Ahead on W R A L Triangle and two. We'll give our best guess of which team will win the national championship and we'll provide the best sweet 16 matchup. Good afternoon. My name is Mark Bergen. Joined as always by my guy Luis Fernandez Lewis. We start, Duke gets bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Tennessee and Lewis. I'm not gonna lie to you. I think it's a blown opportunity by the Blue Devils. What say you, well, it's, it's always so tough like looking at um brackets in hindsight because you start to see how things fall out. And I mean, they, they would have been playing um gosh, who is it? Uh Florida Atlantic in the sweet 16. And you're setting yourself up for either Kansas State or Michigan State in the elite eight, uh all winnable matchups. And when you know, March madness rolls around, you just want those winnable matchups. So I totally understand a lot of frustration from, from Duke fans from Duke in general because everything was just, it was laying out for them so perfectly. And now my question is in that East region, who, who's gonna take advantage of everything laying out so perfectly and get to the final four right now, Michigan State in my mind seems to be the one but still, it's, it's gonna be a very interesting way for all that to, to fall apart. When I saw duke seating, I was counting the chickens before they hatch Lewis because I was looking and it's like, ok, if they get Tennessee in the second round, Tennessee starting point guard out with an AC L injury for the rest of the year. And then it's like, ok, if they run into Perdue, say in the sweet 16 as a number one seed, Zach Edie the star player for the boiler makers. Well, you've got two twin towers and Derek lively and Kyle Phillip Posy that would have matched up. Well, obviously, Perdue gets bounced by fairly Dickinson something we'll talk about here on today's show. But it was like that was the opportunity where I see and then say, ok, Perdue does get upset by a 16 seed and it was just like this should be, this should be smooth sailing for Duke. Uh Again, I got ahead of myself a little bit here just looking at matchups. Oh, I mean, no, I I think that's fair though because like when you, when you looked at that region, the East region, you had uh a a very shaky one seed in Peru in, in Purdue, a very shaky two seed in Marquette. I think it was Kalm actually tweeted out that, um, over the past X number of years or whatever, it's been, uh, a team that has gotten a one or two seed in the NCAA tournament but has not been ranked in the A P preseason. Top 25 has at most won two games. They do not advance the final four, they've never advanced final four in whatever that time frame was. So, you know, I kind of looked at Marquette and Perdue as just kind of a clock ticking, you know what I mean? So it, it was a good situation for, for Duke, but uh Tennessee just really uh took it to him. I mean, there's, there's no other way around it. I think it was Kenny Smith after the game said, you know, Tennessee was not a bunch of uh college players. They were, they were g there was a G league team that Duke was playing just with the experience and the physicality and, you know, I think that some, some things have been kind of said about the physicality of the team and all was Dennis Duke playing dirty and this and that. No, it's college basketball like it's, it's a defensive oriented uh sport, um especially in college versus the NBA. You see that physicality come into shape. Um And, and it's not just like how physical they were in terms of, you know, hard fouls or whatever it might be. You look at like what Duke's bread and butter was, uh, in this, this huge stretch of, of games that they've had where they've been winning all the way going back to February and they've been dominant on the glass, especially offensive rebounds. Tennessee outrebounded them 12-6. Uh, they, they've done a much better job at limiting their turnovers. Well, uh, guess what? They have 15 turnovers in this game. They shot 6 to 22 from three. Um, you know, it, it just was not, not good for, for Duke, Tennessee beat them at their own game in everything that they have succeeded, uh, leading up to this NCAA tournament. Certainly hindsight is 2020. I can't help but wonder if Mark Mitchell plays for Duke, if that makes any difference in the world. We really don't know the answer to that but a scratch before the game due to a knee injury. Yeah, I, I mean, absolutely. I, I think he, he started every game for Duke this year and he was, you know, averaging about nine points, a game, a solid defensive presence, you know, as a freshman. But, you know, everyone in this tournament has been dealing with injuries. That is when you, you look all the way down, all the top teams and it's just that time of the year where you do have to deal with the injuries. So it's, it's kind of one of those, what would have been, what could have been type situations