 This is covering the spread part of the Fandall podcast network The bracket is set and it is time to make some picks for the 2024 men's college basketball tournament We are here today to break down everything you need to know to fill out a hopefully winning bracket We've got Dr. Ed Fang and Bennett Corcoran with us once again this year to break down their thoughts on strategy Pool selection who they think will win the national championship final four Upsets and much more. We're gonna break it all down today to get you ready for the 2024 tournament This is covering the spread right here on the Fandall podcast network and Fandall research. My name is Jim Sonnis I am a managing editor of digital media for Fandall research joined here once again by Dr. Ed Fang and Bennett Corcoran our two guests for today to break down the 2024 men's college basketball tournament Dr. Ed Fang you can find on Twitter at the power rank check out his work at the power rank comment Of course the author of how to win your NCAA tournament pool the book which you can find over on Amazon Ed It is a pleasure to have you on for today. How you doing? I'm doing great. I'm excited about some more March madness. Thanks for having me and looking forward to chatting about it this hour I was on Twitter last night and saw that the power rank.com. You've got some cool visualizations up for this year. We can kind of like view the path of various teams So stepping up your game at the data vis game is strong at the power rank right now Thanks try my best Absolutely, our other guest here has mentioned is a Bennett Corcoran of shot quality You can find Bennett on Twitter at 617 Bennett Bennett has been with us on the show here The past couple of years is a lot of great work over at shot quality with really fun data around college basketball Bennett is a delight to give you back in the show today. How you doing? I'm great Jim. Thanks for having me. I'm locked in and ready to dive into this bracket. So I'm glad you could find time to chat with us given you've been to it sounds like 70,000 or so college basketball games the past two weeks. You know, you're out there in New York So easy access to a lot of different tournaments. So I'm glad you could find the time to sit down with us here for a bit Oh, absolutely wouldn't miss it. So Alrighty, we're gonna talk to you both Bennett and Ed to get varied on this year's tournament We'll talk strategy pool selection everything you need to try to break down your bracket We're doing a different Order than a lot of people will do this kind of show because the most important thing for one year bracket It's picking the correct national champion because of how many points are allocated to that decision as a result of that We're gonna spend the large part of our discussion Focusing on exactly that trying to identify which team you should pick to win the national championship How that varies based on the size of your pool and much more So we're gonna spend a lot of time focusing on that Then we'll dive into the region by region breakdown talk about sleep routines and stuff like that But the beginning part will be focusing on the national champion Because that is so important to trying to win your pool also a note on this week for the schedule here on covering the spread We're talking tourney all the rest of this week tomorrow We'll break down the women's side of things by talking to Justin Carter a rotor ball are getting his read on the women's tournaments What he thinks about South Carolina? Is he betting the field against South Carolina or laying the minus 145 with them? We'll talk to him about Iowa versus LSU potentially early on and a lot of other good stuff That'll be up on the covering the spread podcast feed on Tuesday Wednesday, we're gonna have Riley Thomas a fandal research on to break down his thoughts on Thursday's game And then on Friday. Well, I've eaten codder on to break down his thoughts on all the Friday round of 64 men's games So a lot of good stuff here on the covering the spread podcast feed Just described you covering the spread wherever you get your podcast if you like what you hear leave us a 5 a star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also find all these shows over on the fandal YouTube page and on a fandal TV plus Say goodbye to busted brackets because fandal let's you bet on every game of the tournament Whether you're betting on a big upset or on a one seed It's time to go dancing on America's number one sportsbook right now new customers get two hundred dollars in bonus bets If your first five dollar bet wins That's 200 bucks to use on point spreads money lines You can even pick who's gonna win it all just visit fandal.com on bed and college hoops today until they cut down the nets Must be 21 plus and president select states Fandal is offering online sports wadring in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC first online real money wager Only $10 first deposit required bonus issued is now a drawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt See terms at sportsbook dot fandal calm gambling problem call 1 800 gambler Or if it's fandal calm slash RG in Colorado Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Virginia, North Carolina and Vermont call 1 800 next step or text next step to 5334 Q in Arizona 1 888 79 777 7 or the ccpg.org Slash chat in Connecticut 1 809 with it in Indiana 1 805 222 1 800 visit KS gambling health commie, Kansas 1 877 770 stop in Louisiana visit md gambling health at Oregon, Maryland 1 800 gambler net in West Virginia 105 22 4700 in Wyoming hope this year visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 100 327 50 50 for 24 7 support in Massachusetts Or call 1 877 hoping y or text open y in New York Now before we talk about this year's field Let's talk some strategy and you wrote a book about how to win NCAA tournament pools. I've still got it here It is survived Five different apartment moves to think at this point a little tattered But it's still it's still here and it's here for reason that because I got to remind myself Key things know about Contest selection and stuff like that So if you had your pickad what kinds of pools are you deciding to join for the NCAA tournament? Thanks for still having that Jim. That's actually I don't think those copies exist that I think I made those special one year Somewhere if I can find a grading someone to grade this to see you what if we can get a 10 on this Yeah, I wish I had a copy because the yellow copies the one that you can grab on Amazon When when you're thinking about a pool like I mean the first things first like don't don't get in a huge pool right your probability to win your pool decreases exponentially and You know exponential functions decay very rapidly The ideal situation is a pool of about 10 you're probably gonna end up something a little bit bigger Maybe 30 50 we'll talk about strategy for that but you know, I mean the simplest thing to do is to get in a really small pool and Pick a lot of favorites pick a lot of chalk unfortunately Not not unfortunately not unfortunately for people listening, but unfortunately for me there's a lot of betting people out there pros that Continue to give out sound advice on this ex cesspool of the internet Which is really annoying to me But you know, there's there's a guy I China that I met and in Boston at the Sloan conference this year and You know, he was like it's pretty simple Just go with the market favorite in every game in the round To you know pick pick the pick the team with the higher-win probability every every other game. Just go with chalk and that that's basically your your best strategy for For for for a small pool and that's you're gonna be your best chance to win So our ideally we're finding small pools, you know 10 or so people we can allow ourselves to Use a betting markets a guide kind of take the chalk and allow ourselves just pick the better teams and not get too funky But the problem Bennett is that We can't always do that, you know, a lot of us can be stuck in work pools where there are a lot of people who are going to be in the in in these pools and that's tough Because the larger the pool size is the larger your incentive is to deviate So let's say Bennett you are forced into a larger pool. How does that alter your approach to filling out a bracket? Yeah, I mean I think with a larger pool you definitely have to be a bit more contrarium If you go with the all the favorites you basically everything has to go right for you to ultimately win So how I like to think about it is more so Can we come up with a little bit more contrarian pick for a champion? and then that way you still have like a higher margin