Sweet 16 Reaction! (Hour 1)

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That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Coming up 20 minutes from now, did play at Penn State and UCLA. John Crispin will be stopping by. He was on the call at Madison Square Garden last night as you did see Michigan State go down to Kansas State as Kansas State is advancing to the Elite Eight tomorrow where they will have a date up against Florida Atlantic the Owls as they did take down Tennessee by a final score of 62 to 55 and then coming up at the top of the hour will be joined by the men's head basketball coach at FAU Dusty May who will join us who his team is now 40 minutes away from punching their ticket to Houston as a nine seed and going to the Final Four.

So a whole lot to do today but first up producing the extravaganza for the next four hours. There's no other than hot take kicky. I don't know about that hot take kicky. So last night was one of the great nights of the NCAA tournament. Sure you had UConn blowing out Arkansas.

That's not really going to move the needle. It was a very impressive performance by Danny Hurley's squad just taking it right out of the gate to Arkansas and crushing Eric Musselman's team 88 to 65. And Florida Atlantic Tennessee it wasn't a dud because it looked like Tennessee was in the first half the better team and then the second half you just saw from Florida Atlantic them just crowd the paint. Tennessee really have no room to breathe and Florida Atlantic did an incredible job on the defensive end and then the whole game really turned when Michael Forrest came in and they were down four with like 11 minutes to go in the game and he hits two threes and then a two point shot and you go from being down by four to up by four and they never look back from there and Florida Atlantic just controlled the game and they controlled the second half where they outscored Tennessee 40 to 28 and they ended up winning the game 62 to 55. And Florida Atlantic is an incredible story to be a team that's only lost three games this entire year and to see this team now be three wins away from winning it all and that really did resonate with me not that I think they're going to win a national championship but when you have Dusty May he's going to join us earlier later in the locker room after the game and he's talking to his players holding up three fingers saying guys three more games to go that really does put it into perspective just how wild and just how bonkers this NCAA tournament is always going to be and has been because who was realistically picking FAU to get to the elite eight like you look at all those teams in in that region of the bracket that could have been playing in the elite eight at Madison Square Garden Purdue's not here Memphis isn't here Duke isn't here Oral Roberts not here Kentucky now you look around and just go through Marquette and this matchup is going to be Kansas State against FAU it's just unbelievable and let's get to what made that night so great last night it was the two games Kansas State Michigan State an overtime thriller and then Gonzaga UCLA which for a while it was like okay it's going to be a blowout then oh wow the team that was getting blown out is actually going to blow out the team that was taking it to them in the first half and then it became just a classic in the final 90 seconds when you saw Gonzaga go from choking the game to then finding a way to pull it out and survive in advance and that's the name of the game this time of the year but let's start with Kansas State Michigan State I know we were on the air last night when it was going down but I know John Calipari after Marquise Noel just dominated his team he called him a little kid well Marquise Noel was just a star at Madison Square Garden last night his home New Yorker from Harlem and he was front and center at the world's most famous arena Madison Square Garden last night and his performance was historical his performance and what he's done in this NCAA tournament like if you want to go through like the last 20 years or so and you remember some players that just break out in the tourney they go on those legendary runs like Akemba Walker Shabazz Napier we remember how fun Jimmer for debt and Doug McDermott were uh Steph Curry as well Brunson and R.J. Diacono at Villanova Jalen Suggs you even go back to the early 2000s with Steve Blake at Maryland like whoever you want to talk about and whatever names that you always remember this time of year what Marquise Noel has done in these last few games has just been flat out ridiculous and you look and you look at this run and I know it's the first game of the tournament he has 17 and he is 14 then up against Kentucky just dominating Calipari with 27 and nine talking points and assists and last night with the historical performance of 20 and 19 and oh yeah by the way he has five steals and made the biggest play of the game where he strips the basketball then runs out the clock and has an acrobatic layup to end the game and they win the game by five points that was awesome last night and when the game got to overtime and I liked Kansas State going in to the game I had them go into the elite eight before the tournament did start so I liked them to beat Michigan State but when that game goes to overtime I'm like uh-oh here comes Tom Izzo here comes the Spartans with the team that I don't want to be rude here but they probably shouldn't have been in the sweet 16 when you looked at where they were and the way that you felt about them entering the tournament and Houser did a great job in this NCAA tournament but here they are and once you go to overtime in a game where you felt like Kansas State was the better team and I know Michigan State can say they both shot phenomenally in the game but when that game gets to overtime you kind of just give