for Duke. But, You know, you have to give your hats off to Tennessee for the way. They just came in there and, and, you know, took the blue devils lunch, like straight up and they're like, all right, we're moving on to the Sweet 16. We'll, we'll see you all later if I go home. And one of the thought, looking ahead to the brackets, like I mentioned, the Twin Towers Duke has like with Edie and certainly Perdue didn't get there either. Purdue didn't even make it out of the first round, but I was looking at the, the bracket and how that the matchups would have turned out if everything had gone chalk. Well, I know Duke was the five seed and would have technically been an upset over four seed Tennessee, but say Duke had gotten in the sweet 16 against Perdue. It's like how many other schools would have someone of the size and skill of a Zach 87 ft four, someone certainly with an NBA future, let alone two players with that and neither team gets there. I can't help but wonder that Lewis now, um I think for Duke your question now and it's the same conversation we were having uh a few weeks back with North Carolina is which players are back for next season. And I've just got a bunch of question marks because I think Derek Lively's probably gone because if he stays in college for another year, I think NBA executives look and say, hey, you know, they question his offensive game. It's something he wasn't asked to do with his current role with Duke, but certainly defense is his strong suit. Phillip Paske, I think is a question mark. Uh, Jeremy Roach as well. So it's like those are really the big three where it's like I've got question marks by all three. Just my opinion. I think lively would be most likely to leave. But I think Philip Posy, you could make the case too given his offensive ability. Well, I mean, uh I think lively Filipowski whitehead, I mean, those three feel their first round talent and they're kind of the, the classic, uh one and done type players where they can come in, have that good success freshman year and then go, you know, tear it up in the NBA. I last time I looked at projections, I believe they're all projected as first round picks. So it would not surprise me if they left. Now. We, we do live in a different college basketball world with N I L where some of those players who could go straight to the league after their first year, they have more financial opportunities, uh shire and that, that Duke coaching staff showed an ability to develop these players. Um you know, and, and I think that is going to play a pivotal role as well. Talk, you hearing them talk in the locker room after the game they were heartbroken. The Duke players were. So it wouldn't surprise me if that the emotions start to play into that factor a little bit. But what's important to keep in mind too is they have five, I believe it's 55 star prospects coming in uh next year. Like Duke is gonna reload. So then then it becomes a matter of roster management. Um You know, Ryan Young has already said that he'll return. Um, you know, he was a bit more of a role player, but, you know, he'll have one more year of eligibility. I imagine, uh Proctor, I think would stay. Uh, we talked about Mark Mitchell and his injury. I think it would make sense for him to stay but lively Filipowski whitehead and then Roach Jeremy Roach who almost left last year and proved that he can indeed have a lot of success as, as a guard, you know, and see where that kind of takes him from here. I, you know, I, I, I think it would not surprise me if a lot of these big names for Duke left, but that, that's the nature of college basketball, that's the nature of the game. And next year, I'm sure we'll be talking about Duke in a similar way where they've got all these young talented players who are tearing it up in the AC C and, and we'll see, you know what their future decisions will be. So it's, it would not surprise me if these, if these players left. But um at the same time, I, I'm not worried about Duke's long term picture. I think they're gonna be just fine. You don't rebuild, you reload when you're a blue blood Lewis. And I can't help but wonder does your production suffer as a result of having so many talented four and five star players around you to where if you were to go to a say another school, your production would be higher and it's, oh, look at, I'm averaging 20 maybe closer to 30 points per game, but you're much more relied upon uh in another program versus say Duke. So I, I can't help but wonder that. But, you know, I look at the size of lively and Filipowski and Philip Posy. It's like if he could get it right in the Pros, like, you know, I, I don't wanna say he's a unicorn but a seven ft big man with some touch. There's, if he develops the right way and goes to the right NBA team, I mean, both I think would have very bright NBA futures just given the things that they can do with how they move with their size is just