Recapping ACC performances in the NCAA tournament

The ACC has proven its strength in the NCAA tournament with four teams reaching the Sweet 16. Despite doubts about the conference's performance this season, the ACC teams have dominated, with only Virginia being the exception. The ACC teams have shown balance and resilience, with both skill and athleticism contributing to their success. NC State's improbable run has surprised many, with key contributions from their big men and improved play from their guards. They have defied expectations and are now considered a team of destiny. The ACC's performance in March showcases why it is still the best conference in college basketball. Welcome to Inside the ACC. I'm Noah Teague from Technician Sports, and I'm joined today by Brendan Lunga of the Daily Tar Heel and Troy Chun of Citrus TV. How are you guys doing today? Doing great. ACC's got four teams in the Sweet 16. Mountain West is a bunch of frauds. You just love to see it, frankly. It's just an amazing performance by all ACC teams so far, so I'm excited to dive into it. Absolutely. We talked all year about how March is the ACC's month, and they are definitely proving that. There are four teams from the ACC in the Sweet 16. North Carolina Tar Heels, the Duke Blue Devils, NC State Wolfpack, and the Clemson Tigers have all made it through their first two games in the NCAA tournament. Obviously, there was a lot of discussion about the ACC being down this season. There was even talk from a certain high-profile reporter that the ACC might only have two teams in the tournament. Obviously, that did not happen, and now the ACC is 8-1 overall, with Virginia being the only blunder. How did we end up here in what's apparently supposed to be a quote-unquote down year, and yet there's still four ACC teams in the Sweet 16? Yeah, every year it's kind of the same story. People doubt the ACC, and then at least two ACC teams make a deep run into the tournament. We kind of saw the same thing this year, especially after that disaster class of a performance that Virginia put up in the first four. Everyone chattered that ACC is down. They're not as good as they used to be, but after that, we see 8-0 in the tournament, all four ACC teams in the Sweet 16, most by any conference, and I think all four can make a very reasonable argument that they are a Final Four team. I think we're all but guaranteed for at least one ACC team in the Final Four. This is the same cycle. We see year in, year out. We're going to see it next year, and I just want to know when the national media will finally realize that ACC is still the best conference in college basketball. It's as simple as that. I think it's mainly just because the ACC always turns it up. It performs at the highest level, and that's all that matters. I will say I am one of the people who have said that the ACC is very down this year, but they turned it up this March. They proved everyone wrong when everyone was saying that this isn't a strong year for the ACC. All the ACC teams aren't good, and we can talk about whether the ACC teams that won, they beat quality opponents or not, but they still won. That's all that matters. In March, you survive and advance, and the ACC, again, they've just proven me wrong. I've been downing all year long, and they've shut me up. I've been high in the Mountain West. They disappointed me. The ACC have been low on all year. They surprised me, and they rose their stock up even farther, and they are always going to be, at one point, the best-performing teams in March. We've seen it with how all these teams have stepped up, especially in the second round. All four teams played really impressive second-round games, but we'll dive into that a little bit later. Absolutely. It's definitely a very exciting time for ACC fans. You look at North Carolina, they're supposed to be here. You look at Duke, they're supposed to be here. The big surprise is, obviously, NC State and Clemson making it to the Sweet 16. Obviously, Clemson, they got through that first-round matchup against New Mexico, and then Baylor, well, NC State put down Texas Tech in Oakland. I think the thing that really stuck out to me a lot is that the way you have to play basketball in the ACC, it helps you in March because you can't just rely on all athleticism, how you see in the ACC. You can't rely on all skill, how you see in the Big Ten. You have to have a little bit of both, and that's what we're seeing from these teams that are very balanced and well-built. Now we're seeing them thrive in March. And it's a very, very exciting time for these fan bases as they're making this run, despite being told all year that it was not going to happen. And yet, here they are, a fourth of the Sweet 16 is in the ACC. So now we'll look at those individual runs, and we'll start with NC State's improbable run, where they are up to, somehow, and I've been proven very wrong on this, seven straight wins after running through the ACC tournament. They are now in the Sweet 16 after beating Texas Tech, 80-67, and winning in overtime against Oakland and America's Cinderella, Jack Golke, 79-73. What are y'all's thoughts on the Wolfpack's run through the tournament so far? Kevin Keats has really shut everyone up. We've said it on this podcast, he was very much on the hot seat and was probably going to be fired after an early ACC tournament exit. And all of a sudden, he's turned up to be the best coach in America, the best coaching job I've seen him do in his career, and really any coach in the country the last couple of weeks. Take a look at their win over Texas Tech. We've talked about how all, essentially, seven, eight guys that they play have contributed in some way, shape, or form against Texas Tech. It was Ben Middlebrooks off the bench with 21 points, DJ Burns at 16 in that game, ODR at 17 in that game. State's been really impressive with their big men the entirety of this improbable run. And then against Oakland, it was a much closer game, but they never wavered. DJ Burns had another monster performance, 24 and 11 rebounds. ODR had 11 and 13 rebounds. And Jaden Taylor, he only scored eight points. He scored zero against Texas Tech, but he scored eight against Oakland. That's not much, but he had essentially hit a big corner three near the end of overtime to basically seal that game for the