Buckets & Birdies
The Buckets & Birdies Podcast hosted by @cbills23 and @mg1nyard
23 minutes of hoops, golf and sports across the state of North Carolina.
Buckets & Birdies
Selection Sunday
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It’s time for the bracket reveal. Marcus and Carter break down Selection Sunday and react to the teams selected for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. From surprises and snubs to early predictions, we dive into everything that makes this one of the most exciting days in college basketball.
The bracket is set—let the madness begin. 🏀
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Buckets and Birdies Podcast. Buckets and Birdies is a weekly glimpse into the worlds of basketball and golf.
SPEAKER_01We'll also balance national sports trends with ACC Insights and provide a lens of notable happenings of sports in our home state of North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00Two friends and industry professionals getting together to bring you 23 minutes of fun each week with shared experiences around buckets and birdies. He's Carter Bills, sports agent and seasoned consultant in the golf space.
SPEAKER_01Joining me on the mic is national champion Tario Great, Marcus Guineard. Welcome to Buckets and Birdies.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to another episode of the Buckets and Birdies podcast.
SPEAKER_01It's Sunday, March 15th, and when everyone's hearing this one, Marcus, it'll be Tuesday, March 17th.
SPEAKER_00That's right, Carter, because usually we're dropping every Friday at high noon. But given that it's Selection Sunday, we wanted to bring you a special March Madness episode that you will hear on Tuesday before the games get underway.
SPEAKER_01St. Patrick's Day. Let the madness begin. I can't wait, man.
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir. It's gonna be great. It's gonna be great.
SPEAKER_01We appreciate everybody listening. 23 minutes of our thoughts for you. And we'll start this episode, Marcus, as we do always with our quote of the day. And today, the quote of the day is from Bobby Jones. Mr. Jones says, I never learned anything from a match I won.
SPEAKER_00Love that quote, Carter. You know, there's some teams that finish their season with a win, some with losses. But at the end of the day, there's going to be a lot of hard lessons coming up here in March Madness.
SPEAKER_01No question. No question. And Mr. Jones is one to listen to. I'm grateful to work with his grandson, Bob Jones IV, is actually one of our clients. And I know uh Marcus that Bobby Jones was born on St. Patrick's Day. And so on this day, when everyone's listening, did want to give a tip of the cap to Mr. Jones. He kept a four-leaf clover in his pocket. His mother gave him for hope, faith, love, and luck, each of the four leaves. And I'd say Mr. Jones had a lot of luck in his career. And uh happy birthday to the late Mr. Jones.
SPEAKER_00Happy birthday, Mr. Jones. And as you mentioned, Carter, you're gonna need some luck. We got Marshall Madness starting. I know that you were just recently uh at High Point uh for selection Sunday. So please, as we jump off the top here, tell us about what it was like to be in High Point.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm coming right back into the office here, Marcus, straight from the Quebeen Center in High Point to your point. They had a selection show turnout there in High Point. It was a great turnout. Everyone got excited. They've done this two years in a row now. After winning the Big South championship, you know you're getting that automatic bid, but you still don't know which region you're going to. You still don't know which matchup you're gonna get. So just like every other team, you sit there in anticipation. And I was traveling last year, so I didn't get to do that. I did that with the family this year, a lot of friends and folks in the arena, and it was just a lot of fun to see the joy on the coaches and the players' face. And I tell you what, they were locked in. They didn't care who it was. Uh, and you know that feeling when you're about to be matched up. When you feel prepared, it really probably, Marcus, doesn't matter who's on the other side of you. High point at 12 drew Wisconsin at five out west. Uh, and it'll be an interesting matchup in Portland. High point leads the nation in scoring. They lead the nation in steals. They're gonna give any five seed they get in front of them problems. And we know the unique history of the 12-5 matchup. Typically, one upset in that uh line happens. So hopefully it's the high point Panthers this year.