of error if You know you miss on this one region or this one final four team doesn't work out for you You've built in this, you know potential opportunity if this one team does happen to go on a run So I do think you have to be careful. You don't be reckless obviously, there's a fine line between being contrarium and just You know, let's put a bunch of double-digit seeds for you As Ed said definitely use the the betting markets as you know a guide and now that betting has you know Really taken off in terms of popularity all the different markets that are being offered We even have not just final four anymore, but like sweet 16 You know first round so you can really leverage a lot of these different tools Available to kind of help piece your bracket together and I think that the key phrase I come back to is be different without being dumb and You can do that it may sound ambitious, but it's very much possible to be different without being dumb now and When you're trying to do that be different without being dumb Are you kind of taking the same approach as Bennett where you work backwards find a Slightly different national champion and kind of work from there if you're trying to differentiate in a larger pool Absolutely, I mean champions as you mentioned is worth the most That's where you can get the most edge and what I do in my book is I actually quantify. Yeah The effect of making this contrarium choices. It clearly depends on year It depends on a lot of things it depends on what the public is doing and those types of assumptions But yeah, I mean you you essentially want to kind of guess what people are doing in your pool And and go against that in a larger pool, you know example, I gave out my newsletter Is you know if you if you're a Duke alum and you're in a pool with Duke alums You can probably guess that more than half the people in that pool are gonna pick Duke So these are the type of pools that you want to get in Duke is a fine basketball team But I don't I mean they could they could certainly win But the idea is you know process wise you want to pick against the team that everyone else is picking And you know, we'll talk about the prohibitive favorite Soon and and that's what I would do if I were in that Duke pool Okay, so know your opponents kind of know other play things if you're in a pool where People are more likely to take a certain team than they might be in other pools take into take that into account and Public pick percentages may not be as indicative in those situations So kind of always keep the context in mind when trying to play things out there Now you mentioned the prohibitive favorite right now. That is Connecticut. They're down to plus 370 to win it all And then I want to begin with you here Yukon is plus 370 I talked to Ed about Yukon last week. He said they're a very well-rounded team What's your assessment of Yukon? Do you think they're worthy of this? Pretty optimistic number at fangirl sportsbook. And what's your view of them overall? Are you picking them to win if you're going with like kind of like chalky bracket? Yeah, so Yukon is in my opinion, definitely a deserted favorite I think they are You know the most talented most complete team I think when you consider Obviously the one last year, but they lost, you know considerable depth to the NBA And we're able to just kind of retool and reload. I think defensively The shooters that they have and then also Another impressive thing to me is the offensive rebounding to where if they're having an off night or an off half They're still able to kind of generate a bunch of extra possessions and make it happen This number at plus 370 it was a little bit Farther out last night even. Yeah Was closer to like plus 400 or so so that tells you that People are kind of seeing what i'm seeing in terms of This team is very talented and could easily make it make it happen for you know the first Back-to-back champions since the gators back in the mid-2000s I My issue I guess is that When we're starting to get into this public pick percentage stuff I just think given that they're one last year and given that they're the number one overall seed I'm anticipating a lot of people are going to take them And I do think their region is particularly strong and we'll get into that a little bit later So even though I do think they are a deserved favorite and kind of clearly the best team I think in a smaller pool you can maybe justify it, but I think in these larger pools It's probably going to make sense to deviate plus 370. You're looking at like an implied When percentage around 20 percent or so 21 percent then you remove margin. It's a little bit less And I mean it's early, but so far we're seeing you know, 26 percent 30 percent type Range 26.1. Yeah, so I would I mean we'll kind of continue to closely monitor that. I think if that dips a little bit It's easier to justify but you know where it is right now. It's Probably not a ton of value taking you con despite how good they are Yeah, what Ben was referencing there is you go to ESPN They will list out the percentage of times each bracket that has been filled out has picked each team To win the national championship right now Yukon at 26.1 percent to win at all based on The bracket has been filled out thus far over at Yahoo as of last night. It was 32.2 percent So even higher there and as you mentioned the implied odds at plus 370 are 21.3 percent That's without accounting for hold. So The public is higher on Yukon than the betting market is which can be a bit risky So I don't want to talk to you Are you picking Yukon straight up twin at all and how big of a pool you do need to be in before You decide to deviate elsewhere at them I think Yukon is the most complete team in the nation. I think they absolutely deserve to be the favorite And I think they have a really good chance of repeating. I think this team is is that good You can talk about players like Donovan Klingon who is probably going to be a lottery pick Which seems really high for a seven foot two guy that doesn't shoot the three much Tristan Newton is a really great point guard Uh, I think the player that really shows why this program is so good is a is a guy named Samson Johnson He comes off the bench. He basically backs up Klingon And this is third or fourth year in the program. I think third And this guy did nothing the previous two years and now is like a legitimate Backup big makes contribution to kind of call him slamson johnson because he gets a lot of dunks I think Dan Hurley has like just a great program. I I'm kind of in awe of what he's been able to do His story is is kind of amazing Obviously being bobby Hurley's little brother Which can't be fun. He is bob Hurley senior son and bob Hurley senior is Just an absolute high school coaching legend Yeah, Dan Hurley is is making it work and and he's got a great program. So I love this Yukon team I I fully believe in them clearly the road is hard and You know, I mean they got smoked by Creighton this year So it's not like it's for sure that uh, you know, they're gonna they're gonna win the championship I would feel very very good about being in a small pool Picking chalk having Yukon as my champ. I think that's uh, I think that's a very strong way to go Okay, so Ed is on Yukon in a small pool very okay with that and Bennett sounded like in a small pool He'd go in to go that way as well despite the fact they may be a bit overvalued in the betting market So Bennett let's scale things up larger pool and you're like, okay I think public's too high on them. I want to deviate Where do you turn first if you decide Yukon will not be your pick in that larger pool? Yeah, so looking at the betting markets here. I mean it seems pretty clear that there's kind of that second tier of teams The other, you know, two of the other Three one seeds in Houston and Purdue and I think that's kind of the logical next place that I would look Houston was You know, my pick last year didn't exactly pan out, but I think You know, it's it's similar to Yukon in the sense that it's a different team. They have some kind of key pieces back but They were able to kind of reload in the system year over year Is still, you know intact And I do think, you know, their region in terms of just like region strength is a little bit more favorable than Yukon, obviously Yukon We've kind of discussed that length already is I think a better team, but I think the path for Houston Is a bit intriguing there 12 percent ish on that ESPN graphic that you showed Purdue is considerably lower than that And I do think there is kind of like the stigma with Purdue around Yeah, being the fourth selection here, but the third selection in