Wolfpack. And they really just had to grind that game out against Oakland because they were not wavering whatsoever. Trayton Townsend had a big game. Golke, of course, America's hero, six three-pointers on 17 attempts, just kept shooting them. But he was always a threat when he shot the ball because of how he shot well against Kentucky. And now State's in this position where they're playing with a ton of house money. I'm kind of doubting them against Marquette, but like we said many times, I doubted them against Duke. I doubted them against Virginia even. I doubted them against Carolina in the ACC Championship. I really doubted them against a team like Texas Tech. I was higher in Texas Tech. And then now State's in the sweet 16. So anything is possible really in March for this team. And if they keep playing the way they do, getting their big men going, playing tough defense, they don't necessarily match up well, I don't think, against this Marquette team, which have very strong guard play, good big men, they can shoot the heck out of the ball. But again, anything is possible. I'm not doubting NC State. I learned this entire run that I shouldn't doubt NC State in what they do. So I wouldn't be surprised if they lose, but I wouldn't be surprised if they win in an improbable fashion over the Golden Eagles. Yeah, this is kind of the hottest team in the country right now. Have picked up some big wins in the ACC Tournament with Duke, UNC, Virginia, and they come out and that's a really solid Texas Tech team from the Big 12. And kind of won that game pretty handily. They got the production from that big three from the ACC Tournament in DJ Horn, DJ Burns, D'Ara. But also shout out to Middlebrooks who didn't really do too well in the ACC Tournament, but then coming up with that highest scoring performance of that first round with 21 points. Kind of got blessed a little bit missing Kentucky playing Oakland after that first round upset. Would they have matched up as well with Kentucky? You know, I guess we'll never know. And NC State can only play who's in front of them. It was a dogfight like you mentioned, goes to overtime. But as they have done all March, they found a way to win. They're in this sweet six team and they're starting to feel kind of like a team of destiny right now. We'll just have to see how long this continues and if they can play into a third weekend in the Final Four. For sure. One of the biggest things that I've noticed with NC State on this run is they've gotten better just everywhere. It hasn't been one specific area, but their guards and their bigs have stepped up their plays so much. And you've seen it from that first game against Louisville where they were really struggling to open up the ACC Tournament in that first half, trailing one of the worst teams in the country. Now here they are in the sweet 16. Everyone has just elevated their play. Obviously some of that can be attributed to you're going to shoot better at different times of the year or you match up better with different teams. But part of it is these guys have really embraced the idea of why not us. They've really come together as a team and here they are playing their best basketball in March. Troy, like you talked about, the bigs have been phenomenal. Obviously DJ Burns has been the story with all of his moves, whether it's his spin in the post, his hook shot, whether it's Modiara, his defense, his incredible rebounding, which he has just about doubled from six boards a game to 12 from the regular season to the postseason. Or Ben Middlebrooks who went from just a very replaceable backup center to a guy who is playing really quality minutes, is subbing in for DJ Burns, and leaving an impact on the game. He was really cooking against Texas Tech. And that has been huge to their success. It's unlocked play from their guards who've taken a step back a little bit in terms of maybe their numbers, but they've been smarter with the way they're playing. You're not seeing as many bad shots from a Jaden Taylor or a Casey Morsell. Instead, they're picking their spots and being more selective. And that's also been huge for the Wolfpack on this run. Very impressed by their win against Texas Tech. And then going up against a team like Oakland, that's a team that is playing with everything on the line. That is the game of their lives. And they poured it all out. Shout out to Oakland for a phenomenal tournament run. NC State was able to survive that. And here they are going into the second weekend. And this is, they're playing with house money at this point. I don't expect them to win against Marquette, but we'll see. They have proven me wrong time and time again. And they'll have a chance to do it against one of the nation's best. Next up, going to UNC, who is in the Charlotte Regional. First off, they destroyed Wagner, 90-62. And then they had March, Izzo, Michigan State, and they took care of business despite an early deficit, 85-69, leaving no doubt by the end, who is the better squad. What have y'all seen from the Tar Heels so far? Yeah, you know, when the bracket kind of came out, the team I was honestly the most worried about for UNC in the region was that second round matchup, potentially against Michigan State. You know, they're in 9th seed, haven't really played that well. But you never know with Izzo in March, right? And the Spartans did play well, got up to a 12-point lead there in the first half, was up 11 before UNC went on a 17-0 run to close out the half. And the 12-point lead, comeback was their largest comeback in NCAA tournament in 17 years. Ingram hit a couple big threes during that 17-0 run. Davis hit a three to go up by four. The Michigan State kind of had to call a timeout after, and that was really when just the crowd erupted in the Spectrum Center. And right now, I think they look like the second best team in the country behind UConn, especially like in a game with Michigan State, where you're getting four guys that are scoring in double figures. And Ingram, Davis, Baycott, and Cormac Ryan. Elie Cano, really just one of the worst shooters I've ever seen of the basketball as a guard. But he had a plus 20, plus minus in that game, had some big assists to kind of, you know, lead the offense. And then Cliff Trimble coming off the bench with his defensive prowess, had a couple big blocks