I Love Mondays-Episode 12, March 17, 2026

A SuperFan Tuesday edition of ILM-with Mike Heller...welcomes Courtney Corning back to the show.  Talking the path and the grading of Badger Basketball into the NCAA Tournament.  Plus a little replay debate which is always healthy.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:06

I love Mondays with Mike Heller.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Broadcasting live from an undisposed bunker in the Badger State. This is I Love Mondays with Mike Heller.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Powered by determination and a little bit of duct tape. Here's your host, Mike Heller. Okay, so uh here we go. Welcome in. Uh we we get closer. The NCA tournament begins today. There are two games tonight in Dayton. It used to be that I didn't consider these tournament games, but when they went to a pair of 11s in the matchup and a pair of 16s, you get it because it does count. I mean, those 11s, that team is seated higher than who Wisconsin will play when they open the NCAA tournament on Thursday. Welcome into a Super Fan Tuesday. I'm your host, Mike Heller. The show is called I Love Mondays, but we do this thing for an hour every day. Uh those of you watching on X and YouTube, you know that we go live at 10 a.m. For the rest of you. Uh check out the live if you have a chance. Otherwise, you're seeing it wherever you see your podcast or hear your podcast. Like James, good morning. Good Tuesday. He says, Hi, James. How do you? Hope everybody is doing well. This is I'm probably, I think in the United States, I believe I'm in the minority that has been deep into the world baseball classic. And so I can't wait for it tonight with the U.S. and Venezuela. The U.S. has only won the World Baseball Classic once. Venezuela has never been in the championship game tonight. You'll see. I don't know if William Contreras will start. I think he will, but I don't know. Jackson Churio will start for Venezuela. Angel Zerpa pitched in the game last night, uh, two-thirds of an inning, gave up a hit, a walk, but had two strikeouts and had a big moment getting out of a jam that he kind of put himself into. He's a Brewers, uh Brewers player. And then uh Andrew Fisher was eliminated last night for Team Italy. What a story they were throughout this entire run. And then tonight you get Bryce Tarang. He will bat ninth, almost certainly, and play second base for Team USA. One of the storylines here, you know, for the most important game, and Venezuela treats it this way, a lot of the rest of the world does, and I believe the USA players do. But understand this part of the world baseball classic, as at least the way I look at it. You get Nolan McLean, who's gonna essentially start game seven of the World Series if you hold on that the WBC has this level of oomph to it. He's got eight career major league baseball starts. New York Mets pitcher, and that's the way it is. And Mason Miller, who is the lights out closer, he's pitched four times in eight days. So I don't know that he's available. There is an availability question on this. It's it's uh that's why Tarx Goobel only pitched one time. So I know uh a lot of people, and certainly Venezuela views this. I mean, their players have said this would be a greater accomplishment than the World Series. I think some USA players say that. I don't think they believe it. Now, well, what am I who am I to say what they believe? I don't believe it. From an American fan standpoint, it doesn't have that to it, but I'm pretty damn excited about it. I think it's gonna be fun to watch that. And oh, by the way, uh from a Brewer standpoint, you pay attention to these things. They're 10 and 12 in spring training. They have six games left in Arizona. Next Monday, six days from now, the Brew will play at American Family Field. Monday and Tuesday of next week, exhibition games against Cincinnati. Then they'll have Wednesday as a final day to prep. And Thursday, so nine days from now, the Milwaukee Brewers will open Major League Baseball season at American Family Field in Milwaukee against the Chicago White Sox. What else is new today? I didn't do an update on this yesterday, and there's a reason. Because almost literally, and I say that almost, almost literally nobody cares, but the Bucs are 28 and 39. Their magic elimination number to be eliminated from the play-in little tournament deal. Uh, that magic number is is five. No, I'm sorry, it is 10. Magic elimination number is 10. They trail Charlotte by five and one half games. The Bucs are home against Cleveland tonight at five serve, then a four-game West Coast swing. Utah, Phoenix, the Clippers, and Portland. So the Bucs, in theory, could be eliminated before they return home. And remember when they were trying to catch Atlanta? And when Atlanta was the next nearest team that they could chase down, Atlanta's won 10 in a row. And again, part of this is a who cares? And I mention it, and I don't care. So that's kind of goofy. Uh Badger basketball, 24 and 10. Uh, they are in the NCAA tournament. Here's the a little bit of a breakdown. They're playing high point out of the Big South. High point, North Carolina. They're 30 and 4, longest winning streak right now in the country at 14. Last loss was January 14th, so it's more than two months ago. They didn't play a single quad one game this year. They are 0-2 against quad 2 schools. Um, just to give you a little refresher, or maybe it's not even a refresher, maybe you never knew what goes in, what defines a quad two win. Want to know what defines a quad two win? Uh home team against a top 30 would be a quad one. A um and I had it and now it went away from me, but uh it it's not a high bar to get a quad two game or a quad two win. So that high point, and everybody's saying high point's a good team, and I'm not denying that. I'm just saying they haven't played anybody. Nobody. Their highest net ranking win. So net rankings is what uh the committee goes to when they're helping themselves to seed it. It's the one that they go to. Uh, by the way, quad win, quad one win are home games against teams RPI ranked one through 30, neutral site one through 50, and away one through 75. So they didn't play a single game that would qualify as that. Um, quadrant two, home game against a team ranked in the RPI 31st through 75th, neutral site 51 through 100, and away victories over somebody that would be in the top 135. High point doesn't have any of those. The reason I bring it up, and I'm not trying to deny that they're a good team. I'm just saying they're a good team against who they've played. Here's the history on 12 seeds in the NCAA tournament. First round, 12s over fives. Happens. If you want to do the math, it happens 35% of the time. 35% of the tournaments have a 12 over a five. So if you had a hundred tournaments, that's the amount of times it's gonna happen. About 35. So give them uh a 35% chance. That's where I've seen some of the metrics come down on this. I did a poll question yesterday that I'll give you the results now. Uh, how far will Wisconsin go in this tournament? How far will they go? This is what you guys voted yesterday and through this morning. First round out, 2% of you. Now, I think the country in the full brackets will probably pick high point, maybe 20 to 25% of the brackets will pick high point. Clark Kellogg didn't help that. Second round for those in our poll question. Second round out, you voted 34% of you that Wisconsin would lose in the second round. That would either be against Arkansas, likely, or Hawaii, possibly. A sweet 16 out, which if it were to go chalk, it would be against Arizona. That's where 51% of you have Wisconsin exiting the tournament. I think that would be a win if you get to the second weekend. It hasn't happened in a decade. And then Elite Eight or Final Four, 13% of you are eternal optimists or certainly optimistic on that front of the equation. And I think that's a good thing. Let me uh spend a moment to tell you about our sponsors. I love our sponsors. They have uh a very appreciative of their support of me and this show, and I appreciate and urge you to support them. So I love Mondays is presented by Neuroscience Group, Excellence in Brain, Spine, and Pain Care. You can choose Neuroscience Group in Northeast Wisconsin. You can choose them anywhere. In sports, you trust the right team, and for your health, it's no different. Neuroscience Group, neurology, neurosurgery, pain management, and therapy all under one roof, advanced care close to home, neuroscience group, northeast Wisconsin's leader in neurological care. I Love Mondays is presented by M3 Insurance, where they help businesses and individuals manage risk, purchase insurance, and provide the right benefits to their employees, leveraging digital product and program solutions to protect and serve clients across the country. They equip you with tools and guides you need to confidently navigate insurance and risk management decisions. So if that's part of your role in a company you're part of or that you own, reach out to our friends at M3Insurance. That's M3INS.com. Pottawatomi Sportsbook, they are a sponsor of I Love Mondays at Pottawatomi Casino Hotel. It's time to play. Pick your game, slots, poker, best sports book anywhere. And I don't know how many of you have been, but if you're in a sports book on Thursday from about 10 o'clock in the morning, game start at 11, 11, 10, but from about 10 o'clock in the morning, if you want to stay there till about 11:30 at night, it's gonna be a hell of a day. A hell of a day. I mean, that place is buzzing the entire time. Head to Pottawatomi Sportsbook in Milwaukee for an unmatched sports betting experience. It's got everything you need all day, every day to bet above the rest. And I love Mondays is also brought to you by Habish, Habish, and Rotier. Our 13 locations ensure you get a hometown attorney who understands your life and the impacts of your injury and is personally committed to your recovery. So that's what we got going on today. All right, it is Super Fan Tuesday. When we initiated Super Fan Tuesday, it was with a guy named uh shoot, what was his name? I don't know. Uh Courtney, do you recall when we uh instituted Super Fan Tuesday who that guy was when we started? Do you remember? Yeah, JV. Oh, J V. He's on and he's on the JV now. Uh Treadville Boys, what I call him, but Jeff Bilker, he opened, and then um I don't know what I mean. I mean, I know what happened, but it doesn't mean that everybody else does.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Right, you know, uh maybe Jeff will be back. I don't know. You know, I thought last week, uh you know, I don't think any of us should be too comfortable in our seats. I thought last week went really well, but then this week, like you were really adamant that I didn't join you back in studio. That you're right, is that is that how that went? Well, that's how it's how it felt. Is that how it felt? Yeah, well, here I am. And so uh, so I'm just like I assume that's just you trying to keep us all on our toes, letting us know that nobody's seat is guaranteed, or maybe you found some things missing around the house. It wasn't who knows? Uh, but either way, okay. Uh maybe JV will be back, maybe you won't be, but I'm enjoying the seat as long as I can sit in it.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah. And uh I mean, look at look at that professional background. Um give us a little tour, like what's all back there? What is I mean you guys what isn't back there?