the benefit of the doubt to Tom Izzo but this Kansas State team with Jerome Tang who's waited all those years was with Scott Drew his first year at Baylor and was the coach was assistant coach there all the way up until this off season where he takes a Kansas State job they were picked dead last in the Big 12 before the season started and this story of Marquis Noel is just one that is phenomenal it really is and Keontae Johnson as well everything that he's overcome collapsing during a game at Florida back in 2020 and having a great year this year for Kansas State this team is so much fun and you really just don't want their journey and their road to end and to see how Marquis Noel just dominated that game last night though that is a performance that you're going to remember forever in the annals of NCAA tournament history and the legend of Marquis Noel just continues to grow and grow and grow in this tourney by the more wins he puts up and the more heroic performance that he puts up like he did last night and that was an NCAA tournament record that he broke for assistant a game with 19 and it was phenomenal he did everything he needed to do in the offensive end the defensive end and then also I don't care how they explain it whether they intentionally drew up that play and that's the way that I like to say that it was but realistically it probably wasn't and maybe there was just a little miscommunication between him and the coach and then he sees Keontae out of the corner of his eye and he throws up the alley-oop but that no-look pass that he had Marquis Noel and what he did in that game tossing that ball up when he's looking at his coach it looks like he's arguing with his coach that was awesome so he is everything that is right with college basketball and everything that's right with the NCAA tournament because it's stories like this that we highlight this time of the year in March and you see what Marquis Noel who was playing at Little Rock and then he transfers over has been at Kansas State the last two years and he's standing in a five foot eight five foot eight if that and he's been the biggest star of the NCAA tournament now I know everyone knows Brandon Miller and Brandon Miller's gonna go on to have a great NBA career everyone obviously knows Drew Timmy you know Jaime Hockes at UCLA even though they did go down last night there has not been from a player standpoint a bigger star in the NCAA tournament than Marquis Noel doesn't mean they're gonna win the whole thing they absolutely can now if you're still doubting Kansas State at this point I don't know what you've been watching and I understand that they weren't talked about a lot heading into this tournament and maybe a lot of that was people being stubborn because before they picked last in the Big 12 they're sitting there as a three seed they should be and there's no disrespect to FAU but Kansas State should be in the final four and if we could somehow get Bama against Kansas State that would be a tremendous match up to decide who goes to the national championship game and there's great players in this tournament Marcus Sasser, Isaiah Wong you go through and you look at Drew Timmy but so far Brandon Miller but the player that has been the biggest star in this tournament and it's not even a debate it's been Marquis Noel and we'll see how long his team could take it now to the other game Gonzaga UCLA it was so weird because we hyped this thing up so much with the history in the tournament you all remember Adam Morrison and he was doing the game last night and when UCLA won that years ago then you remember a few years ago with basically no fans in the stands Jalen Suggs basically the half court heave to send Gonzaga to the to the championship where at the time it was to continue their perfect season and this was another chapter and really I saw people tweeting this last night and I agree with it like let's get UCLA Gonzaga in the tourney every year because that was awesome last night with what you saw in Vegas and early on it looked like the game was going to be extremely disappointing now you know UCLA is dealing this entire tournament without Jalen Clark and that's an enormous loss and then Adim Bona who was expected to play before the game started then you see him in sweatpants you're like oh he's not playing and you also the Singleton injury as well he was able to play in the game but UCLA all throughout this tournament so far they've been able to win and they have a team that probably to me would have been the favorite to win it all if they were fully healthy unfortunately they were not and they were able to fight through all that and they're up 13 and a half time and when they're up 13 and a half time everyone's sitting here saying oh another disappointing performance by Gonzaga and then UCLA in the second half I know we could credit the defense of Gonzaga but they went 11 plus minutes without a field goal in the second half and I'm texting Hickey during this game and we're texting back and forth and it went from wow UCLA is going to blow them out to wow Gonzaga is blowing out UCLA and there's like a buck 20 left and Gonzaga's up nine that game's over like the announcers even said it and you know the announcer tried to get you to stay and you have coaches as well that are announcing so they never think the game's over until it's over until it's over but I think it was Van Gundy who when it's a nine point game with 120 go he's like this game's not over yet and I'm like what the heck is he talking about and he was right and you almost saw a team that wasn't ready for the moment in the first half then they were taking over the moment almost choked that game away because when UCLA hits that three even though the game's not over but they go up by one I was in my apartment and I'm just screaming like I can't believe it right everyone's