when Michigan State was trying to come back at the end of the game. Just really, you see that depth and that production, and that's really why I think UNC is one of the teams to beat in the NCAA tournament. You know, and they're getting, like I said, getting solid contributions from other starters. So really looking forward to just seeing how far this team can go. Looking ahead to Alabama, I think they match up well with Alabama, and then a potential, you know, match up with Arizona in 3B-8. Yeah, Carolina's looked super sharp. There's really nothing to be said about what they've done so far. This, again, a Spartan team that's at a 9 seed with Izzo still at the helm, with the guard play they had, especially after a really impressive first round performance. It was always going to be a dangerous matchup, but Carolina's just too well-balanced, so well-rounded. Ingram, of course, you mentioned, hit five three-pointers on the game. RJ Davis, still one of the best players in the country. Baycott did his thing down low, and I really liked what I saw from guys like Trimble and Withers, you know, just providing a lot of depth in the frontcourt, off the bench. And Carolina, they still look really sharp. Bama maybe does worry me a little bit because of how Bama's just been able to score the ball at will for most of this tournament. Mark Sears is a really dangerous point guard, arguably could even say he's slightly better than RJ Davis. He's played at a higher level in these two games that I've seen from him, but I do think Carolina should be able to pull out the win. I do think they do have the defensive personnel to really hold down Bama's really scorching hot offense right now, and I would be surprised if they lose, but they should be able to hold up. I'd be kind of surprised if this turns into a shootout all of a sudden. Absolutely. For me, this is about where I expected Carolina to be after the first weekend. They did really impress me, though, in that Michigan State game where they showed the ability to come back. Obviously, we've seen this Carolina team be able to smoke opponents. They have been one of the top five best teams in the country all season long, but getting down like that, getting punched in the mouth on first weekend, and then being able to come back like that in the fashion that they did, and then leaving no doubt in the end, to me, that was what was most impressive by Carolina, the fact that they remained unfazed, and you look at their stars. All of their stars were able to show up and contribute in different ways. Obviously, RJ Davis, he led the team with 20 points, very efficient, 7-15 shooting. Harrison Ingram really shot it well from deep, hitting five three-pointers. He also grabbed seven boards, and then you look at Armando Bacot, and he also ended up with 18 points, seven boards himself, and so you saw all the stars. They stepped up when it mattered most, and this team was able to rally and beat Michigan State in a tough situation, but very excited to see them now go into a very tough stretch against Alabama and then Arizona. Obviously, we've talked about Alabama, how phenomenal they are offensively, but this is a team that is vulnerable defensively. I'm definitely intrigued by what RJ Davis can do against them, what Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot, and the rest of these guys can do, because while Alabama has scored it well, they have also given up points all season long, so very interested to see what the Tar Heels could do there, and then the potential matchup against Caleb Love is definitely one that you can only find that in a storybook, so very, very excited for the path ahead for Carolina and very impressed through their first weekend. Next up, we have Duke, who got through Vermont, who was a bit of a trendy upset pick, and then they left no doubt against James Madison, another kind of trendy Cinderella-type team. What are y'all's thoughts on the Blue Devils' first weekend in the NCAA Tournament? Yeah, I got two words for you, and that's Jared McCain. He was just absolutely on fire. Eight three-pointers, 30 points on the game for Duke, and once he just started getting going early in the first half, this game was pretty much over. JMU had a really impressive win against Wisconsin. That made me very happy, but they just didn't have the juice against Duke. Once McCain got going, Proctor had a really good game. Bill Pausky was very good down low. Roach had a solid game. They didn't really need Mitchell to get going, but it didn't really matter. Duke just looked really impressive, looked like almost a completely different team compared to what you've seen from them at some points this season. I thought Duke was going to struggle a little bit. They struggled a bit against Vermont, but in this game against JMU, and after JMU pulled off a really impressive win against Wisconsin, they just left no doubt whatsoever. Now, do I think Duke's going to get past a really good team in Houston who, by the way, won even though four of their starters fouled out against Texas Tech last night? It's still going to be a very tricky matchup for Duke. I think Kelvin Sampson is probably one of the best, one of the top three coaches in the country right now. Houston has the best defense. Jamal Shedd played really well against Texas A&M, did everything. Emmanuel Sharp scored 30 points. That Houston team is not to be taken lightly. You're not going to score easily on them, and their guards can really make you pay on the offensive end. So, it's going to be very tricky for Duke. I don't know if I see a path for them winning unless they can really get going from the outside. They can really get Filipowski going down low, but it's going to be really tricky for Duke. But they have looked better than I expected them to be in this tournament. Again, pulling off that win over a red-hot JMU team, super impressive, but I don't know if it's going to carry over to when they play Houston or later this week. Yeah, it finally looks like Duke is starting to come back to form. Coming into the tournament with two straight losses, you know, got a good win against a solid Vermont team in the first round. That's kind of just started, you know, brought back the energy for this Duke team. Comes into the second round and just beats the brakes off of James Madison, who looked really good in its opening round win, you know, against Wisconsin. You mentioned Jerry McCain. I think he's the best freshman in the ACC and has been all season. 