Antonio Reeves. So he needs to just figure out how to be modern and adapt.

But also, he's got to get back to his roots of just trying to recruit the best players, because that's what worked. Bobby Regan here with us. Who did you get the edge to tonight in Kansas State, Michigan State? I actually like Kansas State.

I know it has the advantage. I know it's Izzo. I know it's March. I know Michigan State. But Kansas State has two All-Americans, and they can shoot the ball. Michigan State is hot now, but they're also seven seed for a reason, and Kansas State was a three seed for a reason. The fact that Kansas State's an underdog was somewhat shocking.

I don't know. I really like this Kansas State team. It's going to be a battle between the guards, and it's really who's the third person that kind of steps up and produces. You have – we know about Marquise Noel and Keontak Johnson. We know about Tyson Walker and A.J.

Helgert. But who's the third guy? And whatever team has that third guy step up is going to win. And I see a lot of people picking Michigan State, and I'm a contrarian by heart. So I just keep – I think it's Kansas State. I can't wait for Gonzaga, UCLA.

I think it's just going to be another classic. We all know what happened even in that COVID year. A few years ago where Suggs hits the shot and then gets on the table and there's basically no one in the building. You got Timmy Campbell, Jacquez, a few, McCrone and obviously. I know there's some health issues with UCLA. Do you like Gonzaga to that or UCLA? I'm kind of leaning towards UCLA in this one.

So I love this UCLA team. I think they are the third tier one team. They're right there with Alabama and Houston.

I think those three are a tier above everyone else, maybe Texas in there too. But Adem Bona being hurt and questionable for this game has me all the way confused. Because usually he's battling injuries already.

And Clark headed into the tornado. Yeah, and Singleton rolled his ankle against Northwestern. He says he's fine. But, again, one little slip, how'd that ankle hold up?

Or one cut, how'd that ankle hold up? Bona though is another big that you can throw on Timmy. And we saw what Timmy did against TCU and take advantage of mismatches. Well, if UCLA bigs are in foul trouble or they're getting called on switches, you're down a body. And Timmy can go get you 30s. And Gonzaga's kind of flying under the radar.

So I was all in my head. I had UCLA final four. I think they can compete for a title. But now I'm going back and forth in this game where that bone injury, he doesn't seem like a lot, but he's an elite outside defender and another body at Timmy. And now I'm kind of leaning back towards Gonzaga.

So I don't know. I do think it's going to be a little more high scoring than most. Does the Dusty May story continue to get better tonight up against Rick Barnes in Tennessee? Listen, man, I hope so. I'm still a Kentucky grad. I don't ever want to see Tennessee win at anything. You're not singing good old Rocky Top is what you're telling me?

That song gives me the worst kind of feeling. And so is that color of orange. But Florida Atlantic's guards can play and they run a four out one in offense. They have a seven footer in golden. So it's like they can match up with Tennessee. It's just how do they handle the pressure? Because we know what Tennessee does.

And at the same time, you talk about hot seats and all this other stuff. What the fuck is Rick Barnes can't win in March and Tennessee can't in March? They've never been to a Final Four. They've been to one Elite Eight their entire program history. What happens if it's like a two point game that's under four?

How much do they start tightening up? It's easy to say they don't hear it. They don't hear it. We cut out the noise. You're human and you're college kids.

It's very easy to hear that noise and have it lingering in the back of your head. It's weird. For most sports, we talk about the players. In college basketball, we talk about the coaches first. I could just watch this game tonight between Arkansas and UConn with a camera on Musselman and a camera on Hurley.

It's going to be awesome. Listen, we do split screens for interviews that are pointless. Why can't we have a split screen with the coaches? Because if they got into a fist fight, I wouldn't be shocked. If they started hugging each other, I wouldn't be shocked. They are two of the most electric personalities in all of the sport. I mean, both could take their shirts off in the middle of the game and I wouldn't be shocked.

We must do that after the game all the time. But I want the two of them on camera at all times. It's going to be a war. Both teams are physical. Both teams will just beat the heck out of each other. I want to see the two coaches too because they're both elite coaches.

I mean, this is Mussel's third straight shift to the second weekend with Arkansas and Hurley has finally gotten over the hump and is bringing UConn back. You want to talk about two fan bases that are the definition of insane and it's UConn and Arkansas. I've seen them arguing with each other all week. Part of me wishes this was an Elite Eight game just because it's hyped up a little bit more. Winner goes to the Final Four, everything like that. This could turn into a brawl and I wouldn't be surprised. And yeah, I agree with you.

I want a camera on both of those guys. Talk about another game that feels bigger than a Sweet Sixteen game. Houston, Miami has an Elite Eight feel, maybe even a Final Four feel, especially with Isaiah Long and Marcus Asser.

I mean, that whole region, that's a brutal region. You look at Xavier, Texas too, right? You could tell me any four of those teams make a Final Four and I'd be like, yeah. Not a shot.

I could see it. But yeah, I mean, you talk about elite guards. Houston and Miami have two of the best, if not the two best back courts in the country. And we know Houston's defense. But it's going to be who wins that guard battle and I can't wait. I'm a guard guy. I don't care for this. I care about guards.