channeling their inner Bill Rafferty just screaming onions onions onions because that what it was in that game and UCLA goes up by one and I'm like oh I can't believe they're gonna do this and then Julian Schrother comes down the other way and it was the same play if you recall Villanova UNC after Marcus Page hits that incredible shot and we all remember during the timeout or the stoppage of play Daniel Shafu mopping up the court and then it's Archie Diacido running down the court flips it to Chris Jenkins boom for the championship onions double saute whatever Bill Rafferty said it was the same exact play and that is a shot that once again just is going to be one of those highlights that you're going to see for years and years to come especially if Gonzaga is finally going to be able to get that championship and I think this is the first time Gonzaga isn't a number one seed since 2018 the pressure heading into this tournament was not on Gonzaga like every year it seems like we talk about Gonzaga we're like up is this going to be the year that they do it and maybe a little bit is it of it is because it's fatigue of asking that same question maybe it's also because they were a three and not a one heading into this tournament but up until last night not a lot of pressure was on Gonzaga and now being three wins away from finally getting marked few that championship the pressure is now on and they've kind of not been out of sight out of mind I know they struggled earlier in the year and Gonzaga is always a big draw because of what they've been with that program and what few has done but now you go up against Yukon and honestly I want to say the pressure's back on but I think a lot of people are going to be picking Yukon with how dominant Yukon is but you are three wins away and now Gonzaga re-enters the conversation and we'll see how they and we'll see how they handle that but this Gonzaga team Hickey and I know you said this yesterday and it was a great point by you it's the first time in a while where you feel like there's not a lot of conversation and not a lot of pressure with Gonzaga and you know just naturally the team's dwindling away and by the end of this weekend we'll only have four remaining we'll see if Gonzaga is one of those teams the longer you go in this tournament the more pressure does occur because we only have a few teams to talk about but Gonzaga so far has been able to kind of walk through this tournament and not have a lot of attention on them last night it was either that game or Michigan State Kansas State as the game of the tournament they're right both up there it's impossible to pick it's like asking who's your favorite child and now we will see if Gonzaga coming off that win where it was a resilient effort if they could go toe to toe and find a way to get a victory up against UConn and I bet you a lot of people are gonna be picking UConn right now I would say I like Gonzaga in that game but it's gonna be fascinating Hickey to see how they deal with that pressure now because it's somewhere now coming back to the scene with with the little pressure now getting back into them from where they were entering this tournament it is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio we'll take a break we'll recap all the mayhem from yesterday and preview the four games tonight with John Crispin who will join us next you're listening to the Zach Gelb show what a night it was last night of the NCAA tournament four more matchups coming up tonight San Diego State Alabama Miami Houston Princeton Creighton and also Xavier Texas last night John Crispin who played at Penn State and UCLA was on the call for two games at Madison Square Garden the thriller between Kansas State and Michigan State and then also the unbelievable story of Florida Atlantic as they are now in the elite eight after taking down Tennessee and John joins us right now John appreciate you doing this how you been oh I'm good well I mean what a time of year and to be at the Garden for some of this I mean I felt like this was probably one of the best individual performances I've seen at the Garden at least college basketball wise since Kemba Walker uh so what a fun night to be a part of I mean really in so many ways you know it's funny you say that because we opened up the show talking about Marquise Noel and we were talking about those great performances like from Kemba Shabazz Napier Steph Curry Jimmer Fredette Gordon Hayward like we could do this all day Jalen Brunson Ryan Archidiacono Jalen Suggs you have a guy that's standing there at five seven five eight from New York and he just took over the NCAA tournament he's been the best player in the tourney so far yeah and well it's funny because so many teams think they have an idea of how to cover him right the hard hedge was was Michigan State uh but he just picks you apart he's such a he's such a dangerous passer because he's almost has the same green light he has to shoot he has the green light to pass and some of the passes he makes are not exactly ones that you'd see most coaches be okay with uh to the point where the defense doesn't even know it's coming if you think about a quarterback kind of throwing it by the ear of a linebacker who's out in coverage doesn't even see the ball because you shouldn't be throwing that pass anyway that's part of what made it such a fun watch uh but the fans really got into it too and the whole concept of a New York guard you know you get lit up in the garden when you say New York City guard it sounds cliche but you think tough in mind tough in body and then just absolutely oozing with swagger he had it uh it was it was really one of the more humbling performances particularly considering he went out with an ankle injury that I thought he was done for the year I honestly thought I was like that's it that the season's probably over because