30 points, five boards, eight threes from behind the arc, all that needs to be said. Absolute gutsy performance from him in his first, you know, just his second tournament game. We know Filipowski is the engine of this team, but, you know, in March we always say guard play is the key, and if McCain plays like this all tournament, you know, who knows how far this Duke team can go. I, like you Troy, I'm not very fond of this matchup for Duke against Houston, but, you know, these top guys who do keep playing like this, I think they can beat any team in the country. Absolutely, it was very, definitely a very impressive weekend for the Blue Devils. To me, the biggest thing is that they were able to bounce back from their tough end to the season, obviously getting swept by Carolina and then losing their first ACC tournament game against NC State. Not the way you want to go into the tournament, but they were able to regroup and they played really, really well in these two games. Obviously, their first matchup against Vermont, they held the catamounts to only 47 points. Very impressive team, defensive efforts, and then against JMU, they turned it up offensively. You brought up Jared McCain, eight for 11 from three. That is just unbelievable. That is, that's better than Steph Curry-like numbers. You just do not see that every night, so hats off to McCain for one of the best performances of anyone in the tournament so far. For Duke to be able to capitalize on this strongest start, though, and to get past Houston, they're going to have to have not just McCain cooking, but the entire team is going to have to step up. I was definitely a little disappointed in Mark Mitchell, only getting two points, one for six shooting, was definitely not looking great. And then Kyle Filipowski, obviously, he was efficient, but I do want to see more from him. Only five boards against James Madison. He had 14 points, which is solid, but against a big-time opponent like Houston, you're going to have to step it up. Your biggest stars have to shine in March, and so I'm definitely worried about the Blue Devils heading into their sweet 16 matchup. Next up, we have the Clemson Tigers, who took the hardest path of the ACC teams, in my opinion, to get to the sweet 16. First, they blew the doors off of New Mexico. Then it looked like they were going to do the same against Baylor. Really just fell apart mid-game, and then somehow, some way, were able to rally. I owe Brad Brownell an apology. I've doubted that man all year, and yet somehow, he has brought this Clemson Tigers team to the sweet 16. Hats off to the entire Clemson team, the entire Clemson coaching staff. They have done absolutely phenomenal, blowing expectations out of the water. Here they are now, set to face off with Arizona in the sweet 16. What are you guys' thoughts on the Tigers so far? Yeah, I said last week that I think Clemson has the talent to be a Final Four team. P.J. Hall is one of the best bigs in the country. They have really solid guard play with Chase Hunter and Joe Girard. It's just, you know, can they prevent themselves from getting in their own way? And we kind of saw that at the end of the Baylor game. But, you know, when they beat a really good New Mexico team out of the Midwest, you know, I kind of thought, you know, here we go, you know, this team is about to make a run. And they played really well in that Baylor game, except, you know, at the end, almost gave it away. But they did get the job done, even with Hall sitting on the bench, you know, after fouling out with like a minute to go. And if you ask me right now what their ceiling is, I think it's still Final Four. They've already beaten UNC, and I don't mind their chances against Arizona. Is it unlikely? You know, sure. But Clemson has shown that when they play their game, they're a top team in the country. And, you know, I wouldn't pick them against any team, frankly, in the West. Yeah, I had New Mexico go into the Elite Eight on my bracket, first of all. Didn't work out. So, Clemson, again, super impressive performance. It's not even that they're forwards like Hall and Scheifelin who have dominated really the entire season for them. They've gotten really good play from their guards, especially we'll mention them later, Chase Hunter, Gerrard. They've gotten some decent performances from their bench. And even though they almost had a second half collapse, I will say that I think they kind of got lucky. You know, how does an 80% free throw shooter miss two for the tie at the line? That doesn't happen that much. But Clemson still was able to pull through. They survived. And I still like where Clemson's going right now. I do think that, I do agree with Brendan, they can be as good as a Final Four team right now. But Arizona, not an easy matchup. Although I do think that Tommy Lloyd has some questions to answer as a coach, especially since after last year's disaster, losing to Princeton, and then barely getting through to the second round. But Arizona, still a tough team, still a really good team. Caleb Love, former UNC guard, playing against another ACC team. This is a tough matchup, I'll say. But I think Clemson could go, like I said, for a lot of the other teams before, I wouldn't be surprised if they win. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost. If Clemson gets by, I would not, again, I would not be surprised. This is March, we're talking about. Absolutely, anything can happen in March, even Brad Brownell, not totally choking away wins. But shout out to the Tigers, man. Obviously in that first game, drawing New Mexico, as much as we've joked a little bit about the Mountain West, not living up to expectations, New Mexico is still a very good team. And Clemson really disposed of them. They jumped out ahead early and just never looked back. So very impressed by the Tigers. And then against Baylor, the way that they were able to maintain that aggressiveness and play hard, build up a big lead. Obviously, they did blow it there. But then to come back from that, in so many situations, we've seen Clemson teams over the year fall apart, Clemsoning, if you will. However, in this case, they were able to hold on for the lead. And it was even with their biggest star, not necessarily playing his best game. Obviously, PJ Hall is that man for the Tigers. He only shot four for 11, only had 11 total points. They got the most out of some of their other players, Chase Hunter, Ian Shefflin, even getting some contributions from Jack Clark. But I'm most looking forward in this Sweet 16 matchup to see what the Tigers can do to get PJ Hall going. He is the straw that serves the drink for them. And I'm very interested to see, can they get him going? Because we've seen throughout the years, PJ Hall, he has these huge games of 20 plus points. Can he have one of those against Arizona? They're going to need their biggest star to step up. Will the Tigers get it? I don't know. But that's, in my opinion, the biggest thing that they're going to have to do to get past Arizona. And then obviously, if they do that, they would potentially match up with North Carolina to create an all-ACC Elite Eight, which would be quite the storyline this season. Next up, we'll go to our Performers of the Week. Who do you all have as the standouts from this tournament so far? Yeah, I'm going to go with Armando Baycott. This guy was the centerpiece of UNC's run in 2022. And then, you know, he kind of just picked up right where he left off this year in the tournament against Wagner. UNC knew that Wagner really had a size problem, was only playing with a seven-man rotation, had one guy that was taller than 5'7". And so frankly, they just said, you know, they game-planned specifically to go to Armando early and often, finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds. At the time, it was his seventh straight double-double in the NCAA tournament and sixth straight tournament game with 15 boards. Followed that up, 18 points against Michigan State, he'd lose the double-double streak with just seven boards. But again, he was the centerpiece of UNC's run against the Spartans, second-leading scorer on the team. And I think Baycott is the key to how far UNC goes in this tournament. And if he keeps, like, playing like this down low, there's really not many teams that will be able to stop the Tar Heels. I'm going to go with Chase Hunter. Now, Hunter has been a really solid guard for Clemson all year. He's been their starting point guard. He's averaged around 12 points a game. But before these two NCAA tournament games, he only had one game where he reached 20 points, and that was back in February against Miami, where he scored exactly 20 points. He had not gone over 20 points the entire season before that. He's had some really solid performances where he's just finished short of 20 and never above 20. These two games against New Mexico and Baylor. Against New Mexico, he scored 21 points. Against Baylor, he scored 20. He's been shooting 50 percent. He shot 50 percent from the floor in both of those games. 44 percent from three. He's been Clemson's leading scorer in these tournament games. They've not had to rely on Hall and Shiflin that much. He's come up big, even when Hall fouled out late. Shiflin hasn't been as good as he should be in the regular season. He's still been solid, but not as good. It's been Hunter who's stood out to me the most from Clemson. Again, he's kind of blown a little bit of expectations because he's just been a very solid guard the entire year. Not a great one, but he stepped up to be a great one during this tournament run. When you're in the NCAA tournament, you really need strong bar play, and that's what Clemson's got from Chase Hunter. For sure. Both Hunter and Baycott have been stars so far through the first weekend, and they very well can keep that going. For me, I was this close to taking Jared McCain just because of what he was able to do against the Dukes, but I ended up going with NC State's big man, D.J. Burns, who everyone has seen him by now. Everyone has seen how he is just a wrecking ball, and you have to get out of his way. He has played some of his best basketball in the NCAA tournament against Texas Tech. Obviously, it wasn't the greatest game for him, but he still managed to get 16 points more than he's averaged throughout the year. The biggest thing that I saw from D.J. in the Texas Tech game was his ability to be a leader. Obviously, he was having a bit of a tough start and even got cooking a little bit in the second half, but he was every single time that his backup, Ben Middlebrooks, would score. He was the first one to stand up on the bench, cheering, dapping him up, really leading, and he has stepped up as a huge leader for this team. Then against the Oakland Grizzlies, when things got tough, D.J. Burns was the man for NC State. He was the guy who NC State knew they could toss the ball to him, and he would find a way to score. He ended up with 24 points, and he played 42 minutes. An absolutely impressive feat for the big man. Shot 75 percent overall, and every time that he would catch the ball, Oakland would swarm to him. They would send two, three, even at times four defenders just charging all at him, and he would somehow still make a play, whether he's spinning and putting the bucket in or passing it out to the open man. He got four assists in that game, and just the way that D.J. was able to play, making smart plays, not necessarily flashy, but he was making smart plays all game long against Oakland, and without him, they would have been sent home packing just like Kentucky. However, he stepped up and played probably one of his best games of his entire college career, and now America's favorite big man is going to continue going for at least one more game against Marquette. I do want to say though, I was very impressed by Jared McCain. Really, really thought about bringing him here, but we'll give him an honorable mention for Performer of the Week. Last up before we get out of here, I want to talk a little bit about these Sweet 16 matchups and what we can expect. First one we'll start with is NC State taking on the two seed in the South Regional, and that is Marquette. What are y'all's expectations for this one? Yeah, I think this will be a really fun game. Tiara and the D.J.'s on one side, Tyler Kolick on the other. You know, these are two pretty storied basketball programs that have struggled in recent years to reach the second weekend. Both are now just two wins away from a