SPEAKER_00Man, you're absolutely right. That is gonna be a tough matchup. Uh, super excited for another North Carolina team to be dancing here in March. Um, as you mentioned, high point going for the second year in a row, which I think is absolutely incredible. And let me tell you, Carter, there's gonna be a lot of people that put high point uh moving on to the next round. So super excited for everybody on that team. And you know, you also talked about what it was like for me to have been through this experience. Uh it's one of the most magical things out there. And um, it's just one of those things that's really hard to describe, but you know, there's the joy, the elation. Uh, you've put in a lot of hard work, not only to get to where you are playing in college basketball, but throughout that season, you know, with your brothers and and with the coaches, um, with the fans too. It's a great experience for everybody to be there and to see where you're gonna end up, you know, in the brackets and just know that you have a chance. Right now, everybody feels super um you know, excited and and and just hopeful, as you mentioned earlier, right? Hope. We need a little bit of hope right now and um just really, really uh fired up for all these teams here in Marshmallows.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And looking back at your time, you talk about thinking about who you're matched up with on the other side. Again, you being matched up with other teams. And I'm like, well, gosh, maybe Marcus doesn't know what it's like if you've only been a one or a two seed, you're getting 15 and 16 seeds. But you have had some adversity as you advance as a one or a two seed, inevitably you're playing better teams also. But talk about it, whether it's a 15-16 seed, or whether you're in the next weekend against that eight-nine game, or in the final four against a one-two matchup. I think 2008 it was all one seeds, right? You're in one-one matchups. How did you guys look at who you were gonna play versus what you needed to do to prepare, regardless if it was on the other side of you?
SPEAKER_00Carter, this is one of those moments where all of these rankings really don't matter. And that is exactly why everybody loves watching Marshmallows. You get to see a 16 seed knock off a one seed, you get to see the 12 seed beat the five seed. I mean, this is a time of year when none of that matters. It comes down to preparation, execution, confidence, all of those things, right? It happens on the court. So you got to be locked in and ready to go each and every night. And it's a mix, Carter. It's what you have to do as a team and focusing on that, right? Making that the most important. But I think more than ever, as you're playing so many different schools, teams that you may not have faced throughout the season. I mean, this is also a time where you have to prepare for different teams and different personnel matchups and things like that. And so um a little bit of a combination there, right? Preparing for who you're gonna face, but but also just making sure you're locking into your team's identity and doing the things that have made you successful throughout the year.
SPEAKER_01And this takes us nicely, Marcus, from off the top, right into Buckets. We are clearly talking March Madness this week. This is a March Madness special episode of Buckets and Birdies, and what has got your attention in the regions? What has got your attention for the Tar Heels? What are your thoughts overall?
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, obviously going to start with our heels. Um, just really thrilled uh for them to get a local draw here in Greenville, South Carolina. So that's great to be able to pull from the fan base here locally that will definitely be there to support them. It's interesting to have Duke and Carolina both in that that same first round pool. Um so that will definitely get a lot of attention, as you can imagine, here in North and South Carolina. But, you know, really when you look across the board, I mean, this is going to make for an awesome um NCAA tournament. There's some matchups out there. You already talked about high point in Wisconsin. Uh, you know, we've got another local team, NC State, in the play-in game against Texas. That ought to be interesting. So, really, as you look across the board, um, you're just kind of thinking about what path certain teams may be able to take to get to the final four and then ultimately be the last team standing. Um, I think we've got a lot of interesting matchups that that are going to be really, really fun to watch.
SPEAKER_01Without question. All right, Marcus. So this just came out an hour ago. It's fresh for both of us. Let's pull them up together and take a look. We'll go here just as ESPN did as they went down. I think they started with the East bracket, and the Duke Blue Devils were the number one overall seed. Duke to Butabo on the regular season. You got to give them credit.
SPEAKER_00No surprise with them being the number one seed in the East. Um, and as you continue to look through the East, again, you know, you get back to these interesting matchups here. You know, you got the the 8-9 matchup, which everybody knows is always um going to be fun to watch with Ohio State and TCU. But, you know, I've kind of got my eyes on this St. John's Northern Iowa matchup. Okay. And after that, the potential to have St. John's and Kansas playing in the second round. Um, you got Michigan State towards the bottom of this east bracket. Um, when you know they're gonna be making some noise here in March, Tom Izzo always has his team ready to play. Um, they're exciting to watch. And then UConn, I mean, this is this is a serious bracket right here in the East with Duke, St. John's, Kansas, Louisville, if they play up to their potential, and and Mikhail Brown is playing, you know, as well as he can, Michigan State and Yukon. I again, man, this is gonna be a tough bracket to come out of.
SPEAKER_01I think you and I would take every shot we possibly could to say, oh, the Duke Blue Devils got a cakewalk or an easy walk to the Final Four. And you know what? They're the number one overall seed. If there was an easy walk, maybe they deserve it. But this is absolutely brutal. The East bracket, to your point, I think is the toughest. I think Yukon, to your point, is the best two seed. I think Michigan State is the best three-seed. Kansas, from a talent standpoint, if Darren Peterson, everybody is healthy and ready to go, the best four-seed. And the Johnnies from St. John's, they have an argument to be the best five seed. So I think Marcus, the toughest region so far as we look at this is certainly the East. The Blue Devils are going to have a tough road to hoe.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. So you got to tell me, who do you think is going to come out of the East bracket?