the betting markets with like a pretty good gap between the odds I think Purdue is kind of interesting. Obviously they lost in the first round Last season fairly Dickinson the kind of stigma perception is that this team doesn't win in March and I do think, you know If you have the stunts to to go back to the Purdue after Maybe it's suspending. Hopefully like a UVA type run 2019 Maybe you could, you know, circle them in But to me, like when you look at the kind of discrepancies between The odds that you were showing on Fandall and what we're looking at here Purdue kind of stands out a bit more than Houston does Yeah, as you mentioned, uh, Purdue right now Third best odds when it all seven to one, there's a falloff after them down to Arizona 13 to one And in the public pick percentages Purdue is at 8.7 percent. So betting markets much higher on Purdue Than the public is as of right now, which could create some value there. So Ed Where are you on Purdue in Houston? Like let's say I tell you you can't pick Yukon for whatever reason Who would be your preference between Houston and Purdue is that kind of number two option for you? I really like Houston. I love Kelvin Sands's program I love the intensity with which they play defense. They are by far in a way the best defensive team in the nation I think they are by far in a way the best Defensive program in college basketball right now You have teams like Tennessee and Virginia that that also play great defense I think I think Houston is in a level above them With the way they get after it on that side of the ball Now they do have problems, uh, like they can't shoot the ball That tends to be a problem They tend to rely on offensive rebounds, uh, but they got smoked by I would say partially because John Roberts didn't play that much He is they're big that gets on the glass. Uh, I think he was dinged up So, you know, if they're gonna miss shots and they can't have a guy like Roberts get the rebounds They can get in trouble. Still with that said, uh, I mean I need I I need to figure out a little bit more about exactly what's up with Roberts I don't really think it matters probably until the second weekend really um, but I think there's I think there's contrarian value in Houston My member numbers actually have their win probability north of 20 percent Which certainly suggests value there The numbers all like them. Um, I think no matter where you're gonna look I think you kind of Houston are gonna be at the top So I I definitely do see some contrarian value there Purdue is is an interesting team I really love the way this team plays with uh, with kind of an unstoppable big and Zach Edie in the middle And they've surrounded him with shooters, which is just Great basketball to watch in my opinion I do have, uh, you know, I do have my concerns about them on the defensive side of the ball They're they're roughly a top 20 defense, which is very good Uh, obviously Edie helps there back there with it with his shot blocking ability Um, but I'm not I don't know how some of the wing players maybe hold up on the defensive side of the ball that that would worry me and I like Houston better my numbers like Houston better and and I do think there's some contrarian value there with Houston So you said your numbers have them above 20 percent. Would you consider betting Houston to win Ed? There's six to one right now fandal sports, but obviously it's a very different situation than like Being contrarian for a pool versus actually betting them, but any consideration to you for actually betting Houston out right here Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have a plus 900 ticket from earlier. So I mean, I'm not betting it again If you don't I would definitely consider it. I mean, I need to look again I think juan roberts really matters because this team is relying on offense rebounding So I want to know what's going on there with that injury Uh, but I it's certainly something that interests me Okay, ben, let's go back to you here and talk about some dark horses any teams either ion is maybe Making a deep run at the turn of this year potentially not to win the national championship That might be a bit ambitious, but any dark horse teams you have got your eye on entering this tournament Yeah, I mean, I think a dark horse team that I would consider in a larger pool To win would be potentially arizona. So we're seeing here there in the fourth spot They are not the one seed in their region, but if you Go over to the west region and you'll see The odds to win there. They are favored over north carolina So maybe not a dark horse when you kind of frame it that way, but they're Odd so when the region have been kind of trickling in as well similar to what we were talking about with uconn and I think Kind of like what I was saying with purdue There might be a potential stigma around oh this team lost to princeton in the first round last year I'm not going to get burned again And that might be creating, you know a bit of value If you look at the espn pick percentages stuff Less than five percent of brackets so far are picking arizona It's super early and I don't know that that'll necessarily hold up, but That seems like a fairly obvious Spot to kind of pick like I think their odds As we kind of reviewed with the sportsbook odds Definitely better than some of these other teams that are slotting it above them right now So that's a situation that I'll kind of continue to monitor But that's the kind of one team that I have keeping my eye on right now Yeah, arizona right now and picked to win it on 4.3 percent of espn brackets versus We've got a fan dual sportsbook and check out their odds for the national championship They are at 13 to 1 as ben had mentioned shorter than north carolina because arizona is a favorite To win the west of fan dual sportsbook any dark horses you've got your eye on here at I'm keeping my eye on this gonzaga team This is a great program. Uh, this is A program that kind of has no right to be part of college basketball royalty But they they just continue to produce pretty good teams They're down from their peak a couple years ago where where they had some one and done nba type talent This is still a really good basketball team. They're 10th in my member numbers. So The you know, I I think it's a team that can go pretty far. You look at their region out in the midwest You know, kansas is really banged up. That's going to be the 5-4 matchup Uh, can't so they have a lot of injury issues and then the team after that they would play as prudu Who I certainly think is is vulnerable So, you know, I mean, I think it's a team that I'm interested in Gonzaga is a team that my numbers really like and I'll certainly be rooting for them to uh to make a run All right So back on the zags once again 50 to 1 to win the national championship over at fandall sports If you want to get real crazy with it But to win the midwest right now. Gonzaga 10 to 1 that is the region with prudu in it Now we talked about the good end. Let's talk about some uh Less fun things because the past couple years we've had some One seeds that have fallen early on you had prudu last year Bennett you alluded to uva the year before they won the national championship They went down as a one seed arizona last year losing early So benny when you look at the high seeds in this year's tournament Any of them stand out to you as being particularly shaky and potentially vulnerable to an early round upset Yeah, I mean I I kind of alluded to this earlier with talking about arizona But I think north carolina in particular As far as the one seeds go being kind of a tier below the other three Maybe a couple tears below you gone but I think They strike me as particularly vulnerable Not just because They're the worst of the four one seeds but also kind of the draw I do think you know either team that they would face in that second game Michigan State and Mississippi State both grade fairly well across You know a lot of you know pick your analytics site. I'm sure Ed your stuff will will Also kind of align with this, but you know go on ken palm shot quality, whatever uh, Michigan State ranks as like one of the higher, you know, eight nine teams a lot of people last night were You know kind of up in arms You know given their resume that maybe they didn't necessarily deserve to have a seed this high But the numbers certainly Back that up and then Mississippi State. I mean we just saw in that cc tournament last week beating Tennessee These teams can hang against, you know, really stiff competition and I think UNC is a bit shaky Um, the other top team. I'm kind of keeping my eye on in a little bit wary of is marquette Um marquette