Final Four. I think it'll come down to if State can limit Kolick to the best of their ability and then establish Burns down low. You mentioned that he's really the engine for the State team, and they're going to really go as D.J. Burns goes. He's played some of the best basketball of his career at the right time in March. I think he will need to continue that on Friday if State wants to keep this train going and pull off the upset. Marquette is a really big favorite in this game, but I don't know. There's just something about this NC State team that I really just can't pick against them until they prove me otherwise. Like I said before, this team feels like a team of destiny, and I'm still not really bought all the way into Marquette, so I'm going to take NC State to win by five and advance to the Elite Eight. As I mentioned earlier, it's been really hard to just doubt State. I've already doubted them so many times during this improbable run that now I wouldn't be surprised if they win in a big margin against a team like Marquette, but my key to the game is stopping Cam Jones, simply enough. Cam Jones has been on fire this entire tournament. 28 points in the first round against Western Kentucky, 17 against Colorado. He's been red hot from behind the arc, shooting 45 percent. He shoots 41 percent on this season. He's a dangerous shooter. They should be able to not let him shoot at all during this game. Of course, you have to take a look at Polek, who I think has been, again, very good even with the injury concerns coming into this tournament. He's looked like his old self. Iguitaro is good. They've got some good pieces off the bench. Again, there's no reason to doubt NC State right now because I've doubted them so many times. There's no reason for me not to pick against them until they prove me wrong in some way, like Brendan said. I don't think I can pick against them right now. I have to go with them because they've just won. There's no reason to say there's no pattern through each of their games to say that they can't win this one. I am also going to pick NC State for this game. They will go to the Elite Eight as well. They'll win by, let's say, three. I think this is going to come down to the wire like the Oakland game. We will be talking about NC State Elite Eight very soon and maybe even potentially a Final Four appearance, which is crazy to think about. If you had told me that two weeks ago, I would have said that you are absolutely crazy. Yet somehow, someway, you can actually envision it. For me, it's definitely a tough matchup for the Wolfpack, obviously diving into Marquette. They just have so much talent. It starts with Kulik, who is the bus driver for this team. He's a threat for a triple-double every night because he just does it all for this team. You mentioned Cam Jones. He is a threat to score from anywhere on the court, especially from deep. Looking at those two guards, I think that the Wolfpack will be able to contain at least one of them. One of NC State's guards, Casey Morsell, has been locking guards up. Whichever he gets the assignment for will probably have a quiet game. I just don't see NC State having enough to contain both of them, whether they give that second assignment to Jaden Taylor, DJ Horn, Michael O'Connell. It's just going to be tough to contain them. And then on the boards, I'm also a little bit worried about NC State for this game. You brought up Oso Iguodoro. He is a monster on the boards. We'll see if NC State can make something happen. Obviously, Burns, for all his scoring prowess, isn't necessarily an elite rebounder. And then Diarra, who is observing Ramdan, just because of the tip times, won't be able to have any food or water before or during most of the game. So the only time during this run where that's happened was against Louisville. He played significantly less minutes. That could certainly be a factor for NC State. So they're going to need Burns to step up defensively, and they're going to need Middlebrook to step up. And I just, obviously, the big men have played phenomenal for State. I just don't know if I see it happening again. I've doubted this team for a long of this run, and I'm going to pick Marquette. I think it'll be close, but I think that ultimately Marquette just has too much. But NC State could certainly win this thing. They've proven that they can hang with anyone, but I do, just for the sake of objectivity, I've got to go with the Wolfpack. Next up, Duke and Houston, arguably the most high-profile game with two teams that have title aspirations year in and year out. Due to the Blue Devils, can they pull off the upset and make it to the Elite Eight? Yeah, I think it's crazy that we are one game away from a Duke State Elite Eight. But when I look at this game, I just really just don't see a way in which Duke can pull out a victory. Playing some great basketball right now, but Houston, I think, is on its way to at least a Final Four. Bit of a trip up against Texas A&M, as we mentioned. That's going to happen during a tournament run. You can't blow every team out like UConn did last year. I just think Houston offensively and defensively is a better unit compared to Duke. It'll certainly be close, but I just think, you look at the guard matchup, Sharp, Shedd, I think they match up well. Filipowski will need to have, I think, one of the best games of his career if Duke wants to win this game. Fairly close spread, only four points. But at the end of the day, I picked Houston to win the National Championship. I still think Houston wins the National Championship, and I just trust them a lot more than I trust Duke. So I'm going to go with the Cougars to win by eight in this one. Yeah, if Duke plays the way they did against Cham, they might still be in this game. But I think the way Houston won was just insane against A&M. I mean, going down four of your starters, fouling out, having to play a walk-on senior who had barely played this entire season, and him hitting the clutchest free throw of his life. I mean, that's just like also kind of Team of Destiny kind of vibes there from Houston. So I just think that they also have the better guards. They are the best defensive team in the country. Well-coached, Sampson knows what he's doing, and this Houston team has kind of been underrated, I feel like, as a team overall for some