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Uh I mean, I won't I won't bore the other thing. Uh signed Peyton Manning helmet, uh signed Spark helmet. Uh if you're a real nerd like me, that is uh that is grass from the uh 96 NFC Championship game at Lambo. There's actually grass in that box. Well, there's grass in there, yeah. Yeah, you don't want to see it. It's pretty ugly these days. It's a 30-year-old hunk of sod in a box. Uh yeah. Um so I got a lot of fun stuff up there. My son's over here playing some hockey. Uh the coolest thing in the office you can't see, I have uh autograph pucks up here from uh every member of the 80 Olympic team. So uh that's the oh is that right? Yeah, yep, I have an autograph puck from every member of the 80 team and Jim Craig's goalie stick. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Like what do you mean his goalie stick?

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Well, I uh a replica. Oh, so I met Jim. It's funny, I met Jim at a uh he he does a lot of motivational speaking. Yeah, I met him at a conference and I said, hey man, if I uh if I shipped you a a Sherwood, a wood Sherwood goalie stick, you know, I'd pay you, but would you autograph it? He said, Oh, you don't have to pay me. Just he gave me his address, super nice guy, said ship it to me, I'll sign it, I'll ship it back, and he did, and it looks great. I uh I will tell you this, I don't regret it. Uh I did not realize how much money it was gonna cost to ship a goalie stick round first as it turns out all these years later, that all these years later, that 70 bucks doesn't matter. Yeah, no, no, believe me. I I like I said I would do it over and over and over again, but it's funny when he's I'm like, oh, I'll sign it for free. And then I remember leaving the UPS store thinking, I mean, not exactly free. So, anyhow, uh lots of fun stuff in here. I do uh if it ever pans out, and then we can quit talking to memorabilia, I do have my newly autographed uh Mason Posa Cooper Catalano uh football. There you go. I told you will 20 years from now either be one of my favorite pieces of Wisconsin football sports memorabilia, or we'll just play with it up in the backyard. Because no offense, those guys, I think they're awesome, but you you never know what ahead is. So uh, you know, here we go.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Hey, let's jump into a little bit of the NCAA tournament conversation because Wisconsin uh fell in on a uh five-seed line. I think when we visited last week, we we felt that they were probably a six, um, could move to a five if they won twice at the Big Ten tournament, which they did. I didn't think the four-line was ever in play, but a move up the five-line might have been in play had they beaten Michigan. And I know the committee says they paid attention to Sunday's championship games, but that would be the first time that they ever did. Um, so I wasn't sure if Sunday mattered in my history. Experience tells me that it wouldn't have. But if they'd have won on Saturday against Michigan and certainly had a chance to do that, uh, I think they would have just moved up on the five seed line and wouldn't have had because they're the the they're the last of the fives, which meant that they got the the you know uh snake, they get the better of the uh of the 12s, and then they would get the better of the fours, um, you know, as they as they roll forward. What was your reaction on the seed line? And as you've looked at their path going out to Portland in the West region, what's your react?

SPEAKER_00 15:44

So a couple things. Like I exactly you and I talked about last week. I do think the move to the five line uh was warranted. Let's let's be honest. I mean, the run they went on, and then you lose. Look, thought the Michigan game in some ways, you know. I I'm never 100% sold, Mike. If I'm one of those people that says a loss is good. That said, if you if you're of that mindset to play Michigan essentially the way they did, to come back, play them down to the wire, leave on a last second, lose on a last second shot. I mean, to lose, you know, in a game where you know, really you feel like you could win, especially if you had no winner, you had all your horses, I think is almost kind of best case scenario. If you believe losing at the end is okay, get some an extra day arrest. So I think it was warranted again when you look at really what they did down the stretch, right? You beat beating Illinois uh a couple of times there and away, beating Michigan State, all the things they did in between. Uh, and even uh quite candidly, if you take into account the uh little bit of a letdown towards the end of the Washington game, but definitely think it was warranted. You know, as far as the seed line goes, I'll tell you, I'm with you. I don't want to discount high points, but I'm I'm not concerned about them. I will tell you, it does feel like, and I know Wisconsin fans have been complaining about this for years, um, it always feels like we get the worst possible game draw for the options we're given, meaning like, okay, so high point, we don't know much, but I think based on some of the numbers you shared, not super concerning. But uh get to go as far as possible from Madison and play first thing Thursday morning as the hand uh Wisconsin has dealt, headed out to Portland. Um, so you know, I think give it a thing there. The only thing I would say is I did see this morning, and I don't know if we're supposed to credit people, but I sent you a link to it. Uh, I did see a post on X this morning, somebody named Jay Kuna. Now, Jay, it says in his profile, is a Michigan State grad. So take his knowledge with a grain of salt. Uh, but he shared a spreadsheet listing uh the top six seeds, who they play, and then each team they play is Ken Palm rating. And he actually gives Wisconsin the easiest path to the Sweet 16 of all of the number five seeds.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