SPEAKER_01I know with it being the toughest, it's hard to say, Marcus, but I do have advancing Duke versus St. John's, and then I've got Michigan State versus Yukon. I've got the Spartans over the Huskies, and then I've got the Blue Devils over St. John's. So I've got Duke and Michigan State in that region, and I've got Michigan State upsetting the Duke Blue Devils. I think Jeremy Fears is going to be the best guard on the floor, and I think point guard play especially matters in March. And I think Tom Izzo and the experience with Fears, I think they get it done and go on to the final four.
SPEAKER_00It's hard to argue with that. Um, I got Duke playing in that game as well in the Elite Eight. I'd like to think that Yukon is gonna get it together here. They've been a little up and down recently. I think they get it together. It's gonna be Duke UConn. Um, and I think that UConn is going to edge them out.
SPEAKER_01I like that pick. All right, Marcus, that takes us next to the South region, where Florida was the number one overall seed. This is also where the Tar Hills landed as the sixth seed. We've got Houston at two, Illinois at three, Nebraska's the fourth seed, Vanderbilt the five, along with North Carolina again as the sixth to round out the top six seeds. What did you think about the South region as it was unveiled? And what do you see happening here?
SPEAKER_00Well, obviously with North Carolina in this region, I'm looking at this one a lot differently than the other ones. But uh, you know, I don't think that this is an easy bracket by any means as well. You've got some big time teams here. Obviously, with Florida, um, who didn't quite make it to the SEC final, uh, but has been a proven team all year long. I think that they're gonna come in with some force going into this NCAA tournament. Obviously, Houston, they've been high octane all season long. Um, Illinois is gonna be a tough team, Nebraska's a tough team. Vanderbilt has been playing great. And we just saw what happened with North Carolina and Clemson a few days ago in the ACC tournament. So Clemson, I think, is gonna do their part in holding their own as well. So I think this is gonna be an interesting bracket. Uh, Florida, obviously, um, I think has um one of the better chances to get out of this bracket, but this could be interesting. We could see some of the lower seeded teams um coming out of the south.
SPEAKER_01I agree. Yeah, there's there's a lot of interesting matchups. I think even starting in the first round, the Vanderbilt Commodores are all of a sudden praying really well. A couple former Tar Heels on that team, right? And Jalen Washington and Tyler Nickel.
SPEAKER_00And Carter, in addition to a couple of former Tar Heels, Vanderbilt also has a one Chandler Bing on their roster. Wait, no. Chandler Bing? Yes, sir. Not the Chandler Bing from Friends, obviously. But just thought that that was great that they've got a first team all-namer in Chandler Bing.
SPEAKER_01Do I look like I know anything about basketball? That Chandler Bing? Come on. I gotta see him. I gotta see him shoot or something. Like, does he have a third nipple? Like, what I gotta see this guy. Chandler Bing. Come on. I'm pulling for the Commodores now. Need more Commodore wins so we can see Chandler Bing get some burn. Need some floor time from Mr. Bing.
SPEAKER_00And and I bet he goes crazy in the tournament, too. I hope he's the top scorer in the region.
SPEAKER_01He's gotta be a shooter, right? Gotta be a shooter, Chandler Bing. Can't wait to find out.
SPEAKER_00We will.
SPEAKER_01Um, they just had a nice run in the SEC Tournament Championship. I think uh St. Mary's and Texas AM in the 7-10 game is gonna be interesting, but I do like some chalk with Houston. I do like some chalk with Florida. I'm just having trouble, Marcus, because I think I'm being forced to pick against our North Carolina Taribles here as I see Houston marching out of this region to Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_00I mean, really hard to bet against Houston. They've just got everything that you need to win a championship. They've got the size, they got the guard play, they play great defense. Um, they've been filling it up out there on the court as well. So, you know, for me, when I think about the teams that are gonna come out of this region, um, I've got to put a vote in for Houston. And, you know, I think it, I think this might end up being the one-two. As I just mentioned, that there's some lower seeded teams that have an opportunity to come out of this one. But, you know, if I'm a betting man, I'm gonna have to pick Houston coming out of the South.