reason. I know they got kind of wolfed by Iowa State in the Big 12 Semifinals, but make no mistake that that was pretty much just a hiccup in the road there. And even though they're playing without a couple of their key reserve guys like Terrence Archeneau and JoJo Tuggler, they're still a very well-rounded depth team with plenty of depth coming off the bench. A couple guys that can play and plug in for some of their guys might get into foul trouble. Still, I like Houston in the stature better than Duke. I think Shire might run into a bit of a wall here, even though I think he's been a very good coach these past couple of weeks. So give me Houston by 10. For sure. I do also have Houston. I don't think they'll run away with this one, but I do think that Houston, they're just a better team. Obviously, we've seen them have to fight through some adversity in that Texas A&M game, and having a game where that battle hardens you, then going into your next game, I feel very confident in Houston's ability to bounce back from that. That might have been the wake-up call that they needed against a very good A&M team to then get ready for Duke. Obviously, they have a dynamic backcourt led by Jamal Sheed, and I'm very curious to see, okay, if Houston can play a little more under control, stay out of foul trouble, what can they look like in this tournament? Obviously, we saw in the Big 12 tournament, they were ripping through teams until they got to Iowa State, where their offense was just completely shut down. But their defense was still very solid, and that defense is going to lock down on Duke. It's just very tough for anybody to break through, and I don't see Duke being the team that does. Obviously, with McCain, he had his hot shooting performance, going 8 for 11. That's not the type of performance that you often replicate. I don't think it happens again. I think that Duke probably falls back down to earth a little bit more. We see the Duke that we saw throughout the regular season, a little shaky, a little inconsistent, and just not the most defined roles for a lot of their players. You saw different nights, different guys were the top player. For me, that's a concern. I want players to have established roles, and they didn't necessarily have that all that much at Duke, and so going up against a juggernaut in Houston, I think this is the end of the road. Give me Houston by about five. Next up, we have Arizona and Clemson all the way out on the West Coast, so there will be plenty of Wildcat fans for sure. It's going to be a tough environment for Clemson to play in. However, they have looked a little bit. I know we've talked a little bit about Team of Destiny. Arguably, Clemson has looked like that. After getting beat down by Boston College in the ACC tournament, Clemson has had as good a response as you could have hoped for, and here they are facing the two-seed Arizona in the West Brackets. What are y'all's expectations for the Tigers? Yeah, I think it's the ACC game that I'm really looking forward to the most come this weekend. In a vacuum, talent-wise, I think these teams are neck and neck. Arizona has been one of the best teams in the country all year, and Clemson has really shown that they can play with the top dogs. I think this game in particular comes down to the guards. You know, Chase Hunter or Joe Girard, can they match shot for shot with Caleb Love? We have yet to see a classic NCAA tournament Caleb Love game. Will we see that in the Sweet 16? It's definitely a possibility. I think I've been, out of the three of us, the highest, most Clemson truther, but with that being said, I'm going to take Arizona. I think they're just a better team. I think they win about five, and I think we're going to get that Arizona-UNC game. Getting that Arizona-UNC game, Caleb Love against his old school, would be really awesome, and I do think Clemson and Arizona will be a really fun, high-scoring matchup. I think Clemson, this will finally be the game where Hall and Sheffrin can really get going. They haven't really gotten to their usual selves yet this tournament, but I think they can get to that, and it's going to be a really intriguing matchup down the road between Hall and Arizona's center, Omar Balo. I think Arizona, they're a little bit more talented to me. I think Tommy Lloyd is a really good coach, and I think he's really underrated in some metrics as well, and I think Arizona is just slightly better on paper than Clemson, and I just think that with their experience they have with a guy like Caleb Love, who's been to the Final Four before, who's made the biggest shot before, I think this is going to be a win for Clemson. I think they're going to be a really win for Arizona. Not comfortably, this will be a pretty close game, but I think they end up winning in the end by 7. Absolutely. This is, at least in my opinion, the one that I'm also most intrigued by because we've seen so many different versions of this Clemson team. Are we going to see the one that we saw against New Mexico in during most of the Baylor game, or are we going to see the team that got beat down by Boston College? For me, I've been lower on Clemson all year, been very upfront about that. However, I think the Tigers win this thing. I think that they are the team of destiny that I think a lot of people are kind of not necessarily paying attention to right now. They can really shoot the lights out. Obviously, Ian Sheflin has been phenomenal on the boards for them. Chase Hunter, we've talked about everything that he has done for this team, whether it's scoring, passing. He's done a great job of directing this offense. And then P.J. Hall, if you can insert the best version of P.J. Hall, this team can play with almost anyone. We've seen them already go at Carolina and win in the Dean Dome. We've seen them basically win at Cameron, except for a call that ends up deciding the game. For the Tigers, they can compete with anyone. They've shown it. They proved it in the regular season, in the non-conference as well, beating teams like Alabama, South Carolina. If we get the best version of Clemson, they will win this game, despite the fact that Arizona has pretty much a home court advantage, despite the way that Arizona has a superstar in Caleb Love. I think that Clemson, if they put together their best game, they can do a