All right. Uh uh live podcast here. I'm gonna have you keep talking and I'm gonna walk off camera for a second to plug in a camera that just showed me it had a low battery. So you you're telling me, think of words and say them while I walk off camera. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yeah, happy to do it. So uh as we're talking about that uh piece of the um uh the NCAA tournament. So if you want to follow it again on X, uh, and I'll put it actually up in the chat on YouTube when I get a second, but Jay could as opposed. So Jay went through and took uh seeds one through six, uh, who your opponent's likely opponent would be in each round, put in their 10 palm numbers. What he comes up with is uh Wisconsin's uh average 10 palm in the four rounds are 53.5, 36.3, 29.3. He actually gives uh Texas Tech and Vandy as the hardest five seed paths to get to the final four. Uh, interestingly, on the uh on the ones, he gives Florida the easiest path, Michigan the hardest path, and Duke and Arizona in the middle. So it is interesting. Obviously, like you know, Ken Palm ratings don't mean everything, but doesn't necessarily align uh with how you would believe uh the uh NCA committee seating would go. You would assume, to your point, with us being the last five seat in, we would have gotten the hardest path uh through, you know, to the Sweet 16 Elite 8 and Final Four. So just kind of interesting food for thought there. Um, the only other thing I would say you got your camera squared away, it looks like I can have a two-way conversation again, which is great. But the only other thing I would say about this is um, and I said when we were on last week, um I I do the only thing I worry about with this team, and we've all seen it is um and I I think I said on the show last week, like I'm not so sure I wouldn't rather be a six than a five. I do feel like we've seen this team.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Yeah. I mean, I listen, I understand I understand some of the math of uh of wanting to be a six. I I get it. Here's the deal. And I said this yesterday, uh, I have Brian Butcher on yesterday morning. I I understand the the the concern of a 12 over a five. The 12 over a five. Um, I mean it it has happened in in 17 different tournaments going back uh in a single year, it's happened 17 different times in uh 13, 14, 19, three number 12s won their opening games. Okay, so yes, it happens. Uh to that point, 2024 saw two 12 seeds win. They were Grand Canyon and James Madison. Everybody remember the James Madison? So the the point of all of this is when you're here, Maryland Baltimore County will remind you that even a 16 can beat a one. All right, and then it happened to Purdue as well. So you can get beat in that in this scenario when we're playing now, it can happen. This is not a guaranteed Wisconsin win. I think a guard said it, and I think his players reflected it in uh in their press conference. You have to play 40 minutes of really good basketball in order to get another 40. Both said it. We earned 40 more minutes. He would say it all the time. We earned another game. That's what the tournament is about. You don't advance by not earning it. So Wisconsin's gonna have to earn it against High Point, um, who, again, hadn't played great competition, but they play at a faster pace than Wisconsin. They score 90 points a game. And when I say faster pace, I just mean more possessions. Wisconsin outscores them probably against similar competition, but high point average is 90 points per game. Some of that's buoyed by some really big numbers, but they're faster. They play quicker. They do not want to wait in their offensive set. They shoot before 20 seconds on the shot clock, more often than not. That being said, I think Wisconsin. And will win on Thursday, but we'll find out when they play it. I like them against Arkansas with one ex with one exception. The best player on the court will be on the Razorbacks. He will likely be the best player on the court against every team that they play in the tournament, certainly against Hawaii, and yes, against Wisconsin if they advance. That is always a bit concerning because Wisconsin, although they have been better lately, Courtney, defensively, they do not have, oh, there's your lockdown defender. You're gonna you're gonna take him and you're gonna lock him down. Max Klesmet was sort of that guy a year ago. They don't have that guy today.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

No, no, I agree with you uh wholeheartedly on that. To me, your point, I mean, look, we all know the Achilles heel of this team is defense. Um, let's basically, even in games where they score a lot of points, they don't tend to blow a lot of people out. The Michigan State game kind of being uh the anomaly there, where it was kind of an end-to-end. I was very happy to be present for that. Um, so there's definitely concern there. I think the other thing you have when you in these 512 matchups, Mike, and I'm not breaking ground on this take, but let's just be honest. A lot of 12 seeds are uh conference champs, conference tournament champions from smaller leagues, right? So let's just be honest, most of us don't know a lot about them. You mentioned their squad one and squad two wins. Well, how many quad one and quad two games do they do they even do they even get, right? So you don't we don't really know if they can compete at that level because they don't get a lot of opportunities to compete at that level. But what the thing we do know about those types of teams is uh they are used to winning. When people talk about like Miami of Ohio not getting in, and I understand much very similar to high point, right? No quad one wins. People look at the schedule. All I can think to myself is uh you won you went 30 and oh, and then you lost one game to start your conference tournament. You're telling me, let me tell you something. That I don't care who you are and who you play, thirty you you won 30 straight basketball games. Like you're good. Um, you can see it. I mean, look at again, we think our badges are really good. You go out to Oregon and lose. Uh Miami, Ohio didn't go play somebody that they right should have beaten easily and lost because the record shows they're they won 30 straight games. So, point being to your point, you get you get 40 more minutes, they'll have to play well in those 40 more minutes. I think the pace should be concerning to Wisconsin fans a little bit because defensively we don't play great defense. At the end of the day, I think it's highly unlikely High Point can guard what Wisconsin does offensively. I'd be curious. Have you seen uh for your friends at Pottawatomie, have you seen an over-under on this game?

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yeah, they won't do it. Um, they they don't uh give numbers on uh in-state college games. So Marquette never has a line at Pottawatomie, and Wisconsin never has a line. I think the original line was 12 on the game, and it has moved down, at least initially it moved down to nine. Um so and do they give it over-under?

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Because this game feels like an over-under closing in on like 190 something.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Yeah, let's uh let's let's see what uh what first off, what 164 and a half is what um ESPN bet uh-under. And the over-under line is 164 and a half. Now, all of our lines come from Potawatomi, but I just explained they don't give lines on in-state uh schools. Just curious, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

With how high point plays offense and how we play defense and how we play offense against them, man. 164, that feels like even money. I may have to hop off of this and go play.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

I mean, here's where I would caution you and try and save you uh a shingle, uh a shekel or two, and that is uh high point is not played a team that plays defense.

unknown 25:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Okay, so uh I go back and and I did this a little bit yesterday, but if I go back on high point season, let's go back to their games that they've lost. Now you gotta go a long way back. You got to go back to a game during the season against Winthrop, and then nothing since January 14th. That's their last loss. When they lost to UAB, they scored 74 points. All right, they got beat 94-71 to UAB. They lost another game to Southern Illinois, they got beat 8684, so um certainly higher scoring. When they lost to Winthrop, or they lost to App State, 86-78, and when they lost to Winthrop during their conference season, 92-75. All right. So they have then had some huge scoring games in in their season. They scored 95 against USC Upstate. Remember that? Uh I mean, you almost went there uh to USC Upstate. They scored 112 against Gardner Webb.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Yeah, 129 against Mary Baldwin. That's where you did. You go to Mary Baldwin?