played really well in the biggies tournament last week, but you know tower colic was the Biggies player of the year last year and just definitively their best player. He's been out for the last couple weeks Sounds like it was kind of a precautionary thing and that they're going to let him go but You know, if you're not a hundred percent sure what his status is and is he going to be You know a hundred percent of himself. Is it going to be 80 percent of himself? I think given that kind of uncertainty I'd be wary of you know picking them to go to the lead ater final four Okay, so marquette Given bennett a little bit of the heebie jeebies right here and also UNC The one seed in the west potentially not a team. He's looking to be super super high And what about for you Ed? Are there any teams that you're wary of when it comes to the higher seeded teams this year? For sure. I mean, I definitely agree with what bennett is saying. I think this marquette The team is pretty interesting Tyler Colak is an absolute stud Completely runs that often is hyper efficient great passer of the ball And he might not play right, but the markets have mar marquette as a 14 and a half point favorite I'm making it at about 12. The market certainly seems to think that Colak's going to be back and Effective that's what that's what that means to me. I'm not sure that that's the case So like I mean, I I completely I completely agree there I'm gonna throw this out there just because it's kind of fun You know Auburn's a four seed in the east and I actually really love this team. They're really high in my numbers They are fun to watch. They play hard. They play good defense Jenai broom is a big that kind of does a lot on on both ends of the floor For me, they're an interesting team because they weren't in the preseason ap top 25 And those are always teams So the preseason ap pole is a is a very accurate predictor of tournament success It harnesses the wisdom of crowds and that tends to be a pretty good assessment of of team strength Uh, it isn't always perfect. You know, yukon last year was outside the top 25 before they made a run I think you could see that coming a little bit more because yukon had multiple players that were going to play in the mba And I think we all knew that around november december last year and now there's three guys that are playing in the mba I'm not sure that's the same thing for this arburn team I'm not sure any of those guys are going to be playing in the in the mba last year They've really had a lot of success because jenai broom has taken a big leap forward Since last season last season was his first year at arburn After coming transferring over from warhead state And then they have another big that that's really taken a leap this year It's an interesting team for me because I really like watching this team play. I think they are very efficient But the previous day people says there's probably not as much talent as we think So They're they're an interesting team in that respect. Do they get upset? Maybe maybe not Okay, uh, arburn and the foreseed in the east and that's a pretty tough region So let's dive in now and talk about the east regional and break it all down And outline where ben and ed may be seeing some Potential upsets there and their overall view of the region Let's start things off at the top though Yukon the top overall seed and as we discussed In most situations are probably taking them to go pretty far in the tournament Bennett it's a tough bracket though. So when you look at the east here What's your view of yukon? Are you taking them to go to the final four every time? Are you trying to deviate at times in larger pools? How are you handling yukon? specifically in the east region Yeah, no, it's a great question. I think a lot of it like you kind of alluded to is subject to kind of You know bracket pool size and I think in a smaller pool it makes a lot of sense to just Stick with the chalk and go with the best team and that's yukon as the odds clearly reflect I think with If you're gonna be in a larger pool or you want to deviate a little bit The teams that I would consider are Auburn and Iowa State I think If you go to camp on right now, these are three of the top five teams on a site Which is pretty crazy that this is kind of how it shook out We've seen you know traditionally the committee doesn't really necessarily um, they're not necessarily swayed by Championship Saturday championship sunday Yeah, and a lot of these times these teams ended up winning ended up kind of under seated And not necessarily rewarded for what they've done and both those teams You know really rose to the occasion in their conference tournaments um, I I do I will push back a little bit on what Ed was saying about Auburn I understood I agree with the general premise that The preseason top 25 and kind of our prior heading into the season Is a strong indicator of just like team talent and general success And I do think those are teams that you should be looking to target Um, but Auburn's first game they actually played a they played Baylor in the neutral and close as a favorite So I think just because it could have just been a miss by the preasons in top 25 So I wouldn't let that necessarily you You know let you talk you out of the Auburn and I do think like junai broom This is a really talented team. And if they were You know able to match up with say yukon, um, I think you know broom and clinging would be just an unbelievable match up I'm selfishly hoping we get there. So I would say if you're not going to go with yukon I would go with you know Either Iowa State whose defense is really incredible force a ton of turnovers And that's something that I look for quite a bit Obviously, you have to win, you know six games if you Have an off night you need to be able to generate great looks And Iowa State's, you know Ability to just pressure the ball is unbelievable. So those are the two teams I'll be looking at if you're not gonna go with yukon But again, I think in a smaller pool You might as well just you know pick the best team. So Yeah, ed with the Auburn thing It's definitely interesting here because it sounds like from you watching them. It sounds like you want to like them So i'm curious. How do you view them when you look at just this east regional? Do you think they've got the juice to contend with kinetic kid here because it sounds like again, you've liked them So i'm curious what your what your thoughts are on them. We look at this east region specifically Yeah, well, let's keep the back and forth going. Auburn's three point defense has been exceptional this year. Um So and when you hold a team to under 30 sorry when you hold your opponents to under 30 from three on defense It's usually unsustainable Programs like you sin can do it. I'm actually looking at Auburn's numbers Uh, it was actually pretty good last year as well And Auburn and you know not as good actually still pretty good the year before so There's probably some regression do there. Uh, I don't know look as far as this region goes I think we could be sitting here in two weeks and being like well I mean, of course you kind of was going to make the final four you had Auburn that was like Outside of top 25 and had this three point defense and then the other two teams that we're really talking about our iowa state in illinois and Maybe they're over seated because they had some hot runs in their tournaments Uh, iowa state had the advantage of not having drawn roberts like to box out in that game And they kind of fall back to earth a little bit and then you know You can't just goes through I I really believe in chalk in this region and um, I would go with What I consider to be the most complete team in the storm Okay, so it sounds like both ben and ed are aligned here where As long as you're in a small enough pool, you're taking ucon It sounds like even in larger pools we could consider ucon to the final four But then dva once you get later on if you decide you want to dump them dump them later Uh, despite the fact this is a very good region Ben I want to go back to your and talk about Some lower-seated teams now probably not going to topple ucon We're looking at like Some surprise teams anyone you think could make it run at the elite eight Maybe not, you know final four, but like elite eight in this bracket um, I don't know about elite eight just because the the teams at the top that we Just highlighted are so strong, but a team i'm looking at to maybe win a couple games is byu so byu is the strongest Succeed in the bracket and honestly, I think I believe the committee last night said they would have been a five But then there was some scheduling stuff