the way he turned his ankle I thought that was going to be it couldn't put any weight on it he comes back continues to will his team to victory uh but still give Michigan State credit too I mean there's a reason why it was a great game because two teams played really well I'm glad you brought up the quarterback point because the pass that he had to Keontae Johnson when we were watching it live I said that's Patrick Mahomes on a basketball court yeah he had multiples I mean he would throw a backdoor pass that you're sitting there going that's a turnover oh layup oh that's a turnover up dunk like there were just so many plays like that but then you and you're kind of arguing with your coach you keep your player and then the defense up and you know awareness in terms of the corner of your eye and he throws that lob in the overtime it was one of the more remarkable things I've ever seen and it was almost as if he was toying with everybody he was he was playing the game everybody was trying to compete in the game and it was just it was one of those things as an analyst you try to break certain things down try to say well maybe you want to trap get the ball out of his hands maybe show zone at one point slow him down that match up but the reality is you just kind of sit back and enjoy it uh the best player often wins in the NCAA tournament and without a doubt Marquis Noel's been the best player before and it was so fitting with how the way the game ended with him making the play and then just putting the cherry on top of the sunday with the ridiculous layup yeah and there was uh Mateen Cleaves who you know last time Michigan State last time Big Ten won a national championship it was 2000 my freshman year at Penn State and Mateen Cleaves was sitting kind of right behind the press row along court side and and you could see Marquis Noel shawling he was jawing with Mateen Cleaves and after he made that pass he started the change that this is my city and he just kept rolling with it it was one heck of a matchup but some of the some of the crowd interaction was a big part of that too it really it really brought you into the event John Crispin here with us so the crowd was obviously all in support of Marquis Noel and then it's always cool I've been in the building when you have these teams like I know that FAU's at 9 seed but I've heard of like the Florida Gulf Coast chants when FGCU went on that great run and they beat Georgetown when you get a sense of an underdog and you're in the tourney everyone chanted FAU last night it's like what the heck are we doing that's the NCAA tournament yeah I tell you it was interesting too because as FAU came back in the game you could see even the Kansas State fans really cheered along FAU but then it was almost got to a point where you're like all right they won by seven but it got to a point where I almost felt the Kansas State fans go wait a second should we rather play Tennessee I almost got that feeling because because you saw the way FAU tacked you saw how physically they were able to come back in this game they leveled up in terms of physicality and toughness which was a pretty remarkable thing to do given that Tennessee has just been kind of the most physically imposing team in the tournament but this FAU team's not a Cinderella I mean I guess we can call them a Cinderella because they haven't really done anything in the NCAA tournament but they're a top 25 program and deserving of cellways 34 and three you don't win 30 plus games without being a legit program I mean we've said that before about Gonzaga well what's the competition like no you win 30 plus games you're doing something right this is a team that's won 20 in a row at one point this season they know who they are they know how to get the game played to their liking I mean they can set the terms of the game and I think they're actually a dangerous opponent for a team like Kansas State where you know FAU might be a little bit more switch heavy and I think that could be a challenge for Kansas State. It was almost stunning in the final 10 minutes just how inefficient Tennessee was but I got to give credit like you were saying to the FAU defense they just gave them no space in the paint. Well part of the reason why they didn't have space is because they couldn't shoot and they weren't willing to shoot and you know granted you lost the guy Ziegler earlier this year he's like your playmaking point guard and you have to put basketball on the basketball and and you do you limit yourselves in some way but I think the way I look at it is this all the guys on Tennessee they didn't even think about going to Florida Atlantic they if they got a letter from Florida Atlantic they never even opened it and there's not a single guy on Florida Atlantic that that probably got recruited by Tennessee so you look at that and say guys you were superior players yet you don't know how to play superior basketball you were all superstars where you came from yet at this level you have no confidence to be able to score on the offensive end and as we're seeing when you look at you know the strengths of Alabama you look at the strengths of Kansas State you look at the strengths of Gonzaga and their comeback last night and Yukon they're offensive-minded teams and and we're getting to a point now particularly with these two-year teams the transfer portal and I own all the stuff teams aren't as great defensively as a team the physical teams could be good defensively like you know the toughness and physicality of Tennessee on the defensive end that makes them a good defensive team but ultimately offense wins and I think as so long as we continue to follow that trend of offense wins we're going to have better basketball it'll be more fun it'll be it'll be more competitive games possibly played in the 70s 80s and 90s and less in the 50s and 60s.