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Well, she she was uh I almost went on a date with Mary, um, but she had a she had a boyfriend and is somebody I knew.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

So I think it was the schedule since you brought it up, Mike, and I don't know uh I don't know half the teams.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

No, I I had to look up high point. Now we know there's a steakhouse southwest of Madison, but that wasn't it. So I had to look up uh and I figured, you know, if if all else fails, you see a team name you don't know, just say North Carolina. Because North Carolina is filled with a bunch of small colleges that play D1 College Hoop.

SPEAKER_04 27:25

Yep. No, I absolutely agree.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

There's that, but it and then let let me let's enter into this conversation/slash debate. If you graded Wisconsin season right now, and if you were just a professor, you can go, you can go pluses and minuses. You had to give a letter grade to Wisconsin season right now. If uh, you know, we don't play another game. What's their grade, Courtney?

SPEAKER_00 27:52

So I'm I'm taking the season in totality.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Yep, everything from you know, like if this were a college class and they haven't taken the final exam yet, because the final exam is the NCAA tournament. So you know where I'm gonna go with this? How much do you put on the final exams? Now, some professors will say, hey, your final exam is 50% of your grade. Now, I don't know what the equation is here. There are some fans that make the final exam, in other words, after selection Sunday, 80% of your grade. It's the only thing that matters. It's like the playoffs in the NFL. If you're gonna grade the Packers, some people say, Well, I only grade them on what they do in the playoffs. The regular season doesn't matter. And if they don't make the playoffs, it's an F. But if they make the playoffs and they lose, the best grade they can get is a D. Sure. So if you want to do it right now, what would you have?

SPEAKER_00 28:47

So if I had to do it right now, I I'd give them a B plus. Um I'd I'd say this about it. Uh to kind of continue your analogy. I I would say uh in their big presentations, their big reports, their the book reports, whatever the big projects were, I'd give them A's. I think on overall class participation, I'd probably give them a C. Uh only because we had some games early in the season and then the Oregon game, we had some hands. I would tell you if uh if this was um this was a whole semester, I was breaking it into quarters, I'd give them an A in the second quarter. I'd give them an A in the second half. Um I I will say this about it. If you had told me that this team would log the wins it logged after I sat and watched that game for the first handful of home games, I would tell you uh no shot. Yeah, like literally no shot. Uh so the growth has been amazing. But like I said, yeah, I think B plus, uh A on the big projects, C on C on overall participation.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Okay, now give me your okay. So I'll I'll start here. My philosophy on grading an entire season. So if we did this at any point after Wisconsin is out of the tournament, or if they are never out of the tournament and they cut down the nets, when it's all done, my philosophy on grading a college basketball program is slightly different because I will grade on a curve. If I'm grading Duke, it almost exclusively happens after selection Sunday. If I'm grading uh, you know, historically Kentucky, it's almost exclusively after selection Sunday. If I'm grading the current version of Arizona, it is what happens moving forward. Because their season has been an A. In at Duke, their season has been an A. But I think the standards there, you're in the Ivy League, the standards are gonna be a little bit different. And there are elite programs of which Wisconsin is in college hoop. My view of it is they're not elite. They're a step below, which is fantastic. I wouldn't call the the step below fantastic. I think the program is great. Above good, but not elite. I think it's either very good or lower great. So I grade them a little bit differently. The regular season matters because it's not a foregone conclusion like it isn't Duke because they spend more money than anybody except for BYU, apparently. But Duke outspends like when they got Khan Knippel. I don't know what Khan got there, but he got a lot. And he wasn't the highest paid, he would have been the highest paid at Wisconsin by a long shot. Cooper Flag was the highest. You know, Boozer's not free there. Like I would go all the way back. Duke's been Duke's played in this realm for a very, very long time, not just since we went to NIL. Duke has paid for play. I I don't have evidence of it, but I'm convinced of it. Okay. So when I look at Duke, I'm gonna grade them differently. Kentucky, I would grade them differently, but you know, they kind of suck right now. Uh Arizona, I would grade them differently. Right now, if I'm a Michigan fan, my season-long grade is based on what happens next. If I were gonna be fair about it, Courtney, if I would go back to 16, 15 and 16, 14 to 15 for Wisconsin, the back-to-back Final Fours, it was gonna be graded on what they did after selection Sunday. This team, I'm gonna give 65 percent. So I'm gonna give them pretty similar to you, I'm gonna give them a B plus. However, the only way that grade could come down below a B minus is if they lost on Thursday. If they win on Thursday, they're gonna be assured of a letter B to start their grade. If they compete and, you know, shoot, Arkansas with um with A. Cuff Jr., he I mean, he's he's extraordinary. If you haven't watched him play, dude is ridiculous. If Wisconsin got in in a shootout with Arkansas and Coach Cal and they they win and advance to the sweet 16, this team's gonna get a letter grade when it's all said and done that begins with an A. If they lose to Arkansas, they would be on the B line. So I'm going 65%, 65 to 70 percent of this team, this year's grade is already in the books. And the rest of it is uh you just can't lose Thursday. Is that a your way? Would we be sort of close on how we view that?

SPEAKER_00 33:48

I think so. And and you said a lot of things there to unpack. Let me just say one thing, and then I'm gonna hit on the badger thing. You the thing you said about dude. If if you haven't gone, if people out there haven't gone, and uh my buddy Dave Miller, am I allowed to say Dave's nickname on on air? Oh, yeah, sweet bitch. Sweet bitch, yeah. That's our boy Sweet Bitch. It's great. I so if people don't know, and Mike knows this better than I do, way back how long ago?