around not playing sundays and they ended up with a six here Which also kind of just speaks to the strength of this region in general, but I think ducane This is a team that got hot at the right time to make the tournament But we're not projected to make noise in the a10 tournament and then illinois who Just won their conference tournament Karen shannon playing out of his mind Puts up, you know 30 35 points a game in that three game stretch To close that out. I just think If he has an off game, you know, they're very susceptible to potentially getting bounced. They really don't force any turnovers. So If yeah, for whatever reason he can't find a shot. I'm just a little concerned about illinois So byu is just you know, there are very efficient shooting team And I do a good job in terms of the extra possessions game not turning it over and doing all right on the glass so I you know, I think you can consider them winning a couple games, but as far as like elite eight or Final four. I think you just got to kind of stick at the top here with the best teams Okay, so then it does like byu to potentially win a couple games They are the sixth seed out here in the east and what about you any lower seeded teams You think could at least you know win a couple of games here in the east Yeah, for sure. I mean I kind of I kind of like this byu team as well You know, I'm looking at my numbers They're actually 17th in the numbers that I trust the most they take more than half their shots from three which Is it, you know, I mean, which is kind of fun You know, it's high variance, but high variance is not always a bad thing It can be a good thing if you're trying to you know swing for a long shot Right, right. So they're definitely a team that that is kind of and maybe potentially makes this bracket You know A little more interesting in the bottom Okay, that's byu so both ben and ed thinking byu could be a fun team As mentioned, we don't want to spend a lot of time in early round upsets because they're not going to get you the majority of the points But they are fun to discuss so ben any early round upsets you're checking out here in the east bracket um, I've got my eye on this washington state drake in That's kind of an interesting one. I I also did the same thing with drake last year and my ambulance to the final four. So big carry up, but I um, I do really like this drake team. They do bring a lot back from last season um, tucker devories their best player probably gonna end up playing in the mba one day And I do think this washington state team just You know, obviously they had a really good regular season, but I think, you know, the kind of a little bit more susceptible the last few weeks in terms of just Appearing it to be a little bit more vulnerable. So I think, you know, maybe you're looking at 7 10, I think that if you look at the odds on fandal, it's pretty close to a pick-up So not necessarily really an upset and these 7 10 8 9 games are fairly coin flippy so Maybe, you know, you think most people are just going to take the higher seed and you go with drake who might You know provide a little value here. Oh, so we're actually a favorite. Wow. So not an upset at all Retract everything but well it's important to note that though because Not everyone is going to use betting markets as the way To fill out their brackets. Now, I will note that if you go over to espn People are picking drake 53 to be Washington state in the first round But I do think it's still noteworthy because a lot of people listening Probably don't watch a lot of college basketball So may not know that drake in your eyes is the better team So I think it's still worth noting that even if the betting market say it's not necessarily an upset All right, so Bennett likes drake potentially in that first round taking on Washington state the 7 versus 10 matchup Anything for you as far as potential upsets go here This uh, this drake Washington state game is interesting because my numbers actually have Washington state by 3 in it. Um, I don't really have a beat on either team But that certainly suggests some value potentially in in the team from the Sadly now defunct pack 12, right? All right. Um, so Yeah, you know, it's been interesting because the committee has gotten so No, I don't want to say so good. They've gotten a lot better at seeding and a lot of times You know A decade ago you would often find double digit seeds that were actually favorites And that's really evaporated over the last couple years except there are some so we'll talk about those in the other regions Okay, let's go now to the south region and discuss what we're seeing out there Houston is a team that both of you were high on As with regards to in the national championship in part because potentially their path wasn't as hard We talked a bit about marquette skepticism. So Bennett when you look at houston Are they the clear favorite to you to win this south region? They are to me. Yeah. I do think that they The way that the kind of bracket broke They just appear to be kind of a cut above All these other kind of top seeds and then I also do think because you get a lot of these brain brand name teams in this region So like the dukes and the kentuckys. Yeah, that could be you know, potentially create even more value on houston to advance the final four just because Some year, you know, you get people that aren't necessarily paying too close attention or just gonna see the blue blood and put them through so Hopefully that's how it plays out and we can get you know Some potential leverage here on houston, but I do think that they are the deserved favorite I echo everything Ed said earlier. I just think defensively. This is the best team in the country and Like they have laughable games where you know teams score, you know, struggle to put up 40 type thing and I just think that team, you know, preparing On short notice to play that kind of defense is going to be a really tall order. So I do think they're absolutely, you know, the favorite of my opinion If you look at yahoo from last night, uh, 43 percent of brackets had houston advancing to the final four That's not super far off from the betting markets because they're plus 145 to win the south It applied odds there 40.8 percent. So not a huge get there at all. So it sounds like public Pretty correct on houston aka. They're not super overvalued as things stand right now. What about for you, Ed? Is houston the clear favorite here in the south? They are definitely my clear favorite. I'm actually looking at this right now and Look, you have marquette that Probably doesn't have tyler colic at 100 percent. Maybe he gets there by the time they see houston You know florida team who center just broke his leg, uh in the conference tournament Apparently it was pretty gruesome You have a team like Kentucky who is just just has all the talent in the world Right. I mean if you're playing pick up ball, like you are you are getting got, you know If you're picking a team, you're like, I want rob dillingham, right? And I like this that the arrow kid that looks like Looks about as thick as lebron james they unfortunately don't play much defense and, uh Yeah, jump calipari used to be like a coach that could get some of these one and done type guys to to really Care about the defensive side of the ball. This doesn't seem to be one of those teams Um, I I don't think they're gonna get particularly far even though they do have the talent to make it there Duke is a lot of the same story a lot of blue chip guys, uh, like kind of phil pasky who I do think is pretty good They're also it just doesn't seem like they their defensive numbers are a lot better than But just not like just not a team that I feel makes it that far despite their talent So kind of when you put that all together like I like houston, uh, obviously Uh, a little caveat, you know a little bit of warning because of the joan robert's potential injury not being 100 But the region looks pretty good. Okay, and ed it sounds like Similar to uconn you're okay taking houston to the final four even in Larger pools. Am I interpreting that correctly? Oh, yeah for sure. Okay, sure. I feel I mean these two regions. I feel really Really good about the top two seats same for you benet where you're okay taking houston Even if it's a bit of a larger pool Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so let's talk about some lower seated teams here in the south then it when you're looking at Teams with higher seats, maybe not pushing houston obviously, but who could win a game or two It's similar to what you're saying with du before which teams stand out to you there um, so Ed would just kind of alluded to