John Crispin here with us the Gonzaga UCLA game John it was so weird because early on it was like oh it's disappointing it's a blowout UCLA's up 13 and a half and then Gonzaga was blowing out UCLA and in the final 90 seconds I've never seen anything like that yeah well you know you know when you have seen something like it in other Gonzaga UCLA matchups it was and that's what it was and I don't know where that comes from because I haven't really been that big on this Gonzaga team and I don't mean to say that in like a negative way I know they're scoring a lot of points they're leading the country in scoring but I just haven't seen that killer instinct from them and they lost a lot from last year but you can just see the kind of the kind of confidence you get from playing through Drew Timmy he commands attention and when he commands attention defense gets out of position when he's such a good passer and playmaker they're able to space the floor move the basketball well if you can move the basketball well and make shots you can come back when you're down and I think Gonzaga has that recipe now from a consistency standpoint I don't see it uh if if UCLA is at full strength David Singleton and Jalen Clark are there different story but the reality is UCLA couldn't come up with the stops to win that basketball game and yet again we get another thriller from UCLA and Gonzaga yeah it is unfortunate because with the Dean Bona injury and then Clark right before the tourney it felt like UCLA if they are healthy they're probably the best team in the country in my opinion yeah I'd have to say yes the only question is like who are they offensively I think that that's been the challenge it's almost like the group is missing that Johnny Juzang level player like Johnny Juzang when they weighed that final four run he was a lights out jump shooter and you probably have to play through Jaime Hockes more and that's going to be a challenge but ultimately they get stops they're rooted in their toughness and I think Mick Cronin is building this thing for the long haul it's not about just getting good now with the group he's got it's about establishing a foundation I think a lot of people are surprised to hear that you have to establish a foundation at UCLA well but the reality is that the foundation is not what it once was on the job with the realities of today are different you really need to root something good if you want to maintain it if you want to sustain something make it perpetual and I really think Mick Cronin is doing a great job of focusing on playing the long game it's not just about winning game it's really about building this team and building this program with a strong foundation that is sustainable John Crispin when you take a glance at Gonzaga and you talked I heard your analysis on them and it's fair because heading into this tournament it's the first time in a while that there hasn't been pressure on Gonzaga and now they're three wins away from getting marked through a championship yeah and that's an interesting part too where the expectations are down a little bit maybe you know however you view that if you're Gonzaga fan you still probably expect them to win a national championship but I think if you're being realistic you don't see the personnel that can score the way they always have uh so maybe that frees them up maybe that's freeing for a guy like was your bolt uh Bolton and maybe he can make a higher percentage of shots and if you start making a higher percentage of shots around the perimeter you get the space you like you get more iso opportunities for someone like Drew Timmy you know if Strother can be effective from the perimeter I think they have the opportunity to do it but freeing them up might be the biggest key and I think the pressure of expectation really is brutal for college kids I don't think they realize how difficult it is particularly when you add NIL particularly when you add professional opportunities beyond this it really is challenging so maybe this frees them up a little bit makes them a little more dangerous and it kind of does feel with how dominant UConn's been that I bet you a lot of people are going to take UConn over Gonzaga in this game oh absolutely I mean I would I mean I look at the national championship game and I say god if I got UConn and uh and Alabama that would be a terrific national championship game tough teams who can be defensive-minded with their length and physicality but also want to score um UConn is playing as well as anybody right now and I think there was a moment there earlier in the season where they looked as good as anybody but then they got bored uh and then they got challenged by the Big East which snuck up on it a lot I don't think people realize how good the Big East was and how it is I mean you look at the teams that are left in the field from the Big East yeah it's it's still a solid group we talked about Creighton earlier this year coming out of Maui they're their national championship good well they lose Ryan Caulkbrenner and that falls off a little bit so I think UConn was probably surprised by how good the Big East was but throughout that process of playing in the Big East you developed in it you developed an anti-fragility to figure out how to win in different styles which ultimately makes you even more dangerous in March. John Crispin before we let you run the games tonight I know Alabama San Diego State just underway Bama's up three nothing right out of the gate you got Princeton Creighton as well can you make the argument for San Diego State and Princetoners this is going to be Alabama and Creighton advancing to the Elite Eight? I have a tough time thinking Princeton can beat Creighton and I have a really tough time thinking that San Diego State can stay with Alabama I think Alabama is as good as advertised two of everything great length they look to score it and Brandon Miller is the best pro in college basketball there's no way around that so I do I think it's Alabama I think it's Creighton and the real question is what type of Creighton team would we see against Alabama because Creighton can be really dangerous too so I look forward to that regional so so long as those two advance. And then finally Miami Houston and then also Xavier Texas that's the field tonight of what Gonzaga UCLA and and Kansas State Michigan State was last night where do you go in those two matchups? Well I'll tell you you know Houston I love their defense and ultimately it comes down to the real health and of Marcus Sasser if he could be that scorer I think they could be national championship good now the challenge is for Houston the best way to beat pressure is to attack it off the bounce and that's what Miami has they can attack you off the bounce with pretty much all I'd say four or five positions on the floor at any given time that's what makes them so dangerous and they don't really run a lot of offense uh they don't have to they really get into action and then get into attack mode and that's what makes them so dangerous so I think that's going to be a good game but I think ultimately the offensive rebounding the physicality of Houston kind of gives them a bit of an advantage. And Xavier Texas? Oh Xavier Texas I think Texas was a really impressive team and I thought Penn State got a tough draw having to play Texas mainly because of the matchup but I just really like what Sean Miller's done with his group I think he's been freed up to uh kind of go second lethal in life now he just looks like a trailblazer with what's going on in college basketball at the moment everything that was under the table now just moved above the table and it's all good um I actually like Xavier in this I think they've got the physicality and the guard play and I think Jack Dungy is one of those kind of x-factor guys because of his ability to stretch the floor.