something you cannot teach in basketball. Yeah, that, that's gonna be, I think the one of the most interesting thing is what, what team do they go to? What's the fit? I mean, you talked a little bit about production, you look back to those kind of like, you know, those Kentucky years where it felt like they had a future NBA all-star coming in every single year. Some of them didn't get that much run, you know, uh Devin Booker, I think is the prime example of that. And now he's over here, you know, a, an all star, one of the, one of the best players, one of the best shooting guards in the m. Um, so I, I don't think the production is so much of a, of a concern. It's just with all of these players, it's always about what do you need, what is important to you on a personal level, what's going to be important to you on a professional level? You know, I think it makes sense for all of these guys to go or at least for a lot of them to go. But, you know, we've seen teams kind of change the way they operate now where, uh you know, you looked at uh UN C last year who, uh you know, Bacot NBA Future, I think is to be the determined. Um But when you look at like a player like Caleb Love who had a potential first round grade, a early second round grade and he decides to come back because of N I L because of the opportunities presented to them, this, this Duke team, they really seem to like each other, the lively, the Philips of the bunch and, and it would not surprise me if one of them ends up making a decision like that to come back. But, you know, ultimately they're gonna do what's best for them and, and, you know, I, I think they're gonna have success uh, regardless of where they play next year. Changing of the guard a little bit to Lewis because, and I, I'll leave this as we look ahead to the sweet 16, but Kentucky's lost to Kansas State. This will be the second NCAA tournament since expansion in 1985 where you don't have Kentucky Duke or North Carolina in the sweet 16. This also happened in 2021 Lewis. So I can't help but wonder are those two outliers years or are we seeing college basketball landscape shift a little bit? I think it's gonna be kind of a we shall see. Go ahead if you wanna hop in here. Kansas Duke and UN C were all in the final four last year. So I, I've seen the stat fly around all over the place. College basketball is chaotic. It's unpredictable, you know, but Duke you would see in Kansas were all in the final four last year. The Blue Bloods are not dead. Uh Let's everyone take a step back. It's fun to see uh a lot of uh new teams getting their chance to shine. Some of these other teams getting a chance to shine in the sweet 16 when you remove a lot of these blue bloods out of the equation. But come on, come on Lewis, thank you for that. This is why you're here. This is why you're here for that perspective. What do you think is the best sweet 16 matchup as we look ahead to next weekend, I'm so excited about the sweet 16. To be, to be honest, there are a lot of like, really interesting matchups from like a style perspective from um you know, just like a talent perspective. I think the obvious answer is uh Gonzaga and U C L A. Um you have number one defense or, or number two defense versus uh number one offense, U C L A and, and Gonzaga. Uh you've got some players there who are older guys who have been around for a while who are looking for their chance to shine. Um You know, Jaime Jaquez Junior and um you know, Drew Timmy, like I, I, those are, those are some fantastic possibilities there to see what they can do. Um I'm also super excited for Alabama, San Diego State like I, I know. So in my bracket just for full, full transparency here, um in my bracket, I have San Diego State in my final four. So I, I think they play a very aggressive, very, uh you know, tough in, in, I think it was Tennessee Olivier after the, after the game said, uh you know, we play in the mud like that's what San Diego State does too. So I think that they could kind of take it to Alabama a little bit. I'm curious to see some of the really good players that Alabama has and, and how they adjust to that. The Crimson Tide also have one of the best defenses in the country. So, you know, it's not like it's gonna be great offense versus great defense, like you're seeing with U C L A and Gonzaga. Um, But I think that's just gonna be a fascinating stylistic matchup there. Um Also, I, I mean, I could just go down the list. I, I love uconn like uconn is playing so well right now and that Arkansas uconn matchup to me feels like it could be like just a, a street fight um just grabbing offensive boards going to work. I'm, I'm excited for that and I think Tennessee and Florida Atlantic is also interesting as well because Tennessee, you know, come riding high, coming off a big win against Duke. A, a lot of people did not expect them to beat Duke. Uh A lot of the national pundits had like Duke in their final