SPEAKER_01 34:16

Oh, I mean, is it 1996? Because I was doing a little bit of radio late 90s. I was doing a little bit of radio then and working with sweet bitch at University Ridge. Um, so he just sent in for those who are listening, not watching, he sent in uh a note that says, What does any of this have to do with Chuck Cecil? Yeah, Chuck Cecil between Joel Sarbaker and Dave Miller, um, sweet bitch. Uh and Chuck Cecil was a constant, like they would call in on any show that I was gonna be on, they would call in and ask about Chuck Cecil. Anyway, back to your point.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

Anyhow, yes. And so, Dave, thanks for that. I played a little golf with Dave yesterday. Dave and I played 18 at Pebble, it was lovely. There you go. We don't know why we don't know what my putt my strokes gained putting on the sim work, right? But somewhere close to 18, it was crazy. Anyhow, um, I was just gonna say, for what you mentioned, if people haven't gone and read done some reading on the Duke NIL collective and how Duke has made this transition NIL and the boosters that are involved, um, totally go out, Google it, read about it. It's really interesting stuff. The the the the big money guys around Duke started their own collective outside of the university. They actually don't interact with the university, they make the offers themselves. They they literally do it through the coaching. It really is fascinating stuff how uh they've chosen kind of to blaze their own path just for Duke Men's basketball.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

So if you haven't, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna interject, and this this is unfair, but I'm just gonna interject, but then hold your spot. It's why I think it's total bullshit that there is not transparency in college athletics. Total bullshit. Like when we're trying to compare how your program stacks up with another, money matters. And and and there are others like people I love in this business, uh, Bill Schmidt, who I have incredible respect and love for, who I've worked with, but he and I differ on this, and I'm never gonna understand his point of view. Money matters, it matters in everything, it matters in all of our pro sports. Why do we pay attention to what the Dodgers are paying and the Mets are paying and what the Brewers are paying? And why do we know that there's a cap and a floor in the NBA and the NHL and the National Football League? But in college, no, we don't get to know. Well, screw you. That to me, that's bullshit. And and I haven't read the Duke stuff, but I know it by proxy, what they're spending. So uh go back to your place in line. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

I will, and to your point, I mean, it's a you know, it's a bunch of hedge fund guys, a bunch of guys with a pile of money, and they're you know, they're out there playing, you know, they're out there essentially playing fantasy high school college basketball. So right, I totally agree with you on the transparency. I'll also just say this you and I are in lockstep on the money does matter. I I think the actually the debate with people on that is how much does it matter from the standpoint of this? I mean, I use I use the baseball, I'm not a big baseball guy, you know, Mike. I use the baseball thing all the time. Dodgers win World Series, yeah. How'd the Mets do with all the money they spent?

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Correct. Boy, you better have great leadership and great coaching and money. Yeah, because you you can win without money. Uh I would I would guess, and again, the lack of transparency pisses me off, but but I would guess that Wisconsin is one quarter of the basketball player budget, one quarter at best, compared to BYU and Duke, the ones who I trust are at the high level of college basketball from a money standpoint. I put Michigan into that realm too, but again, we don't know. But I would say it's almost it's gotta be close to four to one, maybe more.

SPEAKER_00 37:59

It's funny, you see all these articles, you know, they're mic, and I don't know where people compile the data, right? But I saw a thing that actually Kentucky's the highest spending team in the country this year, then Duke, okay, then Michigan. And I think they had us in the mid-20s at like eight or nine million. I will say this, and again, it's all hearsay. It is my understanding, I think a lot of people's understanding that there was a bit of a bidding war for Nick Boyd, and they were committed to Nick Boyd. Yeah, um, and it's my understanding, and I don't know if you said this to somebody else, that that drove the number up for John Blackwell, which hey, I don't I don't blame JB at all if that's what happened. Like, yeah, hey, if this guy's just showing up and he's getting the X, yes, and I'm coming back and I've been your guy.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Like, JB is a little interesting now, isn't he? Because I don't think he's NBA guy. Like, I I don't think JB is an NBA guy. I know he went into the draft process yet last year to get a gauge of where he is was. Yeah, um, I don't think he's going to the league. I think he's playing college hoop again next year. And I know there's a ton of loyalty in the family and the concept of it, but there's negotiation going on as to what John Blackwell is getting paid next year. Uh, I I know I've diverted the I've kind of taken this on a different path.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

But I have to say, because now you're on this point, I gotta say, I agree with you. I love John Blackwell, and I think he's a great college basketball player. And I I don't like to use this name because he's kind of the Wisconsin basketball pariah, but in my eyes, he's Alondo Tucker. Like he's um he's he's big body, he's strong, he's athletic, but not explosive. Obviously, a better shooter than Alondo, but he but John in just a different way is a is an NBA tweener, right? He's like he's not big enough to be a three, he's not quick enough to be a two, he shoots well enough to be a two, but he doesn't shoot like it's just so many things. Yeah, um, that doesn't take anything away from the guy being wildly talented because because he is. So you're I talk about NBA talent. Look, I got a bunch of people who disagree with me. I've said it since day one. Uh Nolan Winter will be an NBA player.

SPEAKER_01 39:52

Um, I just believe that he's he's gonna end up John Lewis had a 10-year NBA career, he was just never a star. I think Nolan Winter is gonna spend a decade in the NBA.

SPEAKER_00 40:05

Krabbenhoff just said it, you know. Uh, if you go back and listen to what Krabenhoff says about him on uh Badger Connect, uh Krabenhoff talks about like, look, when you look at all these like next level metrics that NBA scouts look like, no Nolan Winter, uh, according to Kravenhoff, was the only guy that had his second-level metrics last year that isn't already in the NBA. Like, like and if we just look, just take all that out of it, uh, look at NBA basketball players and look at Nolan Winner. Anybody see a guy who looks like everything the NBA wants?

SPEAKER_03 40:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:32

6'11 shoots the three, pretty athletic. Anyhow, so so you and I are on the same page there. I don't know what they do, but the point being, when it comes to the money, I agree with you. The debate on the money isn't whether or not it matters, it matters, it's how much it matters. You have to spend it wisely. I do think you and I talked about this a little bit last week with football. Your coaches still have to elevate, you have to take what you have and make it better. I think even at Duke, they would tell you you have to make it better. I mean, go back, go back to when people talk about Phil Jackson and the old Bulls, right? And everybody's like, oh, it must be nice to have Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippin and guys will tell you, yeah, sometimes it's nice. Uh sometimes it's a you know it's a real hassle. Let's face it, our basketball team has the best player in the world, supposedly. Not gonna get to the playoffs. So so there's all that we agree with. Okay, so back to your conversation about the screening.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

Yeah, we were there 20 minutes ago.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

How long ago was that? Anyhow, um, I agree with you in general that it's different for different schools. I I would tell you, in my world, I agree with you that really the only game that matters to me as far as a completed grade for Wisconsin is Thursday. And and primarily I think back often about what coaches talk about. Think about this with the with the Bills teams of the 80s, the Buffalo Bills teams of the 80s, right? Like that arguably might have been the greatest five-year run in the history of football, and it's demoted because unfortunately for them, on five Sundays, five one-off games, they couldn't get over the Hyundai Norse Scott Norwood. Anyhow, um point being, I am a big believer in like if you're just going to judge a basketball team by this one game on this one day, you see it all the time. I mean, ask Purdue, right? Losing as a one seed, you anybody can lose in a few days. We would we're all starved for a sweet 16 run. We would all like to play second weekend basketball. But in general, uh, if you win on Thursday, I don't know how you would see this team as anything but successful. Because at that point in time, I think every team would tell you you get to the round of 32, or certainly the round of 16, it's just house money. I don't care if you're Duke or Wisconsin, you get to a point where now you're just every day, every game's a game and you're just trying to get through to the next one, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Yeah, let me let me pull back on one thing I said earlier because I believe I said even if they lost on Thursday, their letter grade would start with a B. Let me pull back on that. If they lost on Thursday, I'm gonna give them a full season grade on that final exam that's gonna be a C, maybe C. Because you can't lose Thursday.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

You cannot.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

And I know that that's a bit unfair. Some people are saying no, it's more than fair. I get, but I but I I tried to pride myself on understanding how competition works. And those guys on the other side are brimming with confidence and fear nobody. They haven't lost a game since January 14th. They were in the NCAA tournament a year ago. They can score the basketball, which is not a phrase I love, but they score a lot. Um so I get, I think I understand competition. Wisconsin can lose. And the history shows 12s beating fives. A lot. And let's be honest with you. If you lose on Thursday, your letter grade for me, uh, I I know I said earlier would would floor out at a B minus. For me, it would floor out at a C C plus if they lost on Thursday. Anything after that, and they're certainly on a B and then can move up to the A season long grade, getting to the second weekend.