One more for you before we let you run all these years later what does that run that you went on with your brother mean to you when you look back at it? It means more now seeing that Penn State team this year uh we saw the Penn State team this year and I thought they were terrific I thought that was a really good Penn State team and I'm like man how hard is it to get to his sweet 16? You know we see these the St. Peters of the world the FAU's and you think well it can't be that bad well it's tough you have to be a two seed and it really comes down to the right two seed now I think in North Carolina when we won we beat North Carolina was a two seed I think we got the right two seed we were able to be physical and I think it gave us a bit of an edge tough two seed for the Penn State team this year to take out Texas which was such a brutal matchup but I think the hope for us with Penn State and hope for my brother in particular he's in coaching and obviously wants to be there someday the hope for us is to be forgotten someday and the problem is we still matter and part of the reason why we still matter is because Penn State hasn't figured it out consistently enough to make us not matter anymore so hopefully one day the sweet 16 run in 2001 is a mere afterthought and somewhat forgotten and I can't fault Shrewsbury for taking the Notre Dame job I just wonder who they're going to hire like I look at Dusty May, Pat Kelsey probably the first two names at the top of my list yeah I'd say Dusty May in particular he's got big 10 ties up at Indiana under Bob Knight whether it's now or someday it'll be my brother he wants to coach there that's all he wants to do he's a Division III head coach multiple NCAA tournaments at Division III level multiple conference championships so at some point it'll be him and I know his process right now is he wants to help the right hire he wants to help Pat Kraft and at least clarify the vision for the program so it's more of a long-term hire not just a stepping stone job if we have this as a stepping stone job again no one really gets served well and we're going to be right back to square one two three four five years down the road and the program doesn't really get any better so I think we really need to look at this thing as a long-term hire and build this program to the point where it's relevant. Well my producer Hatte Kicke is a big-time alum at Penn State proud graduate when your brother's eventually coaching the team he wants a courtside ticket to the Bryce Jordan Center right?