SPEAKER_01I'm with you. You said it with defense. I think the intensity they play. Kelvin Sampson always has his teams playing hard. I think the guard play wins. We talked about it with Fears in Michigan State. Same reason you like UConn in the North. I think the guard play from the Cougars can get it done. I'd love to pick Artari Hills. I love what Derek Dixon's been able to grow into as the season has gone along. I think with Caleb Wilson with the team, we all know stating the obvious, we're a whole different ball club. Uh, but I think running into Houston's tough. I think Florida is incredibly talented, but they've shown a little vulnerability. And I believe they play this game regionally in Houston, right? So Houston and Florida match up in Houston to advance to Indianapolis. All right, Marcus, that takes us out west to the West region where Arizona claimed the number one spot. Again, rightfully so. They earned that from their season's play. The two seed is Purdue, just upset Michigan, right? And the Big Ten championship. Purdue is tough. They've been tough the last couple years, went to the Final Four and the last game a couple years ago, if I'm not mistaken. Had a great run again last year, and they're showing again this season that March is their time for basketball.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Carter, Purdue is definitely a team that you need to be thinking about coming out of the West, potentially. They obviously, to your point, just had a great win in the Big Ten Championship. But there's a lot of other teams here that I think have a chance. You got Miami that's been playing very well as of late. Their new coach has got them firing on all cylinders. Um, Gonzaga, obviously, is just someone who's always in the mix. Uh we've got another ACC school with the potential to get in the mix here as NC State is playing Texas in that play-in game that would ultimately then go on to play BYU, who's another name that we need to be talking about. Wisconsin, we talked about. Heck, Arkansas, they just won an SEC championship. I mean, again, we talked about the East being one of the tougher brackets. The West is full of some players too.
SPEAKER_01I agree. This might be the second toughest region as we look at it. Again, Arizona, rightly the one seed. I've got them advancing. I'm going to pick my High Point University Panthers to upset the Wisconsin Badgers. No hate for Wisconsin. I actually like that program out in the Big Ten, Marcus, but I got to go with the High Point Panthers. I'm going to go crazy and have them beat Arkansas, winning twice, because I think Arizona is going to march home regardless once you get to that point. Down below, I think Miami is going to give people a lot of problems. I think their defense, athleticism, and hustle, to your point, their coach hasn't playing really well, is going to be tough. But I think Braden Smith, again, I go back to guard play in March, Marcus, and the Purdue Boilermakers are going to be too much to handle. I think they're even going to be too much to handle for the Arizona Wildcats. And I think they march to Indianapolis out of the West region. How about you?
SPEAKER_00You know, I'm really excited about the potential of that Miami-Purdue matchup in the second round. I also agree that Purdue is going to have too much firepower for the Hurricanes. Um, you know, this is a tough one. Uh I'm trying not to pick the one and twos to battle it out to get out of the region. Um, you know, so I'm gonna say that Arkansas somehow fights its way um into this regional championship and um gives Purdue a run for their money, but I I think Purdue um comes out of the West.
SPEAKER_01All right, so we both have Purdue out of the West. You had Yukon out of the East, I had Michigan State, and I believe we both had Houston out of the South, right?
SPEAKER_00Correct.
SPEAKER_01So that takes us to the Midwest, our fourth and final region where Michigan has claimed the one seed in the Midwest, the two seeds Iowa State. This is where Virginia is the three seed, Alabama the four, Texas Tech the five, Tennessee the six, and Kentucky the seven really round out the top half of this bracket. Marcus, what do you have going on here?
SPEAKER_00I'm excited to see you know some more ACC love and with Virginia. I I think that they're gonna give folks a run for their money. I'm not sure that they're gonna have enough to get out of the Midwest, but but I do like the way that they're playing. I obviously fell short in the ACC championship game, but uh I like that team. I like Texas Tech. Um I love Iowa State. I love Iowa State. And so, you know, this is gonna be another interesting one here. Uh Michigan obviously playing some great basketball as well, even though they did just suffer that loss in their tournament championship. Um, Alabama have not gotten to see a bunch this year, but but know that they're highly capable as well. Cash Carter, uh again, you know, I'm just gonna keep going back to that. This is why this is Christmas in March. Uh I think we're gonna have some phenomenal matchups here, especially as we get into these second round games. Um, yeah, this is tough. This is tough. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about who's gonna come out of this one.
SPEAKER_01This is tough. They're they're all tough, right? I do think I see a little chalk with Michigan advancing. I see some interesting games in the mix in the bottom half of the bracket. I think Tennessee is tough at the six. I do like Virginia. I have them advancing. I think Iowa State is really tough to beat. You mentioned them in an earlier cast here in the season, and I think Iowa State is going to be tremendous, but I think Kentucky is gonna find their way in March and upset them. So I've got Kentucky and Virginia, and then I've got the Wahoos of Virginia going on to play Michigan. I think Michigan's too tough in the end, Marcus. Again, it is difficult to just pick chalk in a lot of cases, but I think Virginia makes some noise, and I think ultimately Elliott Cadeau leading the Wolverines from the point guard spot, helped them march to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_00No, is that the is that the first number one seed you've got in the Final Four?