SPEAKER_00 43:55

I I I think it's also important to point out, I think in these games, New. Site favors 12 seats because I can just tell you, yeah, I don't know. Look, there are we all know Andy North will be there, but there aren't gonna be that many Badger fans making a trip to Portland on Thursday.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Yeah. If if high point is winning, or that game is close, that is no longer neutral site. There, it is not a Wisconsin crowd. That is now a high point crowd because let's just be honest. Generally speaking, I've been to NCAA regionals. You go to a regional and it's a game you don't care about, who are you rooting for?

unknown 44:32

Right?

SPEAKER_01 44:33

Yeah, and I brought this up yesterday. I don't people don't think about this exclusively, but that game in Portland will tip at 10 50 local time before 11 o'clock in the morning. And I talked about this yesterday with Butch, and Brian said, Yeah, but the people that are gonna go, they're gonna, yeah, but they'll be late for that game because they buy session tickets. So they're there for two games in the morning session. And then if they bought the evening session, they go back for two more. But in the morning session, they bought two games, and they're gonna be across the street having a breakfast sandwich or a pint or a bloody merry, or if they're non-drinkers, they're just gonna mill about before they go in. And the arena, if if you've been, you've been. It it there's gonna be there's a buzz, but there's not energy. Here's the cool thing. Nick Boyd is he's energy. Yeah, he brings energy, he would bring energy if you met him at the library to to study for a test. He brings energy to everything he does. So I would hope that they would be a team that doesn't lack energy, but to your point, uh in neutral side, especially away, like in Milwaukee, it was different, it was neutral side, it wasn't. If they were in Chicago, it's neutral side, it's not. They're in Portland. There's a small contingent of Badger fans going there. There's a very small contingent of high point fans going there. Everybody else that walks in, they will be fans of high point because fans dig the upset. So as soon as high point does something, you'll hear that buzz is gonna grow and they'll have some home court advantage.

SPEAKER_00 46:12

I I agree wholeheartedly. One of the things we're just kind of talking about this grading scale, I would tell you, like, um, I was thinking back to the 2000 Final Four team. Yeah, right. That team was 18 and 14 headed to the tournament. So to your point, like, does anybody think the 2000 team's overall grade isn't an A, right? Is that right? That's correct. Yes, that team's an A.

SPEAKER_03 46:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:36

Um, but it's an A because of the total, the total body of work and what happened after selection Sunday, not what happened before him, because of if you ace the final exam, you're getting an A.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

Well, let's regardless of whether you showed up during the semester, if you ace the final exam, you're getting an A.

SPEAKER_00 46:55

Well, not only did you ace the final exam, Mike, let's just be clear. This is a little bit probably like uh I was in college, you were former Whitewater grads. We know what whitewater is all about. This isn't just you ace the exam.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

This was don't whitewater me. Don't whitewater me, UW Oshkosh.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 47:09

I'm wow, did you just you whitewatered me? You son of a I'll tell you what.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Yep, you want to just are we done? You want to just cut me out? Anyway, but point being this is like uh this is like you had a C or a D and you needed an A D near to get credit, is what the 2000 was. Okay, right like that. Like essentially you didn't just ace the exam, you aced the exam, and that's what got you credit for the class, essentially 100%. So so I completely agree that like all you know it it isn't every season can't be graded the same. We all I think we all agree with that. Yeah, but yes, I I think we're in agreement after uh it sounds like I convinced you a little bit that like you gotta win, you gotta win on Thursday. Yeah, you gotta win Thursday.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Um that that and I don't think the players I competitors are different. I don't think like they feel added pressure that they have to win. I mean, they're they're ultra competitive. They they hated losing to Michigan, and some of the fan base, me included, said, you know, after the fact, might have been a good thing rather than the fourth game in four days, and then the NCAA turns around and sends you out to Portland for a Thursday morning game, uh, and and you worry about dead legs.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

So one last thing on basketball, as long as we're talking about if a win is, you know, a loss is maybe an okay thing. Just kind of an odd question, I've been million, as well as they've played the last couple weeks. Do you see Nolan Winner being back in the mix, uh potentially taking like Billy Oskis has played really well, rap has played really well, and let's be honest, I think one of the reasons those guys have played really well is look, it's just volume. I don't care who you are. I mean, they talk about this for running backs all the time, right? Like you can't give a running back the ball six times. Okay, you can't so I I do wonder a little bit, and I'm not saying this is the reason why they would lose, and I'm the one who just got on here and said, Look, I love Nolan Winter, I'm just talking about chemistry and mix. Like, is there a is you know what I mean? Does there a chance that for Belialskis and rap, there's a little bit of a mental reset that has to take place because they both know the minutes are going down, right?

SPEAKER_01 49:14

Sure, yeah, and it depends on how healthy Nolan Winter is. Right. Um, my minutes are still going down, yeah. Correct. And that's so much.

SPEAKER_00 49:23

If you're if you're the most guys, are you pressing? Are you pressing because you have fewer opportunities potentially?

SPEAKER_01 49:29

But she's Butchie made that great point yesterday, Courtney, that you you're you're dovetailing off of um, and that is that the leash was longer. Those guys knew that on a mistake, they weren't just gonna, hey, all right, like go get them. Uh Nolan, get back in there. You know, Garlock, it was your third. So uh yeah, I think Nolan's gonna play tomorrow. And yeah, minutes are gonna come down a little bit, but or Thursday rather, but we don't know for sure. I mean, they don't they don't tell us, tell us. So um, you know, maybe it's not there yet. All right. Let me let me shift gears for one because we got about um eight minutes or so left.

unknown 50:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

It goes in a hurry, doesn't it? Uh yeah. There's one thing I want to preemptively go to off of the WBC that the other sports already employ. All right. So in the final two minutes of an NFL game and in overtime, all challenges are instituted from the booth, right? They all begin upstairs. The coach cannot throw the red flag. So a major league baseball is going to go to the limited ABS challenge system this year. You get two challenges a game, you tap your head, the catcher, the pitcher, he won't do it. The catcher and the hitter, immediate tap of the head to dispute a ball strike call.

