Initial Bracket Reactions: What Did The Committee Get Right & Wrong?

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2:17Number to join the show tonight and every night, Monday through Friday, 6-11 PM Eastern. That number is 310-840-4910. Again, that's 310-840-4910. What a weekend of sports that we had folks. We had a hell of a weekend in the NBA. We had Cameron Young win in the players' championship. We had Team USA with the help of a gracious strike three call, beating the DR and moving on to the championship of the World Baseball Classic. But of course, conference championship weekend ended with a bang Purdue takes down Michigan. And the brackets are out. The madness is finally here. There's no more waiting. We've got all 68 teams lined up ready to go. And so, Brad, I'll ask you right out of the gate here, brother. You are the college who's junkie, man. This has got to be, you got to be feeling like it's Christmas Eve over the next couple of nights here with a couple of early Santa Gifts mixed in

3:19with the first four or a couple of extra candles being lit early, whatever metaphor you want to make, man. And when the brackets came out a 24 hours ago, your number one reaction, your biggest takeaway, maybe the biggest jaw dropper or the biggest wow. This team's got a great path. This team's got a terrible path. This team shouldn't have been in. This team should have been in. What was your number one takeaway to the brackets, the pristine, gorgeous, beautiful brackets that sit before us. Oh, thank you. Once again, as always, my friend, for teaming me up and very much madness to you and yours. To the deed of the greatest time of the year, we had just a scintillating and downright, delicious appetizer and championship week, so many hard stopping games, so much high drama from beginning and that Jaden Bradley, a dagger to a knockoff. I would say the big 12 conference championship game still sitting at the top of my dome right now. That was a downright ridiculous.

4:23But yeah, looking at the overall field, my initial reaction was the committee did a damn good job. Look, they got all 68 teams correctly into the big dance and were no curveballs thrown with some of the outlarges. So they stuck to their guns, they stuck to the metrics, they stuck to their rules and overall measurements and they absolutely nailed it. I had the last four exactly right. I thought Miami Ohio was properly placed the only gripe that I had in my initial takeaway. The overall field was, I felt Vanderbilt was a bit underseeded. This is a team and of course, Beat Florida in the SEC tournament. My Taters of all there, the conference tournament, especially the big boys, I don't mean Jack, I don't mean squat. I disagree. This year, I actually, I think it meant something. That's why Michigan flipped with Arizona going to the number two overall seed, Michigan sliding down to the number three overall seed, basic outcomes and their respective conference tournaments. And I think it really helped

5:23as well. They were fumbling and tumbling down the mountainside over the last few weeks of the regular season, but they able to write the ship and the big 10 conference tournament, ultimately cut down the nets. They're in Chicago and they landed not on the three line, which a lot of people had. They went to the two and I think they really cemented that two seed winning in the semi finals even before they bounced to Michigan Wolverines. But Vanderbilt to me, I look at the overall metrics. They're number 13 in the net. Number 16 in terms of overall strength is schedule 13 and five in road neutral games and they face some mighty competition and took them down. They won 10 times against quarter one competition. Didn't have a singular quad three or quad for loss and you get a five of five seed. That to me was a bit downright ridiculous in my estimation. So I thought Vanderbilt, you could have had an argument. They could have been a three seed. I hadn't placed on the four line, but ultimately getting a five seed, I think that was

6:28a mild injustice outside of that. The committee mostly slammed, don't did home congrats to them. Yeah, for number to join the show again, 310 840 4910. Any and all of your takeaways to the brackets, you want to start throwing out predictions right away. We'll take them. Who's in your final four? Who's winning your national championship? We'll take them all week long until the madness begins 310 840 4910. You can also tweet the show at that MGM tonight. And before we get, we'll get into every region. We're going to break down every region coming up in 15 minutes or now. We're going to talk to Dallan Cuff as well, who covers college basketball for the field of 68 for Westwood one sports, for TNT, just about everything. So we're going to talk to him in a bit. We're going to get to every game. We're going to get to every region. Don't you worry, but you got to get in on the fun with us, right? I mean, that's the greatest part. Everybody's got a chance to have an a perfect bracket. Everybody's got a chance of picking the winner. We want you to be a part of our group. Brad, myself, our producer Brandon Comes, our producer Monty, our entire crew.

7:31We are going to post the link to join our bracket tournament challenge all throughout the week. Very easy to do. So again, we want to see how much ball you know. And if you know more ball than us. So we've got a group. We did the same thing for the NFL playoffs, bracket challenge. We had over 70 entries. That was awesome. Came all the way down to the Super Bowl, of course. And like always, if you've got a decent group size, which we're hoping we've got well over 100 folks here, it's going to come down to probably who's got the national championship winner. So if you check out our Twitter's app app oil 44 at noisy waveos for Brad, we will be posting the link every day until the tournament begins. Just click the link. It's free to join. It's easy to join. Submit your bracket. Make sure you're in the bed. MGM tonight group. And let's have some freaking fun. Pride is on the line. Brad, before we start getting to our predictions and who we think is going to win the tournament, who we think is going to win each region. You mentioned a five seed in Vanderbilt that you thought got hosed, if you will. Perhaps mildly hosed.