four, those type of things. Um But I, so it's like, ok, how do they respond to that? How do they bounce back from that? Rick Barnes does have a little bit of a history of underperforming a bit in the NCAA tournament. So Tennessee has only been to the elite eight once in program history. So can they get through a team that on paper, they should be able to beat, you know, four seed versus uh nine seed go to work. The Florida Atlantic has also been a lot of fun. They are very impressive when it comes to effective field goal percentage. Uh So offensively, I'm, I'm excited to see how that comes together. It's, it's gonna be a fun one. I half those matchups. I don't care. Let me hop in Lewis, let me hop in. I wanna go back to Gonzaga, U C L A and I'm pretty sure Drew Timmy's in his like 12th year of eligibility, the head band and uh, his postgame interviews always must watch television because, uh, You know, I don't know, he always abides by FCC but, you know, at this point he gets so fired up after the games with his head bend and mustache. He's just one of those characters and it's like, can he finally get it done runner up in 2021? He's been around for what seems like forever. It's probably his final year. He would have one more year of eligibility due to the COVID season. But can he get it done? And then U C L A they're fighting history because a Western team hasn't won the national title since 1997. So, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So to me that's like, that's like the one matchup we're seeing this weekend where it's like, oh, you could have predicted this. Maybe, maybe Bama San Diego State Lewis, but it's like everything else has just been, uh Houston Miami, I suppose to. But everything else has been like utter chaos. If I could only watch one matchup this weekend, I would watch Gonzaga, U C L A but I, I don't think that's a controversial take but i it's, it's super exciting for all the reasons that you described. Um especially with the injuries that U C L A has been dealing with. Like, how do you continue to respond to that? Because they just, they're a machine, they just keep on going. Someone goes down, next person steps up and, and you know, he, he goes to work. He had, what was I, I wrote it down here. Hold on. He had 17, 8 and five steals uh in their first round game and then uh against uh gosh, who did they play in the second round U C L A? Uh got my bracket up right here. Lewis, give me just a second here and see you're seeing behind the scenes against Northwestern and the win, Northwestern. That's right. The Northwestern against Northwestern. He had 24 8 and four. Like I just, I, I'm excited. That's got a great from his narrative style players that, that matchup is gonna be so exciting. Yeah. Yeah. And you got Amari Baila Young guard and then Tiger Campbell with one of the best names in all of college basketball too. And, uh, it's just like, I love his hair too and I'll say this, I was watching one of the games this weekend where it's like he couldn't hit anything from the field, but when he's from the, at the free throw line, he was just money and down the stretch, they needed that, uh, to get to the sweet 16 as well. Uh, Lewis, I want to ask you and I will keep my shirt on when I say this. I like Eric Musselman. What was the most surprising upset to you over the weekend? I think the obvious answer is probably fairly Dickinson over Purdue becoming just the second number 16 seed to upset number one. But like I said, this past weekend was just absolute chaos. Yeah. No, this was, this was fun with how chaotic the in the regular season was. You kind of expected some of these things. Um I fairly Dickinson. It's only happened once before where a 16 seed is be to one. I mean, at the same time when you looked at Purdue, you knew they were precarious. They were just hanging out. They, they, you, you looked at it and you're like, oh man, I, I, I feel they're gonna lose early. Who's it gonna be to? And it just, it, it gosh, I could, if I was a Boiling Maker fan, man, I would not, I, I don't know how I would handle it because like it just, you know, Edie didn't get like any touches. He's seven ft four fairly Dickinson is like, average six ft height and he just, they, they refused to give him the ball. I, regardless. Fine. Um, but, um, yeah, so, I mean, I, I have to go, I'd have to go F D U. Uh, the, on the other one would be Princeton. Um, you know, and I know Mark, I, I know you've been Missouri grade, I'm sure you're, you're, you're hanging in there. But, um, you know, I think it, I think I saw it was the a, a 15 seed I believe has made it to the sweet 16 in three straight seasons. So maybe that's a little bit more predictable. But for Princeton to go through Arizona and then take care of business handily against Missouri. Very impressive. But after you for sure, hands down, you know, as much as I hate to admit it, it's almost like picking the 15 seed