And yeah, I agree. I think that might be the most intriguing game of the two days. Bobby Regan, does it really matter how much further Texas goes? Or will this job just go to Rodney Terry? Because it's kind of laughable to me that he hasn't already got the job yet. See, I disagree with you. I disagree 100% with that.

You're Texas. This is a major, major program. Yes, what Rodney Terry has done with this team has been awesome and it's a really good story. And he's proven, like, okay, I can win with these guys. But why didn't he win at UTEP when he had, like, Sully Boone was playing there? He's coaching against Sully Boone in the Sweet 16. And Sully Boone was an All-Big East player. And arguably, you know, on the shortlist for Big East Player of the Year in All-American.

So who would you hire? I mean, that's the thing, right? But why automatically default it to Rodney Terry because he won with this team? Yes, this team loves him. Are recruits going to love him?

Can he recruit? Why not open it up and say, can we find a better candidate? If it is Rodney Terry, then hire him, by all means. I'm not saying don't hire Rodney Terry.

I just think it's a dumb idea for any school, any major school, to say, oh, our interim won. Let's just hire him. Because how much has that honestly worked out? It worked out with Michigan back in the day when they won the title with Fisher.

But how much has it really worked out? Wrap it up with Barstool Reegs, who joins us right now. Make sure you give him a follow on Twitter, at Bobby Regan. Before we let you run, the other two games for tomorrow night, San Diego State going up against Alabama, Princeton, and Creighton. What are the chances here for San Diego State and Princeton?

I think the end of the road for Princeton. I would not be surprised if Creighton beats them by, like, 20. And they're big too, Creighton. Yeah, and then, you know, they have the biggest defensive player of the year.

They have the guards. They run an offense that can just, you know, kind of open up Princeton. San Diego State is an interesting team because the Mountain West are kind of computer tickers, right?

Like, they always have high rankings and high ratings, but they don't win. And you look at the San Diego State team, who have they beaten this year? They beat BYU, Stanford, and Ohio State in the non-conference. They lost to the same areas, Arizona, Arkansas. And then, even in the tournament, they beat Charleston and Furman. They beat two mid-majors.

And, yes, you can only play who's in front of you. But I am nervous that the talent gap for Alabama just kind of overwhelms San Diego State because San Diego State wants to play slow. They're defense. They're not a great shooting team.

They have a couple guys that can kind of go get their own bucket. But, you know, at this point of the tournament, I look at talent, and Alabama has the elite talent. So, I want to believe that San Diego State can keep it close and kind of muck it up.

But we saw Maryland do it, and then Alabama just opened it up in the second half. Make sure you give him a follow on Twitter, at Barstool Riggs. He's Bobby Regan. Bobby, great to catch up with you, as always. Thank you. All right, man.

Have a good one. Let me give you a little history on this. A few days ago, there was this report that there has been a guy who is not a certified agent talking to more than one team. That was coming from Mike Florio. Now, everyone thought that it was whoever this uncertified agent is by the name of St. Omni, because he was the guy, if I pronounced that correctly, that was with Roquan Smith. When Roquan Smith last year was trying to get a deal, he doesn't have an agent that's certified by the NFLPA and the NFL.

And eventually, you know that Roquan Smith got traded to the Ravens, and boom, he ends up getting that deal. Well, the NFL just sent out a memo that the NFLPA has informed us that a person by the name of Ken Francis, which doesn't even sound like a real name, who is not an NFLPA certified agent, may be contacting clubs and attempting to persuade clubs' personnel to enter into negotiations with or concerning Lamar Jackson, who is currently under a non-exclusive franchise tender with the Baltimore Ravens. And then it goes on to say, as an uncertified person, Mr. Francis is prohibited from negotiating offer sheets or player contracts or discussing potential trades on behalf of any NFL player, prospective player, or assisting in or advising with respect to such negotiations. Clubs are reminded that under Article 48, which I know well of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, an offer sheet which may result in an NFL player contract may only be negotiated with the player if he's acting on his own behalf or with the player's NFLPA certified agent. To be clear, Mr. Jackson is not currently represented by an NFLPA certified agent, and violation of this rule may result in disapproval of any offer sheet or resulting in a player contract entered into by Mr. Jackson and the new club.

And then it goes on to, for more information, visit blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. So, that gets put out there, and then Tom Pelissero, if you're still following this after the lengthy statement, he tweets out that Ken Francis is a Florida man who most recently was pitching a home fitness invention. I'm told he now is trying to negotiate a nine-figure contract with NFL teams who are being told they are not allowed to negotiate with him because he's not a certified agent. So Lamar sees that tweet from whoever this Florida man is, I mean, Ken Francis, who does home fitness things, and he responded to it and said, stop lying.

This is Lamar. That man never tried to negotiate for me. Now, Florio had the initial report from days ago. He said he never negotiated because the teams wouldn't negotiate with him.

He definitely tried to drum up interest. This is such a mess right now with Lamar. And I understand Lamar doesn't have an agent.