8:35How about the Johnny's? I think they got majorly hosed. This team, St. John's is number 10 in the country. And I get the AP polls shouldn't directly, you know, equivocate whatever the hell word you want to use to what seed they get in the big dance. But St. John's number 10 team in the country. They just won the Big East tournament title. They have only lost one time since January 3rd. And it was to Yukon on the road. I get the Big East has had a down year. But Brad, how do the Johnny's not get more love than that? Every loss they've had so far this year has been to a tournament team with the exception of the one lost to Providence outside of that. This is a tremendous resume. They dominated the Big East. They dominated Yukon and the Big East tournament final. I get the committee doesn't want to overweight the conference championships. But just like you said, Vanderbilt makes a run all the way to the final. St. John's wins the Big East tournament and they got a five seed. How does that make sense? I think Rick Patino's got every gripe in the world right

9:37now. Not really. I think the committee actually got that right. So I disagree. And here's the reason why St. John's in mention that Providence loss. That's an eye sore. That doesn't drag on the overall profile because it is a quadrant three loss. I remember I mentioned Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt being number 13 terms overall net 16 and strength a schedule. You know, by comparison, St. John's, okay, just a slight step lower than the Commodore's at number 16 overall net. But 62 and strength a schedule. All right. So Vanderbilt definitely best on there. And still Vanderbilt was a five seed on top of that as well. Yes, the the Johnny's were nine and one in straight road games this year. But that was against the likes of some of the weaklings of the Big East and every other rack of those wins up. They're only five and five in quarter one games. Yeah, they were not standing 11 and 0 in quadrant two. But they had that bad loss on the resume and the overall strength a schedule. It was not the greatest by comparison. So again, if you compare to Vanderbilt on the same seed line,

10:43Vanderbilt far away in my estimation. I've been doing this as a prakatogeist for 18 years, has a better overall resume, a stronger case to be at least up another seed line as an upper four and possibly number three. St. John's number 16 in the net and everything else that I laid out could, you know, be maybe a four seed. But I thought a five seed was appropriate because the Big East largely sucks. Let's call a spade a spade. Let's not sugarcoated it all. It was a fifth best power. And I put that quotes power conference in college basketball. And that is the drag of playing in a down league. That only got two other representatives with you con and and Villanova and really a vanilla Villanova team getting on at the eight seed line. So again, I thought St. John's was appropriately seeded by the selection committee. But you live in Jersey. I understand the bias that pumps through your veins. So I get your point of view.

11:46It's not biased. It's not biased. Then look, I mean, midway through the season last year, I was basically, I was crushing Rick Patino, you know, when he called it's team, you know, we're slow laterally. We don't have a lot of athletic guys. We are slow laterally. And I was like, are you kidding me? You're like, who's the guy that recruited this team? But look, I mean, it worked. You know, they went on a run towards the end of the year. They got a two seed and they get bounced by Calipari in the second round last year. But everything that Rick Patino has done coaching this team this year that I don't think has an abundant amount of talent. Like last year, I thought they did. I think it's been tremendous. And, you know, look, let's compare them to a team that's seeded two spots ahead of them. Gonzaga, right? Because we want to talk about conferences that aren't good. Well, the WCC, they got three teams in Santa Clara St. Mary's in Gonzaga. And even in conference, there are so many bottom feeders in that conference that Gonzaga gets the roll over and they lose the Portland. They lost the same marries by 11 on the road. Is it just because what they beat Alabama and they beat Kentucky and non-conference play earlier in the season? I mean, they got steamrolled by Michigan by 40. They played a strong non-conference schedule, but their

12:51conference, there's no way it's as strong as the Big East. So I just, I struggle to see how Gonzaga gets a three seed and St. John's in Vanderbilt get fives. Again, here's your lesson in metrics, Amy Amigo. And this is what the committee looks at. Have they watched every single second, every single game? No, not remotely close, but they have a method to their madness and they break everything down via all the advanced analytics that are there at their disposal. There are these things called team sheets. And they have like three computer screens that are in front of me. You saw the cutaways to the selection committee room in Indianapolis during the selections Sunday show there on CBS. And again, they got three computer screens that are right there in front of them. And these team sheets come scrolling across the screen that has all the predictive analytics. It has all of the various measurements like the net, the strength of schedules, strength of record. Wow, but wins above bubble. That's all the rage right now. Every little measurement, every little particular metric you can possibly think of, they have it there in front of them