that's gonna win is like the new 5, 12, upset because every year it's like, oh, well, 12 seed always beats a five seed. Now we're seeing this continually where it almost lets Arizona off the hook with produced loss and fairly Dickinson joining U NBC. Like I don't, I couldn't tell you who won that tournament. What year when Virginia got knocked off in the first round back in 2018, I couldn't tell you who won off the top of my head, I'd have to Google it. Lewis. I'm being, I think it was, I think it was Villanova. But like, yeah, that's, you don't really, you remember that 16th one upset? Absolutely. And Virginia, obviously the Cavaliers got their redemption the following season and ended up winning the national title and all of that. But when you look back on this tournament, that's, those are the things you're going remember is the, the big, big upsets. Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it with Missouri, that game was never even close. And Lewis, I'll be honest with you too. It's like I saw that. Uh OK, Arizona gets bounced. We have a favorable matchup to get the sweet 16 and look, I'm happy with my Missouri Tigers because first NCAA tournament win over Utah State in the first round in 13 years. So, I mean, Lewis, that was before I was even in college. And so it's like, look, I'll take the win, I'll take the win. Yeah. Yeah. No, I F D U. That's something that as a program they're gonna remember for, for a long, long time. It, it's fun to have them in the spotlight and they almost beat Florida Atlantic too. That was a tight game. So fun. We love upsets, we love upsets Lewis most exciting players left in the tournament now that we're into the suite 16. I had two Brandon Miller from Alabama. Obviously, we know about all everything that's going on off the court with that Alabama team on court though, as good as there is in college basketball and there is an NBA team that will draft him in this upcoming draft. I would be shocked if he's back beyond this season. And then how about Kansas State point guard Marquis Noel, second in all of college basketball and assists per game. He's only five ft eight throwing passes around the back and he is just awesome to watch in the open uh open floor. We talk about guard play in the NCAA tournament. Kansas State has a special, special New York point guard. Uh Now that we're into the sweet 16, it's been really fun to, to watch him go to work. He's, it's been, he's had a really good tournament run and, and now getting a chance to play against Michigan State in the sweet 16 at, at Madison Square Garden. I know it's not what the, the big wigs probably wanted in terms of Madison Square Garden matchups. But, but hey, you know, get, get some of the best players out there and let them perform. Uh you know, at, at the Mecca, I think that would awesome. Um I, I I kind of look at Brandon Miller, I think, yeah, um an obvious choice from a talent perspective. Uh He didn't score in the first round but he then 19 points boom, just like that. He's incredibly talented. Um stick, stick him with the Alabama team, Javon Quinley. He had 13 in the first round, 22 in the second and then he also had 22 in the S E C title game. So he's been on a bit of a heater. He could end up being huge difference maker for the Crimson Tide. Um Florida Atlantic, uh John Davis, I think that's how you pronounce his name. Uh 12 points, five rebounds in that first game against Memphis. And then he had 29 12 and five, uh against, uh fairly Dickinson. So that's, oh, wow. And then we, we mentioned, uh, Drew Timmy and, and, um, uh, Jaime Hae junior, I, I think both of them are fantastic to watch. Uh, and then for me because I still think Houston is kind of gotta beat the team to beat, you, have to go out and, and take care of them. And Marcus Sasser, I, I have been just, it's watching him like a hawk this, this past weekend because of his groin injury, how he responds, you know, it looked like he was in serious pain in that first round game, uh, and re aggravating it and then he comes out and puts up 22 points hit a couple of like, you know, James Harden type, step back threes. Uh, you know, Houston day, James Harden. James Harden, step back three is in, in that game, um, against, um, uh Auburn when they looked like they were in trouble early early on in that second round, uh, if he gets all the way or as close as he can get to all the way, you know, he's gonna be so big for Houston's chance to, you know, get to the final four in Houston. I picked Auburn to upset Houston for that very reason, Lewis because I wasn't sure about the status of the groin injury. And in the first round it's like, hm, it might turn out to be right about this and that didn't ever come to fruition. It looks like, you know, you've got some, you've got a few days now before the sweet 16 and then if you advance on to the elite eight, you've got some time to be able to recover and the recovery Lewis is