Well deal deal maybe let's make that future start sooner than later. You got it John great job for Westwood One throughout this tournament calling the NCAA tournament we appreciate the time. You got it my pleasure. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. Zach Gelb show CBS Sports Radio so Alabama San Diego State is underway and Alabama is up by a point now San Diego State up by a point 8-7 with 1256 to go.

I actually I did a parlay this evening and I'll show you that in just a second when we go through these games. I took San Diego State plus the seven and a half points I don't think they're going to win but I just get a feeling that this is going to be a sloppy game and five or six minutes into this contest this has been a really sloppy game like I think they showed on the on the screen like San Diego State went three or four minutes without a point and now they're still up by a bucket here. I did see that Brandon Miller said that the groin is still not a hundred percent and he's still dealing with that so we'll have to monitor how it continues to go throughout this tournament but so far Alabama now I know that we've seen two 16-seeds win but they went up against 16 in the first round then they went up against the Maryland team who is is a fine team but the big 10 had the most teams in this tournament and no one else is still here from the big 10 of Michigan State going down last night and you look at this Bama team, Hickey there's going to be a game in this tourney where they really get tested up against an elite opponent and then we're going to see how great this Bama team is. Now we all think they're a great team but so far with just the way that their region has played out and going in we thought it was an easy region like remember we had Fanton and Fanton's like I can't see anyone beating Alabama in this in this south region and you had Arizona go down early to Princeton in that first round game you had Virginia getting upset by Furman so like you just go through this Baylor going down in the round to 32 to Creighton I just don't know when Bama is going to get tested I do think this may be a little bit of a wake-up call tonight against San Diego State but I just don't think San Diego State has the manpower to do it tonight honestly Creighton and I think Creighton will beat Princeton tonight I just think Creighton their starting five is too big and I know Princeton up against Arizona everyone said oh look how big Arizona's Mitch Henderson was even on this show and said if you have any answers how to try to defend them you you you tell me but so far Hickey we've not seen Alabama test I think this is one of those games where they do get tested tonight but you never think that they are actually going to lose the game but nothing against San Diego State I just don't think they have the horses to take that Alabama. I'm with you I guess the only thing that's a you know me being the optimist looking towards the upset here is Alabama has really not played good basketball so far this tournament now part of that is the Brandon Miller injury but you know again they have played lesser caliber opponents in a 16th seed in Maryland so again it's not like you really need to play your best and you look right now if they make if they win this game you kind of look ahead towards the road to the final four take on either FAU or Kansas State like you are getting seeding wise very favorable matchups kind of going your way where again it's it's looking kind of good for them so far. Well it's a great point that you bring up because I'm assuming you're taking Creighton to be Princeton tonight right?