little bit of everything. They can shoot the lights out. They can play just very good quality basketball that's very balanced. And that is what wins you in March. So give me the Tigers in an upset by three points over Arizona. And last up, we have North Carolina and Alabama, a heavyweight clash. Alabama, a phenomenal offensive team. North Carolina, the number one seed in the West region. What are y'all's expectations for the Tar Heels? Yeah, unless UNC is playing against UConn or Houston, I'm going to pick UNC. I think Alabama is a good matchup. They're shooting the lights out right now. They play really fast. But just defensively, I don't know if they can hold up against UNC. UNC has shown that when they really buckle down, like they did in the second half against Michigan State, they are very good defensively. And I just think they will be able to outscore Alabama. I think we could see a big R.J. Davis game, possibly another 30-point performance. And I think Cormac Ryan also will have a big game. Back two years ago in Notre Dame, they upset Alabama because of Cormac Ryan's shooting, scored in the 20s. I think we might be able to see that again. I'm really not as worried, maybe as I should be, for this UNC matchup. I think they should win by double digits. Maybe that's a little ambitious, but I do think they get the job done. And I think they set up an Elite Eight matchup either against Arizona and Caleb Love or Clemson ACC should be a fun one either way. Yeah, I would be really excited for the Elite Eight matchup either way. I think Carolina, as you said Brandon, still very good. For a lot of these UNCs specifically, there really isn't a reason to doubt them yet. These UNCs in this entire tournament haven't really shown that they should be doubted, like you should pick against them. Really only about past things, like we're talking about now. And Carolina hasn't really shown that many weaknesses in this tournament like they have in the regular season. And I think that Alabama, while it's a very good team, and I think Alabama's gotten better as the season's gone on, especially offensively, that defense is still very weak. And I think that I would rather see Carolina's starting five and their guys off the bench than what Alabama has, even though Mark Sears is a very good scoring guard. I think Carolina will pull it out at the end. They should win in convincing fashion. I got them winning by about 13, let's say. Absolutely. I am with you guys. I do believe that this is a very good matchup for Carolina. And the biggest thing for me in this matchup is that Alabama does not play defense. They just don't. Obviously, they gave up, I believe, 96 points against Charleston, who obviously in their league in that level is a good offensive team. However, if you are a top tier SEC team, that is completely unacceptable. And I do not see them in probably the biggest game of many of these guys' lives being able to stop the Tar Heels, who are just an absolute force. They can score with almost anyone, almost anywhere. R.J. Davis, I don't know if he's going to repeat his performance against Miami, but he could certainly pop off in this game. Harrison Ingram, I would expect for him to have a big game. Cormac Ryan, I would expect for him to have a big game. And then, of course, Armando Baycott, in his farewell tour, is going to cook against the Ties. Give me Carolina to win this thing pretty convincingly. I think that they'll probably win this thing by at least 10, but I don't know. They can win this thing by over 15. Give me Carolina to roll. So before we get out of here, I just want to give our quick, rapid-fire final four picks through the teams that you guys expect to be talking about in the final four next week. Yeah, I'm going to go UNC out of the West. I just don't think they could be stopped right now. Houston, I don't think NC State or Duke can beat that team. That's who I think is going to win the national championship. A little bit of a shocker, give me Illinois out of the East. Can UConn be stopped? I don't know, but Illinois has looked really good taking down Duke and Morehead State. Not great competition, but they've looked really good after winning the Big Ten. And then I'm going to take Creighton out of the Midwest. Until Purdue shows me otherwise, I will still not be bought into Matt Painter and the Boilermakers. Yeah, so my final four is almost exactly the same. I have Carolina coming out of that region. I have UConn. I mean, you saw UConn against Northwestern. They've plunked down a really good Northwestern team like it was nothing. And Dan Hurley was not even satisfied when they were up by like 30 at the break. So I'm taking UConn out of that region. Out of the Purdue region, I have actually Tennessee. I think this is Tennessee's year to make the final four. It's final four for most of them. I think the Knicks is probably the best career scorer in the country. And I think Tennessee, it was a little scrappy against Texas, but they got through the really tough matchup against Creighton. Either of those teams are good enough to make the final four, but give me Tennessee. And right now I also do have Houston coming out of their region. Kentucky, I had them in the final four. You all know what happens. Houston's the best team by far in that region left. So give me Houston to make the final four. Although I do really hope NC State does make it somehow, some way. Absolutely. For me, I'm going to make it all three with Houston. I think that they are also going to win the national championship. They've just really impressed me all season long. I have Iowa State coming out of their region. Their defense has been absolutely phenomenal. Give me the Cyclones. I am in agreement with you, Troy, that this is Tennessee's year to make the final four. Dalton Kinect has been the steel of the transfer portal cycle. He's really been phenomenal. As well as the entire team. Rick Barnes, one of the best coaches in the country. And then give me Carolina to make the final four. This team is a force right now. They are a bust that you do not want to be in front of. And they are going to steamroll Alabama, probably be Clemson as well. So give me the Tar Heels to also make the final four. That'll wrap it up for us today. Thank you to everyone for listening. We'll be back again next week to talk final four.