the key thing where it's like, like these younger college players, it's like, like the next day they can bounce back from an injury. It's like, I'm not quite as limber as I was in my youth. I think, I think he said, well, and what's so while too? I think I said during the broadcast he had said I'm at like 60% 60% 22 points in the second round. You're like 60%. Ok, like some, the math is not math and good, but hey, we gotta add a 40 piece if he gets back to 100 Lewis. Yeah, that's, that's, that's how that works out. That's how that works out. So you've got Houston as the team to beat. I guess I would go chalk and say, hey, let's go. Alabama just considering that the Crimson Tide came into the tournament as the number one overall seed. But beyond that Lewis, I, I look at each of these matchups and I know every year it's like the lottery, but some years you have it go really according to chalk and I think everyone's brackets this year just are, are in complete shreds. There was no way to predict what happened here this opening week and look, my team's out of it. I root for chaos. That's just me. But, um, you brought something up earlier too to where you do need some of the blue bloods in there. And at least you still have U C L A in this tournament. And it's like you look at it from the TV network perspective where we say we don't like blue bloods. But guess what, Lewis, we tune in time and time and time again to see said Blue bloods. When it comes to the TV production, you watch them because you love them or you watch them because you hate them. Um And I think too, I mean, Houston, you, you mentioned Alabama and I, I mean, they felt like the only one seed that didn't struggle at any point in time this weekend. So, you know, they're, they feel very dangerous. The, the one team who is not a one seed So let's remove Alabama and Houston from the equation. The one team I look at like, man, I, like they feel dangerous is uconn, the Huskies just, they, they crash the boards so hard. Like they, they, they crush offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds. They, they play with that kind of style of basketball that travels and works well, no matter who they're matched up against, you know, and, and Saint Mary's who they beat on Sunday. There's no slouch like Saint Mary's beat Gonzaga earlier in the year. They were right there for the Western conference or the West Coast conference title. Like they always are. Um, you know, Saint Saint Mary's is no joke and I know there was an injury with Saint Mary's in the middle of that game, but uconn in the second half, they, they were down it in the first half, they steamrolled and second half I view uconn as a very dangerous team. Uh moving forward. Uh, they're matching up in the elite eight against Arkansas. That's gonna be fascinating. And then if they were to advance, they get the winner in U C L A and Zaga, I don't know, watch out for the Huskies would be, would be what I say. Going into the sweet 16. Yeah, coached by Dan Hurley and Blue Devils fans are familiar with the Hurley family. Dan Hurley, the brother of the former Duke legend Bobby Hurley, and the youngest son of high school Hall of Fame. Coach perhaps the best ever in the history of high school basketball. Bob Hurley. Uh, so the Hurley family, no surprise there and a player on uconn to watch Lewis as we start to wrap up here. Uconn's Adama Sango. First player averaged 25 10 And get 70% shooting first two games in the tournament since Blake Griffin in 2009. So, a good company. Yes, sir. Yes, Sir. Lewis. Any final thoughts before we wrap up here, uh, let chaos reign. I hope my bracket, uh, I hope my brackets kind of my bracket's not. I, I don't wanna be that guy that talks about his bracket. Ok. But I will. Do you still have your champion? Do you still have your champion in Houston is my champion. Um, I had Memphis in my national championship game, so that was not good. Um, but I, I think I've got six of eight elite eight Seas left and three of four final fours for me. It's all I have San Diego State upsetting Alabama, uh, this, this, uh, this week. So we'll see that's gonna be the big one for, for me and my bracket. Um, if that ends up coming through to fruition, I'm gonna be feeling really good. But, uh, my, my final four remaining is San Diego State. Houston and uconn. You're in good company Lewis because I picked Marquette and, uh, Golden Eagles got bounced. So, anyways, this has been another edition of W R A L Triangle and two Lewis. You're the absolute best. I wanna thank you. I wanna thank Capital Broadcasting Company and we'll be with you each week here on W R L Triangle two as we move further and further into the NCAA tournament. It's weird not having Duke Un C or N C State all out of the tournament. Now, here on the Monday, following the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament, we'll see you next time until then. Take care so long, everybody.