Yes. Okay so assuming Bama wins they'll play Creighton and then they'll get the winner of FAU Kansas State so it's like if I would have told you that before the tournament started that to get to a final four you're going to have to beat San Diego State Creighton and then to get to the championship game beat either FAU or Kansas State if you're a Bama fan you're like sign me up for you know I'm in a second so if they don't get to the final four that's one thing honestly they don't get to the championship game it's going to be severely disappointing. I mean if FAU beats Kansas State we're looking at the San Diego State game right now where there are five as the biggest right as the best team they've played until the tournament. Yeah and even though from a number standpoint you're right I'm just saying perspective Creighton is a better team than San Diego State. But it's just again if you're like I said Alabama you crazy you are told that path of 16 when Maryland was a nine right eight I forget either one eight or nine. They were at eight oh no uh yes they were an eight because West Virginia was the the nine.

So 16, eight, five, six and then maybe a nine in FAU like to the like to the final like again you are you would think you're walking right there. So between Bama, San Diego State, Creighton, Princeton, FAU, Kansas State if you had two selections to get to the final four or excuse me two selections to get to the championship game. It's got to be Bama and Kansas State right? My only hold up is between Kansas State and FAU. I feel like I've been overlooking FAU a ton. They are a good basketball program. They are a really good team. I threw loss in the year and their defense was sensational last night.

I'm telling you that's gonna be a great game tomorrow. I will say this if it is Bama, Creighton that could be a difficult matchup for Alabama. I know Alabama it's more than just Brandon Miller but Creighton's getting hot at the right time and that was a team early on there were talks about they were supposed to win the Big East before the year started. They were six and oh then they lose six straight yet the Kalkbrenner injury as well and this team is starting to gel at the right time of the year but we'll see when Bama finally gets tested. Now Houston, Miami and Xavier, Texas. For Houston I know Sasser right fought to the injury he was phenomenal in their last game up against Auburn.

He's had some time to rest it up you think it would be even better. Miami though this is going to be a phenomenal matchup and I look at this spread it makes no sense to me why Miami's a seven and a half point dog. I plus the number and I think Miami is very much alive with the ACC Player of the Year and Isaiah Wong to win this game outright. I know both these teams have a lot of experience. You know Houston's on last few years. Miami just last year as a 10 seed went to the elite eight.

That's a phenomenal matchup with Kelvin Sampson going up against La Renega. I like Miami I'm a little scared of how much I like Miami tonight. I like Miami too. Houston look I know it makes no sense why they're a seven and a half point dog that's what scares me because I think they're begging you to plus the seven and a half points. Those injuries I think are still gonna be a factor for Houston which also has me concerned and like in Miami.

I'm with you the number is way too big. Are you picking Houston? You like Miami? You're gonna pick Miami? To win the game? Win outright. Yeah.

Oh boy. I took San Diego State plus seven and a half but I like Miami to win. I like Alabama to win the game. I took Miami plus seven and a half but I like Miami to upset Houston and then I took the under of 140 and a half in Princeton created.

40 bucks is the risk to win $333.98. That's my bet tonight. Now Xavier Texas I don't think it's got enough love but I think that will be a really good game like 67-64. I didn't even think Texas played that well up against you guys in Penn State. I'm gonna lean Texas tonight 67-64. I think they win.

I unfortunately will agree. I think Texas wins this one. All right Xavier you're going to the lead. Congrats Sean Miller. One win away from final four finally. And Houston as well you're locked tonight.

It is the Zach Gilp show on CBS Sports Radio. One of the biggest coaching stars in the NCAA tournament Dusty May. He resides for now at FAU. He's also 40 minutes away from going to the final four. He'll join us next.