florida a little bit as a team that Mike I had lungton just broke his leg and really really Sad And I hope that you know, everything's okay. Yeah, but I think Given their kind of profile. They're still, you know potentially could win a couple games I think they still do even with the loss of mike and they still have You know strong interior players alex condon's really come on terry samuel Transform scene halls at a really good year. I think they could potentially I'm gonna put a couple games together here and make a run, especially if You know colex injury Is still kind of really bothering him So they're a team. I kind of have circled Um, other than that though. I mean, I do think I'm not really as into some of the lower seated teams in this region So I think they're the kind of one clear team that I'm circling but I would say yeah, some of the other kind of double digit seeds I don't really have a ton of confidence in florida the seven seed here in the south They will face the winner between Colorado and boise state during the playing games earlier on this week Ed, what about for you any lower seated teams you think could make some damage or make some noise here in the south I think colorado is interesting. I have them at about a three-point favorite to beat boise state They're actually 25th in in my numbers. They made a late run in in the packville tournament and They also have a bunch of nba caliber guys on that team. It's it's honestly a roster that kind of makes you wonder why they're not better Um, so if any kind of double digit seed, uh, is interesting in this region I would definitely go with colorado Okay, and again, colorado is Facing off against boise state and ed has them as a three-point favorite And that one should they win could potentially be a threat against florida so that 10 versus seven match It could be pretty fun out here in the south ed any earlier on upsets your eye here in the south regional I mean probably probably just just colorado. Yeah, maybe you know through I don't know. I mean that's an you know, it's a it's an injury riddled part of the bracket. Yeah So 10 over 7 is not exactly the most exciting thing, but uh, But yeah, although this is like like you said an injury riddled part of the bracket I think colorado was a team that was injury riddled throughout the season and are now potentially under seated because of that like trish into silva Cody williams these guys missing time And now like you alluded to ed kind of getting healthy at the right time and making a run in the pack 12 tournament So they're definitely another team if they're able to win the play-in game that you can at least consider Most of these bracket pools aren't necessarily going to lock until Thursday. So you can kind of rave accordingly But that's you know, definitely echo that and Team the watch for sure any other uh potential first round upsets your eye here benet Um, I think that's probably it for me. I I do think this texas tech team is a little vulnerable And I was looking to see what the draw would be. I'm not super thrilled about The nc state matchup, but I mean I just think texas tech is you know a bit overachieved relative to Their talent level on the big 12 and they've had some injury stuff as well With like warren washington is kind of the blue guy who has been out for the last half dozen games or so So I was kind of trying to keep an eye on you know, maybe They'll get a you know, enticing matchup. I'm not sure the nc state after winning Jesus, I think it was what four or five games five days Yeah, so I don't know if there's a lot of gas in the tank left for nc state to kind of keep it going but That was when I also kind of had my eye on and it's only a four point line. I believe so You know, that's one of those where maybe you take a look at the pay percentages and If like 20 of people are picking nc state, you know, you can Maybe extract some value there. Well, the heart wants more dj burns. So selfishly gonna write for nc state Selfishly gonna be doing that in the south region. Okay. So largely chalk It sounds like in the south and then using the other regions to deviate. Let's talk now about the midwest Pretty interesting region here as well right now per do is a favorite of plus 165 Pretty deep region ed. Oh, what's your top level view of the midwest with per do as a favor right now? I I think tennessee should be favored here. My number is really like tennessee They are a Top, I mean, they're an elite defensive team They have been for the past five years under rick barns and now they have dalton connect who is a great story Kid that was playing in juko as of two two years and a couple months ago And now is potentially a lottery pick in the mba. He's six foot sick. He's he's strong athletic um Has just put up massive numbers in in the sec this Uh this year And he's legit. He's really legit And I think a lot of these teams are gonna have a problem stopping him Tennessee has been this program that has always been good and they rely on the defensive side of the ball But now all of a sudden they got an alpha that can just straight up put it in the bucket Uh, I think that makes them interesting, you know, my my member numbers actually have tennis I'm pretty sure they have tennessee ahead of purdue um They're neck and neck Tennessee was ahead of them uh before falling in in the sec tournament. So I really like this tennessee team. I think they're legit and um, I would I would make them the favorite in this region All right, so tennessee right now at fangirl sports book plus 360 to win the midwest if you look at the, uh, yahu Public pick numbers purdue going to the final four and 40 percent of brackets versus tennessee Down just 21 percent. So benet. I want to hear your thoughts. Uh, what are you doing in the midwest here? Are you as high in tennessee as ed or are you looking elsewhere to potentially topple purdue? I would say not quite as high as ed on tennessee, but I still really do agree with all the points that He made around how strong they are and kind of the the difference between this tennessee team And all the other tennessee teams that you picked to go to the final floor that didn't go Yeah, so I still think purdue should be the favorite, but I think tennessee Definitely worthy second option. And I think I also just basically the way the the bracket broke. I think their path is also enticing to me whereas, you know purdue We were talking about kanzaga a little earlier Uh, it wouldn't be a you know a bracket show with chin and ed if I didn't talk about how much I like kanzaga, so I'm already I'm already back to um, you know circling that potential matchup and saying what You know is is kanzaga able to kind of make a move But I think tennessee Definitely, you know a worthy selection if you're trying to deviate a bit I have some concerns about some of the other top seeded teams like We alluded to kansas having some injury stuff Um, hunter dickinson and kevin mccullar both set out the big 12 tournament I would expect that it was kind of a precautionary move, but This team does not have a ton of depth. So for them to be missing one of their, you know All-american type guys is obviously concerning And then with cretin, I mean There's such an elite shot making team But they're so poor at generating extra possessions if the shots aren't falling. I just feel like That's you know potentially a problem. They're dead last in the country at forcing turnovers And they have a below average offensive rebound rate So That usually is not necessarily they could 100 get hot and win six games. We talked about how they beat ucon Their best game, you know is up there with everyone, but can they do that? You know game after game after game I'm a little less sold. So I would say If you're gonna go, you know with the chalk Purdue or tennessee are definitely viable And I you know, I would shy away from you know, some of these other teams like cretin or KU You were talking about kansas with their injuries. Uh, they The betty markets reacted harshly to that matchup against uh, Cincinnati where They closed as like if they were a two and a half point dogs The morning of that game and they lost by 20 So to back up your point about a lack of depth if there are any injury concerns there Probably not going to go super great for kansas. They're the four seed taking on samford in the first round. So Uh, both ed and ben and see some shaking is potentially with Purdue tennessee is where ed is going Ben it does see some viability with tennessee as well Ben it'll stick with you here and talk about some higher seats any higher seats You think could win a couple of games here in the midwest Yeah, so I'm taking a look at organ. They