He's got some blowback for that. You're allowed to make your own decision. But at this point, I think it's pretty damn clear that if you are on the non-exclusive franchise tag and this person who may or may not be working with you did enough where the NFLPA had to contact the NFL to inform them and the NFL is like, you can't talk to this guy or else X, Y, and Z is going to happen and there'll be punitive actions. It's messy.

It's ugly. And at this point, if you're Lamar, and I like Lamar a lot, I've been a big defender of Lamar ever since who was the clown? The former Colts guy, Bill Polian, who was like, oh, he needs to play wide receiver or running back.

And I thought that was ridiculous. And Lamar's been a unanimous MVP and he's had a lot of success, but I don't think there's any harm in hiring an agent. Like if you hire an agent, I don't think we're all going to be like, oh, you genuflected to the NFL and the NFLPA and all that and the mob and what were you doing by not hiring? Why did you hire an agent you said you never were?

I think he needs one now, because if you're having this guy talk to teams or try to talk to teams, and these teams know they can't talk to him, what progress is going to be made if your end goal is Lamar Jackson to get a deal done and maybe get a deal done with another team? And what is another fear of mine, and I've said this before, just going off my own contract negotiations with an agent and then without an agent, when you're without an agent, you don't have that much leverage. And also when you're without an agent, you have the direct things that are being said from your employer in contract negotiations.

You hear everything. If you hire an agent, you don't hear everything and then they bring you in when it's time to cross the T's, dot the I's and are you good with the number and the years? So it would help Lamar, I think, for a guy who's definitely deserving of a contract significantly, because right now, whether the interest is legit or not, or we don't know, it seems like there's been no movement on this front. We've had the league here now open for two weeks and no one yet that we know of, or a week it's been open for, and no one yet has said, OK, we're going to make an offer for Lamar Jackson. So at this rate, I think Lamar is just hurting himself. When you're about to sign anyway, like a two hundred and thirty, two hundred and fifty million dollar contract.

Who cares? You have to give a little percentage out to an agent because it seems right now, Lamar just doesn't have control of this and there's not a lot of teams biting. So hiring an agent, I think, can only help him here. And that's why, other than Eagle, I just don't get why we're even having this conversation anymore. Lamar is embarrassing himself and it's costing himself money. That's really what you could conclude from this.

And it's really bad. So you have to at this point get an agent because Lamar doesn't know what he's doing. He's going to fool himself. Now you're having just this random guy that you apparently work with in terms of helping sell equipment together. You know, try to negotiate this massive deal for you. What are you doing?

Like, take a step back and realize what you are, what you are putting in motion here. You're having this random guy that you do business on the side with one thing. Now try to act as your agent on another thing that's not even allowed. And now a memo has to go out to all these teams saying, do not talk to this guy. When you are trying to get this fully guaranteed, highest contract maybe ever, you look like a fool and you're costing yourself legitimate money now.

It just doesn't make sense. And there's been no progress here. It's not as if Lamar has six or seven teams chomping at the bit to sign him that we know of right now. Like, it is a process where originally these teams are saying we're not going to be interested in Lamar for whatever the reasons are.

You got to get those teams to have some conversations. And if the only way you're allowed to have these conversations or getting these conversations with this Ken Francis guy, who the NFL, the NFLPA saying you can't have, then what are you really accomplishing? So we are now moving at a snail's pace here on Lamar Jackson contract. And I'll say this, I don't believe for a single second he is going to wave the white flag and go, guys, I need an agent.

Because you just see right away, maybe he's telling the truth when he says stop lying, that man never tried to negotiate for me. But if that's the case, Lamar, here's my follow up question. Zach Gelp here from CBS Sports Radio just asking you a question. Why is the NFLPA contacting the NFL to basically say that's what's going on?

The first line of that, the NFLPA has informed us that a person by the name of Ken Francis, who is not an NFLPA certified agent, may be contacting clubs and attempting to persuade club personnel to enter into negotiations with or concerning Lamar Jackson, who is currently under a non-exclusive franchise tender with the Baltimore Ravens. Two things are happening here. One, that did happen or two, this guy's trying to speak on your behalf and you don't even know it.

And I think it's the first part. You know this guy's speaking on your behalf right now. So it's time to nip this in the bud and just simply hire an agent.

It's not embarrassing, there's no harm in this. It's only going to help you. But Lamar is going to be stubborn and his ego right now is saying, I can't hire an agent because everyone told me, oh, this will never work, this will never work, and he's trying to get this deal done. Well, maybe end up getting a deal done. But this process right now, it looks sloppy, it looks unorganized, and there's been no progress. And the only progress that we've had, because no teams right now are actually offering you a contract that you're allowed to accept. So right now, all it is is a memo from the NFL saying, oh, the NFLPA informed us about this guy, whoever this guy is, and just to remind you, you can't negotiate with him because he's not certified by the NFLPA. So this is a mess.

That's what this is. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. When we come on back, DeAndre Hopkins, maybe he's going to be on the move soon. Got a big time source on this one. Well, it's Adam Pac-Man Jones. He lists five destinations. He knows DeAndre Hopkins pretty damn well. We'll talk about it next.