SPEAKER_04 50:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:49

Now, on uh the the WBC uh semifinal when the U.S. beat Puerto Rico, or the Dominican rather, uh the game-ending pitch is a ball and a half below the strike zone. In fact, I saw somebody's analytics said that that pitch wasn't called for a strike three one time last year in Major League Baseball. Right. So it was that bad. It was called a strike. I would have not been upset if the booth would have reviewed it. Now they don't they don't have ABS in the WBC, so I'm changing the rules here. So I'm talking about ABS in Major League Baseball, and I think it will go here, Courtney. I would like in the ninth inning and extra innings for all ABS to be used on every ball strike call.

unknown 51:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:40

So if one misses, they immediately buzz down and and say, change that from a ball to a strike. Change that from a strike to a ball. Immediate, not with a tap of the head with the hitter or the catcher, but from upstairs, where do you stand on what I would love to see on that rule?

SPEAKER_00 51:59

So I would say this. Um, I have real challenges with reviews on balls and strikes. Uh and again, you're much more of a baseball person than I am, but I will tell you like there are things about baseball different than other sports that are part of the sports, right? I mean, they just are. And and I do think in baseball, more than the other sports, I have concerns about removing too much of the human element. Okay. So I just want to preface all this by saying because look, we all grew up around baseball, like guys arguing calls and strikes, and managers and umpires, and we're chest to chest, or like there's a part of that that I don't think any of us want to go away, and we don't want it to become so mechanical. That is said, and I and I don't know how you get here with balls and strikes like you do with other things. Uh, I'm just gonna take a quick detour here. One of the things that I hate about um replay in football is when it takes seven minutes. I I really don't think the intent of replay is supposed to be let's slow this down and go frame by frame by frame by frame and let's see if there's a bleeding grass.

SPEAKER_01 53:02

So to me, to me, to me, it's always been because here we'll agree again, which I don't whatever. Uh that to me, replay was put into place to correct the egregious mistake. The Jim Joyce ruining of a perfect game at first base with Galaraga, which was an egregious miss. Should not happen. The egregious miss, the Jerry Rice fumble against the Green Bay Packers the year before they put replay in, that would have been a correctable, egregious. It's the reason you do it. Many of them aren't egregious. The the called third strike to end the semifinal with the U.S. and the Dominican is an egregious ball strike mistake. I want to correct the egregious, I agree with you. I want to correct the one that is a millimeter outside. Yeah, however, I don't know how you go part way. It's like being sort of pregnant. I don't know how you do it.

SPEAKER_00 53:54

I don't know, I don't know with balls and strikes how you get there, but I'm with you. Like, I'm not looking for us to put up this box and break it down and somebody zoom in and we can see this fuzzy little bit of right.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

I don't want to think any by the way even in the challenge system as it exists this year, the abs challenge system, you're gonna see a pitch missed by and they'll show it on the screen by one millimeter, and it will be changed from a strike to a ball because it missed, it did not touch the box.

SPEAKER_00 54:22

So you're gonna think and I don't think that's what fans are looking for. To your point, I think what you frankly you see in all sports, you see it in hockey now where they review off sides and they're looking down the line. We're trying to determine this escape. Like, that's not what I'm looking for. I don't think it's what any fans are looking for. Matter of fact, I would argue in the NFL, they should make that dang monitor go black if after like 60 seconds. Like if they're looking into that box and then a minute of looking at replays, they can't say we screwed it up, then let's just go. Like, honestly, let's just, you know, it's part of the game. So I don't know how you get there either. I would agree with you. I we've all seen, look, I watch a lot of Brewers baseball. It's not uh regular season, obviously, it doesn't have the same impact of what you're talking about. We've all seen the ball and strike call where you go, uh really like almost like you know, look, we all do this in our daily lives. You have sure you do it in your job, I do it in my job. It's almost like for a second, was he thinking about dinner or something his wife's like he almost like it's so bad you almost wonder did he just have to like, or you know, maybe he's uh you know, all the way back to the people who uh uh gun movies, right? He was like, let's look at it this way, and he likes to go strike, you know. Um we've all seen those, but I'm with you. I don't know how we build in a margin of error but use replay. So I guess this is a really long way of getting my answer saying I personally would rather live with the egregious mistakes than let's get into a world on balls and strikes where we're changing these. That would be my because and I've said this for a long time, and I I think unfortunately you'll agree with this, but I and I think most people do when they really kind of take their I hate the officials hat off, they don't really miss that many. No, it's amazing when I watch all those and I'm watching it in live action, I'm like, oh, that's a terrible call. And then they go back and show the replay, and I have to go to myself, oh well, maybe you know, maybe it wasn't that terrible.

SPEAKER_01 56:14

Um I'm one of the rare guys who still goes back to the 1982 World Series, and I think it was game six when Pete Ladd had a strike three and they didn't give it to him, and then he gave up a hit that allowed the Cardinals to come back and win that game. I still live on that, and what is that? That 82, that is 44 years ago, or is it 54 years ago? Whatever. It's 44 years ago. I still go back to that. You think that a Dominican fan is ever gonna forget that call that ended the the world baseball classic semifinal? And it is an egregious miss.

SPEAKER_00 56:49

It is, it is, but it but again, I'm just taking the if I have to pick one or the other, if I have to live with some egregious and not have to suffer through and remove the human element on the other side, I'll live with the handful of egregious because there just aren't that many. Yeah, I mean, just there's aren't. Um, and I say that having just watched a lot of college basketball where I feel like there's 18 of them a game.

SPEAKER_01 57:10

So are you um are you in on uh the I Love Mondays tournament challenge? Did you you get the link and uh it's a CBS bracket that I linked out um Sunday night?

SPEAKER_00 57:20

I I have not gotten in yet, but I haven't done any of my brackets yet.

SPEAKER_01 57:24

Okay, but you're going to, right? I mean, people are gonna gauge how they do against me and you, and for anybody that remembers Jeff Bilker, they might gauge how they do against him. Um Kari's gonna do one.

SPEAKER_00 57:36

Do you traditionally do well?

SPEAKER_01 57:39

Do I? Yes, because I traditionally live in the world of chalk.

SPEAKER_00 57:44

Oh, sure. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

So, I mean, I've already filled mine out, so people who go in are gonna see it, but I believe I have three ones in the final four, maybe four. I might have all four. I'd have to look to call back up.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

So uh are this is going way back to old ESPN days. Are you a one bracket guy if you enter more than one pool?

SPEAKER_01 58:07

Or are you uh no? I don't, I don't just uh I don't just copy and paste. So if I get in multiple pools, I'll pick it a little bit differently, but I won't put multiple pools into the same deal. Yeah, I will tell you, here's my final four. I have a number one seed Duke beating a three-seed Illinois, and I have a number one Arizona beating a one-seed Michigan. So I do have two Big Ten teams in my final four, but the only non-number one seed is Illinois. I have Duke, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, and I have Arizona winning the national championship over Duke. So there, I've I've given it up. I've given up. And I do, just for those who are wondering about well, how does Mike have Wisconsin? Mike has Wisconsin beating High Point and beating Arkansas and losing to Arizona, which would be a turnabout as fair play because Wisconsin uh knocked Arizona out in back-to-back elite eights when they went to back-to-back Final Fours.