won the pack 12 tournament They drew south carolina in the first round. This is one of those close to a pickum games Where we get a six versus 11 and it's like a one point line I think south carolina Is just a team that I think is a bit vulnerable I would I think it's 11 or so if there are wins this year or six points or less So they do play pretty slow. So that kind of might be part of the reason but I do think you know, the end of game variance has gone very well for them And they're probably a little bit over seated as a result if you look at You know, most these metrics have this team closer to like the 40s as opposed to You know a top fringe top 25 team. That's worthy of a six seed So I do think organ You know could potentially pull the upset there and then You know, you get a creatin team where I kind of outlined some of the concerns. I don't know if I would pick organ to win two games, but Um, I think, you know, they can at least They'll at least, you know, I have a decent chance, I guess to get to second weekend and they're definitely a team I've have circled so You alluded to the betting markets for that first matchup organ is basically right there with south carolina They're a minus 102 on the money line. That was minus 104 earlier this morning So been a bit of a buyback on south carolina But not much so pretty much a pick between the six and 11 match up here in the midwest And what about for you any lower seeded teams you think can make a run here in the midwest? I love this region because I actually get to talk about a team Higher than 10 that my numbers like and yeah, my numbers like have organ by a point over south carolina. So that's that's very exciting, right? Yeah, so I do have I do have organ. I do think they can Yeah, I mean, you know, they're gonna be favored. They should be favored in that first game and Yeah, we'll see how they do pass that you guys are talking about kansas I do want to make the point. There's there's like a difference between mcculler who has had a needy thing Been in and out of the lineup. I certainly think he plays. He's actually been effective At some point over the last month while he's been dealing with this Hunter digginson dislocated his shoulder That seems bad That seems like not a thing you come back from within a week and are 100 So he may go out there and play, but I'm just not sure how effective he's going to be You know, my numbers which somewhat adjust for for injuries like actually Are pretty much right on the market. Kansas seven and a half point favorite in this game I just don't know if we can expect a guy to come back from a dislocated shoulder in a week I don't know. I don't know. Maybe maybe maybe we need some medical experts on the show to talk about that but It's definitely a concern if you're a kansas fan Yeah, that's spread seven and a half right now for kansas versus sanford. That is the first round matchup Kansas the four seed sanford the 13 seed there So potentially some volatility keep close tabs in the injury situation for kansas Get a read on if if they'll be good to go and how close they'll be to full health and You know, we can't pivot our brackets unfortunately later on the tournament But if you get a read that he's not fully healthy Maybe it's the spot where you're betting against kansas and later rounds For individual game stuff Let's wrap up here and talk about the west right now Things are pretty interesting because although u.n.c. Is a one seed it is arizona who is a favorite They are plus 230 to win the west whereas north carolina is at plus 380. So ed We got u.n.c. Or arizona as a favorite here in the in the west My number is really like arizona over north carolina north carolina has been a really good team this year They've really made some advances on the defensive side of the ball And anytime a team can go into Cameron indoor stadium and kind of bully duke around and win a game That's certainly really impressive But my numbers don't particularly like this team overall like I actually have them 11th in my member numbers over I mean behind gonzaga Arizona is a really good basketball team. I have them fifth their top five team They're actually top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency It's not like I don't love this arizona team But I certainly think they have all the the type of tools that you need to make a pretty deep run Um, you know, for example, like hail of love. I think he's a good player I don't think he's an elite player but on this team I think they have enough like I think it works well enough that they should I they definitely deserve to be the favorite here Um, you also have to think about travel this regional finals in los angeles and that's not very far for all these arizona fans to come North carolina is going all the way across the country Uh, and you can imagine a situation where they go to los angeles and have to play Uh, st. Mary's who's just coming down the the pike in california To to play that game st. Mary's is a very good team by the way always been a big fan of randy benett's program there And then you have to play arizona um I don't know. I mean the committee didn't do Didn't do them any favorites here like putting them out west. What do you do? You get a one seed, but um, I don't know like would would you rather I don't know Maybe you'd rather be the the two seed in the midwest or something like that All right, so ad is saying that arizona should be the favorite here in part due to travel But also because arizona is a good basketball team and benett you mentioned arizona is like A team you liked as a contrarian national champion, so I have to assume You're probably on board of arizona to win the east the west as well Yeah, I actually already bet arizona to win the region so i'm Would you get it? So I got Plus 250 i think 230 there's still probably a little bit of value. Okay, um, but I yeah I still think arizona's I think not only are they better than north carolina Which ed seems to agree with but I also just think that the path for them is a little bit easier Even looking at like sweet 16 probability Like north carolina. I said this eight nine game, you know could be very very tricky depending on I honestly, I think either team could give north carolina a really good game I don't know which that's the always the tricky part with the brackets is you know, right? Yeah, you don't get points if you get the eight nine game wronged So you just miss out on points to everyone else if you get it wrong Yeah, sure. Exactly. So but I do think like and that's part of why I went and just bet them though in the region I think the the 7 10 matchup Dayton and navada, I think both those teams are you know, potentially a little bit Overseeded Dayton, you know really struggled to finish the year and I think they were kind of more so just You know These bracket reveals in like february and they're on like the four or five line and I think they were kind of coasting off that A little bit despite kind of struggling to finish the season off and then Yeah, so I think you know feel good about arizona beating either of those teams and then You know potentially obviously there's some interesting teams kind of right above that with You know baler new mexico Clemson, but I still Think arizona's path and then also just kind of the quality of teams They seem like the The pick to me so Okay, so both ed and bennett are on arizona. They're the betting favorites in the west and they concur Arizona should be the favorites for your brackets as well Ben is sticking with you any lower seeded teams you think can make a run here in this west regional? oh man my uh Any of my buddies that are watching are gonna laugh right now because I've been talking about this grand canyon team for like five miles let's go and Yeah, here we go the loves I I was hoping that you know, they might get a little bit more favorable of a draw same area is obviously a fairly good team but I still think that there's a chance that they can win this game um The obviously we talked a little bit about the the kind of travel of it all and you know being a west coast mid-major It doesn't always work out that way with the mid-major schools. So then you have to go You know cross country But this team, you know brice drew high level coach time grand foster the best player was You know started at kansas and it was very highly regarded at high school it's not usually the profile you see from like a whack team and I just think this team is a lot of fun and they could potentially make a move If they were to win which is obviously a big if Alabama is very much lived by the three died by the three. So you know You catch them on an off night. They're