13:54on these very clean presented team sheets. Gonzaga's metrics really stand out by comparison of St. John's. You look at this. Acts on number seven, seven in the net. You might say, well, the WCC stinks. That might be taken into somewhat of a consideration. According to Kempon, the WCC is number eight in the power ratings while the big east is number five. But here is the difference. Gonzaga A is a team that had two more quad one victories in the overall resume. They finished seven out of three in that category. They also two had the quadrant three laws. So that laws against Portland on the road earlier this year, outstanding road neutral record, decent strength of schedule, a comparable strength of schedule. You know, you make an argument, St. John's and Gonzaga, honestly, based on the resumes, it should probably be on the same seed line. Meeting that four seed line makes the most sense. I didn't really work out that way in the end. I think the difference in the equation and the weighing of the various profiles was

14:59the fact that the Zags just had two more quadrant one victories and a little bit higher net overall. That was enough of a difference because when you're slicing and dicing some of these teams that are very bunch together, very similar and their overall resumes and profile, it's little subtleties like that that say this team is a three. This team is a four. This team is a five. It's as simple as that. One more thing for you here really quickly. I think out of the number one seeds, if Michigan doesn't make the final four, it'll be a disaster. I think they've got the easiest draw of any of the one seeds. You're talking about Georgia or St. Louis in the second round. You're talking about Texas Tech without JT Toppen in the sweet 16 or Alabama, who today Aiden Holloway just got arrested on felony charges. We're going to talk to down in coffee or in a bit. We're going to ask him about that and not to mention Alabama seems like a complete fraud with the way they play to get the loss against Ole Miss. And then they're looking at an elite eight matchup, either Virginia, Iowa State. That was the two highest seeds and the

16:01other seeds that lurked there can tuck you at Tennessee. And if it's Iowa State or Virginia, Michigan will probably clobber either one of those teams. If the Wolverines are not in the final four, it will be a disaster, Brent. Yeah, I don't disagree with that sentiment. I think somebody else is going to represent them in the Midwest region. And I'll share those thoughts a little bit later on. I would also make the argument that Duke has a pretty easy road ahead to get to the circle city and represent there in the final four. Some people might say, wait a minute. That's the Johnny's region. Wait a second, you jackass. You con is the number two seed. Oh, what about the sporty party of Michigan State? Name brand, name brand, name brand. All of those name brands had distinct and measurable weaknesses. I think Duke forward away is a better team, even without Caleb Foster. And we'll see if Pat and got the Gamba complain either round one or round two. We shall see on that. Nothing definitive there. I honestly have the, you know, a stronger

17:03case in my mind that Duke has the easiest road to the final four. But I think it's a one A one B conversation between Duke and Michigan. No, again, there is a team in Michigan's region, which I think is going to bounce them. And again, stick around here on bed MGM tonight. We're going to go region by region break all these picks down. I will share exactly who that is and why. I'll probably terribly wrong. Oh, that's a hell of a tease though. You're listening to Pat Poyle, Brad Evans on bed MGM tonight, which is sponsored by Progressive Commercial Insurance. It protects small businesses with affordable coverage options. Get a quote today at ProgressiveCommercial.com. I will take a short break. We're going to talk to Dalin Cuff coming up next contributor to the field of 68 Westwood one sports, Turner sports, very, very much more than that as well. One of the most tapped in analysts right now in college. You're just going to talk to Dalin Cuff coming up next. Don't go anywhere. We're just getting rolling here. It is Magic March Monday. I don't know if that's a term. I'm calling it that. The madness is just a couple of days away

18:03from officially beginning. This is bed MGM tonight. He's Brad Evans on Pat Poyle. You're listening on Westwood One Sports. I'm Boomer Sison. My mom died from cancer. She was only 37 years old. She didn't have life insurance and that was devastating for my family. That's why having life insurance is so important to me. Ethos makes it fast and easy. Get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day coverage. You can get up to three million in coverage with no medical exam. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash play. That's ethos.com slash play. Pays folks percent time span on application may vary online health questions required. Hey sports fans Kevin Kudler here. Sportscaster for college basketball. And I have a special announcement from five guys. They know no bracket is safe this

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20:10money so you reach your financial goals faster. Download the Albert app right now and use promo code go to borrow up to $10,000. Use code go to borrow up to $10,000. What's going on? I'm Archmaning, Viori athlete and college quarterback. Whether I'm running, training, traveling, or just unlining at home, I love doing it in my core shorts from Viori. With a breathable box or brief liner, they're quick to dry, super versatile, and stand up to even my most intense training sessions. Plus, they come in three in seems and a ton of colors. Ready to try pair? Go to Viori.com, slash Arch, and get 20% off at checkout. I think you're going to love them as much as I do. That's Viori.com slash ARCH, and get 20% off your first order. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any U.S. orders over $75 and free returns. Have a great day. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up.

21:14March Manus is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I could follow the teams I care about, get real-time scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. Welcome to Radio Rental. This is the scariest stories you've ever heard in your life, all told by real people. And off we go. This wasn't a human being there. I saw just something here in this house, something out of this world. There was a woman moving through the hall. I stepped back and I was completely alone. Radio Rental is available now. Listen for free on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.