SPEAKER_00 59:10

So I would just say, I would say this. I am a uh, as some used to call it, I am a bracket of integrity person. I will make a bracket.

SPEAKER_03 59:18

And then that'll be a good one.

SPEAKER_00 59:19

However many fools I get into, that'll be the bracket they get.

SPEAKER_03 59:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 59:23

Um I for whatever reason I've always preferred it that way. And much like when we were talking about uh the Wisconsin uh Michigan game before it started, uh, you know, I like to stand firm in my conviction of my of how of how I choose things. You seem to be a little wishy-washier. I understand that.

unknown 59:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 59:41

I like, but I like to I do like to make an analysis, make a bracket, and if I picked it right, be able to say, oh yeah, like right, like this is this was the bracket. This were the these were the sticks I made, so that's how I'll go about it. I will tell you, I I I people, my brothers who uh you know my brother Gil, I think you've played some golf with him. Gil's always asked me, he says, so what do you do? You then you because everybody knows I'm such a Wisconsin, but he's like, So you just run Wisconsin all the way through to win it, and then you just pick everything around it. And I'm like, no, no, I don't do that. Like I'd love to say that, but when I pick the bracket, I don't, I will tell you, like, I I I am gonna I I've already looked through that to your point. I will also have Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. I don't know how much further they go than that. I will tell you, not duke. Um, but when I go back and I look at the one seeds, I I'm gonna tell you right now, I actually have Michigan, I'm actually gonna have Michigan and Arizona make earlier exits. I don't know how early. All right. Look, we've all seen Michigan, we've all played them, and I'm not just saying that it's not I'm not saying I don't think Wisconsin's good. I really I think I think they're a they are a beatable, they're a beatable basketball team.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:44

Well, dude, if you have Arizona going out earlier, then you should have Wisconsin in your Elite Eight and maybe your final four.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

Hey, hey, hey, I don't want to give everything away yet. Oh, okay. I see.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

I gave all he listen, uh all the presents under my tree have been opened.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

Yeah, absolutely. Now, I mean, I like to you gotta buy me dinner. Okay if you want to get in a yeah, you know what I'm saying? So so I I do see that. I I look the team that I think everybody um uh oh here we go. Um, you know, I I would say I think the team that everybody keeps sleeping. It's funny, I thought about it last night, like how we keep sleeping on Yukon every single year.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:24

How Yukon just keeps winning nattties and never a one seed and never a better. So I I think you have teams like UConn. Look, Florida, I think, might be one of the most underrated pro look at Florida's a one seed again, and nobody talks about Florida, then all of a sudden Selection Sunday shows up and there are one seed.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:39

Um, I you know, I think frankly, I think Purdue's an early exit because I've just seen it. Um, I love Iowa State because my son went there and love a lot of things about that program. They don't seem to perform that well. So I I definitely think again, this year there's some some folks at the top who are gonna make early exits. I think Illinois' peaking, I think they make a run.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:56

Yeah, it's it's interesting because uh in my elite eight, I have a one versus a two, a one versus a three without giving all everything away, and a one versus a two and a one versus a three. I don't know anybody higher than a three seed or lower than a three seed in the elite eight. And by the way, just quickly on uh Jamie, couldn't disagree more with living with egregious officiating mistakes. As Mike said, Jerry Rice Fumble enough said, so somebody on my side to end uh the deal.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:26

And I just want to clarify hey, I just want to can I just clarify though? I'm just saying if the choice is between living with egregious mistakes and spending six minutes looking at blades of grass, that's how I would prefer it. I'm not advocating for no replay and we just live with it. I just want to be clear on what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:45

I got you.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:45

Um they agree with you, Navi. They should. You're the host.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

I just do this as a you don't have to just because I'm the host doesn't mean they have to agree with me. Listen, uh Super Fan Tuesday is uh to me one of the most fun days of the week. Courtney, I appreciate you doing it both last week and this. Vilker owes you something. I don't know what it is. Yeah, is he good at paying?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:06

We'll make arrangements.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:07

Is he good at uh paying off stuff that he should pay up on? Not normally. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:12

Yeah. Not usually, but you know, I mean, he doesn't all he hasn't owed me things that often.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:18

Okay, all right. So we'll you know I don't know what happens uh next Tuesday yet. So we'll figure it out. Uh but you know, I appreciate you. This is a lot of fun. Uh the hour goes in a flash, and we're well past it now. So uh get out of here and get to your day job. I appreciate you, Courtney. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:35

Yep, thanks a lot, Mike. Appreciate you too. Have a good weekend uh on Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:39

There we go. Courtney Corning joining us on our Super Fan Tuesday. All right, um, some things to to clean up on the way out of the shop here today, and I do want to uh again um give proper credit to those who make this podcast possible. I love doing it. It had been six months uh until two Mondays ago. It had been six months that I since I'd been doing my own deal on a podcast or the radio. And this let's admit it, this isn't much different than the radio. It's just it's it's mine. But in order to do that, I had to find I had to find companies that were willing to bet on me and to trust me and to work this partnership. Uh, we're gonna add another significant sponsor here in the next couple of weeks uh that that I'm holding on to, and I think we'll start in April. But uh they are going to be partners in what we do. But I want to say thank you to our presenting sponsors, M3 Insurance, proud to serve clients across the country with world-class expertise and individual attention, tailored to your business. No compromises, no matter what, with M3 Insurance. You get it all. Go to M3INS.com. Also presented by the Neuroscience Group, excellence in brain, spine, and pain care, back pain holding you back at Neuroscience Group. Their spine specialists offer personalized care from therapy to advanced surgical options so you can get back to doing what you love. Neuroscience Group, we've got your back. Go to neurosciencegroup.com. Also presented by Pottawatomi Sportsbook and Casino. What better place is there this week? How about being there for that WBC championship game tonight between the U.S. and Venezuela? That will be special. And then obviously the tournament games going on in Dayton on the other screen. A Bucks home game on another. Come on. Pottawatomi is the place to be for all the sports betters. Head to Pottawatomi Sportsbook in Milwaukee for an unmatched sports betting experience. And by our friends at Havish, Habish and Rotier. Uh this was my original, my the initial, the first, and I appreciate them so greatly. 13 locations to ensure you get a hometown attorney who understands your life and the impacts of your injury and is personally committed to your recovery. So all of those part and parcel to what we do. Tomorrow's an OG Wednesday. Now, OG, I mean, originally it stands for original gangster. You know, last week I went original gangster, old guy, original guy, Tom Oates. I'm not going to tell you today who my OG is tomorrow. Still working out some final details. And then on Thursday, Vinny Rettino will jump into the chair, and that will take you pretty close up to uh Badger Tip Off. Um, so we got that going on on Thursday, and then an NG Friday, new gangster, new guy. All of that going on yet this week. All right. So a big uh, a big fun Tuesday. Super fan Tuesday is now in the books, and I appreciate you guys being here. We will do it again tomorrow at ten o'clock. I love Mondays with Mike Hell.