shooting splits away from home or considerably worse than at home. So You know, it wouldn't shock me if they You know just you know had an off game and the winner of this 512 game was able to take them down. So That's a team. I'm definitely looking at the lobes, so Love it grand canyon the 12c taking on st. Mary's in the first round if they were to win would face either alabama or college in charleston and Variance is good when you're an underdog variance not always your friend when you are a favorite Which is what alabama would likely be in that game if they were to face grand canyons of benedicts on them As the 12 seed out here in the west and you mentioned travel for UNC that's applicable for alabama as well As a head out to the west and what about for you any lower seeded teams you have your ion out here in the west Again, this is very exciting because I actually have an 11 seed that as a three-point favorite I have new mexico as a three-point favorite over clumson So, uh, yeah upset city, right? It's fun when the upsets are chalk By the markets as well. I think last I checked new mexico was one and a half point favorite there. So Yeah, so that's the team I'm not I'm not really up on the new mexico team, but but it is one That That my number suggests can make a run and then You know also like, you know, i'm michigan state rank in mississippi state ranked pretty high I have him as a pick. I'm 28 and 29 and so that's uh, you know So that's pretty pretty good for an eight and a nine seed, right? Oh, no, actually that's what we got, right? So, yeah, I'm gonna go back to what I said about new mexico. Yeah Okay, so new mexico the 11 seed taking on clumson as had mentioned they are slight favorites in this game New mexico's money line minus 102 taking on clumson. So again Put stock in the betting markets because even though it's six versus 11 not necessarily an upset in the betting market wise, but potentially one where Not a lot of people will be As in tune to that as they potentially should be if we go over to espn right now and check out what they have It does confirm that because at least as of last update clumson was picked to beat new mexico In 55 a bracket. So the market is saying pick new mexico the public is taking clumson right now So take a look at new mexico's potentially an early round upset out here in the west Want to give both of you one final shot to pass that any final any final thoughts any final Stratutives anything else you're thinking about here, then it will start with you Any final words for you on this 2024 men's nc double a term before we close up shop for today Yeah, no, I mean, I think ultimately uconn is the best team and they certainly have the most talent was just Stop them play a bunch of the biggies tournament and it's hard to walk away from that and Think anything else But I think you know as we're kind of looking at and I do think, you know smaller pools whatever that's justifiable But I do think in terms of you know closely monitor these public pick percentages and see if we can extract value Elsewhere in larger pools or if their pick percentage goes down a little bit, you know, maybe that's the direction that we end up going We we're kind of alluding to this earlier with like the espn who picked whom is Defunct or no longer no longer with us. So I would check out yahoo closely monitor that see if those numbers are updating And you know use that as kind of like your frame of reference to get a sense of what other people are doing But I think that's going to ultimately dictate, you know, what direction I go in terms of champion but I think Particularly, yeah uconn or if you want to deviate I would say houston is kind of the the next logical choice But yeah, I'll kind of leave it there and kick it to to you guys All right, Ed what any final words of wisdom from you? My approach for kind of filling out the bracket would be So not necessarily just to look at my numbers but to look at a variety of sources. I started Looking at what the market said last year and this year I'm also going to look at what is happening in the preseason ap poll So kind of look at an ensemble of those three things That's a lot of work for you, obviously But that's actually what I'm doing for people in my bracket advice. So you can check that out at the power egg dot com I should have that up by tomorrow noon ish that's my goal at least But you know, I think like in those early rounds They don't matter much, but you can probably get a little bit of a slight edge by just kind of putting an ensemble of those things Yeah together Uh, and that's what that's what I'll be doing for my customers this year Wisdom and you can do it yourself. It's just yeah, I'm knowing a lot of work Wisdom of the crowds that has been something we've harped on for the entirety of this this show's run Um, and it's something that can always be good pooling together multiple smart Uh sources of information is going to get you a better outcome Which is why I have you two on every year So I can hear both of you a year where you had to say and help me fill out a better bracket because I Would be lost without you guys now Ed you alluded to Your member numbers got the bracket wisdom podcast here is going on as well over the football analytics show What all could people find over the power rank and the football analytics show throughout this massive massive week Right. I mean, I think the easiest thing to do Uh is I'll do some of the work for you, right? I mean if you just look at my college basketball team rankings The higher rank team is one almost 70 percent of games And you can go do that work by looking at my college basketball team rankings But it's just easier to sign up for my free email newsletter and I'll do it for you and I'll send it to you on wednesday So I would highly recommend that it's a it's a nice free way to get engaged with the stuff I do And um, and then you also get five nuggets saturday, which I've been putting a lot of college basketball player props in there That has been fun. Uh, I'm really interested to see what these delton connect points Markets look like in this tournament. That should be pretty interesting As we go forward But uh, yeah, just check that out the power rank.com. It's easy. It's just like a cheat sheet You feel out your bracket and then you're on your way All right You can find the podcast as well by searching for the football analytics show find add on twitter at the power rank You can find his work at the power rank.com Bennett. I saw the shock quality has got some good stuff going up So if people want to check that out, where can they go to find all the fun stuff that shock quality is doing for this year's tournament? Yeah, absolutely We have a lot of kind of bracket tools matchup stuff over at shock quality bets and if you're in a live betting Uh, we've been doing a lot more stuff recently within the last few months or so Where we have different tools basically saying this how many points this team has or points per possession But based on, you know, the shop profile and what we would expect. This is what they've actually um, you know Here's expectation versus The kind of reality and you know, what teams might be looking to You know, positively or negatively regressed throughout the course of a game So it's kind of an interesting tool To have up if if you're watching all these games at once And want a little bit more action So I would definitely recommend that we've been doing some live streams around that stuff as well So if if that's something that sounds fun to you, which I mean, I'll definitely be uh You know having a bunch of screens up and that'll be one of them. So I love it. All right. He's check that out Check out, uh, Bennett on twitter at six one seven Bennett to find that Bennett appreciate you as always ed Same to you Just great to have both of you guys on the show here to get your thoughts on this year's tournament as a reminder Much more stuff coming up here Uncovering the spread throughout this week to get you ready for all that is to occur Across this week. We are talking to Justin Carter of rotobar getting his read on the women's bracket Tomorrow here on the show and then we'll have Individual day breakdowns for thursday and friday coming up on the covering the spread podcast feed the fandall youtube page and fandall tv Plus i am on twitter at jim sonnis You can check out fandall research on twitter at fandall research and again find the show on fandall tv Plus and the fandall youtube page want to thank you all for tuning in good luck to your brackets this year We'll talk to you all again soon. This has been covering the spread right here on the fandall podcast network