SPEAKER_01That is. Okay. Give me a little cover fire there. I didn't pick all Chalk. That's the only one seed I have in the Final Four. That's true. And you may be the same way, but I don't know where you were.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't know. I I do like Virginia battling it out to potentially make it to the Final Four. For some reason, I just don't feel like they have it. Uh I'd love to think that St. Louis has enough firepower to knock off Michigan in that second round game. That could be interesting.
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SPEAKER_00Louis when I look. Can I give you a St. Louis shout-out? Yeah, please.
SPEAKER_01St. Louis is good. Former coach Josh Schurtz came from High Point University. He was the first assistant when I was there at HPU. Josh Schurtz, a great guy who's who's marched on since then, but that team has continued to play well. I love that St. Louis pick.
SPEAKER_00Well, we'll see what happens there. And then again, a lower seed, but Tennessee. Rick Barnes, if I'm not mistaken, is in his 30th NCAA tournament. So that's someone who's got an incredible amount of experience, who will definitely have his team ready to play. Maybe they make some noise. I know we got to get down to a pick here, so let's get to it. Um, I think Virginia, no, I'm gonna take Iowa State over Michigan. Or over St. Louis, for that matter, if they can make it. But no, I'm gonna I'm gonna have Iowa State coming out of the Midwest.
SPEAKER_01I love the Cinderella story. You don't want to stick with St. Louis?
SPEAKER_00No, I don't think I not coming out of the Midwest, no. I think they've they've got enough to maybe win win some games. And if they do beat Michigan uh to take it all the way through to the final four, I mean we all know it is possible. We've seen that happen on several occasions, but you know, I think I feel safer betting with a team that that has been proven all year to be playing at the highest level. Um we're gonna go with the Cyclones.
SPEAKER_01I love it. I love it. That's a great pick. All right, Marcus. So as we look at our final four matchups in the first matchup, I've got Houston versus Michigan State. I'm gonna take the Houston Cougars. You've got Houston versus Yukon, the two seeds. Who do you have advancing?
SPEAKER_00Cash, I love Houston, uh, but I am going to go against my better judgment here, and I'm gonna have UConn going into the national championship game.
SPEAKER_01I like it. It's a good pick. On the other side, I've got number one Michigan versus number two Purdue. I do think the Wolverines are too much to handle, and they'll end up outlasting the Purdue Boilermakers to advance to the national championship game. You had Purdue as well, correct? Correct. And then had the Iowa State Cyclones from the bottom half of the record.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And I think that the Cyclones um are just gonna have too much weather for the Purdue Boilermakers. I think the uh the Cyclones are gonna be putting them in the mix there and going on to play Yukon in the national championship game.
SPEAKER_01Okay, all right. So this is interesting. So we have two different championship games. Marcus has got Yukon and Iowa State, and I have got Houston and Michigan. Let's start with Marcus, Yukon and Iowa State. Who cuts down the nets in 2026 in Indianapolis?
SPEAKER_00We're gonna go with the Iowa State Cyclones. We're gonna bring a national championship to Iowa. Um, I can't tell you the last time that's happened, uh, certainly before my time, but uh super um excited for the possibility of seeing that happen. Um, I can't possibly get myself to uh cheer for UConn winning a national championship. So we're gonna go with the Iowa State Cyclones.
SPEAKER_01I like it. I like it. I actually work with a ton of people in Connecticut. I Like the Huskies pick. I thought you were going to go with them. Give us something to root for. Again, a lot of the folks I work with will be going for the Huskies. I did have the Michigan State Spartans advancing over them. Of course, the Cougars into the national championship game. And so I've got the Houston Cougars redeeming themselves from the loss against Florida last year, Marcus, and beating the Michigan State Wolverines in the championship. I think the Cougars take the Nets home. Kelvin Sampson and team back to Houston.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I think that's a pretty safe bet, Carter. They've got a great team. Again, as we talked about, they've got everything they need to win. If they stay healthy, they're certainly going to give themselves a fighting chance. Either way, it's going to be fun. Always is. All right, Marcus, that's all for today. Thanks for tuning in to the Buckets and Birdies Podcast.
SPEAKER_01That's 23 minutes of our thoughts for you. For Marcus Ginyard, I'm Carter Bills.
SPEAKER_00We'll catch you next time.
SPEAKER_01Enjoy the madness.